First Alaskan-Flat bed side door entry-A dream

[AbleGuy]

Any problems with rain getting into the rig through that side door framing when you’re driving at highway speeds?

And any outside storage access doors?

Brilliant design at any rate, especially freeing up the back for extra exterior storage options (like an Aluminess gear box, second spare or bike/gas can rack).

 

[jrfromafar]

This might have already been mentioned - (if so please forgive) I just noticed Alaskan Camper is debuting a flatbed / side door model at Overland Expo in Flagstaff. I'd go just to see it - but have conflicting schedule (flying up to Anchorage for 10 days of fishing/kayaking/hiking!)

 

[Romero]

Yes Bryan is bring the second flatbed ever made by AK to the Overland Expo in Flagstaff. It will be a 8 1/2 ft long on his truck. Mine is 7 ft. His flatbed was made by Protech a great aluminum company for boxes and beds. I couldn't afford one so we made our own here with steel but it was still a light weight design with protech boxes. Their boxes are made well and seal well.

With regards to rain/water. I have not had any water get in while driving through rain and snow at highway speeds. What has occurred is bug splatter(as usual) on the outside of the cabover. When it is on the sides(see pics) and you raise it up to make the overhead bed it sticks and is on the inside when bed is made. I wipe off the bug splatter (easy) now that it is on the inside and all ok.

I choose to have as few as possible outside storage cutouts. So the camper is well insulated for cold or hot weather camping. We use a solar shower. There are 2 outside access doors with a little room in the fridge and propane bottle areas. I am going to build a bracket and bolt an outside tool box in the rear that will be removable. It can hold more stuff, extra fuel, water, folding stairs, inflatable kayaks, long items etc. If I had a longer truck the under bed tool boxes would be longer and hold the folding stairs. There is more than enuf storage for us with the camper and boxes under the flatbed to get all outside items in their place when we plan a long trip taking it all.

 

[YukonHunter]

Great Build! We love our 1971, 8ft CO Alaskan Camper but have been lusting over flatbed/ side entry options in a 6.5 ft box size for almost a year. Almost pulled the trigger on a FWC but now we know Alaskan can offer what we want. We loved working with Byran & his crew when we had some upgrades done to our camper a few years back & they helped us out with an issue we had during a 7 month Western US trip. This included overnighting parts to us & walking us through the repair process. I am looking forward to hearing how your camper holds up over time. Thanks for sharing & congrats on designing a beautiful camper.

BTW what did you use for a bump stop to pad the camper from sliding into the headache rack?

 

[Romero]

Thanks for the comments. We love the camper. I too, almost went for a Hawk FWC Flat bed, and after wanting more insulation, less condensation, the quiet when up in a storm and the measurement differences, weighing the campers, ETC, I am happy we built the AK camper and lucky Bryan was willing to give it a shot. I sold my 6.5 foot fleetside bed, which paid for most of the build of the 7 foot flat bed. The 7 foot x 7 foot camper center of gravity is perfect and the total length of our truck is not any longer than it was with the original bed and bumper.

We saw Bryan and crew at the Expo fun this past weekend in Flagstaff, they brought the 8.5 foot flat bed camper and the only difference in the layout is the back dinette seating is wider with 4' cushions versus 3 feet wide cushions. So you do get a wider second bed. Still happy about our turning radius and wheel base length of 142" for city parking and back roads fitting.

Yes we do have a bump stop for padding the camper from the metal. I put a front panel (no headache rack) on the flat bed and a 1x4 sits on the floor between camper and panel. Recommend some stop so no forward movement. The flat bed that AK built had a 2x4 piece of square metal tubing to bump stop the camper in front. I built a panel to use my truck to hold stuff if the camper happens to be off the truck. I have had the camper 8 months and so far so good.. all is fine. No screws loose yet...and we are having so much fun using it haven't taken it off the truck.

 

[Peneumbra2]

The side-door Alaskan they brought to Expo was really nice; I'm thinking about ordering one in 10-foot length (plus cabover bed) for my 4x4 flatbed.
They ARE a tad pricey, which is no surprise given the high quality build. I'm hoping that the vein of platinum that's supposed to be on our property is a long one...