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10-11-2022, 06:56 PM
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#1
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Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: SF Bay Area, CA
Posts: 1,296
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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.
__________________
Phil
- 2005 EB50 6.0PSD - SMB 4x4
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10-11-2022, 07:28 PM
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#2
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2018
Posts: 243
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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
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10-11-2022, 08:05 PM
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#3
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Site Team
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Southern New Mexico
Posts: 10,204
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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.
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10-11-2022, 11:17 PM
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#4
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Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: SF Bay Area, CA
Posts: 1,296
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BroncoHauler
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
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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
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10-12-2022, 07:21 AM
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#5
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Reynoldsburg, Ohio
Posts: 3,835
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While I'm not a camping or weekending kinda guy this will be an interesting platform to watch develop.
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10-12-2022, 09:07 AM
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#6
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Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2019
Location: Croydon, PA
Posts: 323
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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.
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10-12-2022, 10:01 AM
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#7
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Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: SF Bay Area, CA
Posts: 1,296
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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
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10-12-2022, 10:36 AM
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#8
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Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: Maryland
Posts: 3,697
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Subscribed. We would only consider a flat bed design, so for us this will prove interesting & educational as it comes together.
__________________
TwoXentrix
"AWOL"
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10-12-2022, 10:46 AM
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#9
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Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: SF Bay Area, CA
Posts: 1,296
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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
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10-12-2022, 11:45 AM
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#10
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Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: NM
Posts: 1,391
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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.
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