Drewnobi
Member
Background: After a number of years thinking about the best camping solution for our family of 5 (+ 2 large pups) and going through a few different setups, our solution seemed to land on a full size crew cab truck. We've camped out of a Honda Pilot (which this truck replaced) a minivan, and most recently, a small Ford Transit Connect van with a bed platform and roof top tent. There is my wife and I, we've been adventuring outdoors together for 20 years, in recreational and professional (as guides and outdoor educators) capacities and we have three kids, 13, 10, and 8, and 2 dogs, a standard poodle and medium size lab mix. We love dispersed camping, mountain biking, hiking, mild off-roading, and being away from the (growing) crowds. I've had full size trucks before but never a crew cab big enough for all the humans. The dogs will have their space in the camper shell. We live just a few miles away from Pike National Forest in Colorado.
The Truck:
2018 F150 XLT Super Crew, 5.5ft bed, 2.7L Ecoboost, 10 speed auto, 36 gallon tank, FX4 package, Ruby Red.
I think this is the best F150 configuration for this use case. MPG, range, capability (FX4 includes rear locker), payload are all great. I picked this one up with 33,000 miles. The only other competitor I really looked at was the Tundra, but in the end, price, ecoboost/MPG, factory locker and availability led me here:
Our backcountry camping set up (always in progress):
We have always camped out of ground tents. We bought an REI Base Camp 6 when my oldest was born, and still used it until this summer. I picked up a Tepui RTT a couple years ago for $100 from a wealthy college student whose Mom had bought it for her, and she just wanted to get rid of it. We've integrated that into a few of our set ups. Having smaller vehicles, if we want the doggos to come we have had to take two cars. The kids are old enough to sleep in their own tent, or vehicle at times. I built a chuck box a few years back that has served us well. I bought a Gazelle T4 Overland Edition midway through this past summer after realizing that sleeping in our little van + RTT wasn't cutting it. I realized that sleeping on the ground (on this) in a spacious tent that you can stand up in and don't have to climb a ladder is great. My girls love the RTT and they can have it. The Gazelle beats or matches the set up time of just about any roof top tent. We loved it so much we bought a second one for the kids. I can give them the tent, a duffle of sleeping bags/pads and they can set up on their own. Those of you who camp with kids understand the mental and temporal burden of packing, setting up, taking down, storing away gear for extra people. It's a disincentive to get out the door. Add an igloo cooler, an Alps Mountaineering Guide table, a 20 year old coleman 2 burner, some food totes, and that's our kit.
Our Van/RTT/Ground tent setup:
Van drawers + sleeping platform:
Double ground tent setup (I have a second Gazelle T4 to replace the traditional tent):
What we plan to do with the rig:
*see next post for camper shell
Opinions, values, and compromises that will guide this build:
Having had a long career where I have made money teaching people outdoor skills, I find the Overlanding trend a little odd. We used to just call it car camping. Now it seems like it's just car camping with maxtrax. I really appreciate the guys on the Overland Journal podcast and their perspective on this. "Overland" seems to be a marketing term with little real meaning. I certainly don't claim any authentic connection to the term, but I take my outdoor recreation seriously and thoughtfully and I don't like being sold bunkum. Why do I want a vehicle to go out and explore the wild public lands of the West? It fits my age and life stage. In our pre-kid days we would just strap on our backpacks and head out on foot, or load down our bikes and pedal on. A truck like this gets us and our family to the places we want to go, and provides that remote wildland experience for our kids. So I won't be looking for stuff that just looks cool and has no purpose, or takes away from the 90% of this trucks life that could be accomplished by a Corolla. I think I'm in the right place for that kind of thing.
I really need to fit this thing in the garage. As you can see, I have a very small few inches of height to spare, so that will limit me. I will mount a Yakima cargo box and wire basket when we head out.
I don't have a crap-ton of money to throw at this. My wife and I make decent money, but it can't all go to this truck. Lean and mean, run-what-ya-brung.
Why I'm posting here:
This may go without saying, but I'm looking for like-minded folks and helpful advice. I've lurked on many-a-forum and hope to now contribute. Youtube seems to be just for selling stuff, and Instagram is just for pretty pictures (NGL I will try to post pretty pictures to IG), Facebook is hot garbage. But I'm really just looking for a place to document the build and (MOSTLY) the adventures we have in it.
I'll update the next post with mods I've done so far. I think that's how this is supposed to work.
The Truck:
2018 F150 XLT Super Crew, 5.5ft bed, 2.7L Ecoboost, 10 speed auto, 36 gallon tank, FX4 package, Ruby Red.
I think this is the best F150 configuration for this use case. MPG, range, capability (FX4 includes rear locker), payload are all great. I picked this one up with 33,000 miles. The only other competitor I really looked at was the Tundra, but in the end, price, ecoboost/MPG, factory locker and availability led me here:
Our backcountry camping set up (always in progress):
We have always camped out of ground tents. We bought an REI Base Camp 6 when my oldest was born, and still used it until this summer. I picked up a Tepui RTT a couple years ago for $100 from a wealthy college student whose Mom had bought it for her, and she just wanted to get rid of it. We've integrated that into a few of our set ups. Having smaller vehicles, if we want the doggos to come we have had to take two cars. The kids are old enough to sleep in their own tent, or vehicle at times. I built a chuck box a few years back that has served us well. I bought a Gazelle T4 Overland Edition midway through this past summer after realizing that sleeping in our little van + RTT wasn't cutting it. I realized that sleeping on the ground (on this) in a spacious tent that you can stand up in and don't have to climb a ladder is great. My girls love the RTT and they can have it. The Gazelle beats or matches the set up time of just about any roof top tent. We loved it so much we bought a second one for the kids. I can give them the tent, a duffle of sleeping bags/pads and they can set up on their own. Those of you who camp with kids understand the mental and temporal burden of packing, setting up, taking down, storing away gear for extra people. It's a disincentive to get out the door. Add an igloo cooler, an Alps Mountaineering Guide table, a 20 year old coleman 2 burner, some food totes, and that's our kit.
Our Van/RTT/Ground tent setup:
Van drawers + sleeping platform:
Double ground tent setup (I have a second Gazelle T4 to replace the traditional tent):
What we plan to do with the rig:
- Drive it around town
- Drive it on road trips
- Go to Home Depot and put stuff in the back (aka Truck Stuff)
- Take it on Camping/MTB trips
- Do mild off-road trails in Colorado and the West
- Take it on off road trails and then camp out for like, 2 weeks. (aka Overlanding)
- Sleep in the back (just the wife and I, when the kids are with PePaw)
- Park it in the garage ?:
*see next post for camper shellOpinions, values, and compromises that will guide this build:
Having had a long career where I have made money teaching people outdoor skills, I find the Overlanding trend a little odd. We used to just call it car camping. Now it seems like it's just car camping with maxtrax. I really appreciate the guys on the Overland Journal podcast and their perspective on this. "Overland" seems to be a marketing term with little real meaning. I certainly don't claim any authentic connection to the term, but I take my outdoor recreation seriously and thoughtfully and I don't like being sold bunkum. Why do I want a vehicle to go out and explore the wild public lands of the West? It fits my age and life stage. In our pre-kid days we would just strap on our backpacks and head out on foot, or load down our bikes and pedal on. A truck like this gets us and our family to the places we want to go, and provides that remote wildland experience for our kids. So I won't be looking for stuff that just looks cool and has no purpose, or takes away from the 90% of this trucks life that could be accomplished by a Corolla. I think I'm in the right place for that kind of thing.
I really need to fit this thing in the garage. As you can see, I have a very small few inches of height to spare, so that will limit me. I will mount a Yakima cargo box and wire basket when we head out.
I don't have a crap-ton of money to throw at this. My wife and I make decent money, but it can't all go to this truck. Lean and mean, run-what-ya-brung.
Why I'm posting here:
This may go without saying, but I'm looking for like-minded folks and helpful advice. I've lurked on many-a-forum and hope to now contribute. Youtube seems to be just for selling stuff, and Instagram is just for pretty pictures (NGL I will try to post pretty pictures to IG), Facebook is hot garbage. But I'm really just looking for a place to document the build and (MOSTLY) the adventures we have in it.
I'll update the next post with mods I've done so far. I think that's how this is supposed to work.
