F 450 flatbed camper build

[Capt Eddie]

It is not huge at all,now that I see what an expedition rig needs to carry. Alot of this heavy could be left at house if you are only traveling from Walmart to Walmart. I am planning a month long Honeymoon trip to Alaska. With a readymade family of three.

 

[Capt Eddie]

I have taken the truck to Skyjacker Offroad in Monroe Louisiana. I had two of the foreman checking out all the suspension under the truck. They found no problems lifting the rear as high as I want. The problem is the front end. All the steering linkage is far more massive then anything they use on F350 and F450PU.They said that none of thier replacement front coils are heavy enough to use on this truck. With the weight of 16K plus they thought I would crush them in 100 miles. Their coils are for 11K max. They did say I could use a coil spacer for a 2 inch lift and then use an extension for one of the crossbars. $400 for parts only. I would be able to use stock shocks. I guess it is back to the drawing board. If anyone wants 6 inches of lift the FABTECH looks like the way to go. They say there is no way to get 4 inches out of their kit.

 

[The Adam Blaster]

Any recent updates on this Capt?
Did you take that trip to Alaska yet?

 

[Capt Eddie]

We have not taken the trip to Alaska yet. We did go to the Overland Expo, Four corners, Mesa Verda, Grand Canyon, Old Mexico, Missouri again. The honey moon will be to the Overland Expo in April. We are getting married in Amado, AZ the day before the Expo. We did take all the grandkids to South Louisiana for crab season. The truck has been everything we had hoped it would be. So far no problems, that could not be fixed. On our first trip to Missouri we found out that I had kinked the tank vent hose and it took forever to fill one of the tanks with diesel.

 

[The Adam Blaster]

Glad to hear you are happy with the result!

 

[Every Miles A Memory]

This looks like a very capable rig to get you to Alaska and back

I cant wait to see it in person at the EXPO in April. Great place to spend the Honeymoon:victory:

 

[Capt Eddie]

A quick update. I did get married on April 15. And spent the honeymoon at the Expo. Before we left I did get a few things done to the truck before we left. I had a Spring shop install a 3 inch lift to the front and back as well as add an extra leaf to the back. Remember the truck is at the max load limit. And when I tow the boats that is another 900LB tongue weight. I installed 120 watt spot lights, for offraod night driving. They worked great driving at night on those long straight stretches out of AZ. I build a storage and bike rack for the back of the truck. It uses two receiver mounts. I was able to set it up high enough to still have good clearance , but low enough to be able to lower the tent bed with all the bikes on it. We have firured out that for us , a good idea is to put a good cooler stocked with water and ice on the rack while traveling. That way we are not having to go into the camper and fridge just for a drink of water. I was able to find a front skid plate for the truck and have it installed at the Expo. The company name was Asfir. They were the only company I have found that carries skid plates for the cab and chassis truck frames. The owner said that they make the the plates for the military truck. I will add pictures when the wife downloads them.

 

[Every Miles A Memory]

This thing was really impressive in person!!

Congratulations on the Marriage & Honeymoon

 

[sarconcepts]

could you tell us more about the skid plate company 'enfir'
I have the bullet 5500 cab & chassis & planned to custom make a front (& possibly rear) skid plate. You may be able to save me yet another custom design
(nothing came up in a google search)

http://bulletxv.wordpress.com

 

[1speed]

could you tell us more about the skid plate company 'enfir'
I have the bullet 5500 cab & chassis & planned to custom make a front (& possibly rear) skid plate. You may be able to save me yet another custom design
(nothing came up in a google search)

http://bulletxv.wordpress.com

I believe the company is actually Asfir. http://www.asfir.com/

 

[Capt Eddie]

One speed is correct. I lost his business card. They were really good to deal with. I was going to build the plates myself but the price was to good to pass up. It looks rock solid. True off road folks might not like how far it hangs down, It comes2 inches below the steering cross arm, and the same level as the pumpkin and the other front end parts. In short it actually protects the whole front end. Your clearance is still limited by the diff. But no stick or rock is going to damage anything.

 

[nctacoma]

Eddie,

This is a great looking truck and I really enjoyed reading the posts about the build-up.

Two questions for you, What size were the lower boxes? Are they 18" tall or 24" tall?

You are carrying 2 honda 2000's, do they fit in the 18" box, if that is the size that you went with?

I want to get some lower boxes for my flatbed to store my honda 2000 and a gas can, but wanted to make sure it would fit with the 18" box

Thanks

 

[Capt Eddie]

nctacoma; The lower boxes are 18". Yes the EU2000 fit in them great. Gas cans will fit in them also. Check out Buyers Products. I can have custom boxes built and drop shipped to you. No up pricing for custom boxes within reason.

 

[nctacoma]

Capt. Eddie,

I just sent you a PM

 

[Capt Eddie]

Year end test results. The motor has lived up to the reputation for being unreliable. First I had the issues with the tow/haul mote. But finally they figures out that you had to reprogramm the whole system, not just rely on the computer to reboot. It was really alot more complicated that what I am trying to discribe. But Ken at Jimmy Granger in Shreveport got it worked out after three 80 mile one way trips. Good thing, after that we went to Pikes Peak. Tow/Haul worked great.
Now we had an issue with loud roaring noise coming from the motor. It did it a couple of times coming back from Gonzales LA. All the gauges were OK. But we had a Light come on. "CLEAR WATER SEPARATER" 10 P.M. on a sunday night??? Nothing in the owners book about how to do it. I thought that is what was causing the roar. We get home and forget about it for a couple of days.
Now I get a call that my dad is in the hospital on a vent and will not be going back home. They live in Mayhill NM. No hotels, the hospital is another 2 hours away. We need to take the camper, that is one reason we have it. ??Motor issues?? I call the local dealer and he said bring it in. As I leave the drive way a gigantic puf of white smoke is pouring out of the exhaust of the truck.
I get the truck to the dealer and they say the problem was a radiator leak. They can get a new radiator and have me on the road to see my dad before they take him off the vent Saterday. I worked thursday till 7pm.. I pick up the truck and can bearly make it up the hill in town. NO TURBO. I take it home and find I have no compression/power. So here it is Friday night 8pm. I am supposed to load camper and leave for NM. The truck can not pull 16000 up the mountains in NM. Their house sits at 8900 feet. All uphill from LA. Their house is already full of relatives from CA and BFE. Maybe they can get the truck running before the Memorial service. Maybe he will live for days, weeks or months. Only God can determine that.