63 replies to this topic

[scheefdog]

Congrats on a finished (for now) project, it looks great!
That Fleetwood really fits the Tundra nicely; doesn't stick up to high.
What do you get for mileage with the camper on? Did the faring help in that department at all? Getting ready for a trip down to Baja and been thinking about adding a faring, wondering if its worth the work. As it is, my 'kitchen' is completely gutted, and there is always other small things that never seem to get done. But if a faring will save me on gas money, maybe the other things can wait...
BTW, I like the drop bars on the bike. Been looking at adding a hardtail 29er with drops to the quiver for commuting and fire-road cruising. What do you do for a bike rack with your setup?
Kevin

Thanks Kevin. I agree that the old Fleet fits the Tundra really well, I was lucky to find one! I get 16-18 with the camper and 18-20 without(easy highway cruising at 6k+ in elevation). I'm not sure how much the faring effected the mileage, I didn't check the mileage before I put the faring on (I would guess 2 mpg, especially if you have a headwind). What do you get for mileage with yours?

Here is what I bought to make my faring-
Yakima Q107 clips -$31
Yakima Q towers -$90
Yakima Fairing Hardware Bag-$21
Yakima 58"? cross bar- $10 used
piece of 1/8" aluminum

I like your setup with the flatbed, if I had the money to have a truck dedicated for a camping rig I would definitely go that route. I might even go so far as to fiberglass the front to the shape of the truck... maybe some day. For now, I take my camper on and off and for the winter I stored the camper and put my topper on the truck(although I am tempted to mount it up to take a skiing road trip at some point).

I thought there were drop bars on that bike too!..... But if you look close there are normal mountain bars with white grips

Sorry, no drop bars. Just some carbon sweep bars with white ESI grips. That is funny how the cables look like drops in the pic!



Killer job scheef.....hopefully we will cross paths someday. Hoping to get my camper done soon.

Thanks, keep up the good work! I'll be following your progress and I'm always on the lookout for others with custom FWC setups.

[krj]

I envy your mpg. They say mpg goes up when a rig is for sale, is that the case!?
I've had my truck for 3 yrs and have never gotten better than 19, and I'm a conservative driver. With camper on, 13 is a good day. Well maintained, K&N air-filter, keep it under 2400rpms when accelerating, nothing seems to help. If only I could squeeze a Sprinter diesel engine under the hood...

My truck isn't dedicated to the camper, I take it on and off. The flatbed is super handy for both work and play, I would highly recommend it. When I built mine, I made the headache rack at the same elevation as the original bed, planning to build boxes for the sides and still be able to use my topper. Never happened, the wide open flatbed is just too easy.

Thanks for the parts list for the faring, I'll have to go scour the used sports store.

[scheefdog]

Haha. No my rig is not for sale and I'm not planning on selling anytime soon. I should have said that 20mpg is the best I get for mileage(55-60 on the highway). I think being at 8,000+ft helps because less air=less fuel=better mileage (also means less power which is fine with me if I get better mpg).

Yikes 13mpg! Is that interstate driving? My camper has only toured CO and I stay away from I-70 for the most part. I'll find out how much my mileage drops driving 75, hoping it stays above 15mpg. Like I said, I think the wind resistance is the biggest factor with the camper and it looks like your camper sits higher than mine above the cab of the truck and you have a bunch of stuff on top of the camper. Are you selling yours because of the mpg you get? I really wish Toyota made a diesel truck in the US! They are so stupid not to. I love the size of my tundra(not quite full size) and would have a hard time going to a newer full size truck.

[krj]

Yeah, 13mpg hurts! Seems to be right around there whether boards are on top or not. There is a 7"+ gap between cab and camper, I'm sure that has alot to do with it.

I tried selling it, partly because of mileage, but also because I'd like a bit more payload. Problem was, every time I got into the thing I had second thoughts; I love that damn truck! As a consequence, I turned down a couple offers I probably should have taken. May try to sell it again this spring, we'll see.