SOLD: 2006 Ram 3500 – 2016 XP Nimbl Camper ($130,000)

I am selling my 2016 XP Camper/Nimbl on a 2006 Dodge Ram 3500 Cummins Diesel for $130,000.  The 2006 Dodge Ram 3500 features the famous 24 valve 5.9 liter Cummins turbo diesel. There are 77,800 miles on the truck at this point and it’s in excellent shape. We purchased the truck in 2016 when it had approximately 32,000 miles.

This truck and camper combo has been used exclusively in the United States and mainly in the Western part of the U.S. It is in phenomenal shape with a truck that has extremely low miles for a 2006. There are no known issues with the truck or camper at this time and both have always been maintained to the best abilities available.

Nimbl campers have a reputation for comfort, capability, and driveability in a package size that’s hard to beat. The rigs are known for allowing access to areas that are difficult to access with larger or less capable campers. Many articles and videos exist including Truck Camper Adventure reviewing and showing the extensive attributes to be had with this set up.

• Length: front to back bumper 22 feet (6.71 meters)
• Front to spare tire on carrier: 23 feet, 10 inches (7.26 meters)
• Width: 7 feet (2.13 meters)
• Height: 8 feett, 8.5 inches (2.65 meters)

The truck/camper combo has always been garaged when we’re not out exploring. So there’s no sun damage or weathering that you might expect to see with a more experienced truck and camper.

Truck description:

The truck is amazing as it’s been modified moderately with no catalytic (no smog required in our Valley, but I have the Cat boxed up), a Wicked Wheel turbo wheel replacement that spins up faster than stock, a Banks Autotune using the Tow/Haul setting, a K&N washable and oilable air filter that allows for more flow, and a Banks Monster muffler that again offers more flow through the engine. The result is that the truck pulls the load a lot better than anticipated and pulls steep grades nicely also.

Non DEF Truck

This truck is basically the last of the Ram Cummins that didn’t require DEF. This means the truck is as good running on sulfur loaded fuel as it is on Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel. It’s all ready for Mexico and south if that’s the requirement.

 Auxiliary Fuel Tank 

The truck has the addition of a 20 gallon tank where the spare previously mounted, therefore we have a range with the 53 gallons of 750 miles or more. This comes in handy both on road and also out in the back country where fuel usage can and typically does increase. Recently we drove from Sun Valley, Idaho back to Carson Valley and never stopped to refuel. We had to stop for other reasons, but didn’t put any fuel in. We had around a 1/4-tank when we arrived home.

 Engine Monitoring

There is an Edge Insight unit that is mounted on the dashboard at the extreme left by the pillar. It displays the gear the transmission is in and whether it has “lockup”, turbo boost psi, battery voltage, fuel rail pressure in Kpsi, incoming air temperature, engine RPM, engine coolant temperature, OBDII trans temperature, and finally the most monitored- exhaust gas temp. There is an alarm on the exhaust gas temp for 1,200F.

 Tires, Wheels and Balancing

The tires are Toyo Open Country AT III’s that are approximately 34.5 inches tall. That’s why the spare doesn’t fit in the stock location, so the auxiliary fuel tank providing huge range was a great use for the space. The Toyo spare is mounted at the rear on a RigD swing away tire carrier. This is a beefy unit that is fully approved for heavy wheels/tires (ours are 105 pounds) and approved by RigD for severe off road use. The wheels are flat black Method spoked type and they are the HD version of the particular model rated for 4,500 pounds. The wheel assemblies also have Balance Masters mounted behind the wheels. These are on-the-fly balancers that have circular tube assemblies containing mercury. As you drive, they automatically balance the tires/wheels/hubs perfectly making for an incredibly smooth ride. They also allow the tires to wear more evenly through the miles preventing cupping and the like. They are expensive but have proven to be definitely worth it. By the way, when the transmission was rebuilt, the rear drive shaft u-joints were also replaced with new parts. The drive shaft also has a Balance Master mercury balancer on it also making it dead smooth with no vibration input to the driveline.

 Air Compressor, Tank, Air Lock Diffs and sPod

Underneath the flat bed is an air tank that is filled from an ARB twin cylinder compressor to 150 psi when powered on. There’s a pressure gauge mounted in front of the center console near the floor. This air system allows for running a ½” impact wrench for working with wheel lug nuts and also facilitates airing up the tires after dropping pressure for off-road. But additionally, the air system is there to supply air to the front and rear ARB air lockers in the differentials. The switching of either or both of the air lockers is controlled via the sPod digital touch screen in the center of the dash area. The sPod also controls the switching of the air compressor and the switching of two sets of PIAA driving lights built into the Buckstop front bumper.

 Automatic Transmission

The transmission is an automatic (48RE) and was totally rebuilt when the 1st to 2nd shifts became compromised. The rebuild was performed with enhanced, higher performance parts by General Transmission in Reno at 67,101 miles. It works beautifully! General Transmission also replaced both batteries with NAPA Legend Professionals at this same mileage. And there was suspicion that the ECM (Engine Control Module) was causing some charging issue anomalies, so the ECM was replaced with a new ECM mounted at the driver’s side of the block.

 20 Gallon Auxiliary Fuel Tank

The extra 20 gallon fuel tank has a valve next to the driver’s seat that is turned to allow pumping auxiliary fuel over into the main tank when low. With this technique, there’s no need to switch from tank to tank that requires additional fuel level monitoring. I typically put in about 18-19 gallons to allow some head space in the auxiliary tank.

 Truck Suspension 

The suspension in this truck is extremely capable. There are adjustable ICON reservoir shocks all around, ICON progressive coil springs up front, Carli 11 leaf 15-inch travel leaf springs in back with Carli 12-inch travel air bags in the rear to trim the unit side to side and assist with some of the load handling. There’s Thuren long adjustable, greasable shackles at the rear to set proper height. There are BD end links on the front sway bar which are much stronger than stock. Synergy linkages for the steering round out the package up front and replaces the deficient ‘06 steering links. The rear sway bar is a Hellwig Big Wig unit. 

Truck Air Conditioning 

The A/C system in the truck is relatively new. It was totally restored at 67,400 miles by Douglas Radiator and Auto Air here in Carson Valley when the compressor self destructed and sent particles all through the A/C system. I’ve heard about other ‘06 or ‘07 Rams that have done the same, but this one is thankfully updated and blows very cold air reliably.

Camper details:

We have a Dometic microwave, induction cooking (no longer have the Webasto diesel cooktop which is a blessing. It didn’t cool down quick enough for morning breakfasts, then quick departures). There’s  a 4.2 cu. ft. Dometic fridge/freezer in the camper, an ARB compressor fridge mounted on a hard platform right behind the driver’s seat in the cab. We typically run the ARB as a freezer to hold the extra food supplies when we’re traveling, but it can be adjusted to be a fridge also. Our Magnum 2000 watt full sine wave inverter works great and supplies everything 120 VAC for the camper.

Refrigerator Coil Cooling 

I installed low and high mounted computer cooling fans behind the Dometic refrigerator with a temperature controller. There were already two vents through the side of the shell appropriate for this good upgrade. The lower fan pulls cooler air in and the higher fan blows the warmer air from the refrigerator coils outward. This controls the temp in the limited space behind the refrigerator a lot better than the stock set up.

Electrical System

We have approximately 480 watts of solar on top and 500 amp hours of batteries. Our battery bank is a combination of 300 amp hours of Lifeline AGM and 200 amp hours of Battle Born Lithium. A special controller called a BBMS (Battery Bank Management System) handles the charging.

Camper Attributes and Features 

The camper has all the attributes of the typical XP/Nimbl campers with the Thetford cassette toilet, Froli bed system to raise the mattress for ventilation and comfort, the comprehensive control panel with SeeLevel II controller for monitoring fresh, gray and black levels and battery voltage and a TV/DVD player above the queen sized bed towards passenger side. It can be viewed from bed or the dinette. Our Webasto Dual Top for the hot forced air heating and hot water heating works great.

Why is the rig for sale?

If you’ve read this far, you may figure that my wife and I really do love this camper/truck immensely! That is true and no one can dispute this who know us and the camper/truck. But we have reached the point where we want even more creature comfort and don’t have as much desire to take our camper into some of the more remote and difficult locations that this camper is capable of. We’ve got an order in for a very impressive larger overland camper that will be ready in Colorado next May, 2025. So it’s bittersweet thinking about transferring this unit to someone else. That said, it’s time! And there will be a lucky person(s) who can continue on with this fantastic overland set up and have adventures of their own just as we’ve been fortunate to experience.

2006 Dodge Ram 3500 5.9 L Cummins diesel 78,000 miles

• Two extremely heavy open tow hooks at underside of front bumper
• Three 2”X2” receivers directly below front bumper for various needs
• Three air quick couplers- 1 in each forward side cabinet and 1 external at rear
• 33 gallon stock diesel tank, 20 gallon auxiliary diesel tank (pumps to main) 750+ mile range
• Four PIAA driving lights built into Buckstop bumper
• 48RE automatic transmission rebuilt at 67,101 miles to heavier duty than stock
• all new U-joints on drive shaft at 67,101 miles
• ARB air locking differentials front and rear
• ARB Twin Cylinder compressor with associated air tank under flat bed
• Balance Master active on-the-fly active mercury balancers at each wheel
• Balance Master drive shaft mercury active balancer
• Banks AutoTune allows larger tire diameter input making the speedometer read perfectly
• Banks AutoTune running Tow/Haul programming
• Buckstop aluminum front bumper 3/8” plate center section w/ ¼” plate in wings
• Class 5 2X2” extension for towing, etc. triangulated with chain and turnbuckles
• completely new A/C installed at 67,400 miles
• K&N air filter in the stock air intake box
• LED light bar built into Buckstop bumper up on the game guard bars
• Mag-Hytec extra deep transmission pan
• Mag-Hytec front and rear differential covers
• Method wheels- model # 701-HD rated at 4500 lbs
• RigD swing out spare tire carrier for rear of truck
• Toyo Open Country ATIII’s LT295/70R18 rated for 4080 pounds.
• TPMS Tire Minder monitors for low pressure and temp irregularities
• Warn winch 16.5 Ti 16,500-pound rating with 100-foot synthetic 23,000-pound line
• Wicked Wheel replacement turbo wheel for faster spin-up

Truck Chassis

• BD end links on the front sway bar
• Big Wig (Hellwig) rear heavy duty sway bar
• Carli 12 inch long travel air bags at rear with separate inflation ports for trimming
• Carli 15 inch travel rear 11 leaf package
• Dynatrac front locking 4×4 hubs with improved bearings
• Dynatrac front upper and lower steering spindles
• Icon adjustable reservoir shocks front and rear
• Icon Progressive front coils
• Synergy superior steering linkage

Truck Cab Features

• ARB digital compressor refrigerator mounted behind drivers seat on solid platform- powered from camper batteries
• CB radio mounted on lower right of center console- mic with all controls, quick coupling CB antenna at front right bumper corner
• Cell phone holder mounted mid dash area
• Console Vault safe with tubular high security key built into lower section of center console
• Edge Insight engine monitoring at dash left with alarms and exhaust gas temperature
• Garmin GPS on dash directed at driver for highway/street navigation
• RAM brand passenger side floor mounted column with 11-inch iPad mount for off/on road navigation (we use Gaia)
• Retevis 25 watt GMRS radio mounted on lower left center console-mic with all controls
• Revelco anti-theft system with multiple “multi pin keys”. No successful theft of any vehicle with this system.
• SPOD touchscreen for driving lights, air compressor and ARB locking differentials
• Transmission temp digital/analog gauge on top of steering column, probe in Mag-Hytec trans pan

Camper

• Nimbl Evolution hydraulic lifting pop-up camper by means of three-button remote (quant.-2)
• Two Maxx Air fans
• A 2,000 watt continuous, 120 VAC Magnum pure sine wave inverter
• A 26 gallon gray water tank
• A total of 480 watts of solar on top
• 500 amp hours of combined lithium/AGM battery- 300 AGM, 200 BattleBorn lithium
• 75 gallon fresh water tank with spare fresh water pump
• Ambient Weather inside/outside temperature display
• BBMS (battery bank management system) digital controller for lithium and AGM’s
• Bed lifts up to reveal clothes storage: two large, four smaller custom made clothes storage bags dinette table with flip up front leaf for drivers side access, great views and comfortable
• Dometic dual pane acrylic windows throughout
• Dometic microwave One Touch model

• Dometic 4.2 cu. ft. refrigerator with freezer compartment
• Doulton two-stage water filtration- fine mesh activated charcoal followed by micropore ceramic Doulton cartridge
• dual fans behind refrigerator with temperature controller to manage coil excess heat
• gray water sump in lower floor area under sink with spare sump/sensor/pump assembly
• huge kitchen counter area with cutting board covering induction cooktop storage area
• Induction cooktop, portable for use on counter or outside
• Queen size east-west bed with Froli support system/air flow capability under mattress
• SeeLevel digital tank monitoring by percent of fresh, gray and Thetford black tank
• Sink faucet features hands-off hip control switch for operation
• Smoke/Carbon Monoxide detector in the living space
• Thetford 5 gallon cassette toilet with separate water supply
• TV/DVD (Raxa) mounted above the bed- view from dinette or bed
• Webasto Dual Top heater for forced air and hot water heating
• wet bath shower with shower curtain in the Thetford cassette toilet compartment

A complete set of photos of the Nimbl camper/2006 Dodge Ram can be found here.

The rig is located in Gardnerville, Nevada (30 minutes south of Carson City, Nevada, one hour south of Reno, NV). Contact Ken at kenstruven@me.com or 408-591-8585 for more information or to schedule a showing.

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