bcpnick
Member
EDIT: As of 4/5/21 I am no longer going to be putting a Bison camper on this truck. It's a long story that I won't discuss publicly. I'll update this later once I figure out what's going in its place (probably Overland Explorer).
Hey all! Last year I came on here and sold my old Tundra + Four Wheel Camper rig and I've been lurking around scouring the forums for information on my new build ever since. It's finally starting to come together so I figured I'd start a build thread to share progress and seek some help figuring some things out.
This all really got started way back on September 29, 2020 when I wrote a deposit check to @Bison Overland Campers to reserve build #6. With only one or two finished campers to show at the time, I was a bit nervous, but after owning a slide-in Four Wheel Camper for a few years I knew I really wanted something bigger and I knew I wanted to build out the interior and all the electrical, plumbing, etc. myself.
About a month after that, I had settled on the truck for my new rig. I went with a 2021 Ford F350 Tremor with the Lariat and Black-out packages and the Warn winch. I've never owned a 3/4 or 1-ton truck, but the payload, lack of chrome, stock 35's, and overall good looks and reported off-road performance sold me. I placed an order for that and waited more than 4 months before it finally arrived a few weeks ago. I was worried the suspension would be too stiff and planned on getting it built and then evaluating some upgrades, but so far I love it and honestly wouldn't change a thing. We'll see how it rides with the camper though.
The last big piece to the equation was the flatbed tray. I researched every brand I could find and decided on a MITS Alloy tray from @Mule_Expedition Outfitters in Oregon. I love the look of them and I'm excited to be one of the first trucks in the US to have one installed. It's currently on a boat but should be arriving soon. Also, I wanted black to go with the color scheme I was going for and they were able to powder coat it, unlike some other similar trays I looked at.
For my interior, I'm planning the cabinetry structure with 8020 extruded aluminum with laminated baltic birch. I'm trying to do as much of my build electric as possible, with the air heat the only thing I haven't decided on (it'll probably be diesel). For batteries I'm doing my own DIY lithium bank with cells I ordered from China several months ago (they just arrived!). In total I have 560 amp hours at 12v but I'll be doing a 24v system so it'll be 280 AH. Planning on 600 watts of solar on the roof between a tern roof hatch and maxxair fan. Most everything else will be Victron with a 3000-watt inverter/charger and all the other common components. I am a little torn on the DC-DC though. I think I'll probably do Sterling there to get more out of one unit rather than pair up Orion Smarts. Thanks to @RAM5500 CAMPERTHING for a lot of inspiration on that stuff.
I'm planning out something unique for my water system as well although it's still in the works. Short story, an air compressor with a holding tank to provide water pressure and no 12v water pump kicking on every time turn on the sink. Still working that out though. I certainly wouldn't want a compressor kicking on either, but if it can just kick on every day or three, then we're in business.
Anyway, that's it for now. My camper was scheduled to be done by the end of March but it sounds like they're running behind. I'm hoping to hear a new ETA from Drew at Bison soon. The MITS tray is also running behind, but I'm chomping at the bit to get the camper ASAP to get the interior started. But in the meantime, the lack of camper hasn't stopped me from making full use of the Tremor, and I am in love. Some pics and a little bit of footage from the last couple of weekends is below. I'll post updates here and will also be posting updates on my Instagram and YouTube if you're into that.
These first few pics are the bone-stock Tremor on a trip the day after I drove it off the lot. The winch was part of the package from Ford but the dealer installed it and I was antsy to get out of town and so they put it in the following week.
Second trip out after getting the winch and my Baja Designs lights installed. I honestly didn't think the winch would get much use, but we ran into some folks at the end of a 20-mile road that were sunk in mud up to their frame and it pulled them out with ease.
Hey all! Last year I came on here and sold my old Tundra + Four Wheel Camper rig and I've been lurking around scouring the forums for information on my new build ever since. It's finally starting to come together so I figured I'd start a build thread to share progress and seek some help figuring some things out.
About a month after that, I had settled on the truck for my new rig. I went with a 2021 Ford F350 Tremor with the Lariat and Black-out packages and the Warn winch. I've never owned a 3/4 or 1-ton truck, but the payload, lack of chrome, stock 35's, and overall good looks and reported off-road performance sold me. I placed an order for that and waited more than 4 months before it finally arrived a few weeks ago. I was worried the suspension would be too stiff and planned on getting it built and then evaluating some upgrades, but so far I love it and honestly wouldn't change a thing. We'll see how it rides with the camper though.
The last big piece to the equation was the flatbed tray. I researched every brand I could find and decided on a MITS Alloy tray from @Mule_Expedition Outfitters in Oregon. I love the look of them and I'm excited to be one of the first trucks in the US to have one installed. It's currently on a boat but should be arriving soon. Also, I wanted black to go with the color scheme I was going for and they were able to powder coat it, unlike some other similar trays I looked at.
For my interior, I'm planning the cabinetry structure with 8020 extruded aluminum with laminated baltic birch. I'm trying to do as much of my build electric as possible, with the air heat the only thing I haven't decided on (it'll probably be diesel). For batteries I'm doing my own DIY lithium bank with cells I ordered from China several months ago (they just arrived!). In total I have 560 amp hours at 12v but I'll be doing a 24v system so it'll be 280 AH. Planning on 600 watts of solar on the roof between a tern roof hatch and maxxair fan. Most everything else will be Victron with a 3000-watt inverter/charger and all the other common components. I am a little torn on the DC-DC though. I think I'll probably do Sterling there to get more out of one unit rather than pair up Orion Smarts. Thanks to @RAM5500 CAMPERTHING for a lot of inspiration on that stuff.
I'm planning out something unique for my water system as well although it's still in the works. Short story, an air compressor with a holding tank to provide water pressure and no 12v water pump kicking on every time turn on the sink. Still working that out though. I certainly wouldn't want a compressor kicking on either, but if it can just kick on every day or three, then we're in business.
Anyway, that's it for now. My camper was scheduled to be done by the end of March but it sounds like they're running behind. I'm hoping to hear a new ETA from Drew at Bison soon. The MITS tray is also running behind, but I'm chomping at the bit to get the camper ASAP to get the interior started. But in the meantime, the lack of camper hasn't stopped me from making full use of the Tremor, and I am in love. Some pics and a little bit of footage from the last couple of weekends is below. I'll post updates here and will also be posting updates on my Instagram and YouTube if you're into that.
These first few pics are the bone-stock Tremor on a trip the day after I drove it off the lot. The winch was part of the package from Ford but the dealer installed it and I was antsy to get out of town and so they put it in the following week.
Second trip out after getting the winch and my Baja Designs lights installed. I honestly didn't think the winch would get much use, but we ran into some folks at the end of a 20-mile road that were sunk in mud up to their frame and it pulled them out with ease.
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