Alumiduty Build - Camper Prep

[AlumiDuty6]

Hey everyone,

I’m new here, stumbled across this page yesterday. Be warned this will likely be a long post and I was unsure whether I should put this in the camper section or here, but there will be a good bit about the truck...figured this will work. At any rate I’ve been looking at FWC’s for the past few years and will be looking to buy something at the end of this year or next summer. I have quite a bit of time off every year, I’m a ship pilot and mate.I generally take about 4-6 months off each year, longest stretch is from mid January to start of April every year. Winter capabilities are a must fwiw.

I’m unsure of what style camper to go with, whether I want an FWC or ATC slide in or flatbed. Hallmark is out, truck will see too rough of terrain for the weight. I’ll post about the build and see what you guys might think lines up with my style. I really enjoy heading out to Moab and other Utah destinations as well as Colorado, the camper will see use in Alaska as well. I travel quite a bit during my time off, at least 10-15k miles of road tripping a year and sometimes that many in a single trip...48 states down!

The truck:

2017 F250 6.7 Diesel Crew Cab Short Bed
Manual Shift 4x4 w/manual locking hubs
Electronic locking rear
Crank windows and manual locks (wanted this)
Upfitters
Skid Plates

Mods:

-4.5” full Carli lift (with fabbed arms and track bar)
-King 2.5 resi shocks
-Full Deavers
-Custom coated Methods 17x8.5 -4.75” BS
-40x13.50r17 Toyo MT’s
-Amp Xl steps
-All of the bolt on and electronic performance mods, quite a monster.
-And plenty of things that don’t pertain to this forums scope.

Yet to be installed or ordered:
-ARB on board air compressor (the most expensive one, can’t remeber the model
-Swing arm rear tire mount and generator mount if I go with a slide in
-Carli long travel bags when available for the 17’s
-Possibly glass fenders and 42’s
-Rogue front bumper

Just really unsure of what I want and looking for opinions about what my next step should be. Can’t decide if I want the slide in for the protection of the camper and looks or the flatbed for the space and many added features. All opinions welcome. Feel free to ask questions about the truck, a lot of research went into getting the right suspension set up for my wants, was the first stock fendered alumiduty with a small lift on 40’s that I know of. Hopefully almost done with the truck portion!

Excited to make friends with the experienced enthusiasts here!

 

[Happyjax]

Welcome Nice looking truck. You will get good advice from the folks here

 

[klahanie]

Welcome to the forum AlumiDuty6 !

Hopefully almost done with the truck portion!

That's a joke correct ?... JK ...Looking good !

You're building something very special and personally tailored and I expect you've given the whole project a great deal of thought so I can only offer a few additional or supporting thoughts...

The stock PU box has a lot going for it, you mentioned good looks and I'll add they're usually relatively light weight (more so in AL); they function pretty well, IMO and they are "normal" so don't draw attention and easier for resale. These last two points may not apply to your rig.

A flat deck body has the big advantage of potential storage (as mentioned) that, with your intended travel duration, I think would be a real plus. Also better for organization of gear. You seem to have - if I may - more means and desire than most to do something different. So flat deck could be an outlet, address the rear flares and all sorts of neat things, However, if you want a certain look, perhaps less "commercial" or "utilitarian" it's going to cost money, take time and you going to need a skilled and willing builder.

For the camper, again, as previous paragraph - you already know this. I'll add that for us the ability to sleep with the top down is an important convenience and a very useful feature/solution for sleeping in cold weather. It would be on my design criteria when shopping, both FB or slide in. Side entry could also be very useful if you could locate the big spare tire to the rear (best place for it IMO) without the swing.

Also I understand ATC is amenable to customization. Increasing upper and lower wall and ceiling insulation is something I, personally would ask about.

Of course all these extras add weight, less important for a cruiser like me, more important for an off roader like you.

Good luck and keep use posted.

 

[AlumiDuty6]

Welcome Nice looking truck. You will get good advice from the folks here

Thank you! Yea seems to be tons of great info here!

 

[2tallDA]

Great truck and Carli no less.
One important thing came to mind.Where's the 40" spare going?

 

[Durango1]

One important question: Do you usually travel solo or do you have a regular 'travelling companion'?

 

[kmcintyre]

You'll find a lot of info on both ATC and FWC and both are great. FWC is typically a bit more busy but I'm sure both can do customization although I suspect with ATC you'll get a quicker turn-around.

 

[Durango1]

You'll find a lot of info on both ATC and FWC and both are great. FWC is typically a bit more busy but I'm sure both can do customization although I suspect with ATC you'll get a quicker turn-around.

FWC makes a great camper (I'm on my third FWC in less than six years) but they do virtually NO customization. (I've tried!)

 

[AlumiDuty6]

Welcome to the forum AlumiDuty6 !

That's a joke correct ?... JK ...Looking good !

You're building something very special and personally tailored and I expect you've given the whole project a great deal of thought so I can only offer a few additional or supporting thoughts...

What an outstanding post. Thank you for taking the time to share your opinion.

And you’re right I do want a very clean look no matter which way I go. If I end up with a 10k truck cap pop up or a 50k set up...I want it to all look natural and right.

I think one of my biggest struggles is whether I should go minimalist with something like a vegabond/habitat/gfc/overlandr or get a loaded out flatbed fwc. I think I would be happy with either. I don’t require much, I spend most of my life these days living on a ship with a stateroom hardly bigger than an FWC. I travel alone most of the time as well. Thru hiking the AT 8 years ago really put into perspective what a person actually needs out there...but damn a shower and toilet would be nice! Haha.

I think for the scope of the truck a more minimalist set up would match up.

Only problem I have with ATC is it seems like the only siding option is white? I really like the silver spur FWC option or how some of the pop up truck caps have custom graphics.

I imagine I’m going to lose my mind obsessing over this for a year, just like I did the suspension/wheel/tire combo on this truck.

 

[AlumiDuty6]

Great truck and Carli no less.
One important thing came to mind.Where's the 40" spare going?

I’m hoping to get a rear swing arm set up or if I go flatbed, maybe in between cab and camper. Not quite sure yet. The damn tire is huge though so it’s definitely a major concern of mine to figure out how to properly mount it.

 

[AlumiDuty6]

One important question: Do you usually travel solo or do you have a regular 'travelling companion'?

Mostly alone, have a few friends that tag along every now and then...but I don’t plan my trip around it.

 

[verynice]

That setup would be ideal for an XP/flatbed (if that's in reach of your budget). Alaskans are also awfully nice and remind you of being in a sailboat with all the high quality wood work and character that goes with it. IMHO the smaller pop-ups should be reserved for the weight carrying challenged or serious off road where getting somewhere is worth having less amenities. Less weight is always better but at what cost is up to you. After going through a lot of different set-ups which all had postives I've found a lightweight hardside is the best sacrifice for me, my girl and 2 dogs. Girls like bathrooms.....a lot

 

[klahanie]

Alumi, I almost don't envy you with all your available choices ... almost. Travelling solo you have a real opportunity to go light and minimalist. Likely the route you choose will involve consideration of the usual suspects: where you want to go, what you want to do and how you want to do it.

I'm partial to a camper. Currently my better half and I do long distance road trips but squeezed into 1 and 2 week vacations. We don't "camp" per se or spent much time outside while in camp. We drive, we overnight, we drive. We camp "tidy", no small city set up etc, even put the chairs away at night if we use them. For us the convenience of a camper is key. We also carry a ton of junk, mostly extra, just in case stuff and have the truck set up to do this. We're long and heavy, that limits where we can go.

As an alternative I wouldn't mind a 'wheeler like a Taco or Defender wagon with a RTT (if I could accept the set up and it's appearance). Up here we have a ton of old, bushing-in logging roads running in mountainous terrain to explore, where size matters and auto paint can't.

You have a largish, heavyish truck. Maybe you're still in the middle and can go either way, IDK ...

I do know you're right about the spare tire question. We have a cab and chassis with no factory location. I went round and round on that one even though there are only a few possibilities. My girl said, only, if only, someone could invent a perfect solution to the spare tire problem, that someone could be rich...

Agree the silver cladding is good looking (ours is the old Bone White, LOL).

While you are percolating things you might want to check out coverage of some of the Australian Caravan and Camping Shows for some different, very slick, tray back camping solutions.

 

[MANXMAN]

Will be watching with great interest AlumiDuty6.

I also have a 2017 Superduty with full Carli suspension and flatbed camper. This is my second one and I'm building the interior of the camper myself to get the exact layout I want. Did it a few years ago on a F150.

Both of my campers were built by ATC as Marty and Jeff allow me to have pretty much anything I want when it comes to the design. No one out there is willing to do that but ATC. I made a lot of changes to the new one and it turned out great. Their workmanship is top notch and their after sale service really sets them apart from the others.

Looking forward to reading about whatever you end up doing.

 

[AlumiDuty6]

Will be watching with great interest AlumiDuty6.

I also have a 2017 Superduty with full Carli suspension and flatbed camper. This is my second one and I'm building the interior of the camper myself to get the exact layout I want. Did it a few years ago on a F150.

Both of my campers were built by ATC as Marty and Jeff allow me to have pretty much anything I want when it comes to the design. No one out there is willing to do that but ATC. I made a lot of changes to the new one and it turned out great. Their workmanship is top notch and their after sale service really sets them apart from the others.

Looking forward to reading about whatever you end up doing.

Would love to see pics of your build! Post them up if you don’t mind or link the thread if you have one. If not I’ll just imagine it, haha.

 

[Riverrunner]

If you have the means I'd vote for a flatbed. I'd go that route if I could for a lot of reasons. As suggested I'd go for an XP or Hallmark. Maybe an Alaskan but not sure on that one. I guess it depends on how you're going to use it. ATC/FWC are nice and narrow but I would like more width and length. I'm never going to "wheel" my truck as it's too big no matter the lift and tires. Had a jeep and that ruined any "fullsized" truck wheeling I aspired to do.

Welcome to WTW and keep us updated.

 

[AlumiDuty6]

That setup would be ideal for an XP/flatbed (if that's in reach of your budget). Alaskans are also awfully nice and remind you of being in a sailboat with all the high quality wood work and character that goes with it. IMHO the smaller pop-ups should be reserved for the weight carrying challenged or serious off road where getting somewhere is worth having less amenities. Less weight is always better but at what cost is up to you. After going through a lot of different set-ups which all had postives I've found a lightweight hardside is the best sacrifice for me, my girl and 2 dogs. Girls like bathrooms.....a lot

Alaskans at just too big for my liking. Although I love the interior. Serious off-road is more my style, I’d do an rtt if I could get over the looks and function, but not sure that I can.

If you have the means I'd vote for a flatbed. I'd go that route if I could for a lot of reasons. As suggested I'd go for an XP or Hallmark. Maybe an Alaskan but not sure on that one. I guess it depends on how you're going to use it. ATC/FWC are nice and narrow but I would like more width and length. I'm never going to "wheel" my truck as it's too big no matter the lift and tires. Had a jeep and that ruined any "fullsized" truck wheeling I aspired to do.

Welcome to WTW and keep us updated.

Budget isn’t that much of an issue. I could do 100k, but don’t want to. Really looking for the camper portion to be less than 50 since it’s going to be limited in capabilities as a camper. I might be better off getting an airstream as a base camp and then doing one of the truck camper for the trip portion. Not sure though.

 

[AlumiDuty6]

Alumi, I almost don't envy you with all your available choices ... almost. Travelling solo you have a real opportunity to go light and minimalist. Likely the route you choose will involve consideration of the usual suspects: where you want to go, what you want to do and how you want to do it.

I'm partial to a camper. Currently my better half and I do long distance road trips but squeezed into 1 and 2 week vacations. We don't "camp" per se or spent much time outside while in camp. We drive, we overnight, we drive. We camp "tidy", no small city set up etc, even put the chairs away at night if we use them. For us the convenience of a camper is key. We also carry a ton of junk, mostly extra, just in case stuff and have the truck set up to do this. We're long and heavy, that limits where we can go.

As an alternative I wouldn't mind a 'wheeler like a Taco or Defender wagon with a RTT (if I could accept the set up and it's appearance). Up here we have a ton of old, bushing-in logging roads running in mountainous terrain to explore, where size matters and auto paint can't.

You have a largish, heavyish truck. Maybe you're still in the middle and can go either way, IDK ...

I do know you're right about the spare tire question. We have a cab and chassis with no factory location. I went round and round on that one even though there are only a few possibilities. My girl said, only, if only, someone could invent a perfect solution to the spare tire problem, that someone could be rich...

Agree the silver cladding is good looking (ours is the old Bone White, LOL).

While you are percolating things you might want to check out coverage of some of the Australian Caravan and Camping Shows for some different, very slick, tray back camping solutions.

I kinda suspect you of being a head shrink, haha. Pretty insightful reply. And I honestly am considering having a full size camper as base camp, such as an airstream. And then doing something lightweight for the actual venturing out, I just don’t know. I think this will come down to flipping a coin or seeing what flashes in front of my eyes on the right day. I don’t like having regrets, and really want to get this right.

Yea, wish I could get over the full-size truck craze and “settle” for a taco or Jeep, but I’m just too much of a turbo diesel man to let it go.

I’ve checked out some of the Australian builds, but still just browsing for now.

Thank you for your response.

 

[verynice]

Sounds like Manxman has the setup. Roomy, light, high clearance, low profile. A nice spare tire rack on the back and go-time

 

[Riverrunner]

Budget isn’t that much of an issue. I could do 100k, but don’t want to. Really looking for the camper portion to be less than 50 since it’s going to be limited in capabilities as a camper. I might be better off getting an airstream as a base camp and then doing one of the truck camper for the trip portion. Not sure though.

Copy that. This is sort of where we ended up as we also have a travel trailer now. Two different tools for two different jobs.