@Adrifters - F550 Surf Camper Build - Adrift Motorhome

[altaboy]

Thanks SD2M. Wasn't goint to use it as a shell, but more for interior of SUV custom biuld w. pop top....just a conceptual dream at this point. looking to biuld super lilght.

Finding it difficult to locate non fiberglass (don't like working with it), non metal (ditto) premade affordable strong sandwich panels.

Keep on keeping on!

 

[HowardH]

Do you have any pics of the rear outdoor kitchen setup?

 

[S2DM]

Do you have any pics of the rear outdoor kitchen setup?

I'm in the midst of a redesign of the outdoor kitchen as we speak, so I'll post some pics once I get it back together. Had an issue with the lift mechanism I am working on trying to sort and going to shave off a little length as well.

Its a really great feature of the camper in general though. The time to set up camp is literally a few minutes. Raise the roof, lower the kitchen and pull it out, hook up the propane. When the redesign is finished the outdoor kitchen will have a marine 2 burner cooktop, a fairly large BBQ and a small waeco fridge. Our unit is tall enough that its nice to keep as many functions outside the camper as possible to limit the up and down the 5 steps.

 

[pappawheely]

Washboard is tough on shocks. Shocks use friction to damp the oscillations. Friction causes heat. The bigger shocks hold more fluid and have a greater surface area to dissipate that heat. You are paying more money for additional capacity and greater function. Hydraulic bumpstops make a huge difference!

 

[S2DM]

Washboard is tough on shocks. Shocks use friction to damp the oscillations. Friction causes heat. The bigger shocks hold more fluid and have a greater surface area to dissipate that heat. You are paying more money for additional capacity and greater function. Hydraulic bumpstops make a huge difference!

I thought the bump stops sounded like a great idea. I'm just wondering if an 16-19k lb ER uses 2.5" shocks, does my 15k rig really need 3". The other big difference is the air ride ER uses, and I'm not sure how that plays into this. My coils absorb a ton, but they also tend to get rocking back and forth and really want something to help stop them.

 

[pappawheely]

I thought the bump stops sounded like a great idea. I'm just wondering if an 16-19k lb ER uses 2.5" shocks, does my 15k rig really need 3". The other big difference is the air ride ER uses, and I'm not sure how that plays into this. My coils absorb a ton, but they also tend to get rocking back and forth and really want something to help stop them.

The springs are there to hold the weight. The shocks just control the motion. They do separate functions. Bigger shocks hold more fluid so they can handle more heat. Do you need a transmission cooler? Many vehicles don't have them. Their transmissions still work but they might fail in extreme conditions. It's the same with shocks.

 

[racer3822]

It's gas, so single tank.
On an unrelated note, but does anyone know if there are any rules about how much unleaded you can carry on Jerrys? I've been contemplating adding a second tank between the frame rails where the diesel midship tank would go and using a pump to fill the main tank from it. Nobody makes one for unleaded which got me wondering about legality.


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I think Aero tanks will build a custom tank for your application. I'm diesel but I don't think they differentiate. I had 2 custom tanks built for my rig, 1 midship to carry 25 gallons and the aft tank redone to carry 50. I dropped it off and a day later it was done. They use a small transfer pump that you run on a 20 minute timer to transfer the fuel between the tanks.

California doesn't mind the custom tank, but in jerry cans IDK.

Being gas I'm sure you can go even larger because you don't have DEF tank to deal with.

http://www.aerotanks.com/

 

[racer3822]

Wasn't all that happy with the quality on the fenders. One came pretty beat up, the fiberglass work was pretty light on both of them, and they used putty to join the seams instead of glassing them. Didnt look they used any woven mat or knytex at all, just chopped strand mat. Makes for a nice appearance and easy to work with, but not strong at all. Fortunately, the exterior finish was good, so I ground down the internal portion of the panel and added two layers of 1708 cloth and a layer of carbon. Couple pounds heavier but quite a bit stronger. Was pretty tough to get the fabric to fit the 3d shape, which probably explains why they didn't do it, but the end result I am happy with.

Just curious if you found any other fender options than the fiberglass ones. I went on Bushwacker's site and they don't seem to have a cut out one for the 2013. I like yours, but I was hoping to save myself some time and paint and just go plastic.

Earthroamer apparently has some, but another build I watched seemed to have a hard time getting them from earthroamer.

 

[S2DM]

Just curious if you found any other fender options than the fiberglass ones. I went on Bushwacker's site and they don't seem to have a cut out one for the 2013. I like yours, but I was hoping to save myself some time and paint and just go plastic.

Earthroamer apparently has some, but another build I watched seemed to have a hard time getting them from earthroamer.

I didn't see any other options when I was sourcing parts. I sent a few queries to Earthroamer on several topics and didn't get any replies. So I'm guessing they aren't all that willing to share information or supply parts unless you have some sort of 'in' with them.


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[tbared]

Here is my F550. I called Hanneman fiberglass outta California. They have a couple of option for flared fenders. The tires are Goodyear MVT 395s with zero lift but a leveling spacer up front.

 

[racer3822]

Dude those tires are massive! Thanks for the referral for the flared fenders.

 

[tbared]

Truth to be told if I could swapp them out for 44" Goodyears I would. But I get these so damn cheap I cannot pass up.

 

[bajajoaquin]

Brakes wise, no problem, even with the camper and water. To my mind, the biggest reason to step up from 250/350/2500/3500 is to be under capacity on brakes and axles. So many guys drive around in rigs substantially overweight, and then try to take the same rigs off road. The dynamic loads in those scenarios scare me, so I wanted to be well under capacity.
(snip)

(snip)

Currently, fully loaded, with spare tire, motorcycle, outdoor kitchen and 100 gallons of water, I'm a touch over 15,000lbs. I have a coil spring rear end conversion that allows 12" of travel. My weight distribution is a little uneven, 6000 in front, 9000 rear, though I'm working to address that by relocating the batteries to just in front of the rear axle instead of 3' behind it. I'm also shaving some weight from the rear lift and outdoor kitchen. My GVWR is 19500, so I am substantially under.

(snip)

I'm not sure what you're going for here. Did I read elsewhere that you're trying to achieve 50/50 weight distribution? If you're concerned about being under capacity, then you might not want to move your batteries forward. Your GAWR F/R looks to be about 6500/14700. This means you're climbing up to being at capacity on the front and significantly under capacity on the rear. Or, looked at it percentage-wise, you're 92% of capacity on the front axle and 61% rear.

 

[bajajoaquin]

The lever arm makes for an interesting dynamic load situation, that's for sure. But your truck was designed to carry 70% of its load on the rear axle. Is your suspension guru a race suspension guru, or a truck-carrying-a-load-within-spec guru? I'd be worried that putting your front axle permanently at capacity while having non-standard tires (and perhaps offsets?) would mean you are creating a situation that you were studiously trying to avoid.

 

[Amertek Rob]

Great build! I better get to work