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Ultimate DIY Truck Cap Camper
How we turned the bed of a 2014 Ram 2500 into a fully self-sufficient camper for about $5,000 — sink, shower, solar, and a movie-night setup included.
Read the full tour →We're the truck camping couple behind When the Dust Settles. Step inside our workshop for DIY truck cap camper builds, honest gear reviews, and off-grid adventures across God's country.
Every post pairs with a full video tour on our channel — read the overview here, then watch the build in action.
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How we turned the bed of a 2014 Ram 2500 into a fully self-sufficient camper for about $5,000 — sink, shower, solar, and a movie-night setup included.
Read the full tour →
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The follow-up tour: cab storage tricks, gray water management, and the gear list refined over 15+ years and 48 states of RV camping.
See the gear list →
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No heat in the truck? Before pulling the whole dash, we flushed the heater core with garden hoses and CLR — the cheap fix that actually worked.
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Mounting the awning back on after a windy-day rack failure — plus the exact routine for extending and retracting it so it lasts.
See the setup →
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Moving the power station closer to the bed, reclaiming cooler space, and tidying the wiring — a weekend mod that earns its keep.
See the changes →
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An enclosed trailer outfitted with 30-amp power, eight outlets, and a tool for every job — so the workshop comes with us anywhere.
Tour the trailer →
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Space, connectivity, power, and the honest trade-offs of taking your work on the road — from someone who left a software career to do it.
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Dust finds every gap in a truck bed. Here's how we sealed the Tramper — factory plug holes, wool insulation, and a tailgate fix that actually works.
Seal it up →
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The question everyone asks. A shower tent, a sprayer off the sink, and a one-gallon-per-shower routine that keeps us clean anywhere.
See the setup →
▶ 4-video series
Firebricks, propane, and two electric heaters go head-to-head — including real power draw numbers from the Bluetti.
See the showdown →
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Our Chronomite sprung a leak, so in goes a new one — with a real test of what 1800W of hot water delivers off a Bluetti.
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New racks, three Renogy solar panels, an LED light bar, and smarter storage — with the real costs, down to the penny.
Tour the upgrade →
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We race to fold our Tucktec kayaks — one of us blindfolded. If it can be assembled blind, it's truck-camping simple.
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The honest version: two people, one truck bed, a nightly bed-making routine, and a war against mosquitoes — set to music.
See the real thing →
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Cap doors lock from the outside — not helpful when you're the cargo. Our DIY interior locks, after days of trial and error.
Lock it down →
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Clean, safe water in an hour of maintenance — the tools and process we use on the Tramper every season.
Clean it up →Less wrenching, more wandering — the destinations, detours, and people we've found while living out of the Tramper.
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Mav hosted his first fan meetup up in Blaine, Minnesota — so my son and I loaded up the truck and drove 13 hours to be there.
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Into the heart of Holmes County with two missions: cook an Amish-inspired meal in the camper and ride a horse and buggy.
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A quarter of the way down the byway to a riverside site at Leith Run — with pizza on the griddle as the mission.
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$334.31 for two, surprisingly clean porta-potties, and one new fridge — our honest first-timer review.
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We loaded the truck onto the Lake Erie ferry for a waterfront site — bison burgers on the Blackstone and folding-bike tours.
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On our East Coast run we walked Acadia's Sundew Trail to an oceanside bench for a picnic — one of the most magical spots of the whole trip.
Read the story →The blog gives you the overview — the channel gives you every detail, every drawer, and every mistake we made so you don't have to.
▶ Subscribe to When the Dust SettlesNo fluff — this is the equipment riding in the Tramper right now. Links go to Amazon; full reviews live in the blog posts and videos.
The heart of our off-grid power, paired with 300W of solar.
Check price on AmazonOur Overland Expo East upgrade — dual-zone cooling off the truck's 12V or the Bluetti.
Check price on AmazonOur outdoor kitchen. Stores in the cab with its folding table.
Check price on AmazonBig sound, tiny package — turns the truck cap into a mini home theater on movie nights.
Check price on AmazonCamp chairs your back will thank you for after a long drive.
Check price on AmazonAs an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. This costs you nothing extra and helps keep the Tramper rolling — thank you!
Rep the channel on the road. Hoodies, tees, hats, mugs, and stickers — printed on demand and shipped worldwide through our shop. Every order helps keep the Tramper rolling.
Our cozy When the Dust Settles hoodie — made for cool nights at camp.
Shop the hoodie
We're the YouTube truck camping couple When the Dust Settles, and the Truck Camping Shop is like being invited into our workshop. Here you get behind-the-scenes details on our DIY truck cap camper build — lovingly dubbed the "Tramper" — and all the gear we take on our adventures.
We highlight the truck camping, vanlife, and overlanding gear we've actually used — with honest opinions about what works and what doesn't. For the gear we love, we share links so you can grab it for your own build, plus guides to help your build succeed.
So have a look around — we're excited for you to experience the joy of getting out into God's country!
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