New FWC Grandby Shell

[schunkb]

Just put in my order for a grandby shell. Looking forward to building it out. Ordered the following options:
furnace and propane cabinet
Fantastic fan
front slider window
rear flood lights
silver spur exterior (will look better on the Dodge)
rear wall air conditioner (we spend a lot of time in Moab, and need ac for dogs while we're out on rides)--powered with current yamaha 2000
solar plug (eventual solar upgrade)
Yakima tracks
two battery system
King Bed (6'9" doesn't fit on the east west oriented queen bed very well)

Traveling with the better half and three large dogs, additions I have planned are:
installing current foxwing awning
upgrading to led lighting
12v outlets
Current arb fridge
Thinking about going with the K.I.S.S. method for water systems: good ol' gravity fed 7.5 gallon jugs.
Current zodi shower and pop up privy
Current luggable loo
camp chef for outdoor cooking
jetboil for coffee/tea/etc
modest cabinets for clothing and storage.
retaining enough floor space for dogs to not be cramped.
Fold out table and seats built into bench shelf


Any other recommendations I should be mulling over while I impatiently await delivery?

 

[rotti]

I wouldn't be without my screen door.

In your shoes, I would go also with the factory 25 gallon water system. Not sure how that would work with a shell model though. With a desert environment, showers, and three dogs I'm not sure I would want to deal with four or five heavy jugs.

 

[RickNV]

congratulations on your new camper- sounds like you will have fun setting this up just the way you like it- post pics when you take delivery

 

[rayct77]

Congrats! Make sure to post pics of the foxwing awning when you get it hooked up. Very interested in that.

 

[CKent323]

I second the screen door recommendation
LED Side and rear outdoor lights
Rear Wall Steps
LED Rear Floods - They draw a lot less juice than those Halogens!
12v USB Plugs
Built in water tank with sink and manual pump (like a foot operated whale pump)
Manually activated digital battery voltage monitor (The FWC monitor uses idiot lights)

See (wanderthewest forum link): http://tinyurl.com/lk343do and: http://tinyurl.com/meo5crg

Have fun,

Craig

 

[LuckyDan]

My Grandby does not have a screen door and I wish it did.

 

[F350]

I wouldn't be without my screen door.

In your shoes, I would go also with the factory 25 gallon water system. Not sure how that would work with a shell model though. With a desert environment, showers, and three dogs I'm not sure I would want to deal with four or five heavy jugs.

+1

 

[AF6GL]

Congratulations on your order. Now the wait....

Don't you just love those Jetboils?

 

[docdave]

Ditto on the screen door. It'll be interesting to see how it all turns out. Congrats.

 

[schunkb]

After the overwhelming recommendations, I went ahead and added a screen door to the build sheet.

My reasoning for not having an integrated water system is ease of use. I'm currently running with a cab height cap with memory foam mattress on bed floor and gear loft at cab end of truck. Sleeping config. head toward tailgate. Two dogs sleep in the back seat of the truck, and vizsla sleeps in bed with us (anyone familiar with the breed doesn't need an explanation there). We take three or four 7.5 gallon reliance jugs with us, and I love the simplicity of that solution. Reliance makes a hand pump that screws onto the cap, and I don't have to worry about winterizing, bacterial fouling, or plumbing issues. I can have it set up outside on a table for the camp kitchen. You can also fill them pretty much anywhere.

I already ordered led replacement bulbs for all of the light fixtures, at $2.99 including shipping for 36 leds/panel off Ebay. I read up an install/review that gave a favorable impression, and at $3/light, no big deal if they don't hold up.

I'm most likely going to do a single 140w solar panel install with a sun saver duo with the remote on the dual group 24 batteries (total 160 amp hours). I'll install on roof cross bars, so no additional drilling with be required (trying to do the build with no holes put into roof other than from factory).

With solar planned, and charging coming from the truck, I doubt I'll do a shore power system. An extension cord snaked through turnbuckle access panels will work fine to run the A/C off the yamaha 2000 when needed for the dogs. Plus, if I do decide I'd like shore power, it's an easy system to add.

Will most likely install 2 blue sea 12v outlets, and 1 blue sea usb outlet. They seem to get good reviews. Any other recommendations for brands I may be overlooking?

I already have a few of those cheap plastic/tupperware drawer systems available at walmart/homedepot/target etc. I figure the first few trips with those will give us a good idea on where we want to build our cabinets and how to configure them. Nothing like living with a config for a few trips before making it permanent.

I will fabricate a carrier for the generator and a jerry can. I'm not sure if it will be a bumper mount, or even just an extension off the bed itself. I looked at the aluminess bumper with dual swing arms, but as a colleague pointed out, it would take 1 smart *** to latch those carriers when you're in the camper, and you're locked in. The $2500 base price tag is a tough sell as well, and additionally, I wouldn't be able to use the hitch mounted swing away bike rack.

I'm debating on purchasing the 8" glowsteps, or a simple stool combined with a custom ramp--I have a 14 year old german shepherd, so the old man access is an issue.

Mainly, now that I've pulled the trigger on the shell, I'm ridiculously impatient to get this thing started. Planning systems on paper is good and all, but nothing quite like having hands on to see which ideas are feasible, and which are laughable.

 

[rotti]

I'm debating on purchasing the 8" glowsteps, or a simple stool combined with a custom ramp--I have a 14 year old german shepherd, so the old man access is an issue.

This what I used for my senior dog and it works good for humans also.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kD93-oZ25fo
Cheese worked fine for training the dog and chocolate for the wife.

 

[David Staat]

Sounds like you have a great project going there...I would be interested in your buildout. I bought a Raven shell last year from FWC to go on my 4 door F150 and am building it out. I had them install the furnace, pull out king bed, 12v system and a 15 gal water tank. I like the camper and it's a good platform for a buildout. One thing that was a little frustration is that FWC doesn't (or didn't last year) supply an electrical schematic or labeling on the fuse box for the camper shells. After several communications with the factory through the dealer, they basically told me they didn't supply that types of information...a bit of a surprise to me. At any rate, I ended up making my own. I also installed my own volt meter to monitor the health of the battery...I have a single battery system.
I agree with the screen door. It is especially useful in those ares where there is a high concentration of black flys and Mosquitos.
Good luck on your build out. I would be interested in what you are doing.

 

[David Staat]

Rotti
What type of ramp are you using? Our 12 yr old golden has back leg problems and she has problems getting traction with the ramp we bought. We are using a small step ladder with some success but your ramp looks like it would work better.
Also, This year we bought a Coolaroo for her to keep her out of the dirt and make it easier for her to dry out from her swimin the lake. It worked great.

 

[rotti]

Rotti
What type of ramp are you using? Our 12 yr old golden has back leg problems and she has problems getting traction with the ramp we bought. We are using a small step ladder with some success but your ramp looks like it would work better.
Also, This year we bought a Coolaroo for her to keep her out of the dirt and make it easier for her to dry out from her swimin the lake. It worked great.
View attachment 192191

Sorry for the late reply....been on an extended hunting trip.

Pet Step is the brand name for the ramp. Here is a link: http://www.petstep.com
I also have the Coolaroo, another great product. My girly girl would never sleep in the dirt.

 

[schunkb]

Well, I got the shell installed and started the buildout.

Here is the rig at install time.


I wired three 12v outlets. One on the driver side toward the cab for the ARB fridge. Even if I move the fridge to a different location after a few trips, it makes sense to have power here. I replaced the stock bussman fuse box with the blue sea sealed box. I also wired up the mppt solar controller and remote meter. The load side of the meter goes to the old bussman fuse panel, so I can read the draws from the outlets (primary interest is the fridge). I haven't installed a solar panel yet, but that will be simple since I have all the wiring done.

Next up is to build a small cabinet out on the passenger side rear next to the door which will house storage as well as a hard wired battery tender and the "shore power" extension cord. I'm not cutting a hole yet to install a power inlet. I'm going to use the turnbuckle flaps for now and see how well that works out for me for a season anyway.

I'm also trying to figure out what I want to do with the wasted space behind the cabinet panel on the driver side rear next to the door. There is about a three inch gap between the sealed propane box and the interior panel that is begging for something useful beyond housing the co monitor and light switch panel.

The first thing I did was fabricate a back porch/storage area. I wanted a place to secure my generator as well as preserve the ability to use my hitch mounted bike rack. i couldn't find anything commercially, so built my own. It's stout, but I like it, and playing with a welder is always fun.

Here is the frame and during construction:



And here it is hanging in the paint booth prior to being sprayed with bed liner, and then mounted in the truck:


Pretty excited to keep tweaking and get a few trips under our belts so we can figure out how we want to utilize the space.