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Cabover Camper Chat
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Mike, I saw a brief news clip tonight on a place called Hyder Alaska in Misty Fiords National Monument about people approaching the bears taking photos, & possibly getting injured. Absolutely beautiful country. Have you been there? What time of year do you go to DV? Where do you usually camp? We've been going there for MANY of years, & never get tired of it. A great winter retreat, especially when the cacti are in bloom. Fun place!! By the way, which way do you go to DV, or like best? When we lived in Tahoe, we would go 395 to Lone Pine, through the Panamints, Stove Pipe, & into Furnace Creek. On the way back, we hit 95,via Scotty's Castle to Tonapah, Fallon, Reno, & then home. A lot depends on the weather though.A nice drive no matter which way you go. Hwy. 95 is a bit boring though.
Talk to you later.
Gary-
Problem: Dog to big(100lbs Lab (Rube)) to ride in cab with me. Want to get a slide in truck camper, leaning toward pop up.
Question: can dog ride in camper without getting to hot(not worried about cold for obvious reasons)? Like my truck and don't want to get another just for the extended cab for dog.
Vince
To approach any bear is foolish. Under any circumstance. Those suckers can run 35 mph, can you? Normally the bears don't bother people, only when their food supply or cubs are threatened, or when you smell like food (don't carry candy), or they have a dog instict (you run, they chase). Polar bears are an exception. They hunt humans for food.
Our favorite way into Death Valley is from the east when returning from some other place we have visited. Passing through on a return trip seems to extend the vacation. Even in the middle of summer the place has a unique charm. However, Death Valley is best visited in winter, hopefully between Christmas and New Years. This trip I want to come in through Wildrose Canyon, visit the charcoal kilns and Aguerberry Point and exit past Racetrack. Last spring we went back through Titus Canyon (glad we have compound low), Rhyolite, Ubehebe Crater. I don't remember where we camped. It was Lone Pine on the way out, but I don't know where in the Valley. We can just about stop anywhere and set up camp.
We can all agree that any way across Nevada can get boring.
Vince, I'm leery of catalytic heater because of the need for ventilation. I have one for use in my barn/workshop where the ventilation is substantial, but not in the camper.
We have a 20,000 BTU furnace in the camper and I wish it were smaller with a quieter blower. I wouldn't mind it running longer cycles. But it works and we stay warm. We set it at 50 at night. When it is 30 outside it comes on about 3 times during the night. We have a cheap down comforter and it works well for us.
Later,
Mike
Mine is right on the bed. When I pulled it out last, there was a little paint rubbed off, but no big deal! It is a truck and I expect the bed show signs of wear.
Except, of course, for the guys who buy trucks for use as cars with big open trunks.
Mike
1999 F-350 Superduty Supercab dually Lariat (leather, etc) 4x4 V-10 auto trans. 4.30 axle ratio with l/s, camper and trailer tow package.
1999 10'11" Bigfoot 3000 camper with all the options (artic package, A/C, generator, awning, microwave, outdoor shower, etc).
I did some shopping around for campers and narrowed it down to Lance and Bigfoot. There were a couple of things that swayed me towards the Bigfoot. One was the -40 weather rating because I plan to winter camp.
Another was the queen bed ceiling height. I am able to sit up completely without bumping my head. The front bed area is a like a mini room. You could easily sit several kids up there to play games if it was raining outside. Several adults could sit up there and play games without worrying about rubbing their heads on the ceiling.
The basement storage was also a big plus. I do alot of fishing, so it's nice to put the wet waders and poles outside the camper. It's also a good place to store tools. The basement storage runs the complete length of the floor space, so there is plenty of room.
The separate shower and toilet areas was also nice, although that type of bathroom is available in alot of the campers my size.
If you have a Superduty, you need a three inch platform in the bed to clear the higher cab of the new truck. The camper dealer built my platform as part of the installation. It's basically made out of plywood and 2x4s. It doesn't shift at all and neither does the camper. I can remove the platform by loosing four screws in about a couple of minutes. When I take the camper off, I set the platform on some sawhorses and set the camper on it. The sawhorses I use are shorter than the standard ones since I don't want the camper sitting up too high when stored.
If you get the duallys, you will need to order your camper with front dually swing out brackets or you won't be able to back under the camper. When I was taking the camper off once, I forgot to pull the brackets out. Fortunately, I remembered before I tried to drive out from under the camper, but I still felt stupid having to lower the truck back in to the bed so I could swing the brackets out. We live and learn. Like I like to say whenever I do something stupid, worse things have been done by better men.
The new Superduties are heavy. My truck weighs 7,100 pounds. My camper has an advertised dry weight of 2,900 pounds. An manufacturer's advertised dry weight is the weight of the base model without options. My options added 1,000 pounds, so my camper weighs 3,900 pounds. Fill the 30 gallon water tank, the propane tanks, and add some gear and passengers and I tip the scales close to 12,000 pounds loaded for a trip.
Although I am exceeding my GVWR by 600-800 pounds, the truck handles the load great. I bought the camper from a dealer in Canada and picked it up on my move back from Dallas to Anchorage in January. I had close to 2,000 miles of driving where the average temp was -25 and we hit a pretty good snow storm, so I really got to test out the handling. Because of the road conditions, I did most of my driving in 4wd with OD locked out. I was really impressed with the engine braking. The truck really holds speed on long grades with minimal use of the brakes.
As I mentioned, I live in Anchorage....again. I work 4-10s in the summer, so every weekend was a three day weekend. I was out almost every weekend from Memorial Day to Labor Day. I'd leave Friday after work and come back on Monday evening. The trips ranged from 250-600 mile roundtrips. Mostly, I went to the Kenai Peninsula (Seward, Kenai, Soldotna, Homer), but occasionally went to Valdez and to some fishing spots on the Parks Hwy about 90 minutes out of town.
Most Alaskan roads outside of Anchorage are two lane hwys. Since we have a lot of tourists and RVs in the summer, the trips usually require alot of passing for those of us who travel the roads weekly. Despite the heavy load, my truck has plenty of get up and go. My truck has the 99 version of the V-10 with 275 hp and 410 ft-lb of torque (compared to 310/425 for the 2000 model year), but I have no shortage of power. Some of that could be the 4.30 axle ratio. I drive almost exclusively in OD unless I hit an extended steep grade. If I'm behind someone doing 50, I have no problems getting around them and back into line quickly. My truck has some pretty good pickup from 50-75, even with the load.
The 4.30s cost me some mpg. Running empty without the camper on, I get 11.5-12 on the hwy. That's about 2mpg less than the guys with the V-10 and 3.73. With the camper on, I get 8.5-9 with speeds of 60-65. I can get 9.5-10 at 55mpg.
The shocks that I've heard the most good things about from other owners of truck campers are the Rancho 9000 adjustable shocks. When running empty, you can set them on level 1. When loaded, the most popular settings appear to be level 4 on the fron and level 5 on the rear. I think their web-site is at www.rancho.cc.
To me the big advantage of a truck camper is that you can tow toys behind you. I don't have any plans to get a boat, because I have enough places to fish without them. However, I do plan to tow snowmobiles and ATVs (fourwheelers) in the future. There are alot of truck campers on the roads up here towing boats, ATVs, and snowmobiles. My camper sticks about three feet out the back of my truck. I've got a class IV hitch, but will have to upgrade to a Class V when I tow with the camper on.
Since I've been so long winded, I'll save my discussions about Alaskan camping and the Alaskan hwy for another time. Although I live in Alaska, I haven't had the opportunity to drive the Dalton Hwy up to the North Slope. The road (previously known as the haul road) was not open to the public when my job transferred me out of the State (Southern CA for 4 1/2 years, Dallas for 1) in 1993. It's more than a weekend trip, so I didn't get around to it this summer.
I've been up and down the Alaskan Hwy numerous times in different seasons, and am currently planning a roundtrip to Southern CA in May. The preliminary plan is to take about three weeks for the trip. For those of you who aren't even planning a trip to Alaska at this point, I would still strongly recommend purchasing the latest edition of the Milepost. It tells you where everything is along the hwy and it gives you the vital stats on most of the cities. If your local bookstore doesn't have it, they will order it for you. I've had to do that before when I lived in the lower 48.
I have a 10.5' Lance with a dry weight of 2250lbs. Now I need to calculate the added wt. for the aircon., awning,fuel, supplies, & my wife & I. Approaching my GVWR, I'm sure. Oh, by the way, I don't have a truck yet. I'm getting a 2K, Silverado, LS, 4x4, ext. cab, LB. Kind of like getting the cart before the horse. I got the deal of a life time on the camper... That's why the cart before the horse.
TTYL- Gary
Without the duallys, the airbags are a must. Even with the duallys, I'm planning to get them. You might check out those Rancho shocks also. I will probably get them when my shocks get about 40,000 miles on them, which will probably be late next year. I've heard alot of good things about them.
Somebody mentioned special turnbuckles. I definitely second that, at least for the front. My camper dealer put these standard (wimpy) turnbuckles on my tie-downs and my camper moved a little. I replaced them and the camper does not move at all. The new ones basically have little shock absorbers, so they flex when you hit bumps. A set of four costs about $75.
By the way, My camper is secured by four tie-downs. I have four bars at each corner that are mounted to the frame. My friend has a 96 F-250HD shortbed with about an 8' Fleetwood Angler pickup camper. He has one belly bar that runs horizontally under the truck about mid-bed. He only has the two tie-downs that connect to the belly bar on each side. He's had his rig for several years and it works great. That set up wouldn't work for me, because my camper is so much heavier.
The Lance and Bigfoot and Fleetwood campers weigh about the same as long as you are comparing apples to apples. Lance and Fleetwood offer a larger selection of sizes. The Bigfoot basically has three campers: the 1500, 2500, and 3000. The 10'11" 3000 is the deluxe model and compares to the Lance Legend and Fleetwood Caribou. The Lance Legend is 100-200 pounds lighter than the 2900 pound dry weight of my camper, depending on options. The Caribou is the same and in some cases a little heavier. The options make the difference. I suspect that close to half of my 1000 pounds in options is the thermal pane windows that give it the -40 rating. In your case the AC is probably about 125 pounds, the awning is about 50, and gas, propane and water each weigh somewhere between 6-8 pounds per gallon.
I had the luxury of shopping anywhere in the US for my Bigfoot, since I was picking it up on my commute from Dallas to Anchorage. Bigfoot has fewer dealers throughout the US, so if you are stuck with the local dealer, it's tougher to find a good deal. I found the best deals in the US in Oregon. I ended up buying mine in Canada. The total costs including installation was $22,600 out the door. I added the Onan 2500 Microlite generator for $2,500, so my total was $25,100. The same camper with the same options is about $30,000 up here. They wanted over $27,000 for it in Colorado.
I got a great deal on the truck. I found it for $99 below dealer invoice. The window sticker was $35,170. I paid $30,600. That's a 1 ton dually 4x4 Lariat with all the options, including leather interior. I added a Line-X bed liner for $375 under the rails. The liner isn't slick, but I can easily slide stuff on it, such as furniture. It's not like sand paper. Anyone considering a spray-in should go see some examples to decide if it is slick enough for them. I think the spray-in looks better than the stock paint, especially now after a year. I have a black truck, which no doubt would be all scratched in the bed. By the way, the dealer I bought my truck from is out of business. I guess his allotment wasn't good, so he couldn't get the trucks fast enough to fill all the orders.
One really good place to get more camping info is www.happycampers.net. Go into the chat area, and you can search by key words, such as "Lance", "airbags", "ranchos", etc.
I'm a Chevy guy and would never look at a Ford topic.
Actually you were in a new group 'pickup camper matches' or something like that and I sent you over here.
Welcome to out little group.
After out first (but not last) trip to Alaska, I must say I envy your 3 day weekends in paradise. We really enjoyed our stay, especially the unspoiled, uncrowded north. You are more adventerous than I am, going camping in the middle of an Alaskan winter. I would like to go camping up the Dalton in winter to experience 24 darkness and to see the Northern Lights.
What route do you take south from Alaska? We really enjoyed the Stewart-Cassiar highway more than the Alaskan Highway. Except of course for the Liard Hot Springs. Must be really something in the winter.
Take care,
Mike
If you want to see the northern lights, you can do that here in Anchorage on a clear night. Most of the ones we get here are just green, but occasionally get some with spectacular colors. From what I understand, this winter is a really good time to see them. Something to do with the sun cycle. The current issue of Backpacker magazine has an article on the northern lights.
As far as daylight, we get pretty good night and day swings here in Anchorage. On our longest day (6/21), we have close to 20 hours of daylight. On our shortest day (12/21), we barely have four hours of daylight. The farther north you go, the bigger the swings. Fairbanks gets about two hours more daylight on the longest day and two hours less on the shortest day. I'm not sure that I would want to drive the Dalton in the winter to see total darkness. I think I might consider a flight to Nome or some other city above the Arctic circle.
As for winter camping, I doubt I will brave enough to fill my water tank, even though my tanks are heated. The biggest disaster that could happen is that your heater could quit on you. If that were to happen, you could always do an emergency winterize. You could dumpt the fresh water tank and the grey water tank. I don't condone dumping the grey water on the ground. However, in an emergency, it would be acceptable (in my opinion) since it really is only dirty sink and shower water. After you've drained those two tanks, you could winterize the camper. Obviously, you can't drain the black water tank, but you could dump some antifreeze in the toilet to handle that until you could dump later.
However, when I winter camp, I will probably dump about a gallong of antifreeze in the black water tank so I can use the toilet and then I would carry several five gallon jugs of water. When I get back from the weekend, all I would have to do is dump the blackwater tank. Winterizing my camper doesn't take long (about 15 minutes). I just turn the hotwater tank bypass valves, put my siphon hose into a gallon of antifreeze and start turning on faucets. Still, I think I can live without the sink and shower for a weekend. I'll still have water for cooking and using the toilet.
I haven't towed with my camper on, but it's my understanding that it will require a Class V hitch because of the extension required to clear the camper. I've got a Class IV hitch, so I will need to upgrade before I tow with the camper. I see people towing with 10-11 foot slide-in campers all the time. My recommendation is to go talk to a shop that installs hitches. They can probably answer all of your questions.
One thing to keep in mind about towing is that the tongue weight of the trailer does need to be factored into your GVWR calculations. I've always heard that 10% of the trailer is a good round number to use when figuring out tongue weight, although a lower percentage may work. If you use 10% and you are towing a 5,000 pound trailer, about 500 of those pounds would count towards your GVWR. Another figure to consider when towing is the GCWR. The GCWR max recommended combined weight of the truck and trailer. For my truck, the GVWR is 11,200 and the GCWR is 20,000 pounds, but I've got a 1 ton dually with a big engine and low axle ratios (4.30).
I received my truck! It's a beauty, I'm really happy with it. So far no vibrations, clunks, or any other problems people have written about. I need to add the camper mounts now. I'm afraid to drill through the side of the truck myself so will call Bonnessa Brothers and see if they will do it. Now I've got all the aftermarket stuff to add, that will take several weekends.
Brutus, welcome to our little corner. Your rig sounds really first class! It sounds like Bigfoot is clearly the leader in cold weather use but you really pay for it in weight and cost. I looked at some floorplans a long time ago and found them to be a little weird but I don't remember why. Do you like the floorplan? Is it better than the Lance? By the way, I have the Air Lift 5000lb air bags sitting here waiting to be installed. I'll let you know how they work out. Unfortunately we have different trucks so I can't pass on model specific installation hints.
Anyone know someone interested in a very clean '89 F-250 fully camper-ready??
The rear of the camper when you first walk in is like it's own separate room. It's got the dinette and kitchen. The middle of the camper has the bathroom on one side and the frig and hall closet on the other side. So basically, after the kitchen/dinette area, there are walls that run to the ceiling. The only way to see the cabover bed from the rear of the camper is to look down the hall. If you put a small curtain up by the bed, you could completely isolate that area. The more open floorplans I've seen allow you to see from the front to the rear of the camper on at least one side, in addition to the hall area, which gives the appearance of a more spacious living area. Personally, I like my setup better but, of course, I'm bias.
I'm very interested to see what you think of the air bags. Those are exactly the brand and size I'm looking to get.
I was in DC last year, but only for a couple of days and I only I had a few hours for sight seeing. Strom was still there, but I guess you could have said that if you had visited DC in the 50s. I was in DC in 1983 and had more time to see the sights. I was almost 20 in 1983 and I did a roundtrip from Alaska with my family. I shared the driving of a 70s vintage 29' Class A Overland motorhome. Believe it or not, my folks still use that motorhome for all of their Alaskan camping. They leave their 35' 5th wheel and 1 ton Ford dually in the Lower 48.
I sold my 92 F-250HD 4x4 with 86,000 miles on it last year in Dallas for $8,500. I could have held out for more, but I was only looking to get what I considered fair trade-in value. One dealer offered me $5,500 on a trade-in. I ran one ad and sold it. I also found another dealer to sell me the new truck for $1,000 less, so I basically made a $4,000 savings by not taking the first dealer's offer.
A Lance Legend or Fleetwood Caribou of the same size with the same options will weigh the same as my Bigfoot, give or take 100-200 pounds. It's the options that start packing on the weight. The arctic packages usually add quite a bit. Most people who buy a Bigfoot will opt for those heavy windows, whereas I suspect that many people who buy Lance and Caribou campers might pass on the arctic package if they live in warm climates. My AC, generator and microwave alone add close to 400 pounds. Those are the same appliance brands that go in other campers.
You got your truck... how great! Tell us more. What day did you pick it up? How many miles, & what kind of gas do you buy? What kind of accessories will you be adding? I know you'll be busy driving your truck, but keep us posted.
By the way,I FINALLY got my build date!!! Nov. 1st is the magic number. Do you have any idea how long it takes to build & delivery to the dealer? I'm hoping I'll get it before Thanks Giving so I can get some mileage on it on my 5 days off. I too will be putting on some other accessories. Enjoy your truck!
Gary-
Gary, there you go again with the questions! I picked up the truck Monday. It had 11 miles on it. Ya! I found a small paint defect, the dealer said they would send a guy out to fix it. Other than that it's great, I really like it. It is so comfortable and quiet! I can't wait until it's broken in so I can jump on it a little. I went out last night and pushed every button, drove it in 4wd hi and low, and everything worked. My only complaint is minor, it is a tiny bit rough during idle. I suspect that is normal as American V8's really don't idle very smoothly in my experience.
Anyway back to the questions. I only have 120 miles on it so I haven't had to put gas in, the dealer filled it up. For add-ons so far I have sitting here waiting: air bags, compressor for air bags, aux. battery parts, rear stab. bar, and extra backup lights. I've found with my past trucks that additional light is most welcome when backing into a dark campsite at night with plenty of things to run into. I bought the slimest ones I could find and will try to tuck them tight under the bumper. My old light hung down a bit and I kept smashing it on things. Next comes a bedliner, rail caps, and some small steps. Then I'm done with the outside. This is enough to keep me busy for quite a while.
Your build date of Nov. 1 means it should be built by Nov. 5. Allow 2-3 weeks for it to arrive at the dealer, and 1 more week for delays, prep time etc. for a worse case time. What type of camper mounts are you going to use? Will you put a hole in the side (rear) of your new truck?
And now we have diversity in this group. A fan of huge, oversize, overweight, mobile homes; and a fan of rightsized, lightweight campers. Not that I'm prejudiced or anything.
Vince, the idle on my 99 Silverado is quite rough. I think the computer sometimes shuts off 2 cylinders in a row to maintain idle speed. But it runs so good at other speeds that I won't have the dealer screw with it. If that is the worst feature of my truck, I'm happy.
My wife wants to trade up to a 3/4 ton truck. She doesn't like running right at max GVWR. It won't be cheap to upgrade, and this truck works well for us. 3/4 ton outfitted the way I want will run $21-27K depending on Base vs. LS, 2wd vs 4wd. Ideally a 4wd LS. I will probably look at GMC to check out the local dealer. But the GMC costs about the same, maybe +$100-200.
This weekend we are going down to Avila Hot Springs, and then into LA's (there's that bad word again) Griffith Park for the annual sidecar rally.
This winter we will go to Yosemite and or Hume Lake for some snow camping
Guys, I hope you are as happy with your new trucks as we are with ours. No Problems. Some squeaks, rattles; but it is a truck, not a car.
Mike
As far as a new one, I recommend the 3/4 ton LS. I think you have a base model now don't you? In my experience I forget the extra $ quickly if I'm happy with what I bought. For me there was no question, this is my ultimate dream truck so I got the best of everything. The LS package is really nice. Mine ran about 27K for a reg. cab LB 4wd auto trans. with all options except bucket seats and leather.
The 3/4 ton with your light camper on it as ballast would probably ride great. The truck wouldn't even notice the camper but the weight would smooth out the bouncyness. You would loose some gas mileage but the 6.0L power is worth it. Actually I read that the 5.0L in a 1/2T truck is faster off the line due to weight and gearing but the 6.0L eventually dominates, especially with a load.
How do you go snow camping? Usually camp grounds close in snow season. Do you go off-road on your own rather than use developed areas?
I'm sure the dually is wonderful with the camper on. I didn't consider one because I have the camper off most of the time and didn't want the additional hassle of the width around town. Loosing 3mpg for the tall and heavy camper doesn't sound bad at all. I guess that says something about the big engine, it doesn't have to work all that much harder.
We want to check out one just north of Hume Lake. I think is was called Ten Mile. It was nice and quite in the summer, and should be spectacular in the winter.
The 3/4 vs 1/2 ton question is unanswered in our house. I'm content with the 4.8L 1/2 ton. My wife is not. Quite a role reversal, huh? I guess I don't have enough of the Tim Taylor gene. The little V8 has plenty of power and brakes; it gets 15mpg loaded, 20 empty; rides good empty or full; its only $350/mo. The only thing I don't like is the center seat doesn't fold down on the base model. I can scout wrecking yards and find an LS seat to fix that. I feel like I could live with 2wd and posi easier than I could live without the lo range you get with 4wd. The 3/4 ton granny lo may be adequate. I will never get to test drive one to find out because nobody carries manual transmission trucks. Nobody. And I don't want to drive an automatic.
I'm gone for the weekend, see you Monday.
Mike
Mike
I just received the November issue of Trailer Life. One of the test vehicles is a 2000 Silverado LS 2500 HD 4x4 shortbed with the 4.10 axle ratio and the 6.0L. The trailer they towed for the test was a 30 foot (conventional not 5th wheel) that weighed 6,340 pounds. They liked the truck and felt it performed great.
The one thing I like most about Trailer Life is that they always quote the real mpg and provide the real performance figures. For example, they usually run a 6% or 7% grade and provide the mph of the climb, the rpm and the gear they use. They don't get a running start. They tow at 60mph usually, so they are going 60mph at the bottom of the hill.
The mph figures are always lower than provided by current owners. That applies to all of the trucks they test, not just this Chevy. During this test, the best mpg the truck got towing was 8.9mpg on flat hwy at 60mph. When they went on some back roads and did 45mph and two line roads doing 55, the mpg dropped to 8mpg. The best they got on any tank running solo with the trailer in tow was 13.8mpg on a flat hwy at 65.
Do you have the ability to post a picture of your rig?
I don't quite understand your comment about low range etc. If you got a 4wd 3/4T manual you would have low range and granny and locking rear end. I very much agree about the folding arm rest, it's one of my favorite features in the truck. If I were you I would definitely fix that. Maybe you could fabricate some hinges for the one you have, then it would still match.
I wonder how Hellwig is coming on that problem? I'm not ready to install the bar yet so I'll wait a week or so before bugging Robert. I'm going to start on the air bags tomorrow. Maybe I'll have questions for you.
No, I'm not going to be putting any holes in my truck. I'm going to have Mike Ferguson put the buttons on the bumper, & do the camper to truck hook up. The only thing I'm not sure of, is how they route the wiring from behind the cab of the truck, to the front part of the bed where the camper connects to the truck wiring. I know the connector for the truck is mounted on the inner wall of the bed, about 1 1/2' back from the cab. Ferguson recommends Happyjack for hook up. I'll find out how all this comes together as soon as I get my truck. I sure would like to watch it being built! I guess I'll have to pick up a copy of TL. Keep us updated on the truck, bags, sway bar, etc.. I can hardly wait to do some button pushing.
Gary-
I ordered the on/off road tires for $55 extra. They are Firestone. Not bad so far, they are quiet and seem to handle okay. I haven't pushed it much yet. I did notice if you jerk the wheel then bring it back, there is a very noticeable time lag between the front end coming back and the back. It feels like a wiggle type of correction from the back end. Some of this is because it's a truck of course but I'm guessing some may be the tires too. Maybe the stabilizer bar will improve it. I haven't contacted Hellwig yet, I doubt they are done. They did promise to come up with a fix though. I'm not really ready yet anyway. I installed the air bags Sat. and the compressor Sun. but ran out of time to finish. The bags were actually pretty easy to put in except the bracket didn't quite fit. They use the same bracket for 1/2 and 3/4 ton even though the frames are different. I could have left it as is but it bugged me so I got out a big hammer and modified their bracket then it fit better, not perfect but better. I put the guages under the dash next to the parking brake release. They look fine and really don't show much.
I've seen trucks with the button in the bumper. It seems a long way from the camper but I guess that doesn't really matter. I'm still having to work up the courage to put a hole through the side of the truck, I'll think about the bumper solution. Why are you doing it that way? I agree about the Happyjack turnbuckles, they are good.
For the electrical, I'm very happy with the method on my old truck. It had a lame plastic connector from Lance which the former owner had stuck through a hole in the bedliner and put a hose clamp around to keep it from going back in. I bought a nice metal set from the RV store and replaced both ends. The receptacle has a spring loaded cover door and a flush metal flange that I mounted to the bedliner surface. Then the cable from the camper locks in the metal receptacle. Very clean and weather proof. I'll do something similar on the new one.
So far the truck has been easy to work on because GM did a great job of anticipating our needs. I was thrilled to find a firewall feedthru area all ready to drill. It has a dimple on each side to identify it and a little flap to open the insulation. You still have to drill the metal but that's easy. Also the electrical seems to have lots of accessory taps. I've never seen so many fuses in a vehicle. There is a fuse box in the dash (2 actually) and one under the hood. I would guess maybe 50 fuses. I'll let you know how it works out and how much the truck sags without any air assistance. You can decide if you want to add them then.
Long post, time to go.
The center seat on our truck doesn't have the storage in the back, so even if we made it fold, it wouldn't work. I would like to find a wrecked LS and take the whole seat section out and swap. I made a tool to get the seats out, cause nothing I had seemed to work on the special fasteners they have.
No, I don't have that book. I use AAA stuff and a website:
http://www.adventurezine.com/CampGrounds/
I have a couple of other campground guides. But nothing I have bought, just free stuff.
It is the first of November and I will call Hellwig today. I'll let you know what the answer is.
Mike
The new parts will be produced and shipped in about 1 week. I'll let you know when I see the parts.
Mike
So we just go where we want and a few hours before we want to stop we start looking at what might be available in the area. Its a good reason to stop, take a break and look at maps and books. And then there is the Forest Adventure Pass for the Los Padres and Angeles National Forests. Buy a pass, find an off road site and set up camp. Mark the date you set up camp and the pass is good until the next day.
Anybody else have a reccomended guidebooks, maps or other references? How about websites that have usefull information?
Mike
I actually don't have any pictures of my rig. I'm, kind of, surprised I haven't taken any yet. I plan to do some camping this winter, although it will likely be later in the season. When I put the camper back on, I'll try to remember to take a couple of photos. We recently bought a digital camera here at the office, so I should be able to take a few digital photos. The rig might be covered in snow. We got several more inches this morning.
A web site would be nice but my typical method is to pick a direction and drive. We look at the books along the way and shoot for something that sounds nice. That technique has been, in part, the motivation to get a 4wd truck. Especially since I like winter camping. Rain + dirt + street tires + one wheel drive = trouble.
On the upgrade question for Mike, I'm not sure you would like the LS package. It's pretty cushy with power windows, locks, etc. It sounds like you don't go in for those gizmos. Keep 4wd as a priority and work from there.
(The LS seats are very comfortable though... hmmm)
I'll send Robert an e-mail tonight and have him add me to the list as well. You know, a friend brought up a good point tonight: "Why are you adding air suspension when you have never even put the camper on this truck?" Uh, well, the last truck needed it? I'll feel pretty stupid if I put the camper on and the truck sags only 1/2 inch. Same with the sway bar although I'm quite confident it will help with such a top-heavy load. Maybe I'll have to buy a 3000lb Bigfoot to justify the air bags!
I went on the Adventurezine website and printed all the states. Carry them in the camper just in case.
I've seen the California Lakes book, and being so highly reccomended, I'll have to get one.
On the way down to LA, we stopped in San Miguel and visited the Mission there. Then we went onto Avila Hot Springs to soak in the HOT waters and to swim in the 80 degree Olympic size pool. And we decided not to go to LA.
We went back to Ft. Hunter Ligget and to the San Antonio Mission. And then north into the Los Padres NF. We reached a road closure right at the first campground, so we spent the night there. Not a soul around, just the critters and crickets. Scared my wife just a little. We were never that alone, even in Alaska on the Dalton Highway. Good place.
Mike
The nice thing about the lake book is you can flip through it easily and pick something that looks nice. They also show some hike-in lakes. It gives enough info on the place that you can infer what it is really like. For example are boats allowed (bad), how many sites, etc. My main complaint--which is true for almost all books--is that they don't give a frank enough description of what I'm interested in. I'd love to see a book that says: "The camp sites are packed close together with no privacy..." or "The lake is dirty with no trees around it." And similar positive comments too.
Good choice on LA. It's not a nice place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there. I'm not familiar with the hot springs you went to, is it near LA? Do they have a swimming pool with the spring water piped in or is it natural pools in the ground?
Well the air bags are in and working. The compressor works well and the gauges are quite accurate. I look forward to actually having a load soon. I hope the sway bar mounting doesn't use the same area as the bags. They are mounted directly over the axle on the jounce bumper platform (bumpers are removed). Does the bar get close?
I think the bar will miss the air bag mounts. The bar mounts are quite a ways towards the middle of the rear end, and the bar continues out towards the outside.
I still don't like the bar. The mount has to be rotated towards the front of the vehicle and the bar offset to the drivers side to miss the Drivers side shock mount. They have upgraded the frame brackets, but probably no better than the crossmember I made.
I guess first we have to decide if we want to upgrade to a 2500. If not, then maybe I'll get a Hotchkiss bar set. Pricey, but should be good quality.
Vince, can you return your bar? Maybe you should just do that and avoid the hassles.
Mike
Thanks
When I take the camper off, I only have to loosen the turnbuckles a little to get some slack, because I remove the one shaft and store it with the camper. It saves the time of having to loosen the turnbuckles all the way down until you can remove the hook. I just loosen the wing nut and remove the shaft that has the chain on it. Another benefit is that you have to look really close at the truck when the camper is not on to even see the shafts that are attached to the frame. My friend's belly bar sticks out pretty far. Many a shin has encountered it when the camper is not on.
When I put my camper on in a month or so, I'll try to take some photos of the setup. I don't have a way to put them out on the web yet (although I did just buy a book called, Designing Websites for Brutus', er...uh, I mean Dummies), but I can e-mail them to you. I'll eventually stop being lazy and design a little website so I can post some pictures of my rig and, of course, the Big Alaskan fish I'll catch next summer.
I must be missing something here about the tie downs for the camper. I thought it was pretty basic. You asked me about holes in the truck. The tie down brackets I'll be getting on my truck, from Mike Ferguson in Paradise, Ca. require no visible holes on the outside of the truck. I already have the turnbuckles from when I bought the camper, so all I need now is the buttons on the bumper, & the two plates mounted behind the cab on the truck bed for the front turn buckles. It's a really clean looking set up, & it only takes a couple of minutes to secure the camper. Now, are we talking the same language here, or am I missing something. I've seen the hook up Brutus is talking about,or very close to it, but I think I like the Lance tie downs better. My own preference. Vince, was the side to side rocking that severe? I would like to get a sway bar too, along with my Air- Lift air bags, but not too sure about the Hellwig.
My truck was built Tuesday, now waiting for them to ship it. HURRY! HURRY! I want to be able to chat with the rest of you truck owners. For anyone that's interested, I'm getting the 2k, LS, 4x4, 3/4, LB, bucket seats,(electric), auto trac, cd, cassette, tow, & a few others. By the way, Mike, Brutus,Vince, what do you think of after market alarm systems? I know if they really want it, an alarm won't stop them, but maybe a slight deterrent.
I don't actually know about a security system, but doesn't the LS come with a basic security system?
One thing you could do to reduce the possibilty of theft is to remove the 4x4 stickers. 4x4 are much more theft prone than 4x2 trucks.
Did you get the sliding rear window? If you did, be sure and drop some sort of a rod in the sliding channel so the window cannot open. At least until you get the camper installed. It only takes 10 seconds to get that window opened.
Glad your wait is almost over. I remember that wait, and it was not pleasant. At least the sign over and pickup went smoothly for us. I know they are supposed to check everything, but doublecheck the function of everything. We found the passenger side seatbelt didn't work. Be sure and check the paint, they won't cover chips and scratches after you leave the lot.
For break-in we took a slow drive down south, through Hollister, out Panoche Rd, to New Idria. Some nice old roads, slow going on the dirt, plenty of low stress use of the brakes, shifting, 4x4, everything except a lot of throttle. Perfect for break-in. The hard part was not exceeding 55 on the way down the freeway. The owners manual says not to exceed 55 for the first 500 miles, and I certainly do not know more than the engineers who designed the truck, and would not assume that requirement is a bunch of hoooey. So I did it. Of course, I have had very few problems with my truck and lots of other guys have had no end of problems. Not that there is any connection, by why risk it.
Good luck,
Mike
It's nice you had a rural area to break in your truck. I have the dilemma of driving from Sacramento on the freeway, trying to do 55, to my home 65mi away. There's a few back roads I'll be taking, but over all, it's like everyone is a Indy 500 driver. Once I get it home, there are lots of back roads I can put the 500 on.
No, I didn't get the slider, but wish I had of now with the camper. I guess I could always install an after market. Not a major problem. I will be taking off the 4x4 decals.
Talked to the fleet people this AM, & my truck is sitting on the train in Pontiac Mich. waiting for a full load to be shipped. I hope they remembered to roll the windows up. Like I told my wife, when the truck is sitting in the driveway, then I'll know it's a done deal. Definitely will inspect the truck over MOST carefully. Thanks for all the input.
Gary-
The tie downs are as you describe but the normal place to mount the rear button is right in the sheet metal. Some people put it in the bumper instead. I also prefer this system to the long chains.
The side to side rocking was bad on my old old truck and a bar helped but it was an overloaded 1/2 ton so that doesn't count. My last truck was a 3/4 ton with a sway bar and it behaved quite well. I'm putting one on the new truck because it is exactly meant to reduce this problem and the more stability the better. I'll likely install it before the camper goes on so I won't be able to give you a before and after report. The air bags may be a luxury, it depends on how well the truck takes the weight. By the way my glove box sticker says the payload is 2800lbs. I expect yours will be a little less because of the ext cab. So you will go over a little but I wouldn't worry about it.
Mike, I do have the sliding rear window and didn't realize it was so easy to open. Thanks for the tip.