I’ve been thinking about our camper and how we’ve camped in the past, how we are traveling now, and what I envision we want for the future. I’m not satisfied with what we are doing and I want to describe what we think would be ideal for our next rig.
We’ve camped out of the four door diesel truck with a Four Wheel Camper for over a decade now. The set-up has it’s pros and cons.
Pros
1. I like not having to pull a trailer to go camping
2. I like being able to pull a trailer when I want and still have the camper
3. I like the pop-up style camper for it’s low profile when mobile and stand-up room when popped up
4. I like the light weight. We are at about 1,000 Lbs. loaded
Cons
1. We tend to go exploring the area and setting up camp late in the day because our house is on our vehicle
2. Ours is shy on amenities… only a furnace and a couch
3. The truck is not capable of serious off-roading even though it is 4WD. It’s just too big, too heavy, and it’s meant to be a pavement pounder
So for this trip we decided to add the trailer and take the Jeep to knock some of the cons list down. We can now set up camp for days and take the Jeep out exploring. The trailer has a water tank, on-demand hot water heater, sink, shower, and composting toilet. All things to make the experience more comfortable… and we don’t like it. Not for long-term, anyway.
So here is what we’re thinking for the ultimate overlanding rig to right all the wrongs and make for some serious explorations. Ready? Here we go…
The choice for truck is a 2005-2007 Ford Super Duty, regular cab, long box. These years have the 3V V-10 and a Dana 60 front axle in the older Super Duty body style. These trucks are coil spring, straight axle front with a tighter turning radius than our current 2002. A F-250 or F-350 would be my first choice as long as it has the V-10 and the five-speed automatic transmission. I’d prefer an XL trim package so it has rubber mat flooring instead of carpet and crank windows. Cruise would be highly appreciated and AC is preferred but not necessary. Starting with a F-450 could be a possibility but it has to be converted to SRW (single rear wheel). Not too hard.
The truck’s suspension will remain stock with upgraded shocks. The camper, flatbed, and weight of camping equipment will be well within the truck’s GVW. I will not lift it to keep the height low and the front fenders will be cut to accommodate 37″ rubber. I intend to find a truck with low enough factory gearing to avoid the expense of regearing. The front bumper will be replaced with a Trailready bumper with a Warn winch and extra lights. An on-board air compressor will be added for airing up duties. This will replace my current CO2 tank primarily to eliminate CO2 fills.
The camper and outside storage is the key to the convenience of this build. We’ve looked a lot of campers on this trip and have decided that a FWC (Four Wheel Camper) Hawk model built for a flatbed is our best choice.
It would be fully loaded with kitchen, dinette, shower, and toilet. It is a pop-up camper like our current FWC Grandby model. The difference between the two models is that the Grandby is for a full size truck with a long bed and the Hawk is for a full size truck with a short bed. I know what you are thinking, why buy a short bed camper if I’m starting with a long bed truck. It’s all about the outside storage. Read on…
The flatbed models are, obviously, built to sit on a flatbed. This changes the configuration of the floor layout and allows for a side door and no loss of floor space due to the wheel wells and box sides like we have with our current slide in. This allows for much more creativity on outside accessible storage. By starting with a short bed model, we can set the camper back from the cab approx 18″. This space will be utilized for outside accessible storage on the driver’s side and an outside kitchen on the passenger side. The only difference between the two flatbed models is the size of the dinette which is situated in the rear behind the door. The Granby gets a large dinette that seats four comfortably. The Hawk only seats two which works for us.
The outside kitchen area will pull out of the storage area between the cab and camper on the passenger side. This is a custom design with a two burner stove, small prep table, and storage for seasonings, condiments, pans, plates, cutlery, etc. This will be under the full length awning. The driver side will be for outside accessible storage. This includes a generator, camp chairs, tool bags, extra fluids, hiking gear, firewood, tarps, etc. There will also be under bed tool boxes fore and aft of the rear tires to accommodate these things.
The back of the camper has a window for the dinette area and mounted below that will be one or two matching spare tires, three 5 gallon fuel cans, one 5 gallon water can, Hi-Lift jack, shovel, and axe. All this will be built off the flatbed.
We want this next rig to be capable off-road for explorations off the beaten path and allow us to find better boondocking spots. It is a trade-off from our current rig. The Jeep can get farther off-road than this truck camper will be able to but we can explore further each day and camp where ever we want without having to go back to camp.
It didn’t take us long to realize that the trailer full of stuff isn’t the way we like to travel. We can live with less stuff and want to go to more places that our current rig isn’t allowing us to go. Live and learn, it’s been a great experience and we still love being on the road, but we are looking forward to the next chapter.