10th Generation F-150 Overland build (The Craptor)

[OBS460]

Love this build! Been following along since September but haven't commented yet - thanks for doing such a detailed build thread on your truck, it's quite well thought out and well executed. I picked up a 4.6 '03 Supercab FX4 last fall which I daily, camp, and hunt with, so have been super interested in your various mods.

In all my research I haven't seen anyone else in the 10th gen f150 community put so much effort into getting more flex out of their largely stock suspension set up. Have you needed to put longer brake lines on yet?


Did you have to trim anything in the rear of the truck to gain that 2" travel or was that just from fitting the Fox shocks? Would love to get some extra travel by bolting up something longer.


I hope you post up your final configuration once your satisfied with how everything is running

My plan is to add 1" block to the rear, crank the T bars to bring the front up 1" to maintain rake, install some fox 2.0 or Bilstein shocks, and run 255/80/17 tires on the factory alloys. Then play around with my bump and steering stops to get better performance out of the setup.

Overall I'm quite happy with the setup, I haven't dropped the front diff down yet as I haven't ran in to any issues thus far. The additional travel I'm the rear was from the longer travel shocks, other than the blocks the rear is stock.

Brake line lengths are stock as well, I checked at full flex and they have plenty of slack.

The only thing I may change, is putting the OEM sway bar back on in the front. Without it, towing is a little more 'busy' keeping it in the lane with a side wind.

 

[ricoisme26]

The only thing I may change, is putting the OEM sway bar back on in the front. Without it, towing is a little more 'busy' keeping it in the lane with a side wind.

Ever consider a manual quick disconnect sway bar? Something I've briefly floated the idea of but I have not yet touched the factory suspension on my 2012 F150 so no need for me to follow through at this time.

Great stuff in this thread love seeing people use the vehicle they have and making it work (especially another F150)

 

[OBS460]

Ever consider a manual quick disconnect sway bar? Something I've briefly floated the idea of but I have not yet touched the factory suspension on my 2012 F150 so no need for me to follow through at this time.

Great stuff in this thread love seeing people use the vehicle they have and making it work (especially another F150)

I have, but usually the quick disconnects will rattle over time. The 10th gen uses a bolt and bushings as the end link, so it's easy to remove trail side so long as you keep the threads clean. With the impact in my kit, it takes about a minute to disconnect and zip tie the bar out of the way.

 

[dbhost]

The F150 crew gets larger by the month. I love it.

I'm trying to make it smaller, but diet and exercise only goes so fast with us old farts...

 

[dbhost]

So a few more questions for the O.P.

Is the panel the ac mounts in removable or do you leave it in full time?

Is your cap insulated?

Do you have any sort of awning on the rig?

There's a young guy on YouTube building an aluminum hi top cap that looks okay... joinery using alumiweld though...

An aluminum topper would save weight vs fiberglass... But the bigger problem there would be figuring out a way to not absolutely destroy the aerodynamics of the truck that way... I'm thinking roof top basket with a cargo basket, and air deflector to shove the air over the roof top cargo, and cap. Sort of like what Slim Potatohead did with his Jeep.

 

[OBS460]

So a few more questions for the O.P.

Is the panel the ac mounts in removable or do you leave it in full time?

Is your cap insulated?

Do you have any sort of awning on the rig?

There's a young guy on YouTube building an aluminum hi top cap that looks okay... joinery using alumiweld though...

An aluminum topper would save weight vs fiberglass... But the bigger problem there would be figuring out a way to not absolutely destroy the aerodynamics of the truck that way... I'm thinking roof top basket with a cargo basket, and air deflector to shove the air over the roof top cargo, and cap. Sort of like what Slim Potatohead did with his Jeep.

I made the panel removable and I can reinstall the door, I didn't want to make it a permanent addition.

I have not insulated it yet, but that is on the to do list. The frame is 1x1" square tubing, so the plan is to get 1" foam board and install it between the frame sections. From there I'll cover it with something that is mildew resistant and easy to clean.

I have the rear awning and it works well for when we are cooking. I'm toying with the idea of hinging the front of the roof and making it raise up 24" in the rear to give more head room. My biggest concern is sealing it up against rain.

 

[dbhost]

As no one truly likes a cold shower, my fiancée especially, we looked into options for a nice camping shower setup. Here it is in our testing phase, the pump has since been hooked up with a quick connect to the truck.

Obviously indoor space, or lack thereof, dictates that the setup will need to be outside of the rig. A Camplux propane water heater, pop up shower tent, 35psi water pump, and 7 gallon water jugs round out the setup.

Amazon has quite a few propane fed instant hot water heaters, and I have been very happy with this Camplux unit. At full flow (1.2gpm, according to my pump spec) it is routinely able to raise water temps 75F above ambient conditions.

Ever the one for consolidation, the camp shower also doubles as the faucet for our kitchen sink.

The next phase will involve installing a 21gal freshwater tank under the truck where the OEM muffler originally was installed. This location is ideal as its: well protected, low, and toward the rear of the truck to help improve weight distribution.

Same general idea, but I went quick with the Joolca Ensuite double instead of the springy singles. I guess I could have done a double but I didn't want to wrestle it. I think your Camplux is an older model than mine, I have the current 5L, great little heater...

My plan is to in use, hang the heater from the side of the truck / camper shell. I still need to figure out hte propane, but I too went with a steak saver for 1lb bottles...

I am giving some serious consideration to pulling the trigger on that little 1000w generator as well. Wondering about that Noco pass through. I am having some trouble finding it. Do you happen to have a link?

 

[OBS460]

Same general idea, but I went quick with the Joolca Ensuite double instead of the springy singles. I guess I could have done a double but I didn't want to wrestle it. I think your Camplux is an older model than mine, I have the current 5L, great little heater...

My plan is to in use, hang the heater from the side of the truck / camper shell. I still need to figure out hte propane, but I too went with a steak saver for 1lb bottles...

I am giving some serious consideration to pulling the trigger on that little 1000w generator as well. Wondering about that Noco pass through. I am having some trouble finding it. Do you happen to have a link?

So far the 1000w generator works great! Tractor supply usually has the best price on them.

Here's the link to the pass through.

 

[OBS460]

After the tire incident, I decided I would like to have another dirt bike when we go camping (it was a good selling point for me to convince the boss, you know how it goes).

So, I picked up a very low mileage 1986 XT350 and have began to build it up as a light duty ADV bike.




Here is it's thread!

XT350 lightweight adv

My latest adventure capable vehicle I added to my stable was this 1986 Yamaha XT350. After selling my plated WR400f, I was finding that I missed having a lighter bike to explore on. One night while browsing the good ol' FB marketplace, I came across the XT. With 2600 original miles, and a...

expeditionportal.com

 

[OBS460]

This past weekend we made it up to Silver Lakes to check out the Sand Dunes. This had been on my bucket list for some time, and it made for a very pleasant trip!



We went with some good friends of ours, and split a campsite at Holiday Camping about 10 miles south of the Dunes. The facilities were clean, and the campsites were nicely spaced apart.



Dinner varied from Burgers to Pork chops, with the F150's built in grill handling all of it with aplomb.



Once we broke camp in the morning, we headed out to the dunes to put the rigs and dirt bike through their paces. I was extremely pleased with the suspension performance, as we were able to climb all of the Dunes with zero issue.



If you've never been to Silver Lakes, I highly recommend it!

 

[dbhost]

This past weekend we made it up to Silver Lakes to check out the Sand Dunes. This had been on my bucket list for some time, and it made for a very pleasant trip!

View attachment 678113

We went with some good friends of ours, and split a campsite at Holiday Camping about 10 miles south of the Dunes. The facilities were clean, and the campsites were nicely spaced apart.

View attachment 678114

Dinner varied from Burgers to Pork chops, with the F150's built in grill handling all of it with aplomb.

View attachment 678115

Once we broke camp in the morning, we headed out to the dunes to put the rigs and dirt bike through their paces. I was extremely pleased with the suspension performance, as we were able to climb all of the Dunes with zero issue.



If you've never been to Silver Lakes, I highly recommend it!

Wow, great pics! I haven't watched the video yet...

I get a lot of guff from folks here for sticking with a CB and a 102" whip, but they are sure useful for communications, AND a mount point for a buggy whip flag!

Hoping to make progress on my build out soon...

 

[OBS460]

Wow, great pics! I haven't watched the video yet...

I get a lot of guff from folks here for sticking with a CB and a 102" whip, but they are sure useful for communications, AND a mount point for a buggy whip flag!

Hoping to make progress on my build out soon...

Thanks!

The drone video is pretty lackluster, it was having issues tracking me and I didn't have anyone to drive while I flew.

But, this is another type of terrain the truck has conquered in full camping mode! It even knocked down 15-16mpg at 70mph.

 

[dbhost]

Thanks!

The drone video is pretty lackluster, it was having issues tracking me and I didn't have anyone to drive while I flew.

But, this is another type of terrain the truck has conquered in full camping mode! It even knocked down 15-16mpg at 70mph.

Considering my sole drone flying experiences have involved trees, crashing, breaking, rebuilding and trying again, I would say your drone footage is WAY better than what I have managed thus far. Note to self, do NOT use return to me function when standing under a tree for shade!

Seriously though, does your drone have a "follow me" mode that keeps the drone moving toward, and aimed at the controller? Mine is an older, not super impressive Blade Chroma with a gimbal and I use an SJ4000 in it. Works fine for learning on, needs to be better with drone, camera, and operator before I go for the license and start using drone footage for commercial purposes...

 

[OBS460]

Considering my sole drone flying experiences have involved trees, crashing, breaking, rebuilding and trying again, I would say your drone footage is WAY better than what I have managed thus far. Note to self, do NOT use return to me function when standing under a tree for shade!

Seriously though, does your drone have a "follow me" mode that keeps the drone moving toward, and aimed at the controller? Mine is an older, not super impressive Blade Chroma with a gimbal and I use an SJ4000 in it. Works fine for learning on, needs to be better with drone, camera, and operator before I go for the license and start using drone footage for commercial purposes...

I'm using the DJI Air 2S and it does have active track that will follow a subject. The lack of side obstacle detection ended up causing it to fly into the dune at about 20mph. So far it seems to have survived.

 

[dbhost]

Back at my build thoughts and was hoping to pick your brain some more... I believe you were the guy that mentioned putting the house batteries under the truck bed on an F150. If that is right, how did you accomplish this and how is it working out for you? I seem to have a ton of available space on the drivers side after the rear axle for a battery box, but other than that... Exhaust and gas tank seem to take up most of the available space under the bed of the truck...

Oh, and I did end up with that little Sportsman generator. Honestly these things are WAY nicer than anyone makes them out to be, and they get talked up a lot... This would be perfect size for running a 5K BTU window unit, and a laptop to keep being able to work. Yes I sadly have to work while I travel...