Jsweezy's F150 Homebuilt Flatbed Truck Camper

[Jsweezy]

It's a pop top! I hadn't fully figured out how I was going to do the pop up yet, but over the last month or so I finally got her done. Of course not without having to fix a couple issues and while I didnt want to have the complexity of the linear actuators, I sure am glad I went for it...

Oh and I had Boise Spring Works remove the overload and blocks and do their thing which has resulted in an amazing ride that sits at stock height with the camper on. Just took a trip to Bozeman for some skiing and it felt amazing. I had tried the sumo springs and didnt like how I felt every bump in the road, then went to the super springs and didnt like how soft it felt and finally said screw it and got the leafs done. So glad I did, it feels soft but firm and I dont even have a sway bar on.

 

[Project Big Money]

Well done sir!

 

[ITTOG]

So after my hiatus from the camper as I was feeling overwhelmed with the build process and figuring out the unknown. Amazingly, even though there are alot of different options to choose from in the world of pop top campers, I found there's only so many ways to do it and depending on how much you want to spend, dictates how you do it.

I also realized (like mentioned before by a special forum member) that I only had so much space in the garage and had some other projects to do, so while this massive paperweight was not fully in the way, I added rolling wheels to the legs so I can move it. This also came in handy when putting it on the truck so I dont have to backup and get it lined up exactly, I can just get it in the ballpark and then move this around and adjust as need be,

Then I got to work on more of the trim, adding latches to the roof and a garage seal around the top, and while in the process decided I would take the truck to Utah for a ski trip that would require a warm space from time to time. I also added some new black method wheels wrapped in BFG Ko2s like a basic overlanding instagramer cause ive always wanted them. Oh and finished up the electrical which eventually turned into a full Victron system because the redarc BCDC 1225d didnt appreciate the freezing temps and wouldn't charge despite having heated batteries (no wire to communicate that with the redarc charger). Something else I did was throw on some sumo spring bump stops in anticipation of the rear sagging due to the vehicle weight. They helped a ton and while I still want to get a custom leaf pack, these are doing an amazing job of making the truck feel like it always does when unloaded.

Last was figuring out how to attach the camper to the flatbed. While I initially wanted to use the cutouts in the flatbed and mirror those supports onto the camper and use a 1/2" bolt, it wasn't gonna happen. I also wasn't sure if it would be the smartest to do with no way for the camper to flex separate from the flatbed. So I searched and found some fastguns in the area and made mounts that attached to the camper jack mounts and the L track on the side of the flatbed. This turned out to be solid and makes it easy to remove as well.

Great build. I love it. How do you like the wheels you put on your camper jacks? If you like them, would you mind sharing a link for them. I would like to add wheels to my jacks for my homebuilt slide in camper.