jefe's hardside camper hauler

[Mundo4x4Casa]

Deserteagle56,
Ha ha! It's still at the dealer having the front bumper replaced due to a C&C F-450 in front of it on the train from Kentucky backing into it when off loading. You can see the imprint of the rear frame ends on the bumper.

How about a window sticker?


With incentives, it was my lucky day to get this truck for the dealer invoice price: essentially their cost, about $4K below msrp.

I'll do a wrap up and comparo of owning a diesel and a gas pickup specifically for hauling a truck camper once we get some miles on the new one.
Listen up. I love the '01 Cummins HO TD. But time marches on and our outlook on life changes.
I notice that there are a few Gen II Cummins 6-speeds out there being unloaded for automatics with a quieter running volume and a spouse pleasing ease of driving. I never thought i'd see the day....but that day has come.
jefe

 

[montypower]

Sweet new truck! Hope you enjoy it.
We've been really impressed with ours. Just pulled the Steering box for tapping it (hydro assist time). It has an absolutely massive dedicated power steering cooler. Trans cooler is even bigger. Really enjoy digging into it and being pleasantly surprised.

Ditch the 33s. 37s are the way to go! I have a video on fitting them. Stock suspension rides rough... Get it swapped out and you'll be enjoying life more.

 

[locrwln]

Congratulations on the new truck! Can't wait to check it out.

Jack

 

[Mundo4x4Casa]

Jack,
Me too. We'll pick it up this week.
I'm going to use the F-350 specific HappiJac tie downs again. The reason is they don't hang down or get in the way of passing boulders, rock outcroppings, or tree stumps.
They have upgraded the tie downs since I bought my 1st set in 2001 for the Dodge. They now attach to the frame cross member.
jefe

 

[montypower]

Those mount are vastly improved. Well designed. I was impressed with the engineering. We used them to test hauling the Loredo Camper on the 2019 F250. Not great for off road since they are the lowest point and hang out a good distance. Our mounts are now tied to the rock slider and steel bumper. For the cost... you might consider a steel rear bumper and rock sliders. Offer better overall function and provide some protection. The fast gun tie downs are most excellent - highly recommend.

 

[Mundo4x4Casa]

Below are pix of the new 7.3L gas F-350. With only one 60 mile trip from the dealer on the odo, i do have some observations.
1. This is a real weight hauling/pulling truck. No jackrabbit here. The trans is obviously geared to pull a large 5-er, or gooseneck.
With no load, the trailer starting 1st gear is very low and you are out of it skipping gears to 3, and then to 5 before you know it. It's not sluggish, but has a working truck feel to the drivetrain. On my way home from the dealer, I had a short chance to pass a slow RV coming up hill. No turbo lag here. I pressed down about 1/2 way on the throttle and the computer found the just right place at around 3K rpm and shifted once from ( i think) about 5th to 7th getting up to 60 mph quickly. The torque band is rather flat from 1600 rpm to the peak @4K rpm.
2. On the test drive I put the t-case in low and drove in a straight line to see where the 4.6:1, 2.64:1, and 4.30:1 combination would take me. WOW! That is some low gear. It's a rock crawling ratio. To find the apparent low/low with an auto, simply multiply the final drive x 2.

The 2nd pic shows the new dual antennas for the radio. This will make my foam riser under the camper need to be an inch or two taller. There is some stuff behind the air dam, which I would like to loose, so I'll figure that out.

Bottom line, so far, is that this is the perfect choice for me......so far. More later. I call the color smoke, in honor of California's climate change.

 

[UHAULER]

Below are pix of the new 7.3L gas F-350. With only one 60 mile trip from the dealer on the odo, i do have some observations.
1. This is a real weight hauling/pulling truck. No jackrabbit here. The trans is obviously geared to pull a large 5-er, or gooseneck.
With no load, the trailer starting 1st gear is very low and you are out of it skipping gears to 3, and then to 5 before you know it. It's not sluggish, but has a working truck feel to the drivetrain. On my way home from the dealer, I had a short chance to pass a slow RV coming up hill. No turbo lag here. I pressed down about 1/2 way on the throttle and the computer found the just right place at around 3K rpm and shifted once from ( i think) about 5th to 7th getting up to 60 mph quickly. The torque band is rather flat from 1600 rpm to the peak @4K rpm.
2. On the test drive I put the t-case in low and drove in a straight line to see where the 4.6:1, 2.64:1, and 4.30:1 combination would take me. WOW! That is some low gear. It's a rock crawling ratio. To find the apparent low/low with an auto, simply multiply the final drive x 2.

The 2nd pic shows the new dual antennas for the radio. This will make my foam riser under the camper need to be an inch or two taller. There is some stuff behind the air dam, which I would like to loose, so I'll figure that out.

Bottom line, so far, is that this is the perfect choice for me......so far. More later. I call the color smoke, in honor of California's climate change.

View attachment 618790View attachment 618791View attachment 618792

Hey Jeff, this is your neighbor across the hwy. Sean. Nice truck and camper. Maybe I can check it out sometime.
I'm back to square one on a camper. Bought a Nash trailer last year and it burned to the ground in my driveway 3 months ago.

 

[Regcabguy]

Jack,
Me too. We'll pick it up this week.
I'm going to use the F-350 specific HappiJac tie downs again. The reason is they don't hang down or get in the way of passing boulders, rock outcroppings, or tree stumps.
They have upgraded the tie downs since I bought my 1st set in 2001 for the Dodge. They now attach to the frame cross member.
jefe

I've had that re-design for quite awhile. My buddy with an '05 Cummins has used it for yrs now with a lance 825. I'm not a fan of the other brand.

 

[Regcabguy]

Sweet new truck! Hope you enjoy it.
We've been really impressed with ours. Just pulled the Steering box for tapping it (hydro assist time). It has an absolutely massive dedicated power steering cooler. Trans cooler is even bigger. Really enjoy digging into it and being pleasantly surprised.

Ditch the 33s. 37s are the way to go! I have a video on fitting them. Stock suspension rides rough... Get it swapped out and you'll be enjoying life more.

Do you feel the assist lacking with the stock pump? That ram assist is pretty nice. My neighbor's 2000 Superduty has it with 39's. One finger steering he says.

 

[Regcabguy]

Jeanie and I have turned the page on the truck to haul our 2020 N* Laredo SC.
This week we bought a 2020 Ford F-350 XLT SRW, SB, 7.3L gas V-8, 10 speed automatic pickup.
Our decision to buy a gas truck is predicated on the super high price of diesel fuel in CA, and the $10K diesel penalty when you buy it new.
Jeanie no longer wants to drive and shift the NV5600, easy as it is, so I do almost all the driving.
This Gen II Cummins (2001-2002) is THE loudest of the breed.
The F-350 gas is very quiet so Jeanie and I can talk during long trips, and she can now do a lot of the driving on long trips.
I may get 35 inch tires when the 33.2's wear out, and add a Tru Trac locker in front, but that's about it. No lift. It's high enough as is.
Besides, we'll keep the '01 Cummins for the really hairy trails and the approaching armageddon. The F-350 will be the culturally acceptable rig, not the mud rat.

This one has the jobber electrical package with lots of extra switches for whatever and an AC inverter to run electrical equipment off the truck. The dual batteries and huge alternator capacity also come with the ambulance and emergency equipment trucks to keep the lights on.
All current diesels have 2 batteries. Almost all gas trucks have only one battery.
This new 7.3L Ford gas V-8 is a stand alone engine in the industry. Since the slow demise of the V-10, nothing can touch the HP and TQ this thing puts out. The same engine and trans is used all the way up to F-650's.
The only thing it does not have is a rear anti-sway bar to make it truck camper certified. But you could not get the high spring rating and an anti-sway bar together.
Below are the specs for our new truck. I am overwhelmed at how overbuilt this truck happens to be.
It was spec'd out to be a tractor to haul a 5th wheel.

2020 Ford F-350 XLT 4WD SB super cab, 147 WB.

Engine: gas V-8: 7.3L (445 cu. in)

cast iron block, aluminum heads, pushrods

bore: 4.22 inches

stroke: 3.98 inches (unusually square for a Ford)

HP: 430-450 @ 5,500 rpm depending on the model

TQ: 475 # ft. @ 4K rpm


It is around 700 pounds lighter than the current 6.7L diesel V-8





dual 750 cca batteries


dual alternators with a total of 397 amps





Transmission: H.D. automatic 10 speed 10R140 which is used in trucks up to F-650


Gears 8, 9, and 10 are overdrive gears


First gear is one of the lowest of any automatic, made for trailer starting


First 4.615:1


Second 2.919:1


Third 2.132:1


Fourth 1.773:1


Fifth 1.519:1


Sixth 1.277:1


Seventh 1:01


Eighth 0.851:1


Ninth 0.687:1


10th 0.632:1


Reverse -4.695:1





transfer case ratio: 1:1 and 2.64:1


52.39:1 creepy crawl ratio with 4.30 gears and the auto’s 4.615:1 low gear


4.615 x 2.64 x 4.30





8 x18 wheels


275/70R 18E A/T 33.2 inch diameter tires





axle ratio: 4.30:1


front axle Ford D-60, 35 spline, made in-house open diff


electric locking rear Dana M300 differential with 1.53 inch, 37 spline axle shafts.


The case and 4 inch tubes look more H.D. than my Dana 80 in the RAM and are used in the F-450.


Ring gear diameter: 11.8 inches


auto front locking hubs


skid plates





aluminum bed and cab


6,798 or 7,243 pound curb weight depending on who you believe


skid plates


payload: 4610 or 4320 or 4066 pounds depending


It has 5 or 6 leaves in the rear pack and a single upper secondary spring.


The GVWR is 11,300 pounds, mostly to do with the single rear tire weight E rating. It would be higher with the DRW F-350.


bumper pull trailer tow rating: 20K pounds


max 5th/gooseneck tow weight rating: GCWR: 28K pounds


it has the 5th wheel hitch prep across the frame under the bed further stiffening the truck’s frame
jefe

Bravo! I was pricing one out the other day. A dual battery option is $225 I think. The engine came in at $2200 and change. You can get a carpet delete and save a whopping $50. You guys rock!

 

[Regcabguy]

Jefe, if I could make a recommendation it would be about those "automatic locking front hubs". I've seen too many reports of those not locking just when they are most needed. Folks replace them with a manual locking hub set so it isn't a problem in the future. Other than that, I think you've got a great truck now. Don't know of anyone yet with the 7.3/10 speed combination but everyone I know loves their newer (2017+) Superduties, they seem to be trouble free.

Also - unless we see some pics of the new truck we're not going to believe you..........................

The shop I use does the Dynatrac conversion fairly frequently. One handed steering too like a car. Geez,four posts. I need to get a life.

 

[Mundo4x4Casa]

Now the bad news. Happijac does not list tie downs for any aluminum bed F series truck. So that's 2017 and up. I called Happijac and talked to a so-called technical expert about why no tie downs listed. He said they were trying to work out the problem with a committee at corporate. I asked if the tear and shear strength of extruded aluminum vs. stamped steel was the problem and he said, "Yes, it its."
So, after many years of using Happijacs on my Dodge Cummins with camper, there is no carry over to the aluminum body/bed Ford Super Duty.
What's left? Brophy? Looks pretty lightweight to me and still has the aluminum shear woe.
Which leaves Torklift. They are the only mfgr. to have tie downs for the 2017 up aluminum bed F-series truck. Torklift parts do not attach to the bed of the truck at all; only to the frame.
I'm not real happy with the way the parts hang down to be scraped off by passing rocks. We'll see if there is a way to adjust the clearance of the parts.
We're in the, "Period of adjustment" that every change of truck or camper requires for passage.
jefe

 

[topofpalomar]

Now the bad news. Happijac does not list tie downs for any aluminum bed F series truck. So that's 2017 and up. I called Happijac and talked to a so-called technical expert about why no tie downs listed. He said they were trying to work out the problem with a committee at corporate. I asked if the tear and shear strength of extruded aluminum vs. stamped steel was the problem and he said, "Yes, it its."
So, after many years of using Happijacs on my Dodge Cummins with camper, there is no carry over to the aluminum body/bed Ford Super Duty.
What's left? Brophy? Looks pretty lightweight to me and still has the aluminum shear woe.
Which leaves Torklift. They are the only mfgr. to have tie downs for the 2017 up aluminum bed F-series truck. Torklift parts do not attach to the bed of the truck at all; only to the frame.
I'm not real happy with the way the parts hang down to be scraped off by passing rocks. We'll see if there is a way to adjust the clearance of the parts.
We're in the, "Period of adjustment" that every change of truck or camper requires for passage.
jefe

jefe
I did the same as you... called Happijac and asked about the lack of tie downs for the new Fords. That was back in early 2018 and they told me they were working on it. Guess they still are.

I will say that, besides the problem of hanging out on the sides to be torn off by rocks, the Torklift system is very solid. I used to get some sway with Happijacs on previous campers/trucks but with the Torklift system our current setup is really anchored down.

If Happijac would develop a system for the new Fords I would switch over in a heartbeat. I really dislike the obstacle-catchers and even the look of the Torklift system. They are great for over-the-road but really worrisome on desert trails.

 

[topofpalomar]

jefe
I did the same as you... called Happijac and asked about the lack of tie downs for the new Fords. That was back in early 2018 and they told me they were working on it. Guess they still are.

I will say that, besides the problem of hanging out on the sides to be torn off by rocks, the Torklift system is very solid. I used to get some sway with Happijacs on previous campers/trucks but with the Torklift system our current setup is really anchored down.

If Happijac would develop a system for the new Fords I would switch over in a heartbeat. I really dislike the obstacle-catchers and even the look of the Torklift system. They are great for over-the-road but really worrisome on desert trails.

jefe,
By the way, the new truck looks great. I really like our 6.2 but the new engine/trans seems ideal.

 

[topofpalomar]

Another thing about the Torklift camper tie downs - the wide-opening rear door on our super cab hits the Torklift Fast guns before the door reaches full open. Gotta be careful when windy. I should come up with a limiting strap but haven't gotten around to it.