Romero
New member
I have been reading this site for a few years and love all the different opinions and ideas, gear info et al. I have finally have put together the rig for me. An Alaskan flat bed side door entry on a SRW flat bed F350. Only one of its kind so far.
I have camped out of a Granby, a Palomino and a shell. All were at one time on my extended cab Nissan Titan and it was fine even great. After 300k miles a newer rig was the plan with a new design. Landed with AK camper to fit my budget and time and no tools. Found a new/used 2016 F350 super cab SWR short bed with 9000 miles on it. A short wheel base and nice handling and fitting in and around the wilds. I decided on a 350 because I didn’t want to modify any thing for the weight.
I approached Bryan at Alaskan camper with my floorplan. He was willing to go for it. I wanted their workmanship and insulation of the hard side pop up for year round wandering. Bryan thought they could build a side door entry and we went to work fitting in the appliances.7’x7 feet cab over pop up. I installed the solar system to handle everything and be self sufficient for days parked even under the clouds.
It took awhile to figure out what I wanted in a rig. A bit of give and take on design. I am a retired wildand firefighter and have camped in the dirt with rocks as pillows many a time. Going from tents to truck shells to pop up campers is now luxury for me. Having a heater, fridge for some cold ones and a soft dry bed is a delight. When we want to be out under the stars just throw out the pads and bags and we have the storage to do it all. So comfortable. I have been on fires all over the US, Canada and Mexico, which fed the travel bug for over 30 years. Now I can go back to many of the places that are wild and not on fire. Even winter camping will happen. I have already experienced that the Alaskan is better insulated for the cold and keeping out the heat and quieter on windy nights. Being an AZ native I do like the western half of the continent for camping, but now that there is a house on my back anywhere is probable. Inuvik to Patagonia.
One thing that the AK doesn’t have is a screen door. I am getting ready to make one up for it. I bought a $2. Spring loaded rod at a hardware store and will sew a hanging screen. I am also thinking of rigging a toolbox to be on the rear of the flat bed to hold the steps for easy access (so they don’t have to be inside while driving) and other outdoor items.
I have camped out of a Granby, a Palomino and a shell. All were at one time on my extended cab Nissan Titan and it was fine even great. After 300k miles a newer rig was the plan with a new design. Landed with AK camper to fit my budget and time and no tools. Found a new/used 2016 F350 super cab SWR short bed with 9000 miles on it. A short wheel base and nice handling and fitting in and around the wilds. I decided on a 350 because I didn’t want to modify any thing for the weight.
I approached Bryan at Alaskan camper with my floorplan. He was willing to go for it. I wanted their workmanship and insulation of the hard side pop up for year round wandering. Bryan thought they could build a side door entry and we went to work fitting in the appliances.7’x7 feet cab over pop up. I installed the solar system to handle everything and be self sufficient for days parked even under the clouds.
It took awhile to figure out what I wanted in a rig. A bit of give and take on design. I am a retired wildand firefighter and have camped in the dirt with rocks as pillows many a time. Going from tents to truck shells to pop up campers is now luxury for me. Having a heater, fridge for some cold ones and a soft dry bed is a delight. When we want to be out under the stars just throw out the pads and bags and we have the storage to do it all. So comfortable. I have been on fires all over the US, Canada and Mexico, which fed the travel bug for over 30 years. Now I can go back to many of the places that are wild and not on fire. Even winter camping will happen. I have already experienced that the Alaskan is better insulated for the cold and keeping out the heat and quieter on windy nights. Being an AZ native I do like the western half of the continent for camping, but now that there is a house on my back anywhere is probable. Inuvik to Patagonia.
One thing that the AK doesn’t have is a screen door. I am getting ready to make one up for it. I bought a $2. Spring loaded rod at a hardware store and will sew a hanging screen. I am also thinking of rigging a toolbox to be on the rear of the flat bed to hold the steps for easy access (so they don’t have to be inside while driving) and other outdoor items.
