SeldomSeen
Advanced Member
Well, a year ago I almost pulled the trigger on a fully equipped grandby self-contained before deciding to put a cap on the truck and go low tech. I put an A.R.E. cab height topper with dual windoors, roof rack, rocket box, foxwing awning, bedrug, queen size bed on floor with gear loft at bed rail height, and ARB fridge. I have what amounts to be a beefy bugout wagon with a pintle hitch that I pull behind which acts as a camp kitchen and climate controlled kennel for when it's too hot to leave the dogs without a/c. It's a fun setup, but after a two week road trip from Colorado through Idaho and Oregon to the coast without the trailer in which it rained the majority of the time last month, we started thinking FWC again. It was an amazing trip, but we were never quite dry the entire trip since we had three large dogs in our sleeping area everytime we drove. Combined with the gear shuffle required to put two dogs in the back seat to sleep, and one in the back with us, our system showed its flaws.
Fast forward a couple weeks, and I ordered a grandby shell from Chris at Rocky Mountain FWC. Here is my build list:
Exterior Silver Spur (The silver will look better on the dodge). Didn't go with the interior, because I couldn't justify the extra expense on a shell model without the cabinets and counterspace a normal camper would have. Plus, the animal print should camo the dog wear and tear a little better.
Furnace
fantastic Fan
Front opening window
Rear flood light
Dual batteries
Rear Wall A/C
Solar Plug - already have a 140 watt setup with controller and remote ordered
5' Yakima Tracks
King bed option (I'm 6'9", and girlfriend was a center in college--I think we'll like the extra space)
Screen Door (originally didn't put this in the build, but after so many people posted about it being on their "must have" options, I went ahead and added it).
Planning my build, I plan to do the following:
Current zodi shower and pop up privy with luggable loo: it's worked great for us so far.
camp chef and rolltop table for outdoor cooking
jetboil for coffee/tea/etc inside in the mornings as well as single pot meals. We have the gsi pinnacle camper cookware/tableware set and it is incredibly versatile, and everything easily packs into the largest pot. The carrier even doubles as a sink. I can't speak more highly about it.
modest cabinets for clothing and storage. I already have a few of those cheap plastic/tupperware drawer systems available at walmart/homedepot/target etc. I figure the first few trips with those will give us a good idea on where we want to build our cabinets and how to configure them. Nothing like living with a config for a few trips before making it permanent.
retaining enough floor space for dogs to not be cramped.
Fold out table and seats built into bench shelf
For water systems, we take three or four 7.5 gallon reliance jugs with us, and I love the simplicity of that solution. Reliance makes a hand pump that screws onto the cap, and I don't have to worry about winterizing, bacterial fouling, or plumbing issues. I can have it set up outside on a table for the camp kitchen. You can also fill them pretty much anywhere.
I already ordered led replacement bulbs for all of the light fixtures, at $2.99 including shipping for 36 leds/panel off Ebay. I read up an install/review that gave a favorable impression, and at $3/light, no big deal if they don't hold up.
I'm doing a single 140w solar panel install with a sun saver duo with the remote on the dual group 24 batteries (total 160 amp hours). I'll install on roof cross bars, so no additional drilling with be required (trying to do the build with no holes put into roof other than from factory).
With solar planned, and charging coming from the truck, I doubt I'll do a shore power system. An extension cord snaked through turnbuckle access panels will work fine to run the A/C off the yamaha 2000 when needed for the dogs. Plus, if I do decide I'd like shore power, it's an easy system to add.
Will most likely install 2 blue sea 12v outlets, and 1 blue sea usb outlet. They seem to get good reviews. Any other recommendations for brands I may be overlooking?
I will fabricate a carrier for the generator and a jerry can. I'm not sure if it will be a bumper mount, or even just an extension off the bed itself. I looked at the aluminess bumper with dual swing arms, but as a colleague pointed out, it would take 1 smart *** to latch those carriers when you're in the camper, and you're locked in. The $2500 base price tag is a tough sell as well, and additionally, I wouldn't be able to use the hitch mounted swing away bike rack.
If anyone sees any glaring omissions, please chime in. I'm more than ready for it to get here.
I'd also like to solicit a good january destination for a week long trip to get away from the front range snow.
As an added bonus, I guess I'll have a nice ARE topper and bedrug for sale shortly. Here are a couple pics of the current setup. The bugout trailer is pretty fun. Comes complete with a wood stove, a/c mounted in one of the tool boxes so the interior stays dust free, roof vent, lockers, drawers and slideout table, and gun rack and stove are accessible from inside or out.
Fast forward a couple weeks, and I ordered a grandby shell from Chris at Rocky Mountain FWC. Here is my build list:
Exterior Silver Spur (The silver will look better on the dodge). Didn't go with the interior, because I couldn't justify the extra expense on a shell model without the cabinets and counterspace a normal camper would have. Plus, the animal print should camo the dog wear and tear a little better.
Furnace
fantastic Fan
Front opening window
Rear flood light
Dual batteries
Rear Wall A/C
Solar Plug - already have a 140 watt setup with controller and remote ordered
5' Yakima Tracks
King bed option (I'm 6'9", and girlfriend was a center in college--I think we'll like the extra space)
Screen Door (originally didn't put this in the build, but after so many people posted about it being on their "must have" options, I went ahead and added it).
Planning my build, I plan to do the following:
Current zodi shower and pop up privy with luggable loo: it's worked great for us so far.
camp chef and rolltop table for outdoor cooking
jetboil for coffee/tea/etc inside in the mornings as well as single pot meals. We have the gsi pinnacle camper cookware/tableware set and it is incredibly versatile, and everything easily packs into the largest pot. The carrier even doubles as a sink. I can't speak more highly about it.
modest cabinets for clothing and storage. I already have a few of those cheap plastic/tupperware drawer systems available at walmart/homedepot/target etc. I figure the first few trips with those will give us a good idea on where we want to build our cabinets and how to configure them. Nothing like living with a config for a few trips before making it permanent.
retaining enough floor space for dogs to not be cramped.
Fold out table and seats built into bench shelf
For water systems, we take three or four 7.5 gallon reliance jugs with us, and I love the simplicity of that solution. Reliance makes a hand pump that screws onto the cap, and I don't have to worry about winterizing, bacterial fouling, or plumbing issues. I can have it set up outside on a table for the camp kitchen. You can also fill them pretty much anywhere.
I already ordered led replacement bulbs for all of the light fixtures, at $2.99 including shipping for 36 leds/panel off Ebay. I read up an install/review that gave a favorable impression, and at $3/light, no big deal if they don't hold up.
I'm doing a single 140w solar panel install with a sun saver duo with the remote on the dual group 24 batteries (total 160 amp hours). I'll install on roof cross bars, so no additional drilling with be required (trying to do the build with no holes put into roof other than from factory).
With solar planned, and charging coming from the truck, I doubt I'll do a shore power system. An extension cord snaked through turnbuckle access panels will work fine to run the A/C off the yamaha 2000 when needed for the dogs. Plus, if I do decide I'd like shore power, it's an easy system to add.
Will most likely install 2 blue sea 12v outlets, and 1 blue sea usb outlet. They seem to get good reviews. Any other recommendations for brands I may be overlooking?
I will fabricate a carrier for the generator and a jerry can. I'm not sure if it will be a bumper mount, or even just an extension off the bed itself. I looked at the aluminess bumper with dual swing arms, but as a colleague pointed out, it would take 1 smart *** to latch those carriers when you're in the camper, and you're locked in. The $2500 base price tag is a tough sell as well, and additionally, I wouldn't be able to use the hitch mounted swing away bike rack.
If anyone sees any glaring omissions, please chime in. I'm more than ready for it to get here.
I'd also like to solicit a good january destination for a week long trip to get away from the front range snow. As an added bonus, I guess I'll have a nice ARE topper and bedrug for sale shortly.
Here are a couple pics of the current setup. The bugout trailer is pretty fun. Comes complete with a wood stove, a/c mounted in one of the tool boxes so the interior stays dust free, roof vent, lockers, drawers and slideout table, and gun rack and stove are accessible from inside or out. 
