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.