New custom ATC camper

[takesiteasy]

I posted this over at WTW and I am posting here as well since I had said I would in earlier ExPo posts. We are finally the proud owners of a new ATC custom camper. I created a blog post with the details (another first for me). It includes photos of the camper, the thinking behind it and a brief report of our trip home from California. Needless to say, we got a lot of help and ideas from reading ExPo and WTW over the past year for which we are very grateful. We hope people benefit from our report as well. Comments and suggestions are welcome!

Our new camper

 

[dags]

looks great - keep the pics coming

 

[WASURF63]

That is a really nice looking set up with some great features! Appears to be well thought out.
Shake down on your way home seems to have gone well? Cool to see that your enjoying it right from the start.
Congrats!

 

[takesiteasy]

looks great - keep the pics coming

That is a really nice looking set up with some great features! Appears to be well thought out.
Shake down on your way home seems to have gone well? Cool to see that your enjoying it right from the start.
Congrats!

Thanks! We had a good time on the way home- more of a road trip than exploration but we plan more of both. The blog is an experiment- an easy way to let friends and family see our pics and know what we are doing.

 

[zeke2.0]

What is WTW? Sorry for my ignorance.

 

[takesiteasy]

Very nice. Your write up does a good job of summing up my philosophy for using one of these as well. I feel the simpler you make it the more versatility you get out of the camper. Have you carried the canoe on the roof yet?

Yeah- keep it simple. Not yet on carrying the canoe. Installed the Yakima rack yesterday so we are ready to go.

What is WTW? Sorry for my ignorance.

WTW is short for Wander the West, another similar forum. Should have spelled it out. Thanks for asking.

http://www.wanderthewest.com/forum/

 

[zeke2.0]

Thanks for the link. I like your setup, simple and easy to maintain. A basic popup like this seems like a viable option to a flippack.

 

[Holaday]

Great looking Shell

Nice set up. I hope to build up something very similar in the future.

 

[Overland Hadley]

Looks like a solid setup.

Thanks for the shout-out. :ylsmoke:

I also really like you comparing the camper to a canoe. I am going to put that quote in my thread, as I feel it sums up what these campers do best.

We wanted to treat the truck like our canoe and use it to go places most people don’t.

 

[takesiteasy]

Looks like a solid setup.

I also really like you comparing the camper to a canoe.

Nice set up. I hope to build up something very similar in the future.

Thanks for the link. I like your setup, simple and easy to maintain. A basic popup like this seems like a viable option to a flippack.

Thanks!

 

[taco derelict]

Nice looking shell

I like the size of your shell was it custom ordered? I am trying to design a shell from ATC what are your dimensions of your shell W-L-H? Thank's

Happy Retirement

 

[Hill Bill E.]

Hey! More MN folks who enjoy the northern 1/2 of the state!!

Great rig, and great blog! Have to check out the WTW forum myself. Even though I was born and raised here, I have always loved the desert/Rockies/northern coast of the Pacific.

Can't wait to get back to Oregon some day, and not for work next time!:coffeedrink:

 

[takesiteasy]

Hey! More MN folks who enjoy the northern 1/2 of the state!!

Great rig, and great blog! Have to check out the WTW forum myself. Even though I was born and raised here, I have always loved the desert/Rockies/northern coast of the Pacific.

Can't wait to get back to Oregon some day, and not for work next time!:coffeedrink:

So many places to go, so little time! I have relatives in California and PNW so I have even more incentive to go there. We are planning a big trip west for next summer.

Nice looking shell

I like the size of your shell was it custom ordered? I am trying to design a shell from ATC what are your dimensions of your shell W-L-H? Thank's

Happy Retirement

Thanks! My shell is 69" wide x 75" long (matches the length of the truck box to the outside of the tail lights). This keeps the bumper functional and allows you to use the bumper step to get into the camper. You will need extension plates on the front jacks to clear the fenders. Subtracted 2 inches of height from the lower part and added 2 inches to the soft sides. This reduced the gap over the cab and increased the headroom (such as it is) in the bed area. Discovered later that the arctic pack is made to match the standard dimensions so it doesn't fit (too short). ATC is checking to see if a taller one can be made.

 

[Overland Hadley]

Let me know if you come up the North Shore this summer, would be great to take a look at your camper in person.

 

[takesiteasy]

Let me know if you come up the North Shore this summer, would be great to take a look at your camper in person.

Likewise would be fun to see yours as I have been following from the beginning of your thread. Probably will come up in the fall sometime. We are going to Europe in a couple weeks and that will consume the rest of the summer. I have mixed feelings about that. Just got the camper and here we are leaving it behind. But the trip was planned a while ago and we should have fun there too.