Its here!

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Drove to Reno and picked up my Ocelot Tuesday.

Here are a few Quick shots. Heading out to the San Rafael Swell Friday for a shakedown trip. More pix next week.

The floor space is huge! I'm 5'9' and can stretch my legs out as far as I can sitting on the couch and can't come close to the galley cabinet. I really like the narrow profile it has on the truck. Went with cable jacks to save weight and keep the camper narrow.

Truck squatted 4" (!) at the rear bumper. Glad I did the airbags. Would have been a rough 530 mile back to Salt Lake without them.

Weight is 780#. Marty wasn't sure, but said he thought Jeff calculated that as wet weight. Seems a bit optamistic, but either way its better than I expected.

Marty and the guys were a pleasure to work with. They really, really know their stuff.

More details next week.

Stephen

 

[SunMan]

Way cool....congrats!

 

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More

Also, I'm first with the new uphostery.

Really nice stuff.

A few pics of the larger refer as well. Crowds the door 1/2", maybe 3/4".

Not a problem at all for us. Ask Marty about how tight the fit was.

And the Galley cabinet has Tons of storage space. The bottom one is 12" deep, 56" long and 5" tall at the opening. Top one is 20" or so deep.

S

 

[mtn-high]

Congrats on the new unit, stephen! May it serve you well!

mtn

 

[kcowyo]

Looking good, congratulations!

Love all that floor space and the nice flush fit with the bedrails. Hope you have a great trip to the Swell. Maybe our paths will cross sometime.



.

 

[ScottBailey]

Looks very nice. Do you know the refer model?

 

[Outerspace]

Thanks Everyone!

KC:

You and I should do something to facilitate that.

We have alot of short trips planned for this year. Seems we all like the same places.


Scott:

This one. Norcold makes a similar model. Dave used it in the post I mentioned in my other thread. I'd call Marty about it. Specs said it was 1/4 or 1/8 narrower, but some of the specs were, um, inconsistent. And fit was tight. Really tight.

Also, the two shelves in the door are removable. If you want pics of it installed, let me know. Happy to post some.

S

 

[gsbfree]

Looks great on a Tundra...enjoy!

 

[DLN]

nice rig, congrats and all the best, more pics please.

 

[EdoHart]

I think my dogs said it best...

Oh boy, Oh boy, Oh boy, pant, pant, pant, Oh boy, I cant wait to play. Throw the ball already! Lets go camping, Oh boy...

I'm glad you got one. You won't regret it. You do realize that more pictures are required (I mean requested).

 

[Outerspace]

More pics next week.

Lots to get ready/figure out before I leave town tomorrow.

Oil change, new battery and a few odds and ends today.

Some tweaks and adds tomorrow morning. Then head South.

WooHooHoo

S

 

[Outerspace]

More pix!

Ok.

Sorry for the delay.

Here are some from the Swell.

 

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Delivery.

I watched as Marty drilled "The part where we suggest most owners don't look".

Cabelas also makes the guys happy. Might make delivery go more smoothly.

I'm just sayin'.

And some interior shots.

S

 

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School crates are the way to go. One fits perfectly under the sink.

The other white trays I found at Target. I think my lower cabinet is unique. If the floor pack for the 1st gen tundras wasn't so shallow, there'd be HUGE storage in there. Still, I got three 13x13" and two 13x6" in there.

A Bonus with the larger refer is you can get into it without having to climb into the camper. Very cool.

S

 

[Outerspace]

I had fabbed up some brackets to attach a net to the ceiling of the camper shell. So I got to thinking of how to keep things from rolling around in the Ocelot. Got the parts from Lowes. Don't ask how many places I had to go to to find what I needed. Tabbed d-rings and thin aluminum t nuts (no spikes/teeth) for the couch and the same tabbed d-rings with included screws for behind the couch.

The net is a Yakima basketcase cargo net. Its the smallest one they make. I'm probably going to rotate the orientation so the long side goes up and over the couch rather than accross it ass I have it now. This way I can add another one so each will cover one half of the couch and together will hold more gear.

 

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Got the awning.

Make us real popular last weekend when it was 90 drgrees after our ride.

We have a alumimnum table and bench set. Collapses to the size of a violin case. Small, but fit the four of us with room to space under the awning.

The awning is similar to eezi-awn as it has a retraction spring. So it rolls and retracts like a window shade. Really slick and Union Made(!).

Wonder whay they use Black as a color.

It's about 8' long and extends @ 6.5'.

Well worth the cost.

S

 

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Here are a few details of the d-rings under the couch.

And some more interior shots.

S

 

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Impressions

We are totaly thrilled with the camper. Going narrow was a great decision for us. I hardly see it in the side mirrors. Air bags are essential. I think shocks are next as there is still some rock and roll in the ride.

I can't say enough good things about Marty and the Guys. They were easy to work with and very accomadating. Some ideas he rejected and with good reason. Much easier to see now that its built. So if they advise againt a change or mod, I'd listen to the reasons why. They've seen what fails and why.

Another surprise was how cool the camper was during the day. we had high 80's one day and 90 the next. Kept the 4 windows in the bellows open and the 2 roof vents. Had to be 20+ degrees cooler inside. And the cab is cooler as well cause most of it is in the shade.

And the bed is Huge! Marty said it is the largest bed (Bobcat) of the line. Sleeping nose to tail is also nice when someone has a late nite nature call.

Side to side, as in the panther/hawk, could get old for the person on the edge getting climbed over.

Glad we kept the smaller couch. The extra storage was tempting, the floorspace wins in our case. An extra in in height would be really helpful for a few things we can't fit under there.

Gernerally, we like the old school, less moving parts design of the all terrain camper. Our Ocelot has a more rustic feel than the fourwheel's we were in at the sportsman's expo. This may not be for everyone. We like to go places people aren't so its going to get used and get dirty. Things like the couch/bed are more labor intensive. I have confidence that it will look/function the same today as it will in ten years.

We're heading to the Escalante next weekend.

See you all on the road.

S

 

[pods8]

Where do you opt to store your extra bed cushions with the top down? I made mine long rather than squarish and tuck them behind the couch.

 

[Outerspace]

Same place you have yours.

I nixed the cabinet over the window as the couch back in the Ocelot is 5"+ closer to the window. Didn't want any headaches.

The stock cushions fit perfectly. The fire extinguisher probably shoud get moved. The clamp that holds it to the wall bracket pokes the pad as you put it in or take it out.

S