97 Ford F 350 Camper/Adventure Build

[DesertDrifter]

Well after 6 years of lurking, I figured it was about time to start a build thread. I hope the following is a helpful addition to a forum that has been an great asset in the last seven or eight years since I started planning this project. I've made some progress on the build but will share things chronologically to layout the process.

The truck is constantly competing for time with the maintenance of three vintage motorcycles and an old Porsche (all not the most reliable of vehicles) and my full time job, so my progress/updates may be a bit scattered.

I'm by no means a professional fabricator so go easy on me. :sombrero: Thanks in advance for any advice/info you might be able to share, all greatly appreciated!

Alright here goes…

Details on the truck for the record (to be updated with progress):

Truck:
97 Ford F-350 Cab & Chassis
7.3L Powerstroke Diesel
4x4 Manual with a solid axle Dana 60 up front

Suspension:
Front:
Sky Off-road 92-97 F-350 Ford OBS Super Duty Leaf Spring Conversion Shackle Reversal
Bilstein 5100 Shocks
Ford V Code Springs

Rear:
Deaver Spring Custom 11 Leaf Pack Built to Spec
Bilstein 5100 Shocks

Wheels/Tires:
255/100 R16 Michelin XZL clone Yellowsea Tires
Ford 16 Inch Stock Steel 8 Lug Wheels

Other:
TBD

I landed on the F-350 for variety reasons
▪ Total budget for truck and camper of $35,000ish
▪ I still want to be able to do 85 on the freeway, yes, I know thats unsafe
▪ Reliable, relatively simple motor, trans and chassis
▪ Old school Ford OBS style
▪ 5,600 lbs of stock payload capacity

The current version of the always evolving plan is a removable summer/winter camper and a 11ft flatbed both of which will be designed to be somewhat easily swappable.

I'm also thinking of doing a removable mini sleeper/camper/extra-cab for the flatbed so I can seat a total of 4 or 5 people (and sleep two) while carrying 4 dirt bikes, but also want a configuration to be able to carry 6 bikes for larger moto trips without the sleeper. I'm also planning a setup for chasing off-road races down in Baja so towing and plenty of tie down configurations are a must.

On the camper side of things I'm considering doing an alaskan or going for broke and building a custom cabin from overseas composite panels and extrusions I've been sourcing for the last few years...anyway more to come there in future posts.

Here's the starting point for the build, a dually with a hydraulic dump bed and 115k miles.

The first 300 miles I drove the truck were through a intense snow storm in the pacific northwest which closed the 5 freeway...I was immediately impressed how well the truck did in the snow as I passed overturned semis and barreled down un-plowed roads...

Next up, removing that ugly dump bed...

 

[IdaSHO]

Looks like a great platform.

Questions though, how did you come to the stated 5700 lbs of payload capacity?

What is the max GVWR for this rig?

 

[DesertDrifter]

IdaSHO great question. Also, I believe you had a great flatbed build thread I looked through it a few years back.

Anyway, my second purchase after the Truck was the 1997 Ford Body Builders Layout Book which I would highly recommend. I was going from memory in my first post and the payload is actually 5,590 lbs and the GVWR is 11,000 lbs. The truck will have custom springs and will be converted to SRW which will reduce this capacity, but this info at least sets a starting point of what the frame will accept with stock suspension.

 

[IdaSHO]

As much as Id love to believe that the payload is that high, it is highly unlikely that is little more than marketing.

Payload is a simple matter of subtracting your curb weight (full tanks, no load) from our maximum GVWR.

Knowing that, I find it highly unlikely that the truck weighs just 5400lbs. (11,000GVWR - 5590lbs)


Only way to know for sure is to roll it across the scales.


All that said, it is a great platform. Simple, and tough as nails.

 

[DesertDrifter]

Tilt bed off...had to cut the rear of the frame to remove the rear pivot. That was fun.

Profile shot to start some mock ups...

Ran to Home Depot to pick up some drywall for a build project in our warehouse and got a bit of a sense of the payload of these springs...threw another 10 sheets of 5/8 4x12 drywall on after I snapped this photo for a total of 2,500 lbs and still didn't hit the overloads lol. It sure rode nicely though.

Unloaded, the truck rides like the axel is welded to the frame. As soon as the front is lifted I'll be headed down to Deaver Spring to have a custom leaf pack built. In the mean time painted up a pair of old 8 lug van wheels and converted the rear to SRW.

Speaking of lift, the front will get Sky Off-road's 92-97 F-350 Ford OBS Super Duty Leaf Spring Conversion Shackle Reversal. For whatever reason Ford put the shackle in the front on these trucks and they ride like garbage. The kit reverses the shackles and uses off the shelf SD springs.

 

[tgreening]

As much as Id love to believe that the payload is that high, it is highly unlikely that is little more than marketing.

Payload is a simple matter of subtracting your curb weight (full tanks, no load) from our maximum GVWR.

Knowing that, I find it highly unlikely that the truck weighs just 5400lbs. (11,000GVWR - 5590lbs)


Only way to know for sure is to roll it across the scales.


All that said, it is a great platform. Simple, and tough as nails.

The truck as pictured probably doesn't weight 5400, but I bet the truck minus that dump bed, is probably in the ball park. I would imagine that's how the factory calculated those numbers, a bare chassis cab, so in his case that bed becomes part of the payload.

 

[IdaSHO]

For sure he lost a good deal of weight with that bed and hardware.

But I still call BS on the sheet being accurate.

Afterall, it lists the same numbers regardless of engine.

FYI, the difference in engine weight alone, between a 351 (5.8) and a 7.3 Powerstroke is roughly 500#

Yet the payload numbers are the same.

 

[tgreening]

For sure he lost a good deal of weight with that bed and hardware.

But I still call BS on the sheet being accurate.

Afterall, it lists the same numbers regardless of engine.

FYI, the difference in engine weight alone, between a 351 (5.8) and a 7.3 Powerstroke is roughly 500#

Yet the payload numbers are the same.

I dont know that inaccurate is the word, illogical maybe. Who knows how they actually calculate the weight and what "matters" to the Ford engineers that determine them. Maybe the weight difference between the engines is made up by one's ability to haul load over the other. Maybe its not that at all and it's the overall frame/axle/brake package that's determining the limits. I dunno, and I lack the interest to really crunch any numbers. My old truck Ford rated the rear axle at 9,500#, but if you looked it up on the manufacturers web site they rated that same axle at 14.5K.

 

[pappawheely]

Unloaded, the truck rides like the axel is welded to the frame. As soon as the front is lifted I'll be headed down to Deaver Spring to have a custom leaf pack built. In the mean time painted up a pair of old 8 lug van wheels and converted the rear to SRW.

Speaking of lift, the front will get Sky Off-road's 92-97 F-350 Ford OBS Super Duty Leaf Spring Conversion Shackle Reversal. For whatever reason Ford put the shackle in the front on these trucks and they ride like garbage. The kit reverses the shackles and uses off the shelf SD springs.

I have that kit on my truck. Makes a world of difference. I used to hit my head on the roof anytime I hit a dip on the street. Now I can go at a moderate speed over desert terrain. I went with Atlas Leaf springs too.

 

[DesertDrifter]

pappawheely, nice OBS, agree its a great kit, looked at a few, and for the money I think its the best option.

Built out a temporary wood flatbed to keep the truck useful...

...Then ground and air chiseled 50, 1/2 in frame rivets to install the the front spring reversal/lift. Paired the lift with a set of Bilstein 5100s which should work for now. Solid customer service from the guys at Sky Offroad and great quality for the price.

I ended up with about 3.4-4 in of lift which is perfect imo for the 255/100 R16's. I'm a weirdo and like tall skinny forest service style tires, so I went with a set of Michelin XZL clone yellowsea's which net out to about a 36 inch diameter.

Not pictured, but Deaver Spring down in Santa Ana built me a custom HD 11 spring military wrapped pack to my weight spec, which I threw on (after torching off both seized front hanger bolts).

I painted the grill/bumper with plastidip and installed clear marker lights and here's how she turned out.

Time for a break and a little desert exploration on the XR...least their's plenty of room for bikes :costumed-smiley-007:costumed-smiley-007

Time for some more planning...now what could these be?

 

[DesertDrifter]

Fresh off a waterjet tucked away in the back of a pizza shop somewhere in downtown los angeles...

 

[DesertDrifter]

Swung by my friend Meyghan's shop and borrowed her welder to get the frame brackets going...

I'm going with the classic spring mounted design. I considered doing a 3pt or 4pt mount but honestly think its overkill for my application. I know this is a hot topic, but considering I have a relatively flexible leaf pack and a pretty stout (and cross-membered) cab and chassis frame I'm not expecting exponential amounts of frame flex. Also, I think I'll be spring mounting my camper to my flatbed so I'll gain some more flexibility there too.

Here's the brackets finished up...the small portions will weld to the flatbed cross tubes and the larger ones to the frame. I'll run grade 8 bolts through both with springs on the bottom.

From my research it seems like I'll want a spring rate somewhere in the 300-500 lb range. Any thoughts?

Here's some rough flatbed design images. I'm trying to keep the deck height as low as possible and shooting to have the top of the deck only 2.5in about the highest point of the frame which is requiring some forethought. I'm also planning on inlaying L-track and composite decking flush with the perimeter and main wishbone of the metal frame.

More flatbed design to come...

 

[pappawheely]

Anxious to see what spring rate you come up with. I am totally in the dark when it comes to ball-parking the rate. Nice welds, that was a lot of work.

 

[DesertDrifter]

Thanks pappawheely...lots more work to come. Keep you posted on spring rate, love to hear any one else's opinion on the matter.

A few rough flatbed renderings as I sort through design....

Still working out final design but the goal is to inlay L track all through the bed for tie downs and to attach a few add on components I have planned. For the decking ill be using hollow composite board from a residential application. overall the detail should look something like this...

Board detail.

Bout time to buy some steel...

 

[changingground]

Composite decking, like the piece you show, will "drape" or sag between spans if they're large enough- anything over 16". Make sure you have an adequate support structure if you don't want to be looking at it from the top of your deck.