Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
 


Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
 
Old 10-11-2022, 05:56 PM   #1
Senior Member
 
pjpvi's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: SF Bay Area, CA
Posts: 1,289
Not sure what this means for my van in the long run.

I'm building a new camping platform that I'm excited about but not sure what that means for my van in the long run. Had a couple weeks to play around in the mountains of Colorado while I waited for my flatbed to be ready to install last week. Nothing too crazy as the truck is brand new but did a few passes to include Tin Cup and Imogene Pass. Fall colors were stunning!!

This is a 2022 F250 Lariat Tremor with 7.3L gas (Godzilla) engine and I have to say I'm pretty impressed with it. It 4-wheels great (coming from 4-wheeling the van for the last 16 years) but I'm still not ready to pinstripe it up as it's only about 4 weeks old with 4200 miles on it.

I have a custom flatbed (hard side) Camper 1.0 in the works and brainstorming on a lower profile Camper 2.0 for when I'm off by myself or on a guy trip. If it works out as I hope, the van may be up for sale in a year or two but I'm not committing that to my wife just yet! She's already talking of getting rid of her travel trailer. We'll see what happens.

We are heading to Baja in the van on Monday so it doesn't feel left out yet.
Attached Thumbnails
PXL_20221001_220004943_2.jpg   PXL_20221011_000715337.jpg   original_ccf07da7-089d-4850-824d-f48a3cde84da_PXL_20220927_185633717.jpg   PXL_20220923_184240344~2.jpg   PXL_20220921_190533426.jpg  

PXL_20220921_200655219~2.jpg   PXL_20220930_220453973.jpg  

__________________
Phil

- 2005 EB50 6.0PSD - SMB 4x4
pjpvi is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-11-2022, 06:28 PM   #2
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2018
Posts: 216
Pickup life is almost as good as van life! The Caravan shells made in Reno aren't too far from you and would be a great addition. Or go the Alaskan route
SMB123 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-11-2022, 07:05 PM   #3
Site Team
 
BroncoHauler's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Southern New Mexico
Posts: 10,177
Awesome! I've been dreaming of about a Godzilla powered Tremor, and I absolutely love flatbed trucks. Can't wait to see what you come up with.

I looked at the Aterra XL camper at Overland Expo and thought it was amazing, though maybe too big, and the OEV Camp-HBE is pretty special too.

[EDIT: what brand of flatbed did you go with?]


Herb
__________________
SMB-less as of 02/04/2012. Our savings account is richer, but our adventures are poorer.
BroncoHauler is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-11-2022, 10:17 PM   #4
Senior Member
 
pjpvi's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: SF Bay Area, CA
Posts: 1,289
Quote:
Originally Posted by BroncoHauler View Post
Awesome! I've been dreaming of about a Godzilla powered Tremor, and I absolutely love flatbed trucks. Can't wait to see what you come up with.

I looked at the Aterra XL camper at Overland Expo and thought it was amazing, though maybe too big, and the OEV Camp-HBE is pretty special too.

[EDIT: what brand of flatbed did you go with?]


Herb
The flatbed is from Bowen Customs in Denver. Working with Bison Overland on Camper 1.0 but it won't be ready until sometime Q1 (hopefully) next year.
__________________
Phil

- 2005 EB50 6.0PSD - SMB 4x4
pjpvi is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-12-2022, 06:21 AM   #5
JWA
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Reynoldsburg, Ohio
Posts: 3,765
Send a message via Yahoo to JWA
While I'm not a camping or weekending kinda guy this will be an interesting platform to watch develop.
JWA is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-12-2022, 08:07 AM   #6
Senior Member
 
IanF's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2019
Location: Croydon, PA
Posts: 305
I've definitely thought about truck campers - actually for much longer than I've thought about van campers. The big issue for me is I want inside storage for my bikes. And I want to easily go from the driver's seat to the camper area without going outside. While the latter is usually possible in a truck camper, "easy" can be a mixed bag depending on the model and how thin and flexible you are. I have rarely seen a good solution for my #1 need.

That said... ATC4x4s in Bend, OR is working on a new camper based on a Tacoma that looks really neat. Sort of like a Class Super-C, but smaller. (Super Mini-C?) Full bathroom, cab-over bed, dining and kitchen areas, easy pass-thru from the cab to the camper. Similar to a typical camper-van and with similar pricing (~$85K + truck). Still doesn't address my "my $8000 bicycles are NOT going outside" issue, but definitely a good option for a lot of folks.
IanF is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-12-2022, 09:01 AM   #7
Senior Member
 
pjpvi's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: SF Bay Area, CA
Posts: 1,289
Good feedback and thoughts. Since there is a little interest in seeing how this comes together (I'm curious how it's going to finish up as well) I'll post updates when I have any. Like I said, it will probably be a long pause until the camper is ready.
__________________
Phil

- 2005 EB50 6.0PSD - SMB 4x4
pjpvi is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-12-2022, 09:36 AM   #8
Senior Member
 
Twoxentrix's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: Maryland
Posts: 3,349
Garage
Subscribed. We would only consider a flat bed design, so for us this will prove interesting & educational as it comes together.
__________________
TwoXentrix
"AWOL"
Twoxentrix is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 10-12-2022, 09:46 AM   #9
Senior Member
 
pjpvi's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: SF Bay Area, CA
Posts: 1,289
A side thought, after putting ~4000 miles on the new truck in about 3 weeks and doing mild 4-wheeling in some of my favorite Colorado places I really started to think the van will definitely be sold once I get the truck dialed in. Then I got home and drove the van 2 miles to my work shop and talking to myself out-loud (a common occurrence for me) about how much I love the van. I've had the van 16 years and it is running, driving, and handling better than it ever has. It can take a while to get things dialed in sometimes!
__________________
Phil

- 2005 EB50 6.0PSD - SMB 4x4
pjpvi is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-12-2022, 10:45 AM   #10
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Newberg, OR
Posts: 1,385
Another forum member, mk261v, has a build similar to your plan.
https://expeditionportal.com/forum/t...8s-etc.230131/

I haven't seen his truck since the camper went on it but when I had it here for the suspension install, I had many thoughts about a crew cab flatbed camper. The SuperDuty is a great platform for this type of build.

My words of wisdom to offer would be: Pay careful attention to the overall weight of the vehicle. At a certain point, weight becomes a factor in a lot of decisions that must be made early on. Like, for instance, wheel and tire choices, suspension, recovery considerations... I know Jeremy spent a lot of time on this up front for his build.

mgmetalworks is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off

» Sportsmobile Registry

GIL

Manoel Brazil

Hermes

Nimzero
Add your Sportsmobile
» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3
Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Sportsmobile SIP or any of its affiliates. This is an independent, unofficial site.


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 11:42 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.