BroncoHauler-SMB
Senior Member
Guys, I know that some of you are aware that I gave up my Admin duties quite some time ago, but I also know that my profile still shows I have those duties. I recommended that my role be replaced by someone else, but honestly, I don’t know if that was ever done.
It’s been a crazy few years recently that certainly did not go to plan. In mid 2022, I retired after more than 36 years as a civilian employee of the US Navy. That’s when I started to get serious about upping my game for a new rig. I was leaning heavily on finding a fairly recent E350-based ambulance. I figured I had the time, and most of the skills necessary to gut and build out the rig interior, after which I was going to take it to Quadvan for a 4x4 conversion. That's primarily why I at least occasionally stayed in the background on this forum. My life took a dramatic turn at that point though. My wife experienced an emergency medical event in early 2023 and didn’t make it. The following six months especially were pretty rough as I had to relearn how to cook for me and my then 17 year old son, I had to figure out the household finances (passwords not written down anywhere for accounts), and basically just trying to keep my head above water.
With everything that’s happened in the past few years, I knew I wasn’t going to find the time necessary to do a rig conversion, so I decided on a different path. Last year I placed an order for a new 2024 F350 Tremor, and decided on a slide-in camper that I really liked. I placed my order, and put my 2001 Excursion and SoCal Teardrop on the market. The market certainly has cooled a lot since 2020-2021, but both eventually sold, though for less than I hoped. I also decided to go with a camper bed to replace the factory pickup bed, primarily to gain a lot of storage that I wouldn’t have otherwise, and a great place to store dirty or wet gear. I originally wasn’t going to go that route, but I also realized that just sitting on my retirement savings was not going to bring my the joy of exploring and traveling.
So the camper bed company (Bowen) has a 6 month backlog, so while my F350 was delivered in June of last year, the camper bed wasn’t ready until last week. So I traveled up to the Denver area last week while they installed the camper bed and the camper itself. Kind of boring to wait around a hotel for a week while it was all done, but I did squeeze in a dinner at Casa Bonita (in case any of you are South Park fans).
I won’t to go too deep on a non-van here, but here are some quick details on my setup, and a few pics. This forum still is the best forum I’ve ever been part of, and it’s because of all of you.
Herb
2024 F350 Tremor 4x4 crewcab
* 7.3L Godzilla gas engine
* F/R electronic lockers (4.3 gears)
* 35” tires
* 360 degree camera
* 410A alternator
* Warn 12K winch
* Upfitter switches
I also had a 58 gallon TransferFlow gas tank installed (stock tank is only 36 gallons)
2025 SuperTramp Flagship LT
* 4 linear actuator for raising the roof (10 second lift time)
* 23 Zero Peregrine 180 Awning
* 400aH BattleBorn LiFePO4 batteries (heated)
* Victron 50 AMP DC/DC Charger (from truck)
* Victron SmartSolar charge controllers, MPPT 100/20 for rooftop solar, and MPPT 100/20 for ground solar
* Victron Shore power charger
* 330W rooftop solar
* Dometic rooftop AC
* Maxair rooftop fan
* 65L Isotherm fridge (I do wish this was larger, but no option for a larger fridge)
* 24 gallons of water
* Guzzle H2O Water Filtration with UV sanitizer
* Inside shower
* Truma Combi Eco Plus for furnace and hot water (propane or shore power)
* 22#’s of propane (two 11# bottles)
* Wrappon dry flush toilet
I drove home over the weekend, and used a Harvest Host membership to spend the night in a brewery parking lot just to break things up. Now I need to figure out how to organize everything I want (need) in the camper. Each setup is different, and it takes a while to figure out what fits, and what goes where. FWIW, I will be at Overland Expo in Flagstaff in May if anyone want to meet up and say Hello.
It’s been a crazy few years recently that certainly did not go to plan. In mid 2022, I retired after more than 36 years as a civilian employee of the US Navy. That’s when I started to get serious about upping my game for a new rig. I was leaning heavily on finding a fairly recent E350-based ambulance. I figured I had the time, and most of the skills necessary to gut and build out the rig interior, after which I was going to take it to Quadvan for a 4x4 conversion. That's primarily why I at least occasionally stayed in the background on this forum. My life took a dramatic turn at that point though. My wife experienced an emergency medical event in early 2023 and didn’t make it. The following six months especially were pretty rough as I had to relearn how to cook for me and my then 17 year old son, I had to figure out the household finances (passwords not written down anywhere for accounts), and basically just trying to keep my head above water.
With everything that’s happened in the past few years, I knew I wasn’t going to find the time necessary to do a rig conversion, so I decided on a different path. Last year I placed an order for a new 2024 F350 Tremor, and decided on a slide-in camper that I really liked. I placed my order, and put my 2001 Excursion and SoCal Teardrop on the market. The market certainly has cooled a lot since 2020-2021, but both eventually sold, though for less than I hoped. I also decided to go with a camper bed to replace the factory pickup bed, primarily to gain a lot of storage that I wouldn’t have otherwise, and a great place to store dirty or wet gear. I originally wasn’t going to go that route, but I also realized that just sitting on my retirement savings was not going to bring my the joy of exploring and traveling.
So the camper bed company (Bowen) has a 6 month backlog, so while my F350 was delivered in June of last year, the camper bed wasn’t ready until last week. So I traveled up to the Denver area last week while they installed the camper bed and the camper itself. Kind of boring to wait around a hotel for a week while it was all done, but I did squeeze in a dinner at Casa Bonita (in case any of you are South Park fans).
I won’t to go too deep on a non-van here, but here are some quick details on my setup, and a few pics. This forum still is the best forum I’ve ever been part of, and it’s because of all of you.
Herb
2024 F350 Tremor 4x4 crewcab
* 7.3L Godzilla gas engine
* F/R electronic lockers (4.3 gears)
* 35” tires
* 360 degree camera
* 410A alternator
* Warn 12K winch
* Upfitter switches
I also had a 58 gallon TransferFlow gas tank installed (stock tank is only 36 gallons)
2025 SuperTramp Flagship LT
* 4 linear actuator for raising the roof (10 second lift time)
* 23 Zero Peregrine 180 Awning
* 400aH BattleBorn LiFePO4 batteries (heated)
* Victron 50 AMP DC/DC Charger (from truck)
* Victron SmartSolar charge controllers, MPPT 100/20 for rooftop solar, and MPPT 100/20 for ground solar
* Victron Shore power charger
* 330W rooftop solar
* Dometic rooftop AC
* Maxair rooftop fan
* 65L Isotherm fridge (I do wish this was larger, but no option for a larger fridge)
* 24 gallons of water
* Guzzle H2O Water Filtration with UV sanitizer
* Inside shower
* Truma Combi Eco Plus for furnace and hot water (propane or shore power)
* 22#’s of propane (two 11# bottles)
* Wrappon dry flush toilet
I drove home over the weekend, and used a Harvest Host membership to spend the night in a brewery parking lot just to break things up. Now I need to figure out how to organize everything I want (need) in the camper. Each setup is different, and it takes a while to figure out what fits, and what goes where. FWIW, I will be at Overland Expo in Flagstaff in May if anyone want to meet up and say Hello.
