2005 F-450 4x4 Utility Body w/ Starcraft Pine Mountain Lonestar Pop-top Camper

[Bubblegoose1]

Interested in how you like those, and how the compare to the cheapie 9"!

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Will see how they do. The cheapie 9" LEDs are bright as F. But, the upper lights are coming down soon. Needed another set of lights in the bumper. I could remove the amber/fog covers from the 9", and add amber covers to the KCs as well. Options

Yep they are, but could use to be a bit more focused IMO

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True

 

[pnichols]

That blue cellular booster amp in the photo looks just like the one in my 2005 E450 24' Class C. I'm not sure the amp will work for 4G though - mine only seems to work for 3G and lower cellular. Bummer.

You're gonna love that V10 ... it purrs like a kitten when you want ... but punches you square in the back whenever you want to drop down in gears and floor it to convert horsepower into drive axle torque. I wonder what your rear diff ratio is? My E450 is 4:56, so it pulls our small Class C along real sweet on open road grades and also crawls along real nice for us off-highway. I especially like the rear duallies, as their combined width helps to float the rear on top of the ruts instead of down in them where suspension and drive mechanicals can bottom out.

FWIW, our built-in gas Onan is 4KW and our propane supply is about equal to three full 5 gal bottles filled (18 gal tank filled to 75-80%). What size fuel tank is in the F450? Our 2005 E450's tank is 55 gallons.

 

[Bubblegoose1]

That blue cellular booster amp in the photo looks just like the one in my 2005 E450 24' Class C. I'm not sure the amp will work for 4G though - mine only seems to work for 3G and lower cellular. Bummer.

You're gonna love that V10 ... it purrs like a kitten when you want ... but punches you square in the back whenever you want to drop down in gears and floor it to convert horsepower into drive axle torque. I wonder what your rear diff ratio is? My E450 is 4:56, so it pulls our small Class C along real sweet on open road grades and also crawls along real nice for us off-highway. I especially like the rear duallies, as their combined width helps to float the rear on top of the ruts instead of down in them where suspension and drive mechanicals can bottom out.

FWIW, our built-in gas Onan is 4KW and our propane supply is about equal to three full 5 gal bottles filled (18 gal tank filled to 75-80%). What size fuel tank is in the F450? Our 2005 E450's tank is 55 gallons.

The old cell booster doesn't power-up any longer. It is a 3g. I have a new weBoost Drive 4G-X to install. Should be by next week. I've run the non-truck version in my Jeep GC for a couple years now; very happy with it.

The V10 is a great motor. There is a reason they are used in so many shuttle buses and RVs. Good power, and she purrs down the hwy smooth and quietly. Only downside is 4.88 gearing, but not that big of a deal for a 12K lb rig that also flat-tows the Jeep. Average mid teens MPG, even when towing. 40 gallon fuel tank; considering an aux saddle tank as well but hasn't been an issue so far. Carry near 20 gallons of Rotopax fuel, plus another 12 gallons on the Jeep if it is along for the ride.

The Onan is plumbed into the truck's fuel tank. It will only feed the generator down to 1/4 tank, as to not fully deplete the truck's fuel source. We don't use the generator. I just run it every 30 days for 30-45 min, to keep it healthy. It is strictly for backup/emergency power. I am not a fan of generator noise while camped. Have enough house battery power and a Goal Zero 1400 with portable solar panels to power us for weeks without starting the truck.

 

[pnichols]

You can improve on that 4:88 gearing the same way I did with my E450 motorhome's 4:56 gearing - install larger diameter tires on it.

Larger diameter tires of course make overall gearing taller ... thus counter-acting the 4:88 ratio of your differential. Another big plus is that ground clearance is improved. I've used larger-than-stock tires on my 4X4 GMC pickup for years, and for around 3 years on our motorhome.

 

[Bubblegoose1]

You can improve on that 4:88 gearing the same way I did with my E450 motorhome's 4:56 gearing - install larger diameter tires on it.

Larger diameter tires of course make overall gearing taller ... thus counter-acting the 4:88 ratio of your differential. Another big plus is that ground clearance is improved. I've used larger-than-stock tires on my 4X4 GMC pickup for years, and for around 3 years on our motorhome.

Yeah, I'm aware of the diameter change advantage. Truck has new tires all around, due to very aged original tires. Only has 45K original miles. My concern is running the larger tire on such a narrow stock rim, then not being able to air them down at all. Sounds like a cost and project undertaking that is not worth the small advantage of a slightly larger tire. I would rather go all in with 40-42" super singles, since I am not a fan of 19.5 duals anyway.

 

[Bubblegoose1]

New cell signal booster installed. I had previously removed the rear false panel of the center console, to make room for the Goal Zero 1400 to sit in front of the rear seat. This made a perfect spot to mount the cell booster. I went with a Wide-Band Panel Antenna, to be able to boost signal into the camper and out to the campsite as well. Can easily swap to the regular in-cab antenna, if need be.

As soon as the booster was turned on, my signal jumped from 3 to 5 bars immediately, in a low signal area of our parking lot. This should work really well on the road and at camp.

 

[Bubblegoose1]

 

[Pacific Northwest yetti]

Let us know how you like it after some testing. I have an older 3G( it may be older than that) model hard wired into my truck and it past time for a upgrade. It has worked well, the only thing i had to modify was a reset switch. Mine is wired behind the seat in the crew cab and had no reset button. At times when I spent too much time in a dead zone, it would time out and quit looking for signal/boosting. Its wired through the fuse panel so only live when my ignition is on. I installed a spring loaded toggle on the dash and switched the terminals on the back so it was on, and when flipping " on" it would momentary kill the power to reset the unit.

Did you wire up to a switch, or constant hot?

 

[Bubblegoose1]

Let us know how you like it after some testing. I have an older 3G( it may be older than that) model hard wired into my truck and it past time for a upgrade. It has worked well, the only thing i had to modify was a reset switch. Mine is wired behind the seat in the crew cab and had no reset button. At times when I spent too much time in a dead zone, it would time out and quit looking for signal/boosting. Its wired through the fuse panel so only live when my ignition is on. I installed a spring loaded toggle on the dash and switched the terminals on the back so it was on, and when flipping " on" it would momentary kill the power to reset the unit.

Did you wire up to a switch, or constant hot?

I'll give an update, but I do run the same booster in my Jeep GC. It is my daily driver, and the booster has been used almost every day for going on two years. My signal is pegged, 5 bars 98% of the time. The only difference is larger truck antenna verses the smaller magnetic antenna on the Jeep. These are really good boosters. "Java" runs the same booster as well, with good results.

The weBoost 4G comes with a 12v cigarette lighter power connection, and has a built-in ON/OFF switch right on the plug. I will keep it this way, so that I can run the booster off the truck while driving and the Goal Zero while camped.

 

[Bubblegoose1]

Upgraded the antenna mount to a dual RAM suction cup mount. SOLID, and now very adjustable, to be able to turn upwards towards the camper or outwards towards the campsite. The antenna signal fires at 70 degrees from center.

Was using a cheap cell phone holder creation before. This is much better.

 

[Bubblegoose1]

A little bit of wheel choice A.D.D. going on. Removed the bulky axle covers she came with. Sold for $100 . Thought about going coverless, but the lug nuts are discolored and the areas around them show wear from lack of upkeep. Found this more subtle set of covers; happy.

 

[Bubblegoose1]

"Worked" from home today; mental break from work day. Finished some lighting updates.
• Anzo Projector Headlights W/Halo
• Finally wired the new KC pods
• Rewired upper/camper LEDs; had a bad relay.

 

[Bubblegoose1]

Great day for 5 to 6 hours of townhouse parking lot vehicle improvements. Finished off a few long overdue projects, on a holiday road travel weekend that I chose not to participate in.
• Cleaner-waxed and waterless wash & waxed the full truck and camper. Hadn't been done in, I believe 10+ years. There is nothing like warm white paint glow. The three wax applicators used were dark, dirty gray when I finished.
• Stepped up my preparedness game with Tuff Gear. Incredibly well planned and kitted products. Thank you Tyler!!
• Some added battery booster assistance if need be.
• Swapped the original tan Grizzly 40qt for this beauty, compliments of Kelderman.

In the words of Ice Cube, "Today was a good day".

 

[Bubblegoose1]

A little break from build progress, but took a nice 4 night camp trip up to Whistler BC; annual trip to hike the area and hang out in the Village some.

Basic, boring RV park pic, but proof the camper was on the hwy finally.

 

[Bubblegoose1]

After much debate and stalling, I decided to take the permanent solar power plunge. I have been using a Renogy 100w Portable Suitcase solar kit while camping, and two 35w solar trickle chargers while stored between trips or weekly drives to work and back. The portable setups will be sold.

I am not a fan of generator usage; annoying to us and everyone around us, and defeats the purpose of getting away from cities and noise. I have only used the 2800w Cummins-Onan onboard generator for 1 hr in 3 years, running it monthly at home to keep it healthy of needed.

It is time for a stout, permanent setup. Brown delivered this today - Renogy 400 Watt 12 Volt Solar Premium Kit. After unboxing everything and checking condition, I put together the panel frames. I am using the existing roof crossbars as mounting points; no drilling into the roof. 2 panels on each side of the AC unit. 8' Aluminum Angle will span the crossbars and be u-bolted. All aluminum material and hardware will be used.

Tomorrow I will mount the frames and solar panels to the crossbars, followed by wiring everything up this coming weekend and week. Panels will be wired in Series to the dual Odyssey PC1700s house batteries and PC1700 starter battery. Wish me luck