47 replies to this topic

[Overland Hadley]

I keep ending up with a no-so-flat bed design that has wheel wells.

Thom, you continue to amaze me.

[Nimbl Vehicles]

I keep ending up with a no-so-flat bed design that has wheel wells.

That was actually taking in consideration when I designed the XPCamper.
The problem is; that every truck has a different wheel base; so there fore every camper needs to be slightly different to fit.
My camper is like one fits all.

In the end I actually gained storage by going with the traditional route of a flatbed.
And; if you already have a flatbed; you can install the camper on that as well.

[ntsqd]

Thom, you continue to amaze me.

Don't be too amazed. So far that design is only 'vaporware', it exists on my computer only. I borrowed a page from Mark's book and originally designed the not-flatbed and then the NCO pop-top that goes with it to replace the rapidly rusting bed on my '84 Xcab. It is a work in progress and far from ready to build. Which is a good thing because my projects list is backed up for the next 3-5 years.....

Mark, I hear you on trying to accommodate different wheel bases, or just different axle locations within the same bed size. A true flat bed makes the most sense there.

[Accrete]

. . . And; if you already have a flatbed; you can install the camper on that as well.

Marc i have a question on the flat bed.
(i posted this over at another forum, but it seems more appropriate here?)

My wife and i will be purchasing a new 2011 Ford SuperDuty next spring. So far we are looking at a crew cab chassis cab F350 or above. I am assuming that you have specs to share as the super duty cabs require more room from flatbed to top-of-cab.

Do you have design parameters that you can share so i can pass this info onto a local builder of flatbeds? (Highway Producs of Medford Oregon). I'm in the planning stages of the purchase with a local ford fleet buyer and trying to coordinate the upfitment including the flat bed in the cost of the truck purchase for better financing. I would consider purchasing the XP flatbed mentioned at your site if they waived the taxes, though a quote from the oregon builder above comes in at ~$6500 for all aluminum construction with boxes below. I have purchased various vehicles in Nevada and California as an Oregon resident and never paid sales tax.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts/reply.

Thom

[DirtyDog]

Marc i have a question on the flat bed.
(i posted this over at another forum, but it seems more appropriate here?)

My wife and i will be purchasing a new 2011 Ford SuperDuty next spring. So far we are looking at a crew cab chassis cab F350 or above. I am assuming that you have specs to share as the super duty cabs require more room from flatbed to top-of-cab.

Do you have design parameters that you can share so i can pass this info onto a local builder of flatbeds? (Highway Producs of Medford Oregon). I'm in the planning stages of the purchase with a local ford fleet buyer and trying to coordinate the upfitment including the flat bed in the cost of the truck purchase for better financing. I would consider purchasing the XP flatbed mentioned at your site if they waived the taxes, though a quote from the oregon builder above comes in at ~$6500 for all aluminum construction with boxes below. I have purchased various vehicles in Nevada and California as an Oregon resident and never paid sales tax.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts/reply.

Thom

Hey Thom,

Welcome to the board! I'm an Oregonian as well and I would prefer to buy a local product. Looking at the page you linked, I would be concerned that the extra width on that flatbed is going to mean that the camper is not going to be flush with the flatbed. I'd be interested to know if they built a narrower version with square corners to better accommodate a camper.

Ute delivers to dealers in Oregon so I don't think there is any tax involved. Ute is primarily a distributor and I don't think they do installations themselves at all.

Regarding the cab height - the XPcamper has a frame between the composite part of the camper and the flatbed. I would assume that the frame is fabricated to whatever specifications needed to fit your truck - IE if your cab is taller then the frame is built to be a bit taller.

Marc should be along to give you some real answers. I've been drooling over the XP for a while now and thought I'd pass along the info I have learned over the last few months.

[Accrete]

Thank you for the kind welcome DD. I've read alot of your posts over the last couple days here...i thought you were an XPCameper spokesperson : )

My wife is the one who is really chomping at the bit for the XPC as this will be her daily driver. We just sold her tricked out 07 tacoma and off road trailer because we wanted to go big. I do like all that i see, and we would be going with the shell for now. We have learned the hard way that our style of camping dosn't fit with the typical layouts. So having the shell as a blank slate will be a great foundation. We are also fortunate enought here in the Astoria area to have at least a dozen custom boat fabrication shops that are very willing to finish the interior when we are ready to settle down to something more permanent.

On the flat bed company i mentioned, if you want a 5 ft wide 10 ft long flad bed they will make it. Each is custom designed for their customers. Thx for the Ute info, good to know. As long as it all makes financial sense (apples for apples & close to same price) i'll go with what Marc is offering in the package if it can work with the ford fleet buyer upfitment package.

happy trails,
Thom

[DirtyDog]

I don't think there is an official flatbed supplier for XPCampers yet. The UTE flatbeds have been mentioned lately because they are reasonably priced and in stock. However, even the UTE is going to need some minor modifications to work with the XP. It may be that a custom builder like the one in Medford may be a great option.

If you wanted to see the XP in person, you are welcome to attend this event:

http://www.wanderthe...hp?/topic/3674/

[Nimbl Vehicles]

Hi Thom;
Yes you can use any flatbed provider you wish and I can supply you all the specs needed to fit the XPCamper.
I am building a camper for a customer who has an F350 on an UTE bed.

The camper was designed to fit on a variety of existing flatbed manufacturers with minimal changes.
There is a sub-frame which houses the slide out stairs and the quick disconnect system to remove the camper.
The sub-frame is attached to the cabin .

In order to compensate for the cab height the flatbed itself will be installed to the cabin parameter.

E mail me directly to discuss the possibilities
Marc at XPCamper dot com or feel free to call me at 415 672-1504

Thanks for your interest

Cheers

Marc

[Accrete]

...Yes you can use any flatbed provider you wish and I can supply you all the specs needed to fit the XPCamper.
I am building a camper for a customer who has an F350 on an UTE bed...

Thanks for your kind reply Marc. The F350/UTE sounds like a mirror of what my wife and i have in mind. Keep us posted as to the progress if the owner doesn't mind? I will also contact you via email. It will be interesting to see how we could time the UTE/Truck as the UTE plant is up the road from us on the coast as far as drop shipping them the truck, etc...then maybe we could drive it down your way since i grew up in the bay area and have family/friends there? time will tell.

Cheers,
Thom

[marc]

Thanks for your kind reply Marc. The F350/UTE sounds like a mirror of what my wife and i have in mind. Keep us posted as to the progress if the owner doesn't mind? I will also contact you via email. It will be interesting to see how we could time the UTE/Truck as the UTE plant is up the road from us on the coast as far as drop shipping them the truck, etc...then maybe we could drive it down your way since i grew up in the bay area and have family/friends there? time will tell.

Cheers,
Thom

Hi Thom,
I'm the one who is having the camper built for my 07 F350. I will be up to see Marc next week and will take some pics. Feel free to pm me if u have any questions.

marc