Light weight '04 F150 5.4L 3V build.

[dbhost]

So my philosophy is the old Hot Rodders axiom of rung what ya brung. Meaning to make the absolute most of what you already have.

What I have is a 2004 F150 Supercab XLT 5.4L 4x4 payload package and towing package equipped. 6.5 foot bed.

The truck has been upgraded with the following.
#1. Go Rhino winch mount brush guard.
#2. Engo E9000 9K winch with synthetic rope. Flip up license plate fairlead mount, rubber fairlead hook isolator.
#3. Explorer Pro Comp Stainless Steel off road lights. (H3 upgraded to LEDs).
#4. Brand unknown, blackout replacement headlamp assemblies with LED bulbs.
#5. Rancho Quicklift 2.5" lift with Moog HD coils.
#6. AirRAID CAI tube for engine. K&N filter. +
#7. In progress. "Bulletproofed" 5.4L 3V with Melling High Flow oil pump, upgraded phasers, timing set.
#8. SCT XCal 2 Tuner.
#9. Pro Comp 1089 17x9 rims x5.
#10. Hunter cab length nerf bars / side steps. Needs to be replaced.
#11 Brand unkown, but fender flares giving 2" additional fender coverage, NOT the huge Bushwacker design. They look like really wide versions of the Lariat and King Ranch fender trim pieces.
#12. Magnaflow high flow cats, Summit 2.5x2.5x3" Y pipe custom grafted in. Summit cat back with Magnaflow muffler.
#13. Bedrug.
#14. Radio Shack TRC-465 40 ch SSB CB Radio with power mic. The 4x4 and hunt clubs require it. 102" SS whip and 6" buggy spring antenna, Antenna mounting is a problem with a camper but I will figure it out.
#15. Curt Class III receiver hitch.
#16. LED replacement bulbs for stop, tail, turn, brake, and reverse. LED compatible flasher relays.
#17. Line of Fire LED additional stop / brake / turn signal strip light between bumper and tailgate.
#18. Slotted and dimpled cryo rotors, ceramic pads.

The truck is cosmetically in REALLY good shape. Texas truck that has spent little time on the beach. One small dent, 2 door dings and some ongoing paint repairs due to rubbing of a now removed toolbox on the back of the cab.

Mechanically I have an as the budget allows engine build going on as the stock engine died the typical 5.4 3V timing system death and we opted for a full on rebuild and refresh as the truck already had 120K miles on it.

I have an obnoxious amount of camping gear. I can literally outfit 4 separate families fully except sleeping bags for a tent camping trip, plus full couples backpacking gear etc... I will carry everything I need there over.

The idea behind a camper is to make where we sleep more secure, and easier to set up. We tend to camp where it is HOT and HUMID, so AC is a must.

Simplest setup would be a hi top fiberglass topper, insulated it, insulate the truck bed using a bed rug, and figure out how to jam a window unit in a usable position against one of the windows. slam a set of stowage boxes to make a kitchen, and stowage for comfort items such as privy tent, toiet etc, and slam a short queen mattress on it and call it home. More setup than I wanted.

A WIDE camper top could be designed with a folding bed / sofa with storage underneath, AC in the back wall, and a fold down kitchen and a space for the toilet inside could be set up. Minimally destructive to the truck, better than the regular cap solution, but still not ideal.

Next option is the bed replacement, aluminum framed fiberglass over foam box camper. Much more complex build, requiring skills I have not yet mastered, And weight starts to be a concern more than other means.

If I do nothing other than get the truck roadworthy, I can still do "overlanding" and exploring as long as I have safe camping locations where I can camp using a ground tent. I have those in good supply of various quality and features. Not the worst idea on the planet, but ground tents, especially when set up for AC tend to take a lot longer to set up / take down. I was hoping to eliminate that.

So given my quandry, and with the expertise here. Let me put it to you folks as I have asked others elsewhere and gotten encouragement to go the big build but not sure it is needed, or not.

Let me lay out my requirements, and get your suggestions on what I should do.

#1. Use as much of what I already have to keep costs down. I don't have the resources to go out and buy a $100K, or even a $15K overlanding rig. Costs must stay low.
#2. Whatever shelter I use must have standing room, whether it be to build a pop up, or a tall side, or just stay with a cabin tent
#3. Whatever rig I use must be highly mobile, and as agile as my truck can be. It's no Jeep CJ / Wrangler, but then again it's no F550 with a 24" Class C box on it either.
#4. Must be able to accomodate a queen bed, and all of our needed / desired gear, and supplies. It is just my wife and I, our dog, so the back of hte supercab is more or less wide open to gear or supplies.
#5. Wife insists on a flushing toilet (we have one) and a hot shower (have that too). Don't need to build them in, just carry with.

If it makes the advising any easier, our bedroom / main tent is an instant set up model, and I have itchy buy trigger finger for a Joolca 2 room instant shower tent so it all goes up super easy, almost instantly, instant tent is a bit of a misnomer after all. Dining fly / mess tent rig is an EZ Up with side walls. So it's really extend and click for almost everything.

 

[Grassland]

I don't know what the composite wall assemblies are worth from somewhere like total composite (they r on forum as vendor) but something well insulated would be easier to cool. Might be might enough if you dropped bed you could build a box and base for back of truck.
What's payload? 9.75 axle I'd think of 5.4 and tow pack.

The rest of the truck sounds good to me, I'd think trucks don't rust on Texas like they do up here and you've dealt with the timing system on the 5.4 modular.

What about a small hard wall trailer out of a cargo trailer for the bed for quick over nights when doing long travel days and use your other tent gear for when making base camp?

 

[dbhost]

I don't know what the composite wall assemblies are worth from somewhere like total composite (they r on forum as vendor) but something well insulated would be easier to cool. Might be might enough if you dropped bed you could build a box and base for back of truck.
What's payload? 9.75 axle I'd think of 5.4 and tow pack.

The rest of the truck sounds good to me, I'd think trucks don't rust on Texas like they do up here and you've dealt with the timing system on the 5.4 modular.

What about a small hard wall trailer out of a cargo trailer for the bed for quick over nights when doing long travel days and use your other tent gear for when making base camp?

That's probably not a horrible idea either. The big concern is going someplace, let's say into hunters camp in Sam Houston National forest, and needing to run into town, or wanting to explore the local towns, I don't really want to leave camp set up due to theft concerns, and I'd rather not break down all the time...

I might just be overthinking this. I have an old Pop up camper that can take taller arched springs with a spring over conversion, larger wheel / tire setup would give me plenty of clearnace to do the logging roads and beaches to get into the weeds as it were... Keep it basic beat up 90s pop up vibe going and nobody in their right mind would want to break in and steal it. I would hope anyway...

When we go tubing around New Braunfels, we set up camp, and go tubing for a whole day, but there is typically one couple that stays in camp more or less getting sloshed and keeping a blurry eye on things. My wife and I have been that couple, and have bought the beer for that couple plenty of times...

 

[GoldiesGarage]

The pictures are not loading for me...

 

[Traveling 2gether Journal]

It's all personal preference and compromise.

I'd probably go with the camper you already have if you can make it meet your needs. Leaves more money for travel and lets you gain more experience before trying to design and build your own camper.

My wife, dog, and I lived out of our dIY truck camper for 18 months while traveling around Mexico and Central America.
Used Pickup= $2500
Diy camper (with solar and fridge)= $2500 ish
Camp Kitchen, etc = $500 ish
So, $5,500 for an "expedition vehicle". not bad

We had plenty of storage: fishing gear, snorkels, 5 surfboards, tandem kayak, hiking gear...
But we didn't have a flushing toilet or a hot shower or indoor kitchen or Air-conditioning. Those are all nice things to have, but not our priority on that build. Just depends where you are going and what you want to do when you get there.

 

[dbhost]

Something I should mention here, I think I have on this forum previously. I have worked a barter of labor for a pop up trailer. Basically I built a full set of garage workshop cabinets for a friend before plywood prices shot through the roof, in exchange for their old, now my old 96 Coleman Niagra Pop Up camper. It works, everything is in good working, and fair enough cosmetic shape the wife doesn't compalin, BUT ground clearnace on this thing is abysmal, and it is VERY hard to stealth camp en route with a pop up or Hybrid camper.

I know we can make an RV short queen work, but would prefer a king, even if it is short, so we have shoulder room. So the pop up is nice there. BUT, again mobility. Getting to hunting camp, or over some of the Mexican roads we have been down would utterly destroy a pop up in less than 2 miles.

What I am trying to achieve is a comfortable sleeping space anywhere we want to be, and as mentioned, a way to get base camp where we want. We are not camp this site one night and move on, unless we are en route. We are going to a remote site, exploring out around a base camp. Day hiking, fishing, or whatnot.

We have spent a max of 7 nights out of a, well week off after a 3 day weekend sort of vacation where we ended up with 10 days off of work. We typically arrive back home, and spend a day or two fixing / cleaning / putting gear back up.

The thought process is, if there is a loaded and at the ready short of food, camper, we could take more impromptu trips and enjoy the outdoors together more.

If there wasn't all the load in, setup, tear down, load out, cleanup effort, we could on a whim on Friday night, head over to a chunk of public beach that allows camping, or a spot in the national forest, after work, and hang out until Sunday afternoon before we have to come home and get ready for work on Monday.

A self contained, non pop up camper would also allow us to pull into Camp Walmart, Cracker Barrel, or similiar and do some lotdocking to enjoy more urban accomodations without worrying about lodging in hotels, making last minute reservations, and dealing with, well unfamiliar sleeping spaces.

I tend to keep getting the same advice over and over again here, and that is to ditch the half ton truck, and get a 3/4 or 1 ton truck. In order for me to get a heavy duty pickup that has the features I want, and is new enough that my wife will accept it puts that beyond my financial means. So I am not giving that any serious thought, but I would accept a donation for sure!

It should be noted that since I started this thought excersize, I kind of solved at least a lot of the ready to go NOW issue. And minimized our setup / tear down time while maximizing comfort.

We went with an instant setup tent with the blackout stuff sort of like blackout curtains, but also lots of REALLY good ventilation in the right places. I.E. gulf breezes on the beach don't constantly blow sand through the tent etc... And we are keeping the basics loaded in the trunk of the car as we work on the truck...

I am paring down the equipment taken as best I can, but kitchen is tough. My wife likes stuff prepared from fresh RIGHT NOW, not pre prepared. (She grew up in a family of 9 kids, so leftovers and pre prepared meals were not a thing). That makes travelling light and cooking kind of tough. But I have worked out a simple deal with her. I will make what I consider a standard camping menu. She is free to change that menu, but any added effort in regards to cooking / prepping it is on her shoulders.

So it looks like a good amount of burgers and brats with salads and sauerkraut, sausage and veggie omelet breakfasts etc... until she decides it's time for fresh chicken breast fajitas...

 

[dbhost]

So I saw but I am not sure how to link Pinterest here, but a REALLY cool DIY camper shell idea. The guy took an existing 1960s / 1970s aluminum camper shell design of square tube aluminum frame with radiused corners, built it tall, riveted the joints and then looks like Alumawelded them for double measure. Bonded on an outer skin using something like Liquid Nails for Projects. Packed the void with foam board, and bonded on an inner skin that looked like, uh... Bathroom wall panels? Not sure what to call that stuff, thin sheet plastic. He made the corners with a pipe as a bending brake, and a heat gun to soften the plastic. Only had 3 slots in it to run power. 1 for llights, 1 for 12V power ports, and 1 for the third brake light.

Secureable double doors, with the right side being open close, and left CAN but is typically left bolted closed with the AC mounted in there...

There was no interior build out on it, but it looked roomy enough for a queen mattress bed rail high, use an 8" memory foam mattress and you should have more than enough room to sit upright in the bed.

 

[dbhost]

It's all personal preference and compromise.

I'd probably go with the camper you already have if you can make it meet your needs. Leaves more money for travel and lets you gain more experience before trying to design and build your own camper.

My wife, dog, and I lived out of our dIY truck camper for 18 months while traveling around Mexico and Central America.
Used Pickup= $2500
Diy camper (with solar and fridge)= $2500 ish
Camp Kitchen, etc = $500 ish
So, $5,500 for an "expedition vehicle". not bad

We had plenty of storage: fishing gear, snorkels, 5 surfboards, tandem kayak, hiking gear...
But we didn't have a flushing toilet or a hot shower or indoor kitchen or Air-conditioning. Those are all nice things to have, but not our priority on that build. Just depends where you are going and what you want to do when you get there.

I see your avatar and I have to ask. Are you the male half of the couple that has the Blue, I think it is either a Toyota T100, or early model Tundra with a fiberglass topper that you built a custom roof raise on? That thing is awesome!

On the run what ya brung approach. Not a bad concept, but even mild overlanding with a typical pop up isn't all that doable. Ground clearance is a huge issue. One of the main drivers of getting us out of a tent and into a camper is beach camping. Although out latest tent does a REALLY good job of keeping wind driven sand out if a tarp is set up with it on the windward size. The prior tents we used were a disaster.

We have switched from standard tents to instant set tents and with them, and air beds with built in inflators, I am finding setup / takedown to be MUCH easier than it has been in the past... The biggest issue for me now is during the summer, we actually jam a window AC up against the window and run it off a generator to cool things off. It works, better than you might expect, but it takes a bit to man handle the AC unit, and generator, and gas and... you get the idea...

 

[dbhost]

I am looking for the videos now to get some ideas of how he did it, but there is a guy in Oregon with a Red 04 - 08 F150 with a home made camper shell with a slide out, well... bustle I guess you would call it, so he uses the entire length of the bed, and the tailgate when it is deployed as floor space in his camper. He used all wood (heavy) construction with no problems...

I am still planning on aluminum with PMF (poor mans fiberglass) over foam construction (light). I would prefer to get something pre made, but considering my wife REALLY wants a king bed, not gonna happen.

Part of my slowdown in design and beginning construction is Sketchup. I have not learned how to use it since they took away the desktop version and forced everyone using the free version to use their terrible online thing. I mean wow is that thing bad to the point of unusable. To the point of I wish my old 3D models I could remove from the 3D warehouse. I feel like they used me to get the models and then took back what they were giving in trade... But I digress...

I am thinking to achieve the king bed, it only has to be king wide, it can be twin long. So a pair of twin memory foam mattresses (cheap and comfy), sliced lengthwise and recovered to make sofa cushions during the day may be the way to go, a sort of scissor couch / bed arrangement...

Progress is being made on the repowering. The original engine is out, on the stand, and... well the valve covers are off. We are debating pulling it all the way down, hot tanking it, getting it milled back to spec, and throwing a master kit at it while upgrading the oil pump to the Melling, and the cam phasers to the newer units that are less failure prone. Some hardened chain guides would be a good idea too...

Part of me wants to find and throw a junk yard engine in this thing and sell it, and source up a Super Duty in similar condition so I have a better starting point. But I see the price of used Super Duties around here and they are either trashed, or 6.0 PSD equipped which makes the 5.4 3V triton look like a good engine...

I should be totally clear here to avoid confusion. I want to be able to just drop on an existing topper, but given the width issues, I would be limited to a queen size mattress that my wife will NOT be happy with. Honestly, if I were travelling single, this would be a much easier build out... But I have the consideration of others here to accomodate for...

If anyone can point me to a light weight, hi top, wide camper shell, not a slide in, that would be a fantastic place for me to start!