Well, I hope this is were this thread belongs, I have been mulling over various camper and trailer conversion for, well,.... a few years. I have a pretty extensive backround in Outdoor Ed, worked for 4 years with an Outward Bound style Experiential Ed. program. We travelled all across the US, Canada, and to Mexico (to climb the volcanoes outside Mexico City, 5 times). I LOVE road trips, outdoor avdenture, even extreme winter camping (slept in my Subaru one time while ice climbiing in the Adirondacks at -28 degrees AIR TEMP). I have been to Peru, Vietnam (to adopt) and have a HUGE "bucket list". I am a furniture designer, sawyer, welder, fabricater, blacksmith, and generally out of the box thinker (there is actually not even a box in my world). I really dislike the pop ups with the fabric, and any cheezy "normal" style campers. No offense meant, just not for me. Army vet, so I know how well stuff is built.
So, fast forward to today, three kids 4-5-9, adventurous wife (biking,rafting, mountaineering, ice/rock climbing, etc..) I want to do some road trips with the familia, possible AlCan in a few years when the youngest is old enough to remember. We all love hiking, we had our youngest ones hiking every summer for the last few, things like Sencea Rocks overlook, 1 1/2 mile 1000' elevation gain, and last summer Pine Creek Gorge, 1 1/4 mile 1000' elevation.
My plan was to make a rig that can serve as a "base" to operate from, be easy to set up breakdown, keep us off the ground and out of the weather, nothing to "dry out" when you break camp. My plan is 1/2 hour to be rolling. I may also want to take my XT600 and bikes, boats. The truck is a 2003 F350 DRW 7.3 auto, CC/CC, it will have some effienceny mods. tuner, exhaust, trans cooler, AIS filter, and has 450 springs mounts, and 19.5" rims/tires (on next week), and eventually get a silver paint job to match the shelters. You may also see pics of my F550 4x4 log truck I custom built, I had a 2 wheel 7.3 550 with a detroit locker and 391's, I sold it for the gasser as it is mostly a local truck. I dont need an extreme off road vehical, just one for extended trips in remote areas as well as highway. The plan is for the kids to sleep in the trailer, and the wife and I in the truck shelter. The trailer will be on the same rim/tire combo, including bolt pattern, likely a torsion axle surge brake set up. I have played wit ha "retro/camper fit" of a M105A3 (A3 is a BIG difference from the A2), but I want HARDTOP. I was going to do an ambulance body trailer but it is built too heavy (for collisions) and so it will be used for something else. The 788's weigh a feathery 600 lbs as they are. My 350 bearly noticed a load EVEN with the 3200 lb trailer below them. Additionally the wind (the 788 on the truck is 12" than it would ride normally), and there is also a pic of a 105A2 I lowered and put on a whole new dump frame. The shelter on the 350 will be able to be easily removed once in a base camp, just need to find the "non cheezy" jacks). The shelters are some sort of non absorbant honeycomb material sandwiched to aluminum on both sides. Outside dimensions of shelters are 67" high, 84" wide and 102" long. The kitchen may be behind the shelter trailer on a frame extension (where the moto and bikes will reside also) in a "flip up" mobile phone booth that I am canabilizing (I will include a pic of a 8 booth unit, mine is half as long and is a 4 phone unit) So, there ya go.
Here is bad sketch. Also, I have a TON of material stock piled here from Aliner, they are not far away and have gotten a TON of scratch dent and COOL stuff from them, windows, fridge, stove, active and passive blowers, grills, steps, cushions, all sorts of stuff and by the way THEY MAKE THE BEST RV I HAVE EVER SEEN. I was very impressed. That is saying ALOT, nothing in the standard RV line impresses me.
Here is a pic of a custom duece bed (on my old 550), it is a drop side bed which is pretty rare, the sides were missiing, so I built those then a custom frame to be able to side load wood and furniture. The sides also were able to be made into a self supporting canopy. Also, my new 550 Gasser (ws blue, is now white also) and it's homemade LoPro log bed, it is designed to other beds sit on top. That is whats under the tan 788 below, I just threw it on there to see how it would look on the black 350.
the phone trailer pics may need to wait (only 10 pics allowed per post.
I am open to input from any and all.
So, fast forward to today, three kids 4-5-9, adventurous wife (biking,rafting, mountaineering, ice/rock climbing, etc..) I want to do some road trips with the familia, possible AlCan in a few years when the youngest is old enough to remember. We all love hiking, we had our youngest ones hiking every summer for the last few, things like Sencea Rocks overlook, 1 1/2 mile 1000' elevation gain, and last summer Pine Creek Gorge, 1 1/4 mile 1000' elevation.
My plan was to make a rig that can serve as a "base" to operate from, be easy to set up breakdown, keep us off the ground and out of the weather, nothing to "dry out" when you break camp. My plan is 1/2 hour to be rolling. I may also want to take my XT600 and bikes, boats. The truck is a 2003 F350 DRW 7.3 auto, CC/CC, it will have some effienceny mods. tuner, exhaust, trans cooler, AIS filter, and has 450 springs mounts, and 19.5" rims/tires (on next week), and eventually get a silver paint job to match the shelters. You may also see pics of my F550 4x4 log truck I custom built, I had a 2 wheel 7.3 550 with a detroit locker and 391's, I sold it for the gasser as it is mostly a local truck. I dont need an extreme off road vehical, just one for extended trips in remote areas as well as highway. The plan is for the kids to sleep in the trailer, and the wife and I in the truck shelter. The trailer will be on the same rim/tire combo, including bolt pattern, likely a torsion axle surge brake set up. I have played wit ha "retro/camper fit" of a M105A3 (A3 is a BIG difference from the A2), but I want HARDTOP. I was going to do an ambulance body trailer but it is built too heavy (for collisions) and so it will be used for something else. The 788's weigh a feathery 600 lbs as they are. My 350 bearly noticed a load EVEN with the 3200 lb trailer below them. Additionally the wind (the 788 on the truck is 12" than it would ride normally), and there is also a pic of a 105A2 I lowered and put on a whole new dump frame. The shelter on the 350 will be able to be easily removed once in a base camp, just need to find the "non cheezy" jacks). The shelters are some sort of non absorbant honeycomb material sandwiched to aluminum on both sides. Outside dimensions of shelters are 67" high, 84" wide and 102" long. The kitchen may be behind the shelter trailer on a frame extension (where the moto and bikes will reside also) in a "flip up" mobile phone booth that I am canabilizing (I will include a pic of a 8 booth unit, mine is half as long and is a 4 phone unit) So, there ya go.
Here is bad sketch. Also, I have a TON of material stock piled here from Aliner, they are not far away and have gotten a TON of scratch dent and COOL stuff from them, windows, fridge, stove, active and passive blowers, grills, steps, cushions, all sorts of stuff and by the way THEY MAKE THE BEST RV I HAVE EVER SEEN. I was very impressed. That is saying ALOT, nothing in the standard RV line impresses me.
Here is a pic of a custom duece bed (on my old 550), it is a drop side bed which is pretty rare, the sides were missiing, so I built those then a custom frame to be able to side load wood and furniture. The sides also were able to be made into a self supporting canopy. Also, my new 550 Gasser (ws blue, is now white also) and it's homemade LoPro log bed, it is designed to other beds sit on top. That is whats under the tan 788 below, I just threw it on there to see how it would look on the black 350.
the phone trailer pics may need to wait (only 10 pics allowed per post.
I am open to input from any and all.
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