To Read All About This Outfit

When I started creating this site to list all the details, I started with the truck basics. Unfortunately each section is ordered by the time of their creation so to start at the beginning, please go to the final post and move up to the last post. It will be the logical progression of material about the complete camping and vehicle rig.

1997 Ford F350, 4WD crew cab truck with customized flatbed and custom built boxes and fully individualized pop-up camper. Read about all the details and you will see this is a great custom rig in excellent mechanical condition. I doubt you will find another rig built like this with all the features described below.

I've taken great care of this outfit and the only reason I'm selling it is that I need a larger truck for my work. I have a full-sized hard sided camper that is extremely heavy and this truck cannot handle the load. I'm looking for a crew cab Chevy C6500, Topkick or something similar. If I could afford to keep this truck for certain situations I would not sell it. It is a superb outfit.

Please contact me via email if you are interested. My email address is jerry@wyomingpanorama.com.

Camper and custom boxes Part 2

I have permanently installed set of aluminum stairs attached to the truck bed. Pull them out and just walk up to the camper. I also had a dead bolt lock put on the door for added security. There is an outside security light when you need to step outside during the night. Look just above the battery box door on the camper and I installed a 5 watt solar panel to keep the battery topped off when the camper sits idle. Even throughout the winter, the panel keeps the deep cycle battery charged. Works great! There is even an outside hot water shower. I use it regurlarly in the warm weather. Much easier than trying to clean up inside the camper. That is one reason I wanted a hot water heater under the sink. Here are a few images of these accessories.

The camper comes complete with a deep cycle battery and a 20 lb. horizontal propane tank to feed the stove, refrigerator, water heater and furnace. It has an 18,500 btu furnace and a variety of additional 12 volt and AC outlets installed both inside and outside on the camper. It has everything you need to operate fully self-contained, but I made additions to the truck that increases that versatility.

When I decided to have custom built boxes made, I had them designed for maximum security, versatility and function. These are very heavy duty boxes designed to fit the truck bed perfectly and hold the camper in place securely. Let's start on the passenger side boxes. One of my first requirements was to fit a 2000 watt generator that would be set up to charge additional batteries and provide a pure sine wave for operating sensitive electronic equipment. They were designed for the Honda 2000 or the Kipor 2000 inverter series generator. I built special wiring harnesses to plug directly into the generator going to a special compartment housing two additional high capacity deep cycle batteries and a computerized marine charger. In the generator compartment, I built special cooling fans to exhaust fumes and cool the generator while it was running in a secure lockable environment. Special built ventilation doors at the rear of the compartment allow fumes to escape and yet keep the generator out of the weather. It can be started., fueled and run very conveniently. Here are some pictures of this setup. Notice the battery compartment is separated from the generator to prevent any possibility of explosion. Also notice that there are four fans that draw fresh air from the outside to cool the generator. They come on as soon as the generator is started. An accessory outlet is provided in the compartment for additional accessories. When the generator is on, it not only powers the camper, but also powers the computerized charger to top off the two accessory batteries when it is necessary to power the camper without outside power.

The front compartment is used to carry additional fuel for the generator plus any other equipment used for the power of the vehicle. Each compartment is completely ventilated and separated from the others for maximum safety.

Move to the other side of the vehicle and you have one very large compartment that can carry an additional single 30lb. or two 20lb. propane tanks for extended stays, plus the leveling ramps, more tools, chairs, etc. The box is nearly 8 feet in length so it is a very large compartment.




Here is what the truck and camper look like when zipped up and
to travel. You can see it is a very compact unit with a whole lot of
versatility built in. It is tight, warm and secure. Most of all it is
heavy duty. It is a great package.

The Camper and the Custom Boxes

I do field work all around Wyoming and the truck was built to accommodate all my needs, both for transportation, often into the back country, and for comfort in my camping needs. I decided to purchase a pop up camper for several reasons. First, it was the most maneuverable and lowest profile for traveling. It had all the features I needed, even for extended stays which almost always amounted to two weeks or more at one time. The unit I bought was custom built and modified to my particular needs by Lite Craft in Denver, CO. It is an 8.5 foot camper, but some very special modifications. Here is a partial list and some of the pictures of the unit.

I had the camper modified to work on a flatbed unit rather than the traditional truck mounting option in the back of a standard truck bed. Those modifications included adding an additional 2.5 inches of solid foam insulation in the floor, then wrapping then entire camper base in metal. I did this for two reasons. First, I wanted the floor to be as warm as possible since it would be sitting on top of a metal flatbed instead of wrapped in the fenders and sides of a regular bed. I also wanted the height increased to accommodate a generator inside the custom boxes that were built to fit the camper. The metal wrapping was done to keep the exposed wood found on most campers from being exposed to weather and premature deterioration. It also added some insulation value. Next since I had the camper heightened it had some unused space below the bed area and above the cab roof. I had a special box built and added that allowed me to store items like hoses, brooms, tools, tie downs, etc. - things that take up a lot of valuable space from other areas. Door access is from both sides and is lockable. You can see this storage box on the enclosed image. The camper has a fiberglass shell. The additional box is wrapped in metal as is the base of the camper.

I had several special things put into this camper, not included in normal units this size. They include a full toilet, a hot water heater with a six gallon water tank, and an aftermarket air conditioner. Here are some pictures of these things.
The toilet is a Thetford cassette model. It is great. No holding tanks to freeze and so incredibly simple to maintain and care fore. It is flushable with water from the water tank. The air conditioner was added as an afterthought so was mounted on the only available wall which is above the toilet. It is an 8500 btu model and is for use only in campgrounds only with hookups or for those who wish to carry a large generator with at least 3500 watt output. Because it sits in the bathroom enclosure, I modified the upper wall with a huge vent to let out the cooled air into the rest of the camper. You can see that modification in the accompanying photograph. The large vent does not affect privacy.

There is a 30 gallon water tank under the seat at the front of the camper. It has a three burner stove and a large capacity refrigerator with freezing compartment. I recently had this unit rebuilt with new gas fittings and I installed an auxiliary fan for cooling in hot weather environments like the Red Desert. Here are some images of those features.
The dining room table sits just in front of the refrigerator alongside a full sized egress emergency window. The plugs and switches you see here are add-ons. I wanted another GFCI AC outlet, then added a 12 volt accessory plug for various accessories I frequently use. The black switch is the one used to control the cooling fan for the refrigerator.

One of the nicest most comfortable features of this special camper is the bed. Unlike almost every other camper I've seen in this size, the bed is a full queen size, not double like in 95% of campers this size. It has a comfortable mattress and storage accessible by lifting up the spring supported mattress. That is where I store all my clothing for two week trips. It accommodates all the clothes my wife and I need when she can go with me. The bed is surrounded as is the entire camper by screened windows, sealed with the use of heavy velcro fasteners. You get lots of light and all the ventilation and fresh air you could possibly want. Here is a picture of the bed area.
Notice the lights overhead. There are six combination 12 volt/AC lights throughout the interior of the camper that provide lots of light. Also is a powered ceiling fan/vent. You can see the lifting mechanism in the picture on the right. I did not want a crank up unit. The ceiling pops up with very little effort and this takes up so very little space compared to crank up type units. I can set the whole thing up in just under 5 minutes including the bathroom walls and fixing the bed linens. Faster than most people can ready a hard sided camper. This includes lighting the fridge and turning on the propane. It is extremely easy to set up and use.

Move on to the final section above for a continuation of the camper and box features.

1997 Ford F350 Truck Camper rig

This is a fully customized camping and towing rig built on a Ford F350 Crew Cab 4Wd truck. The truck has a 7.3 litre Turbo Diesel engine that has approximately 150,000 original miles. Ford said this was a million mile block with certain parts replacements at the quarter million mile mark. I have several friends that have nearly 300,000 miles on theirs and they are running strong with no major problems. I have one friend who is going strong at 550,000 miles. There have been several upgrades and modifications to this truck and it is in truly superb condition, mechanically and cosmetically. Read on to see all the details about this rig and the fully custom built, heavy steel tool boxes, flat bed and custom pop up camper.

Why am I selling it? I simply need a much bigger truck for a full-sized camper that I want to carry, so I am looking for a C5500 or C6500, Topkick or something similar that will carry a very large camper with tip outs and still tow my work vehicle. This a a work rig, not a recreational vehicle and so will be the new, larger outfit. Everything about this outfit was custom built to meet my very special needs and is a wonderful outfit for anyone to enjoy the outdoors, have 4wd capabilities and is extremely maneuverable. Like to hunt, you can't do much better than this outfit? Look at all the details and you will see that this is truly outstanding value.

Here's a picture of my outfit towing my work vehicle. It is equipped with a very heavy duty hitch and handles this tow vehicle like it wasn't even attached to the truck. I've even hauled a fully loaded 20' enclosed car hauler behind this truck and it towed beautifully.

The truck had its standard bed removed and a flatbed attached to the frame. It is equipped with a hidden goose neck trailer ball. Custom filler nozzles for the dual fuel tanks were installed and are equipped with dual locking caps. I then installed two under bed tool boxes that carry various towing accessories, tie downs and a full compliment of tools. The custom built tool boxes were designed to fit my customized pop-up camper that was modified for additional floor insulation and they fit perfectly, with no gaps, etc. There are built from heavy 12 gauge steel and they are brute. These are not flimsy store bought boxes. Here you can see the truck with the new flatbed and custom boxes before the installation of the camper. All the locks on all boxes are keyed alike and they are very secure.

The boxes were designed for compartments that hold a generator, custom fan cooled ventilation and additional batteries and a special marine charger to supplement the built in battery power of the camper. You can see some of the wiring harness that attaches to the camper inside of the boxes.

Here are some of the truck details, modifications and fixes to give you an idea of what is hidden from cursory views of the vehicle. All these mods and fixes have fewer than 8,000 miles on them. The truck has all new rotors and brakes. This alone was an almost $1200 fix and upgrade. I've replaced all the glow plugs and replaced three injectors. The air conditioning has been completely gone through and upgraded, I put in a brand new transmission with a heavy duty, billet steel torque converter, HD transmission cooler, and all synthetic lubes throughout. I put on a set of Firestone air bag overload springs to help with the addition weight of a fully loaded camper. The truck has a class 5 hitch that has been additionally beefed up to handle the very heaviest of loads and wired with a 7 prong wiring harness. The interior is in excellent condition, but the back seats have been removed to make for additional hauling space of my equipment (easily replaced with just a few bolts). I just put in two new batteries that are less than two months old and a complete new wiring harness worth $400 for the entire engine. I also just put on one of the new computerized electronic brake controllers. These were nearly $200 installed and are the very finest units available.

The engine is serviced regularly and is in superb condition. It uses absolutely no oil and runs very, very strong. The truck has a cruise control, auto trans, air, power everything and radio. It has a folding center console seat and power outside mirrors. The windshield has a crack in it, but does not obstruct the driver's view.

The truck has 4.11 gears and is running 235/75R/16 tires in 10 ply highway tread. The diesel performs best with higher gear ratios, ideally 3.73's so my intent was to put larger tires in size 265/75R/16. These would do two things. Optimize the performance of the trucks engine and allow for greater load capacity. I would replace the tires first thing with 12 ply rated tires in the size mentioned and they will fit the standard rims on the truck. The tires are nearing replacement time. I damaged one of the original aluminum wheels and put a standard steel wheel on in its place. Getting a replacement is an easy thing to match the originals and if I were going to keep the truck, I'd replace it when I put the new tires on it.

Mechanically, it doesn't get much better. I can't imagine anything I haven't taken care of and it gets the mechanics look everytime I take it in for a trip prep. I do have to add some brake fluid first thing in the Spring after the truck has set for the 6 months of winter. No obvious leaks, just a curiosity. One side note, every month during the winter the truck is started and run just to keep things lubed and the batteries in good condition, but they are hooked up to small solar chargers that sit on the dash just to keep a small charge going into the system to compensate for voltage loss from the clocks, computers, etc. It is also put in 4WD and run to keep it in top condition. Nothing wrong with this truck.