26 replies to this topic

[BlueSky]

I want to add that a top opening chest-style fridge, like ARB, Engle, Dometic, etc., are great for a truck camper. If I were to order a new camper today I would have one or two locations wired for this type of fridge, solar pre-wire of course which I think is standard, at least 100w solar if you don't want to DIY, and a Lifepo4 battery with charge controller.

 

I found Yakima tracks on the roof to be extremely useful.

 

The extended height for the pop up was an excellent upgrade.

[goinoregon]

if you think you will be going pop up, i would recommend putting the down payment now/soon, and then you are in line.  the wait times now are probably 20 months.  you can change the build layout between now and build, if you get new ideas.

    

i went full size truck, gmc, with the smaller backseats. my 2015 mpg is not that much 'worse' than a midsize/tacoma/etc, but  you get more room in the bed for camper, higher payload, etc.

 

i went atc shell, to keep cost and weight down, and then adding some nice components like a small propex heater, alu-cab awning,big chest fridge, etc.  had atc put solar panels on, yakima rack supports, fan, and door for propane tank

 

and with popularity of pop ups, if you dont like your configuration, you would have no problem selling , and probably not losing any/much $$.

 

good luck

[Ronin]

Hey Ronin, like the build! Did you install the propex or was that done by ATC? Curious what you think of that unit compared to whatever ATC puts in.

 

Also, was the side dinette and front bench an ATC fabrication? 

I installed the Propex but had ATC run the gas and electrical for it where I wanted it. ATC also installed the thru-hull fitting for the exhaust vent. ATC built the front bench and side dinette ( I supplied the Lagun table mount) but I asked them to build it so that the cushions matched the height of the side shelves to create a wide sleeping area. I also spec'd in the locations for additional USB outlets and the exterior outlets for a portable solar panel. Having had 2 previously owned FWC Hawks I knew exactly how I wanted my Panther shell configured.

 

I think my Hawk had an Atwood furnace and it rarely worked. I ended up pulling it out and put in a Wave 3 heater which worked great. I read good things about the propex and it has a very small footprint which is why I went that route. So far so good.

Edited by Ronin, 07 July 2021 - 12:20 AM.

[jimjxsn]

Hello folks. 

 

I'm hoping for some input from the community here. I'm considering purchasing a pop up truck camper to accommodate a handful of 7-10 day trips in the midwest and an annual 3-4 week trip out west yearly with my wife and son.

 

I have been in research mode for the past few months, first evaluating different camper alternatives and within the last few months narrowed a bit to the truck pop ups.

 

When comparing ATC verses the "other guys"I noticed that the ability to get a little more creative with design requests is something that seems to attract many buyers. 

 

My primary question is this. What are the customizations and/or options that you have or have seen that really gave your build more functionality? 

 

Has anyone spec'ed out specific:

 

• Electrical components (DC/DC charger, batteries, solar, charge controller ect).
• Cooking (space for top loading/slid in fridge, removable camp stove ect)
• Heating (Propex instead of ATC furnace)
• Cabinets/storage
• Anything else? 

I don't have much experience with truck camping so it's difficult to envision which potential options/customizations would be beneficial. Broad goals for the camper would be being able to eat/cook fresh food and get a solid nights sleep while mobile and get off the beaten path a bit. 

 

Thanks for the input!

 

Hi MWW88,

Welcome to WTW and truck campers.  I see that you have gotten great  recommendations already from some really knowledgeable folks.  So I'll just give you another perspective.  I had three camping trailers prior to getting our first truck camper, a 2000 FWC Ranger.  It was actually built by the guys who own ATC.  That was a stock camper and from that experience we knew what changes we would make when we ordered the Panther.

 

Here is the Ranger ~

 

 

It was stock with built in 3 way fridge, furnace, sink and two burner stove.  Notice that it had an 8 foot floor length which overhand onto the truck tailgate.  It was very narrow.  When the sofa was made into a bed, you couldn't walk on the floor.

 

To get an idea of how much room you have, find a pickup and have the family climb into the bed.  Fold up the tailgate and sit on the side rails.  Look around the bed, that is pretty much how much room you have for you and all your gear.

 

So after backpacking, tent camping and having the larger trailers, here were our priorities...

 

We wanted heat and a sink.  The FWC fit the bill and we really enjoyed that camper for many years.  From that experience we found that the biggest negative was a lack of storage space.  We wanted more cabinets so that we didn't need to have our cloths in duffle bags and could leave much of our gear put away in the camper between trips.

 

Here are some pictures of the changes we had ATC make on our Panther.  We ordered the 84" wide Panther which gives you a wide door and isle.  With the sofa in bed position there is actually room to move the fridge sideways next to it on the floor.

 

Here is the ATC Panther ~

 

 

I had ATC install this sink stove combo to free up counter space.

 

They built a cloths closet where the fridge would have gone.

 

They added an extra pantry on the passenger side.

 

Here is where the truckfridge sits.

 

I switched to a Battleborn 100Ah battery and Victron solar controller, DC2DC charger and monitor.

 

 

My final recommendation with a growing family would be to consider an ATC Puma on a long bed 3/4 ton truck.  We have slept 3 adults and 2 dogs in both our truck campers and it is tight.

Edited by jimjxsn, 08 July 2021 - 02:17 AM.

[MidwestWander88]

Hi MWW88,

Welcome to WTW and truck campers.  I see that you have gotten great  recommendations already from some really knowledgeable folks.  So I'll just give you another perspective.  I had three camping trailers prior to getting our first truck camper, a 2000 FWC Ranger.  It was actually built by the guys who own ATC.  That was a stock camper and from that experience we knew what changes we would make when we ordered the Panther.

 

Here is the Ranger ~

 

 

It was stock with built in 3 way fridge, furnace, sink and two burner stove.  Notice that it had an 8 foot floor length which overhand onto the truck tailgate.  It was very narrow.  When the sofa was made into a bed, you couldn't walk on the floor.

 

To get an idea of how much room you have, find a pickup and have the family climb into the bed.  Fold up the tailgate and sit on the side rails.  Look around the bed, that is pretty much how much room you have for you and all your gear.

 

So after backpacking, tent camping and having the larger trailers, here were our priorities...

 

We wanted heat and a sink.  The FWC fit the bill and we really enjoyed that camper for many years.  From that experience we found that the biggest negative was a lack of storage space.  We wanted more cabinets so that we didn't need to have our cloths in duffle bags and could leave much of our gear put away in the camper between trips.

 

Here are some pictures of the changes we had ATC make on our Panther.  We ordered the 84" wide Panther which gives you a wide door and isle.  With the sofa in bed position there is actually room to move the fridge sideways next to it on the floor.

 

Here is the ATC Panther ~

 

 

I had ATC install this sink stove combo to free up counter space.

 

They built a cloths closet where the fridge would have gone.

 

They added an extra pantry on the passenger side.

 

Here is where the truckfridge sits.

 

I switched to a Battleborn 100Ah battery and Victron solar controller, DC2DC charger and monitor.

 

 

My final recommendation with a growing family would be to consider an ATC Puma on a long bed 3/4 ton truck.  We have slept 3 adults and 2 dogs in both our truck campers and it is tight.

Hey, thanks for sharing this is great input!

 

I'm curious about a few things you mentioned. We are coming from car camping/backpacking where we would typically just eat dry goods with a very minimal setup when out. With the vision to take longer trips, I want to be able to cook/store more perishables. I'm curious about when you made the transition to a tuck camper, why a built in sink/water system was a priority? So far I have just been kicking around a gravity fed system and cooking outside wonder if I could miss a sink for washing cookware? 

 

With regards to storage, I have been giving that some serious consideration and don't really know what to do yet. I'd rather get something now that we can grow into than have to go through this again in 5 or so years. With that said I'm pretty settled on a 3/4 ton and would love a Puma, but worry that with a Crew Cab truck I'm going to be taking a hit finding parking. I could go with a smaller extended cab option and keep the truck to roughly 20 feet or so with the 8 foot bed but those back seats would be a little tighter for the youngsters on a long trip. Of course the wild card, is to open up the wallet a bit more and consider a flatbed, either on a 6.5 or 8 foot bed. Would partially solve the storage issue, but would rule out my being able to get the truck/camper in my 8ft garage without taking it off the truck. 

 

I like your electrical configuration, I'm leaning towards something similar. I don't have super high power requirements, just a top load fridge, furnace and a powered vent, but like the idea of 100ah lithium from the start. 

 

Thanks ideas and pictures! 

[jimjxsn]

I like the convenience of having plenty of water on hand.  ATC builds in the water tank towards the front of the camper.  Keeping the weight forward is a good thing.  We like to brush our teeth and wash up before bed and when we get up so the inside sink is handy.  Also with a built in sink you have the built in drain. 

 

Here is my grey water tank setup, it is a collapsible reliance water container and short hose which all fit in the propane compartment.

 

 

Also you have the water tank drain outside on the drivers side which doubles as an outside spigot.  I relocated the tank drain valve (with a plastic hose line) so that it is in the back of the camper.  We actually use that spigot just as much as the sink for filling water bottles and when cooking outside.

 

We almost always wash dishes outside.  You'll notice that I only have a one burner inside.  We do virtually all cooking outside and have only boiled water inside.  If we have drinks late and have only a few dishes, we can wash those in the inside sink.  That sink model we have has a dish drainer that covers the burner.  We carry two collapsible basins for doing dishes outside.

 

As for interior size, our Ranger was a long bed model and we liked the extra space and the extra passenger side cabinet it had.  This is why we decided on the widest Panther model and had ATC add that extra cabinet. I was worried about the extra width but it turned out to be a non-issue with our usage.

 

 

Our sofa is only 5 feet long as a trade off, I am 6'2" and I have slept on that bed and feel that it is a fair compromise.  Two kids could easily fit on that lower bed.  We have the extended bed over the cab and it is king size.  My daughter borrowed the camper with 2 friends and commented that all three of them could fit in the over the cab bed, being used to backpacking tents.

 

We usually carry an small Yeti 20L cooler in addition to the electric fridge so have plenty of space for food and drink.

 

I received the Panther with the standard battery which was a 79AH AGM and I added the solar myself.  The stock battery worked powering the fridge, furnace and fantastic fan.  I never ran out of power but we don't usually stay in place for too many day so, the battery is usually charged by the truck hookup as well as the solar.  I got tired of waiting for the battery to die so went ahead and upgraded to the battleborn.

 

Enjoy the planning but keep in mind that the stock configuration of these campers is a time tested design and ATC can customize many things to fit your individual tastes.

Edited by jimjxsn, 08 July 2021 - 11:25 PM.

[Ronin]

The idea of the sink/stove combo is intriguing. Can you actually cook with a 10" pan on it??

[Atlin]

A bit late to this party, but my input is to try to use every available space.  A couple of things that allow this are to 1) move the propane tank to the outside rear of the camper, which frees up the propane space for other storage; 2) build your own cabinetry to suit your needs (this may be a "second camper" type of thing once you know what you want); 3) make sure that the camper uses as much of your pickup box as possible, i.e., buy the truck first and have ATC build the camper to fit it because all of the truck boxes are a bit different; 4) build your own battery.  I bought 4 Li cells (4x3V cells=12V battery) and built a flat battery on the outside front of the camper (it is enclosed in a semi-waterproof box) - basically 4 cells that are flat mounted rather than put together in a near cube like most batteries.  This frees up the battery space inside the camper for more useful storage.  There may be some other ideas for space utilization that I haven't thought of yet.

[Mykiss]

A bit late to this party, but my input is to try to use every available space.  A couple of things that allow this are to 1) move the propane tank to the outside rear of the camper, which frees up the propane space for other storage; 2) build your own cabinetry to suit your needs (this may be a "second camper" type of thing once you know what you want); 3) make sure that the camper uses as much of your pickup box as possible, i.e., buy the truck first and have ATC build the camper to fit it because all of the truck boxes are a bit different; 4) build your own battery.  I bought 4 Li cells (4x3V cells=12V battery) and built a flat battery on the outside front of the camper (it is enclosed in a semi-waterproof box) - basically 4 cells that are flat mounted rather than put together in a near cube like most batteries.  This frees up the battery space inside the camper for more useful storage.  There may be some other ideas for space utilization that I haven't thought of yet.

I totally agree with you, and that's why I chose ATC, they are very accommodating and pleasant to deal with. My Panther shell is due at the end of October, and decided not to have any cabinetry done by them as am not sure where I want things placed.

Most likely, I will have a cabinet with a stove/ sink combo like Jim ,with a Reliance type of water container under the sink and a submersible little pump dropped inside, activated by the faucet(I saw them used a lot in Europe)

I bought a dometic CFX DZ 75, they are on sale now!!!!! for $ 1029, very difficult to find double zone chest fridges now due to severe supply shortages. I intended to get a truckfridge/indel 65DZ but they won't be available this year. Engel, National Luna/Snowmaster, ARB, much  ore expensive, and many not available in DZ, or out of stock.

I will place the chest fridge in the front passenger side and have my wife(tiny girl  ) use it as a bench with an envivo type of seat, height of fridge is 19". ATC will install a lagun table on the passenger side. While I figure out how I want the side dinette done, I will use a folding camping chair when sitting at the table.

I built my own Lifepo4, out of 4x3v Linshen cells 280Ah for less than $600 including BMS(will see how reliable is). I won't have a cabinet for my chargers, so I have no choice for my coming trip( to Sacramento to pick up the camper and then driving further to Baja)but to place my Kisae MPPT/DC/DC combo charger, and ac/dc/inverter into a small heavy duty tool box/bin secured to the driver side shelf at the front of camper. Planning to bring all the wires from fan, lights, solar, car battery to the front driver side. All those cables, anderson connectors etc, will be fun to see

How do you mount the Li cells flat, and where outside?

I found a maax deluxe fan on sale at RVworld 

Will use LED wave activated lights as the ones  Vic used from Eshine, 3x 40" for the living space, and 1x20" over the bed.

Two porch lights, one by the entrance door and one for passenger side, from superbrightleds.com

Yakima tracks from Etrailer.

Roof cable entry gland for future solar panel. I won't have a panel installed permanently on the roof as most of the camping I do is in the mountains and heavy forested areas, but I got a Renogy 100W portable suitcase if sun available and for Baja. I got a backup Yamaha portable generator.

For heating I got a chinese diesel heater, Lavaner, they have good reviews, will see if  regret it in the future. I don't know yet how I will mount it and where, somewhere in the back. I may put it in a pelican case and use it as a portable unit instead.

No propane set up for me, although I may have ATC install a door for future.

I will ask my wife to make an arctic pac as done by Ski3, have not purchased the materials yet.

Fun project for sure!!!

[Atlin]

How do you mount the Li cells flat, and where outside?

 

I put them in front of the camper.  Built a box using a few pieces of cut down 2x4 (cut to the width of the cells, just over 1.5") for the sides of the box.  The back of the box is just the front of the camper.  I then put a plexiglas cover on the front of the box, so I can see what's going on inside (when the camper is off the truck).  And of course some holes in the side of the box for wires.  Caulked the 2x4s to the camper and use weatherstrip for the plexi cover.  With the front rubber bumpers on the camper, there is sufficient space for the box to fit in the truck bed, but it would be worth checking this on your particular installation before proceeding.  Mine is on a 2015 F150.  So basically, a flat (mostly) sealed box on the front exterior of the camper with cells laying against the camper.  Mine are mounted upright, but one could easily mount in a different orientation.

 

I also have a charge controller (Redarc) mounted on the right side of the camper near the front, just forward of the access hole.  It is high enough that it doesn't interfere with putting the camper on and off of the truck (i.e., it doesn't hit the wheel well).  My power from the truck comes in through a port just forward of the wheel well.  Worth noting is that I have exterior mounts (Torklift) on my camper and do not use the standard bed mounts, so there is no interference between mounting hardware and the electrical wiring in the front right part of the truck bed.

 

I keep thinking I should post some pics on here but haven't got around to it.