Ol' Number 7 - Build Thread

[jbatx2]

First, after looking at the other forum groups on here, this seems like the right place for this post since it's mostly about a custom camper. If not, please advise. TIA!

I'm starting this build thread a while before starting the actual expedition build of my 2001 F250 4x4 7.3 PS w/lift gate - "Ol' number 7". I've had the truck for a little over year and after quite a bit of rehab and wrenching she's solid and pretty strictly a work/ranch truck. I'm a very competent mechanic/hacker of all things. I love the build almost as much as I do the trips. In my business, I develop rural remote land into nice eco retreats and this truck has been the best beast of a work horse I've owned. This will be my fourth and most ambitious build following two 80 series and my current vacation rig, an '18 power wagon. I'm just starting to gather ideas and I haven't designed anything yet.... which I'll do on Sketchup. I weld, do body and paint and almost all the other stuff and all the mechanical except suspension... which I hate doing.

The Goal...
Create a functional work/utility/camp flatbed camper that sustains me for 1-2 weeks on the more remote and future projects. I'm imagining a well engineered steel frame taking advantage of smart geometry more than just heavy tubing. Probably 14g 1x2 as the frame - I suppose. Not sure about the skins or insulation just yet. Not sure how to approach a pop-up with tent walls. Imagine utility slide outs, material storage (lumber, steel, etc) under the living area. I don't plan on an indoor toilet or indoor shower as I'm totally used to camp toilets and my Geyser shower. My mobile welding rig, solar + backup, a lot of water, redundancy, fridge are a must, AC/Heat is a maybe. I've been building my own solar system myself using LiFEPO4 battery cells, used panels, and spec'd components and generally designing, procuring and wiring the entire deal myself - up to a 9.6KW system on the current project. That part is well understood at this point + a DC/DC charger for the rig

Number 7's baseline...

• Fleet truck for years
• 274K with no blow-by
• No oil leaks (anymore)
• OEM with no emissions equipment
• newish t-case and trans
• New steering pump
• Cooling system replaced (except radiator)
• All fluids have been flushed
• injectors rebuilt and stainless injector sleeves installed
• various other parts replaced / upgraded under the hood
• 2x 850 cca batteries
• eng wiring harness replaced and all incoming connections cleaned and greased.
• Method wheels and 35s currently
• front leveling kit from Wolf
• Rear air bags
• backup cam and android head unit
• PHP Hydra tuner
• Runs really well and starts fast in all weather.

My ask from this community...
What experiences can you share with your custom camper builds?
Lessons learned?
What would you do?
What materials would you use for the camper skins, frame, etc and why?
Aside from sealing up the IDM which is in the drivers wheel well (odd decision by Ford) I'm really not sure what the weak points are in the platform. I'm not going to be rock crawling but, trees, stumps, and uncut "trails" on private land are in the future.


PS. The name of the truck comes from Old Jack's Mule in Grizzly Adams and the fact that the truck had '7' sticker on the back window when I bought it. ?

Thank everyone,
JB

 

[OLDsfords]

Cool deal. Since the driveability and mechanical reliability sound to be in check, you should start the build by framing out the flatbed. Are you wanting to have a flatbed, with a removable camper ? Opposed to a dedicated camper, or factory truck box with removable camper.

If your going for the flatbed + removable camper, I would make sure you use a three point bed attachment, so the camper doesn't flex with the truck frame on a hard mounted setup. I would also use 2x2 & 2x3 11g steel for the flat bed frame to balance weight and strength.

Deciding an acceptable roof height of your camper will help determine how much fab time and design you put into the flat bed. Weather or not you will be going for a low deck, or easier made high deck could cost your 3-6" vertically. Considering that you will need to clear your chosen tire size while off-road. So what size tires do you want ultimately, and how high will you want your fully laiden weight to be.

If you intend to cargo/material carry in a space separate from your cabin, then youll be stacking storage design and losing total overhead cabin space when empty at location. That could cost you 2-4" vertically. I would choose to omit the floor slide outs, and use the floor of the camper as the material/gear hull so you have positive cabin space once it's unloaded.

Whatever you do for a camper, it will have to attach to the flatbed, and that should be integral to the flatbed, so you're not rebuilding after you've framed the camper out.

Floor insulation is nice, and one of the better ways to keep a camper warm/cool without a heater or a/c. But that also adds 1-1.5" total vertical also.

Why don't you like suspension work? It's my favorite upgrade, because it make everything more comfortable!

Michael

 

[jbatx2]

Michael, thank you so much for all this - definitely some good things to consider. I hadn't considered frame flex transferring into the camper!

I don't like suspension work because it's up/down/up/down and likely hood I'm going to get ticked off. Maybe if I had a lift, it's be a different story.