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Bill Maher absolutely eviscerates the Democrat party in a rare moment of clarity and common sense. I don't often side with Bill (in fact, I think he's an ass almost all the time), but I was cheering through much of this video. Much of the narrative in his rant should be played and replayed more often.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgrZAPUvKyA
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So today I picked up the first piece of the new truck camper puzzle...the truck. Ordered it just the way I wanted it from Ford two months ago...the color, the interior, the options, the engine and payload capacity that I wanted wasn't something I'd find on a dealer lot. Got a great deal on it, too...X-plan pricing as it's called (I own a considerable amount of Ford stock) which has the price to match invoice along with waiving all dealer fees. Also, $4000 in rebates were applied...a 57k truck for 50k. I'm quite satisfied. The guy I bought it from was a good dude, too. The day I went shopping for this thing I had to wade thru a bunch of smelly knuckleheads before I found him...shoulda went to his dealership in the first place, but I worked my way out closest to my house.
Check out that payload capacity! The camper I'll put on is going to weigh around 2600lbs "dry"...and once it's loaded with camping, backpacking, canyoneering and biking gear, water, food, dishes, clothing, other necessities, etc...it'll come in around 3500. Plenty of payload to spare...which is great, 'cuz I won't have to make upgrades to the stock suspension.
Great truck. Nice and quiet even with those burly tires. Fantastic turning radius...just as good as the old F-150 I have. Ridiculous power...I opted for the 7.3L gas (445ci) over the diesel because that diesel is a HEAVY engine...it adds more than 600lbs to the truck, which you have to subtract from the payload. Besides...a big block like that married up to a 10 speed tranny isn't going to scream up hills like a 330 with a 4 speed. Far less complex as well. I know you diesel guys are going "No, no, no!"...but this powertrain will be fine. I DID NOT want to do airbags, etc.
In two weeks I drive to the middle of Kansas to have the bed removed and an aluminum flatbed installed...then I have to wait until the end of February for my camper to be built. It's going to be a Hallmark "flatbed model"...http://www.hallmarkrv.com/campers/hallmark-raton/
Go big or go home, baby. Vacation home on wheels. While it was fun and never really a problem...no more tent camping for me!
^^^I always special order all my new vehicles for a variety of reasons. Two of the biggest being you get exactly what you want and the best price.
Wow, beautiful truck @Byron!
Look forward to seeing more updates in the future.
Thank you, sir. Yep, she's good looking. I had a choice of any color they offered, but my opinion is that if you're going to have a vehicle that is subject to "Desert Pin Striping" you'd best go with a light color. Dark grey, red, blue, black...they'll all show every scratch. I didn't want white 'cuz it's so boring...and silver always looks great. Any vehicle that is silver looks "high tech"...even a cheap car.
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This thing is a beast. I was parked next to an older Dodge dually ('02, '03?) and it looked absolutely PUNY next to this truck. When I first got in it and drove I was like "Holy shit!"...but it didn't take long to get the feel of it. I reckon within a few days I'll be whipping it around like a race car. Speaking of...I bedded in the brakes on the test drive this morning and for the first 300 miles I'll drive it nice and easy...then I'll start goosing her a bit. Break that engine in proper.
Functional layout. I've been thinking of getting a small trailer, around 16' and 2800 lbs dry. But yours at just 8.5' covers all the bases.
The demand for RVs has been through the roof this year. I expect that to continue rising, as those on our side- both age and politics- increasingly decide to disconnect from society and hit the road more.
I sold my Jeep and rooftop tent this year after not enjoying the experience the last 2 years. Add this year's car camping trip to Yellowstone to finish the realization tenting is no longer of interest.
4wd SUV and a small trailer for me. A little more space than your setup, since 1/2 the time I won't be alone, and an unloaded SUV for exploring from a base.
Comparing your 8.5' floorplan and a typical 17' plan I'm considering. Your 8.5' is the truck bed length not counting the over cab area, correct? Seems an impossible layout otherwise. Entire length of yours is around 13' I'd guess?
Edit: yes, your unit is 140 to 180 inches in total length.
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Congrats Byron, great project, very utility/swiss army knife unit to be.
Indeed...the wait time for my unit was nearly 5 months...and although the "flatbed" is the most expensive unit they produce, the other units they sell aren't cheap either. A small slide in that's and empty shell is still going to cost 20 grand. I also took a look at the flatbed that is produced by Four Wheel Campers and they guy there told me the wait for a build is one year. They can't make them fast enough.
Also, the dealership where I bought my truck (Phil Long Ford) had a HUGE commercial sales lot, my guy there told me Ford is selling Transit vans in huge amounts and nearly everyone is converting them to campers. I'd say it's a matter of the products they're producing being so much more appealing than they used to be. Technology is literally turning them into a home away from home.
The trailer is a good idea because you'll have the car to explore...but the problem is that you'll be limited where you can go. I wanted to be able to take mine all the way to the end of HRR or into the Cedar Mesa backcountry, the Abajos, North Rim stuff, etc...so it's a trade off.
Let me know when you get set up...we'll go camping! I'll have the condo and you'll have the mansion.
EDIT: Those rooftop tents seem so gay to me...everytime I've seen one I'm like "What a pussy!"...those things just seemed like such nonsense...just pitch that thing on the ground and get that stupid contraption off the roof of the car. I always figured they were afraid of bugs. No offense, Doug...but I never did really understand those things.
Well, look at a camper/trailer as extra wussy then. Having been a hardcore backpacker for years, going car camping was wuss to me. Trying a rooftop was the next wuss step. Still too much work for too little gain in comfort, though there was a gain.
Plus I had a 2 door TJ with zero room to pack anything and it seemed plausible to move sleeping up top. No. I'd never recommend one to anyone of any age or adventure status. They serve zero legit purpose.
Now I'm going full wuss with a trailer. In the span of 10 years- tent packing up the bases of 14ers and through utterly remote areas to a trailer. Damn how the mighty fall with age.
It's all good man...I'm with ya.
When I was bugged out for a month last April I got lucky that it only rained on me one night. But I thought "Man, this could really suck if the weather got bad for a while". In fact I've been on long road trips where the weather drove me home...this is the solution for that.
BTW...I'll likely feel sorry for tent campers now...but I'll still never understand those rooftop contraptions!
Exactly what happened to me on a big CO mountains Jeep trek in 2018. Rained on me for 4, 5, 6 straight late afternoons and nights with classic summer T-storms. Drove me nuts and made pitching and shuttling stuff in/out of the tent bad. Thought the roof top would solve that, leaving bedding in place with a cushy mattress, too. That it did, but the drawbacks otherwise too great.