racer3822
Observer
So after a LONG time lurking and checking out other builds I decided to do one of my own. I have a Lance 992 camper that I have been using on the back of a 2006 F250 for the last 8 years or so. I've always wanted more storage space (even afterI built the aluminum box on top!) and after highly considering saving some money and doing a flatbed build like boblynch's (http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/23173-F550-Flatbed-Build), I decided to do a utility bed. It's more money but in the end I think will be what I'm looking for long term.
I just started it, but the bed will be the first to go on in about 6 weeks.
I find myself on highway 90% of the time, and 10% of the time off-road. The problem is when I do go offroad, its not just fire roads always. I enjoy bird hunting and have taken the camper off to go through some narly stuff, and leave the camper on when I'm on milder terrain. I have gotten stuck a few times. I travel alot during the winter months and often times go down snow covered back roads too. I wanted a rig that was capable the 10% of the time I'm offroad.
CURRENT VEHICLE:
The F250 truck was great when I was using it as a daily driver and a camper, but in the later mileage I've moved it to strictly RV use. It has 19.5 285 tires, redone spring pack in the rear, custom 1.5" sway bar added, rancho 9500xl adustable shocks, 50 gallon fuel tank among alot of other things. With all of that it handles really well, but there's still no substitute for a wider wheel base and I'm limited to add anymore weight by the weight rating of the axle too.
THE NEW TRUCK:
I found a used 2013 F450 Chassis cab with the bed removed that I purchased.
Truck upgrades I'm looking at:
1) Doubling fuel capacity with replacement rear tank and auxiliary front tank.
2) Adding front camera and expanding the ford Sync system with the Lock Pick.
3) Tire upgrade. This is where I have some decisions to make because on my F250 I am currently running Rickson 19.5" - 7.5" rims with 285 tires, they're about 35.5" tall. I really like the ride on the larger tires. No lift needed. I haven't made a decision yet. Currently the F450 has a 19.5" - 6" wide rims which won't take larger tires. They are 10 lug x 225mm and I can't find rims that are available to upgrade to with the dually.
4) Maybe a front bumper with winch.
5) Possible new leaf springs in the back or air bags. Will have to weigh it when I'm done with the bed.
6) On board air
7) 1.5" new rear sway bar
8) Front 2" slide hitch
The toughest decision I have right now is the tire upgrade.
Option 3a) DRW to SRW conversion with Rickson custom wheels and 285.
Pros: Can configure the tires to be in the same track line. Don't have to worry about rocks between dually. 2 less tires to purchase. The load capacity of to 265 19.5" tires will hold anything I will put on them.
Cons: No redundancy if there is a blow out on the road to be able to limp to a better place to fix the tire. Blow in rear around the corner without DRW means even more loss of control and considering camper center of gravity is high this is important. Disc brakes are more exposed to damage.
Option 3b) Upgrade my 6" 19.5" rims right now to 7.5" wide and put the 285 tires all the way around.
Pros: Redundancy on the rear dually. More float in sand.
Cons: Can't find an aluminum 19.5" rim that is 7.5" for the ford 10 lug! Only option I've found is to buy adapters.
Option 3c) Purchase MRT81's 41" tires and go DRW to SRW conversion.
Pros: Same as 3a, plus having a huge tire you can air down.
Cons: Same as 3a, 68 MPH speed limit, faster tire wear, more weight, possible less stopping distance, lift in the front required.
I'm having a hard time deciding what to do on the tires, any input is welcome. I've read so many threads on it already. I haven't made my mind up, although on a whim I purchased 4 more 285 tires from another member selling them for dirt cheap on this forum so if I wanted to add the 2 tires that decision doesn't cost anything more for the tires as I'd have them already. If I don't use them I can sell or give them to my brother as it looks like he's going to buy my F250.
Some of my sources for research:
Obviously Bob's thread where he already debated it: http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/23173-F550-Flatbed-Build
http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/15315-Earthroamer-new-tire-wheel-suspension
http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/12606-Earthroamer-Tires
http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/12380-SRW-Conversion-Questions
Here's the camper on the back just on blocks to get an idea of the dimensions.
THE BED:
I had a few different utility bed manufacturers to choose from, but in the end it came down between Douglass in Bakersfield, CA which is more local and Valley Truck in Washington which is quite a drive for me. In the end I went with Valley Truck as I really liked their aluminum construction and the owner Chad was really helpful in talking all my ideas over with me.
Here's a photo of another camper utility bed they did:
Bed Upgrades:
1) Custom drawers, still TBD. The front cabinet is getting a set and I'm trying to incorporate some in other places.
2) Rear winch. Usually when I get stuck I desire to go back where I came from. Ended up going with the superwinch 18k lb with synthetic line. https://www.summitracing.com/parts/SPW-1618201
3) Rear spare tire carrier very much like Bob's build, except off to the left of the camper door.
4) Inside compartment lighting.
5) Flip up goose neck just for a what if moment of towing another's trailer.
The base of the utility bed is mostly finished and the final details will be done when I drive the truck and camper up to Washington and leave it with him for a month. The distance has been a bit of a challenge but we've been using technology and 3d modeling to assist.
THE CAMPER:
I currently own a 992 camper that is very heavy having dual slides. I love it though and it gets alot of use. The slides enable me to live comfortably in it during the winter months were you may not be hanging outside as much. Unlike many, I do ALOT of winter camping. Maybe more so than summer. I enjoy the ski slopes and love to travel with the camper rather than staying in condos.
I'm open to suggestions to my build, I really need to figure out a solution for the tire upgrade right now, so any information I might have missed in my searches will be helpful. I really have enjoyed reading all the community here, so I'm happy to have this my first thread started to move from my lurker status, lol.
I just started it, but the bed will be the first to go on in about 6 weeks.
I find myself on highway 90% of the time, and 10% of the time off-road. The problem is when I do go offroad, its not just fire roads always. I enjoy bird hunting and have taken the camper off to go through some narly stuff, and leave the camper on when I'm on milder terrain. I have gotten stuck a few times. I travel alot during the winter months and often times go down snow covered back roads too. I wanted a rig that was capable the 10% of the time I'm offroad.
CURRENT VEHICLE:
The F250 truck was great when I was using it as a daily driver and a camper, but in the later mileage I've moved it to strictly RV use. It has 19.5 285 tires, redone spring pack in the rear, custom 1.5" sway bar added, rancho 9500xl adustable shocks, 50 gallon fuel tank among alot of other things. With all of that it handles really well, but there's still no substitute for a wider wheel base and I'm limited to add anymore weight by the weight rating of the axle too.
THE NEW TRUCK:
I found a used 2013 F450 Chassis cab with the bed removed that I purchased.
Truck upgrades I'm looking at:
1) Doubling fuel capacity with replacement rear tank and auxiliary front tank.
2) Adding front camera and expanding the ford Sync system with the Lock Pick.
3) Tire upgrade. This is where I have some decisions to make because on my F250 I am currently running Rickson 19.5" - 7.5" rims with 285 tires, they're about 35.5" tall. I really like the ride on the larger tires. No lift needed. I haven't made a decision yet. Currently the F450 has a 19.5" - 6" wide rims which won't take larger tires. They are 10 lug x 225mm and I can't find rims that are available to upgrade to with the dually.
4) Maybe a front bumper with winch.
5) Possible new leaf springs in the back or air bags. Will have to weigh it when I'm done with the bed.
6) On board air
7) 1.5" new rear sway bar
8) Front 2" slide hitch
The toughest decision I have right now is the tire upgrade.
Option 3a) DRW to SRW conversion with Rickson custom wheels and 285.
Pros: Can configure the tires to be in the same track line. Don't have to worry about rocks between dually. 2 less tires to purchase. The load capacity of to 265 19.5" tires will hold anything I will put on them.
Cons: No redundancy if there is a blow out on the road to be able to limp to a better place to fix the tire. Blow in rear around the corner without DRW means even more loss of control and considering camper center of gravity is high this is important. Disc brakes are more exposed to damage.
Option 3b) Upgrade my 6" 19.5" rims right now to 7.5" wide and put the 285 tires all the way around.
Pros: Redundancy on the rear dually. More float in sand.
Cons: Can't find an aluminum 19.5" rim that is 7.5" for the ford 10 lug! Only option I've found is to buy adapters.
Option 3c) Purchase MRT81's 41" tires and go DRW to SRW conversion.
Pros: Same as 3a, plus having a huge tire you can air down.
Cons: Same as 3a, 68 MPH speed limit, faster tire wear, more weight, possible less stopping distance, lift in the front required.
I'm having a hard time deciding what to do on the tires, any input is welcome. I've read so many threads on it already. I haven't made my mind up, although on a whim I purchased 4 more 285 tires from another member selling them for dirt cheap on this forum so if I wanted to add the 2 tires that decision doesn't cost anything more for the tires as I'd have them already. If I don't use them I can sell or give them to my brother as it looks like he's going to buy my F250.
Some of my sources for research:
Obviously Bob's thread where he already debated it: http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/23173-F550-Flatbed-Build
http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/15315-Earthroamer-new-tire-wheel-suspension
http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/12606-Earthroamer-Tires
http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/12380-SRW-Conversion-Questions
Here's the camper on the back just on blocks to get an idea of the dimensions.
THE BED:
I had a few different utility bed manufacturers to choose from, but in the end it came down between Douglass in Bakersfield, CA which is more local and Valley Truck in Washington which is quite a drive for me. In the end I went with Valley Truck as I really liked their aluminum construction and the owner Chad was really helpful in talking all my ideas over with me.
Here's a photo of another camper utility bed they did:
Bed Upgrades:
1) Custom drawers, still TBD. The front cabinet is getting a set and I'm trying to incorporate some in other places.
2) Rear winch. Usually when I get stuck I desire to go back where I came from. Ended up going with the superwinch 18k lb with synthetic line. https://www.summitracing.com/parts/SPW-1618201
3) Rear spare tire carrier very much like Bob's build, except off to the left of the camper door.
4) Inside compartment lighting.
5) Flip up goose neck just for a what if moment of towing another's trailer.
The base of the utility bed is mostly finished and the final details will be done when I drive the truck and camper up to Washington and leave it with him for a month. The distance has been a bit of a challenge but we've been using technology and 3d modeling to assist.
THE CAMPER:
I currently own a 992 camper that is very heavy having dual slides. I love it though and it gets alot of use. The slides enable me to live comfortably in it during the winter months were you may not be hanging outside as much. Unlike many, I do ALOT of winter camping. Maybe more so than summer. I enjoy the ski slopes and love to travel with the camper rather than staying in condos.
I'm open to suggestions to my build, I really need to figure out a solution for the tire upgrade right now, so any information I might have missed in my searches will be helpful. I really have enjoyed reading all the community here, so I'm happy to have this my first thread started to move from my lurker status, lol.
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