I had an older truck with 300K miles on it and wanted to start my wandering years with a newer vehicle. So buying a used (like new)9000 miles on a F350- 2016 super cab short bed was the deal that fell into my lap. I like the shorter wheel base of 142" to get around much easier. I went gasoline after asking many diesel mechanics their opinions and wander the west folks chimed in too.They advised the 350 would be good for the payload we wanted on the truck. I didnt want to tow anything. Also less expensive to buy and maintain and maybe finding cleaner diesel could be a problem where we may wander and I am not in a hurry.
Highly recommend people to weigh their vehicles and campers. It is a pleasure to feel the truck can handle the camper and terrain in any conditions. Been getting average 18 MPG with out the camper on truck and 12 MPG with camper on board. I took off the bed sold it and built the flat bed locally with neighbor, put toolboxes underneath.
Total GVW with camper full of gas and 30 gallons of water, solar 2AGM batteries 2 peoples food and gear et al comes to the scales at 9860#. The truck is rated at 11,100 GVW
I shipped the batteries and solar panels to Bryan at AK so they could be mounted on the camper. I hooked up the rest of the components since they only offered a plug n play type of system.
Solar system was built with advice from Handy Bob and others on this site. Trimetric 2030 monitor & charger,2 12V Lifeline 125AH batteries, 2 165W everbright panels.
So far we have been in below freezing temps and 85 degrees and the fridge makes ice and the heater works great. No dewy side panels the insulation is good on the hard sides. Even on cloudy days my batteries haven't gone below 92% yet. So I feel confident several days (4-5) of parking in the clouds I still have amps and recharge quickly. The big windows bring in lots of light and the dining in the rear gives plenty of room for 2/4 folks if you have to be inside. If you have been into camping you know the layout of side entry versus rear and the roominess layout in a smaller space.
On to Inuvik and more
Yes Im excited to have this camper and future adventures off pavement in it. AK campers did a great job building and working with me. The project worked as planned with a few fixes on they way. It is rare to have such a good experience when starting into building something long distance. Communication before the first step building the unit was key. Understanding their process and visiting the factory first helped too.
I will post more interior pics. Sorry I need to figure out linking and/or resizing my shots.
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