coastalcop
Active member
I bought this rig a few months ago, and have enjoyed the refit immensely, however the XO says that it isn’t to her taste and in the interest of domestic tranquility ( and the fact that she didn’t bat an eye at my f250 purchase) it has to go.
Bulletproof 5.3 LS engine ( a tune and a low range/rise cam will wake these things up without a real effect on reliability)
LSD rear end
Man shift 4wd with auto trans
No Rust
Everything in the truck including the AC works (great thing to have down on the third coast)
Already has popup on the back that is fairly well built based on reading tool bed and aluminum popup build.
Engine totally caged and front suspension tied to the cage.
Truck interior marine vinyl is tough stuff
Reinforced rear suspension with additional springs and airbags
Tire carrier acts a porch and secures the camper when parked (at least the rear door) in a lot somewhere (is soft drop with struts and can be locked)
Without engine mods will tow the jeep/boat/trailer with dual sports at 80-85 and the temp /AC stays cool.
20 gal of water onboard with both manual and electric pump for sink
dual battery setup for camper (deep cycle sealed) and solar array w controller
Popped up, I can stand inside at 6'2"
Stuff I would do in the future
Winch Works 10K warn but cable was frayed in several places so removed for safety pending new cable.
roof will need resealing before too long
row of led spots on the front pulled enough current to melt the small relay they were wired to (have to pull and check current draw or if there is a wiring issue)
Finish the interior to cover the foam insulation.
The Ugly: Bedliner paint applied haphazardly and without a teardown to apply (you look close you can see areas the original white is peaking through)
A few dings and dents of a life well spent so far.
Stuff Ive already Done:
Tires went from 35" M/T to 33" Pathfinder A/T (quieter on the road and gained a little power back) x4 tires and spare
Changed all coil packs wires plugs (preventative, it ran fine before)
changed all fluids (again preventative) and fixed rear diff leak
Replaced the two deep cycle batteries and rewired with CB and Anderson plugs
Replaced solar controller with newer 30a mppt type (renology)
pulled the old solar panels off and replaced with 100w flex renology
reduced pull out drawers in reading bed ( those drawers saved me probably 75-100 lbs of steel all told)
Added battery doctor to charge camper batteries from engine battery (with cutoff)
Diablo tuner to correct speedo for tire size and tunes with 87/91/93 octane.
I did not get the cam changed so the spares I bought for preventative maint not installed to include:
Radiator, with thermostat , hoses, and belts
Harmonic balancer
Spare u-joints included (current ones in great shape)
Im looking at this as an opportunity to learn prior to starting anew on the f-250 so while taking a loss overall (the tires alone were over 1300 with replacement certs) I learned a ton.
So you can get a complete setup WITH the truck that you could use right now, or finish up the trim for less than most campers alone.
Im sure Im missing something (probably several things) so ask questions if you have them.
Bulletproof 5.3 LS engine ( a tune and a low range/rise cam will wake these things up without a real effect on reliability)
LSD rear end
Man shift 4wd with auto trans
No Rust
Everything in the truck including the AC works (great thing to have down on the third coast)
Already has popup on the back that is fairly well built based on reading tool bed and aluminum popup build.
Engine totally caged and front suspension tied to the cage.
Truck interior marine vinyl is tough stuff
Reinforced rear suspension with additional springs and airbags
Tire carrier acts a porch and secures the camper when parked (at least the rear door) in a lot somewhere (is soft drop with struts and can be locked)
Without engine mods will tow the jeep/boat/trailer with dual sports at 80-85 and the temp /AC stays cool.
20 gal of water onboard with both manual and electric pump for sink
dual battery setup for camper (deep cycle sealed) and solar array w controller
Popped up, I can stand inside at 6'2"
Stuff I would do in the future
Winch Works 10K warn but cable was frayed in several places so removed for safety pending new cable.
roof will need resealing before too long
row of led spots on the front pulled enough current to melt the small relay they were wired to (have to pull and check current draw or if there is a wiring issue)
Finish the interior to cover the foam insulation.
The Ugly: Bedliner paint applied haphazardly and without a teardown to apply (you look close you can see areas the original white is peaking through)
A few dings and dents of a life well spent so far.
Stuff Ive already Done:
Tires went from 35" M/T to 33" Pathfinder A/T (quieter on the road and gained a little power back) x4 tires and spare
Changed all coil packs wires plugs (preventative, it ran fine before)
changed all fluids (again preventative) and fixed rear diff leak
Replaced the two deep cycle batteries and rewired with CB and Anderson plugs
Replaced solar controller with newer 30a mppt type (renology)
pulled the old solar panels off and replaced with 100w flex renology
reduced pull out drawers in reading bed ( those drawers saved me probably 75-100 lbs of steel all told)
Added battery doctor to charge camper batteries from engine battery (with cutoff)
Diablo tuner to correct speedo for tire size and tunes with 87/91/93 octane.
I did not get the cam changed so the spares I bought for preventative maint not installed to include:
Radiator, with thermostat , hoses, and belts
Harmonic balancer
Spare u-joints included (current ones in great shape)
Im looking at this as an opportunity to learn prior to starting anew on the f-250 so while taking a loss overall (the tires alone were over 1300 with replacement certs) I learned a ton.
So you can get a complete setup WITH the truck that you could use right now, or finish up the trim for less than most campers alone.
Im sure Im missing something (probably several things) so ask questions if you have them.
