mk216v
Der Chef der Fahrzeuge
I've been meaning to sit down and start my build thread for almost a year now. No time like the present, eh? 
BACKSTORY FROM CHASSIS-CAB TO P/U;
This current build (crew cab 6.75' bed pickup, ie CCSB) is an evolution from the first iteration, which ended up in that truck (the chassis cab) being sold. Read about it here; https://expeditionportal.com/forum/...perfect-roundtheworld-overlander-sold.221185/
The gist of the backstory is that I was at a point in my life where I really wanted to build my "ultimate" round-the-world overlanding truck, even if I wasn't going to ship it round-the-world for some time. It'd have to follow K.I.S.S. principles, which meant no turbo diesel, and no first year of a new engine/trans combo (ie Godzilla 7.3L/10spd). It'd have to be comfortable going 70mph towards a destination, but also then be able to tackle some moderate trails (ie not rock crawling on Fordyce Trail), so it'd be as short wheelbase/lengthwise/heightwise as possible, and narrow as could be (unlike the F450 ambo's I previously looked hard at converting for a long time due to lower entry cost). I wanted a pass-thru for convenience and security, 4 season cabin. I was headed towards a Boxmanufaktur cabin(probably lifting roof), but then came some further challenges I should have done more due diligence about; custom torsion-free subframe (3pt or 4pt?, which specialist to build it), finalizing one of the 30 interior designs I've been working on for ~10 years with @mhiscox, then who to trust to build the interior out of lightweight materials--all industry friends were already busy with their own line-up of projects. It doesn't help being perfectionistic; analysis paralysis.
So I pulled back and looked at other cabin options; poptop campers (we got very close to ordering a FWC Hawk flatbed, but I always had concerns about condensation from the construction), aluminum/composite toppers (some similar condensation concerns, and then what to put underneath the topper since I had no truck bed--custom cargo boxes? And then what to do about a lower door mating to the topper's liftgate, and how to retain cabin climate when those are opened?). But the tipping point was how to handle our kids (2 furry 60-75lb pups) if we weren't going to have a pass-thru cabin? Where were we going to keep them where they could be climatized (in hotter or cooler weather), and how to make that happen? I got frustrated with it all, sold the chassis cab truck to re-group.
The easier solution was to dial everything back, go less custom. It meant I wasn't going to tick all of my boxes, but I still tried to get damn close.
Straightforward solution was a crew cab pickup, and short bed (CCSB). Stay with the simpler 6.2L petrol V8 with the 6R140 TorqShift 6spd automatic.
Then figure out what to do on the rear; keep the pickup bed and find a higher quality composite slide-in poptop camper with more insulation upstairs? Big downside we saw was the narrower hallway, and loss of storage space from having a slide-in. We could resolve that with an aluminum flatbed and storage boxes on the side, like JonBurtt GrampCamp and others. Or retain the aluminum flatbed idea and find a higher quality composite flatbed poptop camper with more insulation upstairs? OEV's CampHBE was looking good, but like an FWC, it was pretty light on interior storage. Now we don't take a ton of stuff for 2 adults and 2 furry kids, but we still have accumulated over 15years of select overland "stuff" to make our trips comfortable and enjoyable; stuff which we'd like to permanently store in the rig so that when we want to take an impromptu weekend trip, we only have to load food/drinks, dog food, few select clothing items, and hit the road (It should be noted this rig isn't a daily driver, and we're not currently working remotely).
CAMPER
What did we choose(as if you didn't already know by the subject line of this build thread)? Well, since we had an AT Overland Atlas topper on order for the chassis cab, we were informed about a new product that was going to hit the market, before it was to hit the market...their new AT AterraXL flatbed composite camper;
It met most all of our requirements (only one being no cab-cabin pass-thru); composite for less weight and less thermal transfer/condensation, 4seasonability, standing height in some way (I'm 6'), a whole lot more storage than other offerings(including the Nat'l Luna 90L fridge/freezer--our NL 50L has been a rock star thus far), high quality construction and components, light/bright, composite windows with bug screens and blackout shades, fixed bed (can be used as a daybed while the other is in the dinette)--actually this bed slides out to provide more headroom and also unlock more storage, small galley kitchen, interior potti and a shower (interior and exterior) as a bonus, and it looks damn cool too thanks to the pagoda-style roof. So, we pointed our ATO Atlas order towards the new AterraXL (thanks Brent at Oregon Adventure Trucks!). Got in early enough to be production camper #001.
NEW TRUCK
Then we quickly found a truck; was putting a deposit on a slightly used Stone Gray F350 when I found out that the camper couldn't be color matched to the truck. Damn, I really wanted something more unique than a white rig, something ala Earthroamer-esque. The camper was initially destined to only be offered in a medium gray due to the polyurea coating, and that wouldn't look great on Stone Gray. So I found another F350 in white, thinking that I could do something with vinyl graphics to blend the white truck, a black flatbed/accessories, and a gray camper. So we went with a 1owner 2019 F350 Lariat in Oxford White over Black, 6R140 6spd, 3.73s/E-locker rear, ExtraExtra HD 240A alternator, HD battery, Upfitter switches, clearance lights and other options I was searching for, 28k on the clock. Some nerd data; 159.8"WB, 250"OAL, 6336-6738lbs(*Ford discrepancy) base curb weight, 10,900lbs GVWR, 4090lbs payload, 12,300lbs max loaded trailer weight, 19,500lbs max GCWR. (NOTE; the AterraXL now comes standard in RAM's PW7 white, or can now be color matched for extra $ as they found a new way to paint the polyurea. Damn, oh well, too late now for Stone Gray truck/camper).
HEADLIGHTS
First item to upgrade on the truck were the crappy halogen lights. Went with TheRetrofitSource XB LED assemblies; impressive cutoff pattern, although the lenses look a bit more "jewel'y" than I'd like overall (if I had a 2020+, I'd have gone with the factory Tremor headlights). Also, at the same time a friend helped me exchange the chrome front grille (all Lariat's come with the Chrome package, ick. I'll get rid of all of the chrome) with a new factory textured black XL grille. Also installed the Tuffy center console safe, WeatherTech Floorliner HP front mats, and Husky 2nd row mat (for trucks without the under-rear seat storage, which I removed).
FLATBED
I re-contacted my guy Aaron at Highway Products Inc. in southern Oregon (thx to @RAM5500 CAMPERTHING for feedback on their build quality), to change up the aluminum flatbed we had been designing for the chassis cab. With the known dimensions of the camper; we could put the spare/storage box between truck and camper like ATO did on their RAM (if HPI did a frame extension--which I wasn't keen on due to length, nor adding to the Ford frame). Or we could put a full width crossframe/"tunnel" box between truck cab and camper and store the spare on a custom mount off the rear of the flatbed, or keep the spare in the factory location. I decided on the latter (will shave a 37" tire down to fit, thx to info from @montypower). Initially since there was no fuel tank upgrade from the petrol pickup's 34gal tank, I was planning on putting 4 of my 4gal black Rotopax fuel containers in the tunnel box (against the harsh criticism of RAM5500) to have 50gal of fuel capacity, so HPI designed 2 circular vents in the bottom/rear panel of the box. Fuel filler in a custom housing on the driver side of the tunnel box. Both doors to the cross frame box have shocks to keep them open, LED lights turn on when the doors are opened (boxes seal so damn well it feels like doors are suctioned shut). Lots of custom details to try to maximize storage including 8 strips of L-track and 4 removable shelves. 4 under-bed boxes in Gladiator dimpled finish, preserving departure angle (note; the camper will be permanently mounted to the flatbed, so the 4 under-bed boxes can only be installed/fully sealed after the camper is mounted). HPI designed/engineered/crafted the longest bed their engineers felt comfortable with. Small bullet LED clearance lights, rope hook tie downs and 2 small rear steps on the flatbed deck, factory Ford rear camera in custom HPI housing. All powdercoated in BK62 (Black Hammer finish)--this finish appears to have the best longevity. They also custom installed a set of BajaDesigns S1's into the rear apron to act as auxiliary backup lights (they're bright for such a tiny package!), wired into one of the Aux switches. Hugely impressed with their craftsmanship and service, and made in the USA!
BACKSTORY FROM CHASSIS-CAB TO P/U;
This current build (crew cab 6.75' bed pickup, ie CCSB) is an evolution from the first iteration, which ended up in that truck (the chassis cab) being sold. Read about it here; https://expeditionportal.com/forum/...perfect-roundtheworld-overlander-sold.221185/
The gist of the backstory is that I was at a point in my life where I really wanted to build my "ultimate" round-the-world overlanding truck, even if I wasn't going to ship it round-the-world for some time. It'd have to follow K.I.S.S. principles, which meant no turbo diesel, and no first year of a new engine/trans combo (ie Godzilla 7.3L/10spd). It'd have to be comfortable going 70mph towards a destination, but also then be able to tackle some moderate trails (ie not rock crawling on Fordyce Trail), so it'd be as short wheelbase/lengthwise/heightwise as possible, and narrow as could be (unlike the F450 ambo's I previously looked hard at converting for a long time due to lower entry cost). I wanted a pass-thru for convenience and security, 4 season cabin. I was headed towards a Boxmanufaktur cabin(probably lifting roof), but then came some further challenges I should have done more due diligence about; custom torsion-free subframe (3pt or 4pt?, which specialist to build it), finalizing one of the 30 interior designs I've been working on for ~10 years with @mhiscox, then who to trust to build the interior out of lightweight materials--all industry friends were already busy with their own line-up of projects. It doesn't help being perfectionistic; analysis paralysis.
So I pulled back and looked at other cabin options; poptop campers (we got very close to ordering a FWC Hawk flatbed, but I always had concerns about condensation from the construction), aluminum/composite toppers (some similar condensation concerns, and then what to put underneath the topper since I had no truck bed--custom cargo boxes? And then what to do about a lower door mating to the topper's liftgate, and how to retain cabin climate when those are opened?). But the tipping point was how to handle our kids (2 furry 60-75lb pups) if we weren't going to have a pass-thru cabin? Where were we going to keep them where they could be climatized (in hotter or cooler weather), and how to make that happen? I got frustrated with it all, sold the chassis cab truck to re-group.
The easier solution was to dial everything back, go less custom. It meant I wasn't going to tick all of my boxes, but I still tried to get damn close.
Straightforward solution was a crew cab pickup, and short bed (CCSB). Stay with the simpler 6.2L petrol V8 with the 6R140 TorqShift 6spd automatic.
Then figure out what to do on the rear; keep the pickup bed and find a higher quality composite slide-in poptop camper with more insulation upstairs? Big downside we saw was the narrower hallway, and loss of storage space from having a slide-in. We could resolve that with an aluminum flatbed and storage boxes on the side, like JonBurtt GrampCamp and others. Or retain the aluminum flatbed idea and find a higher quality composite flatbed poptop camper with more insulation upstairs? OEV's CampHBE was looking good, but like an FWC, it was pretty light on interior storage. Now we don't take a ton of stuff for 2 adults and 2 furry kids, but we still have accumulated over 15years of select overland "stuff" to make our trips comfortable and enjoyable; stuff which we'd like to permanently store in the rig so that when we want to take an impromptu weekend trip, we only have to load food/drinks, dog food, few select clothing items, and hit the road (It should be noted this rig isn't a daily driver, and we're not currently working remotely).
CAMPER
What did we choose(as if you didn't already know by the subject line of this build thread)? Well, since we had an AT Overland Atlas topper on order for the chassis cab, we were informed about a new product that was going to hit the market, before it was to hit the market...their new AT AterraXL flatbed composite camper;
It met most all of our requirements (only one being no cab-cabin pass-thru); composite for less weight and less thermal transfer/condensation, 4seasonability, standing height in some way (I'm 6'), a whole lot more storage than other offerings(including the Nat'l Luna 90L fridge/freezer--our NL 50L has been a rock star thus far), high quality construction and components, light/bright, composite windows with bug screens and blackout shades, fixed bed (can be used as a daybed while the other is in the dinette)--actually this bed slides out to provide more headroom and also unlock more storage, small galley kitchen, interior potti and a shower (interior and exterior) as a bonus, and it looks damn cool too thanks to the pagoda-style roof. So, we pointed our ATO Atlas order towards the new AterraXL (thanks Brent at Oregon Adventure Trucks!). Got in early enough to be production camper #001.
NEW TRUCK
Then we quickly found a truck; was putting a deposit on a slightly used Stone Gray F350 when I found out that the camper couldn't be color matched to the truck. Damn, I really wanted something more unique than a white rig, something ala Earthroamer-esque. The camper was initially destined to only be offered in a medium gray due to the polyurea coating, and that wouldn't look great on Stone Gray. So I found another F350 in white, thinking that I could do something with vinyl graphics to blend the white truck, a black flatbed/accessories, and a gray camper. So we went with a 1owner 2019 F350 Lariat in Oxford White over Black, 6R140 6spd, 3.73s/E-locker rear, ExtraExtra HD 240A alternator, HD battery, Upfitter switches, clearance lights and other options I was searching for, 28k on the clock. Some nerd data; 159.8"WB, 250"OAL, 6336-6738lbs(*Ford discrepancy) base curb weight, 10,900lbs GVWR, 4090lbs payload, 12,300lbs max loaded trailer weight, 19,500lbs max GCWR. (NOTE; the AterraXL now comes standard in RAM's PW7 white, or can now be color matched for extra $ as they found a new way to paint the polyurea. Damn, oh well, too late now for Stone Gray truck/camper).
HEADLIGHTS
First item to upgrade on the truck were the crappy halogen lights. Went with TheRetrofitSource XB LED assemblies; impressive cutoff pattern, although the lenses look a bit more "jewel'y" than I'd like overall (if I had a 2020+, I'd have gone with the factory Tremor headlights). Also, at the same time a friend helped me exchange the chrome front grille (all Lariat's come with the Chrome package, ick. I'll get rid of all of the chrome) with a new factory textured black XL grille. Also installed the Tuffy center console safe, WeatherTech Floorliner HP front mats, and Husky 2nd row mat (for trucks without the under-rear seat storage, which I removed).
FLATBED
I re-contacted my guy Aaron at Highway Products Inc. in southern Oregon (thx to @RAM5500 CAMPERTHING for feedback on their build quality), to change up the aluminum flatbed we had been designing for the chassis cab. With the known dimensions of the camper; we could put the spare/storage box between truck and camper like ATO did on their RAM (if HPI did a frame extension--which I wasn't keen on due to length, nor adding to the Ford frame). Or we could put a full width crossframe/"tunnel" box between truck cab and camper and store the spare on a custom mount off the rear of the flatbed, or keep the spare in the factory location. I decided on the latter (will shave a 37" tire down to fit, thx to info from @montypower). Initially since there was no fuel tank upgrade from the petrol pickup's 34gal tank, I was planning on putting 4 of my 4gal black Rotopax fuel containers in the tunnel box (against the harsh criticism of RAM5500) to have 50gal of fuel capacity, so HPI designed 2 circular vents in the bottom/rear panel of the box. Fuel filler in a custom housing on the driver side of the tunnel box. Both doors to the cross frame box have shocks to keep them open, LED lights turn on when the doors are opened (boxes seal so damn well it feels like doors are suctioned shut). Lots of custom details to try to maximize storage including 8 strips of L-track and 4 removable shelves. 4 under-bed boxes in Gladiator dimpled finish, preserving departure angle (note; the camper will be permanently mounted to the flatbed, so the 4 under-bed boxes can only be installed/fully sealed after the camper is mounted). HPI designed/engineered/crafted the longest bed their engineers felt comfortable with. Small bullet LED clearance lights, rope hook tie downs and 2 small rear steps on the flatbed deck, factory Ford rear camera in custom HPI housing. All powdercoated in BK62 (Black Hammer finish)--this finish appears to have the best longevity. They also custom installed a set of BajaDesigns S1's into the rear apron to act as auxiliary backup lights (they're bright for such a tiny package!), wired into one of the Aux switches. Hugely impressed with their craftsmanship and service, and made in the USA!
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