Lets see some "set up" Regular Camper shells

[brian556]

This was my set up for our 3 week cross country ATV trip. Worked out really well and with my generator we could dry camp in 100 degree weather fairly comfortably

 

[FAW3]

View attachment 141619View attachment 141620
My home away from home. ARE MX shell, dual battery, enough room for one or for two if they're very close.

I have a similar set up as to the tarp. Two adjustable awning poles and a tarp over the raised cap door works out great for shade and rain protection. Shock cord to the wheel wells for the front end and some rope/pegs for the back end. Very simple, quick to rig and effective.

 

[MrSandman818]

My $25 camper shell

I picked this up at an auction at work. Paid $25 for this. Its a 2009 leanord leer custom camper shell. All aluminum frame, fully insulated, has 2 cabinates up front, multiple 110V plugs inside, and 2 outside, dimmable 110v lamp, power cord set up for 20amps and a 20amp fuse box. theres a rv style roof vent and the tinted side window slides open. Both rear doors have sliding wood pieces for privacy and there tinted. Then out front theres an adjustable air shield. Im 6'3" and I have to stoop when inside but I am able to stand up and change in it. The rear doors are tall enough for my dirt bike and my ktm950 adventure (I have to pull the windscreen and mirrors off to get it in). then theres also a small awning over the rear.

I called leer up and asked how much one like this would be new and they said probably between $1500-2500. Most definitly a score for me. I think im going to line-x it tan to match my truck. Gonna probably add a few things to it to make it ready for more adventures.

Heres my 950 (the orange one), its not a short bike at all

 

[cbreakin]

Heres my start:

The shell is on on 01 f350 super-cab long bed

 

[mkitchen]

Setting up a shell is a lot more work than I thought.

Just building these boxes was quite a bit of work. I am happy with the results though. Now to start on the center box/bed build.

From this

to this

 

[tstege]

Six Pac utility camper

finally swapped my camper to my new truck here she is

 

[Humvette]

Neat thread I want to do this to my f250

 

[FishAll50]

tstege, nice work. Could you tell me more about your experience with the propane heater - do you use it while occupying, ventilation while using, how do you have it hung, etc. I was thinking going this route but considering using it just for taking the chill off the camper before occupying. Also, what is the fan and did you install it? What does the cover/top look like and how long can you run before zapping the battery - is your battery a stand alone or set up with isolator or ? BTW, your battery setup looks clean - nice work.

 

[FishAll50]

This is my F250 - pretty basic build. Frame to support sleeping platform - I used the "indentions" built into the truck bed to support the frame to maximize floor use - I do have a support running down the middle and there is no deflection with 2 adults and the occassional dog. The platform is 3/4" plywood covered in carpet - 2 pieces split running lengthwise down the truck. 2 hatches in front end to access seldom used items and to be able to get stuff that may find its way to the front - simple webbing for handles. I use several clear boxes to slide underneath - they keep things reasonably clean and easier to see items that may/may not be in the box and can be taken to the campsite. We have found that putting a full size matress beats any camping pad/etc. we have used.......the bones aren't what they used to be and every bit of comfort helps. And we use a double sleeping bag which is nice when spooning is necessary. The matress sleeps very well even though it does take up a few extra inches of headroom - a sacrifice I can accept. I pretty much keep the matress in place full time and have found it to be convenient on a day fishing trip when a nap is needed before the drive home or when the fish aren't biting. A simple thing worth mentioning - while the shell has 12v lighting, I use those "tap lights" which use D-batteries - I've been surprised at how much light they can give without being blinding, they are movable around the camper and the batteries last quite long without worrying about running down a battery......and they are cheap and can be taken out of the cab is you want to use them outside the shell at the campsite. I just stick a piece of velcro on the back and they can stick anywhere on the carpet within the shell - to the side for general lighting, above you for reading/maps, etc.

If I was to do the platform again, I would have designed it to have a removable section at the tailgate end of ~ 2 feet or so to allow removal for a place where I could haul taller items as needed......currently, I am often limited what I can slide into the back - it either has to fit under the platform or on top. Of course, the matress has to be removed to haul anything anyway. Anyone designing a sleeping platform may want to consider this.

 

[gnarlycharlie]

 

[gmcpimpin]

Ha nice like it.

 

[tstege]

tstege, nice work. Could you tell me more about your experience with the propane heater - do you use it while occupying, ventilation while using, how do you have it hung, etc. I was thinking going this route but considering using it just for taking the chill off the camper before occupying. Also, what is the fan and did you install it? What does the cover/top look like and how long can you run before zapping the battery - is your battery a stand alone or set up with isolator or ? BTW, your battery setup looks clean - nice work.

I love the propane heater it is a safe is they can be turns off if it tips over and has no smell. I run it exactly as you stated to heat the back up before bed and when I wake up to make getting out of my bag enjoyable. It will heat the back of my rig up in about 10-15 minutes in 0-20deg temps which is all I can ask for. I can not even use the high setting due to the heat it puts off, I am afraid of damaging the insulation in my roof. For hanging it I used wire cable looped it around the handles and crimped them with a (lanyard? thing like on the end of a dog leash not sure what they are called but you can open them and close them makes for easy removal)on the end of each. Then I anchored two heavy duty hooks into my roof (frame). It is very sturdy my only thing now is trying to figure a way to keep the ceiling from getting to hot. I am thinking of attaching a small piece of metal or using a cut open coffee can so the heat hits that and reflects down rather than right at my roof. I will let you know how it goes. For now this has worked well though we just did a trip to Mammoth and stayed cozy.

The battery setup I would love to take credit for but I had help with that. It is isolated and the battery is a small yellowtop that runs an inverter, fantastic roof van, and 2 lights. If I am just running lights and fan I can leave it on for about 30 hours without turning the truck on. If you were to just run the fan on low which is all you need to keep the air fresh I think you could easily do so for 5-6 days while sleeping without draining it. If you drive at all it starts charging again though. The only time I have killed it is when I have been working on the truck for days on end with the fan and both lights going the whole time. The fan is called Fan-tastic the basic 3 speed model 12V mine has a smoke colored vent (comes in many colors). These are widely considered the best, and cheapest you can buy $90 on ebay, bought it with my slider side windows.

I will upload some pictures of the setup if you would like and you can try and replicate it, seems fairly easy to do. Once I swapped it from my old truck to my new one it all made sense to me, and was actually fairly easy to do. Luckily I took a ton of pictures while taking it off, for fear of re-installing it wrong. Hope that helps let me know how it goes and if you need more info. Tyler

 

[tstege]

Just building these boxes was quite a bit of work. I am happy with the results though. Now to start on the center box/bed build.

From this

I really like those boxes. I have been thinking about making something similar for mine. The that I have is great for 2 people but in the summer I live out of my truck for work and a setup like this would be more appropriate, I think while letting me sleep solo in the middle with more headroom. Do you have any pictures from building them or are they just pretty basic, with openings on top? Tyler
to this

 

[Greggk]

i cannot wait to start mine. We are buying the Leer 100XL when i get back from deployment for the F350. It is primarily for shelter for my dogs while traveling, but also for camping. The kids have the 6x10 enclosed cargo trailer that is converted for camping use, and the wife and I will be in the truck. this thread is giving me lots of ideas.

 

[Greggk]

here is the truck we are starting with. 04 F350 with a studded and deleted 6.0 with just a few mods it has 4" lift and running 35's to stay conservative. This is the perfect platform, FOR ME, to start my Expo rig, since i stupidly sold my old 7.3 Powerstroke.