New Swift Camper, Mods, Upgrades Etc......Pic Heavy.

[Dphillip]

Awesome setup!

Like you we ordered our Hawk without the refrigerator or ice box and use a portable Truckfrige.The storage space where the ice box/fridge should be is invaluable. My wife has claimed that space as her own.

Enjoy!

 

[kestrel69]

Thanks for those photos. As someone mentioned in a previous post, you should be taking the photos for FWC. I did see that DasMule is a new distributor. The day of their Open House (4/7) is the day I will be having my Swift installed in Bozeman, otherwise I was planning to attend.

I hadn't thought about the storage space above the heater unit.....that might have resulted in a different decision about the stove. I did opt for the flush mounted stove, so I can still use that top counter space for storage.

I am expecting to have my camper off the truck about 50% of the time......what do you think about how difficult it is to reach the turnbuckles through those ports under the couch?

As for shout outs....same goes for you if you ever find yourself wandering around the Olympic peninsula.

Again, thanks for those great photos!!

 

[badtoytrd]

Thanks, if you want any specific pics taken just let me know.

Hodakaguy

I am really torn between the Eezi-Awn and Alu-Cab. I really like how the Eezi-Awn covers the whole rear door but the Alu-Cab seems stronger. I have a couple quick questions on the Eezi-Awn if you don't mind. Is your Eezi-Awn the "silver" color? In the FWC video, it appears that the hinge has quite a bit of stress on it. Does the hinge seem to deflect or sag a bit when you open the awning?

 

[Rob85]

Awesome!! I have a 2016 swift here in Socal and when I had mine installed at American RV in Azusa Ca, where it took them eight hours. They were horrible!!! Apparently they went out of business and FWC does not have a Socal dealer at the moment. Your rig looks nice, and I need to get the bat wing awning.

 

[Kali]

My father and I left at 2am Sunday morning from Kennewick WA and by 5pm we were sitting in front of Four Wheel Campers in Woodland CA. After this picture we headed off to the hotel to get dinner and some rest.

Monday morning at 8am we were back at FWC and ready to install the camper. Here they pulled my truck around the back and we are waiting for them to take us back to the install area, checking out all the cool pics.

While they were fetching our camper we checked out the showroom and got our first glimpse of a Swift model....lots more room than we were expecting!

Their small demo model showing the welded aluminum construction.

Here comes our camper

Normally you would bolt on 4 manual camper jacks to install the camper, to speed things up they used an old fashioned 2 post lift and transferred the camper directly from the fork lift. The camper is attached to the truck via 4 turn buckles that are hidden in the bed, the turn buckles are accessed via the 4 trap doors on the FWC.

Checking out a load of campers heading out to a dealer.

And installed. Install takes about 15 minutes. I had the wiring per-installed before showing up.

Filled the air bags, adjusted the tire pressures and adjusted the suspension. I've been running the shocks on #1 compression and 4 Rebound when empty, re-adjusted all 4 corners to #7 compression and #6 Rebound. Having the shocks stiff worked great on the trip home, the road manners were awesome and there was Very little body roll while weaving through the mountain passes.

Dad checking out the interior. We ordered the shell model which is minus the sink and cook stove. The full kitchen model takes up a lot of space and weights a good chunk more, we found that we rarely used the water system and prefer the light weight setup of the shell models. I carry ultra light backpacking gear for cooking etc.

Just as we were leaving FWC they pulled out another Tacoma getting a camper installed the same day....had to pull over for a picture

Pulled over to get a shot of Mt Shasta and the cinder cone in the Background.

Stopped in Grants Pass OR for a IN-N-Out Burger....Yummmm.

About 8:30 we pulled over at a truck stop for the night....home sweet home. Not the most ideal spot but it's right off the highway and free!

Stopped at StoneHenge this morning on the final leg home.

Continued Below.....

I noticed that other Taco parked next to yours is a Woolrich Editon....those look soooo nice with the smooth aluminum. I asked FWC if they could do that for regular production, but they said no can do. Too bad because smooth aluminum in Silver Spur would be a great combination.

 

[Kali]

Testing the ARB fridge for fit in the camper. The ledge in the shell model is a perfect fit for the ARB!

ARB Compressor Fridge/Freezer. These units are awesome, very efficient and keeps items cold or frozen if needed. You also loose less cool air when you open the lid compared to a standard fridge with the door on the side.

This is the area in the camper where the stove and sink would be if you ordered the full camper model. Since we ordered the Shell model the kitchen was left out and this empty bench is left. The ARB makes a better fridge and we found we didn't use the water system in our VW Syncro so the shell model works perfect for us. I will use backpack camping gear for cooking etc.

And fridge in place. Fit's perfectly on the shelf. I will make a tie down attachment point to anchor the fridge in place.

Hodakaguy

What size ARB fridge did you go with...50QT ? They seem pricey, but probably well worth it. Which vendor did you get yours from?

 

[Hodakaguy]

What size ARB fridge did you go with...50QT ? They seem pricey, but probably well worth it. Which vendor did you get yours from?

I got the 37qt unit on a super good clearance deal from REI. Was $400 brand new and got the cover free since it was on promotion! The 37 fits perfect in the Swift Shell.

Hodakaguy

 

[Hodakaguy]

I noticed that other Taco parked next to yours is a Woolrich Editon....those look soooo nice with the smooth aluminum. I asked FWC if they could do that for regular production, but they said no can do. Too bad because smooth aluminum in Silver Spur would be a great combination.

Yeah it did look very nice....not worth what they are wanting for a Woolrich edition though

Hodakaguy

 

[So Cal Adventurer]

Love the photos. I have a Swift shell coming soon for my Nissan Frontier, with almost the exact features in your FWC. Didn't get the Silver Spur exterior.....looking at your photos I kind of wish I had. Since the propane line was already being put in for the heater figured I would get the two burner stove. Those photos have me itching to pick mine up. I'm headed out to Bozeman.

Any chance you could post some photos of the storage space under the couch?

Look forward to some trip reports, and maybe I'll run into you sometime out here in the PNW.

How far out is the pickup date? You can ask for a change order.

 

[So Cal Adventurer]

What size ARB fridge did you go with...50QT ? They seem pricey, but probably well worth it. Which vendor did you get yours from?

ARBs are worth every single penny! Best mod i have done hands down. Insanely efficient compared to most!

Running solely on a 100 watt panel, and a Odyssey PC2150, i havent shut my ARB off in well over a year and the battery is always tip top!

 

[Hodakaguy]

ARBs are worth every single penny! Best mod i have done hands down. Insanely efficient compared to most!

Running solely on a 100 watt panel, and a Odyssey PC2150, i havent shut my ARB off in well over a year and the battery is always tip top!

Yeah I have friends running the ARB as well and love them. I had a Truck Fridge in my Westy and hated it, never stayed cold enough. Happy to have the ARB this go around

Hodakaguy

 

[Hodakaguy]

Installing the Solar Controller and Powerlet Connection.

I'm getting ready to install the solar panels on the roof and it's time to get the Solar charge controller installed. I'm going with a BlueSky Solar Boost 3000i MPPT Controller, I've used this controller in my Syncro and it worked great so decided to stick with what works

The factory provides a cut out for their controller right above the heater.

Removing the cover on the controller cutout.

The factory pre-wired the camper for a Solar Controller so install will be simple. The wiring is tucked up above the heater unit.

The 3000i charge controller

The factory cut out is a little small for this controller so some cutting is in order.

Covered the heater unit with a garbage bag to keep the saw dust out of the important bits.

Front cut out and here I've marked a notch that needs to be cut for the rear of the unit.

Test fitting the controller.

Battery wiring is tucked against the far wall behind the batteries.

All the wires were marked from the factory making it easy to identify, I went ahead and verified everything with a meter before wiring everything up just to make sure.

I used Marine grade heat shrink crimps on all connection. I didn't get any pics but there is a fuse holder wired into the battery area.

Connecting the controller. I'll be fabricating a cover for the rear of the controller soon.

Continued Below.....

 

[Hodakaguy]

Continued from above....

Time to install the power connection for the ARB Fridge. I absolutely hate US cigarette lighter connections, they always get loose and your constantly pushing the plug back in. I cut the factory cigarette lighter plug off the fridge harness and wired in a Powerlet connector instead, I'll keep the cut off end and make an adapter so I can also connect to a Cig lighter if needed. Powerlet connectors are great, they snap in place and won't get loose as you travel down the road.

Here is the fridge harness with the new Powerlet end installed.

Powerlet socket that will be installed in the camper. The depth of the socket isn't deep enough to pass through the wood on the camper so an adapter will need to be fabricated.

Fabricating the Powerlet adapter from a scrap piece of aluminum.

Holes drilled and socket test fit.

I drilled a hole in the heater unit just above the heater to install the Powerlet. The hole needed to be slightly bigger to clear the nut on the back of the socket.

Wiring completed for the Powerlet socket.

Controller and Powerlet installed, I painted the adapter black. Looks factory

Hodakaguy

 

[So Cal Adventurer]

Excellent Clean Work!

I’ve used powerlets for years on my motorcycles and dual sports. Never seen them used on a vehicle or a camper though.

GREAT idea!! Yes, 10x better than “cigarette” plug for sure!

 

[Hodakaguy]

Excellent Clean Work!

I’ve used powerlets for years on my motorcycles and dual sports. Never seen them used on a vehicle or a camper though.

GREAT idea!! Yes, 10x better than “cigarette” plug for sure!

Thanks, yeah the Powerlets are great! No worries on them coming loose on the road

Hodakaguy

 

[Hodakaguy]

Installed the fridge to run it for a couple days and test the battery system, should be able to run for several days with no external power with the dual batt system. I'll be installing 240W of solar soon then battery power shouldn't be a issue.

With the top down on the camper there is still plenty of room to get into the fridge at rest stops ect without having to pop the top. I'll be installing mounting straps to keep the fridge secure in this location.

Next up fabricate a rear guard for the solar charge controller to protect it from items stored inside the cabinet.

Starting out with a piece of aluminum plate.

Cutting the piece down to rough size.

Corners trimmed.

Marking out the locations for the air vent holes.

Air holes drilled and beveled.

Using the finger brake to bend up the guard

Fabricating some hidden mount tabs from some scrap pieces of stainless.

Factory trim pieces cut down to size and re-installed.

Test fitting the guard in place.

Guard painted and installed in place. Should keep the controller well protected.

Hodakaguy

 

[kestrel69]

How far out is the pickup date? You can ask for a change order.

I pick it up on April 7......so too late. Plus it saves me some $$

 

[Hodakaguy]

This morning I installed a 110V NOCO power plug on the side of the camper. This port will connect to a IOTA 15A AGM onboard charger (to be installed soon).

The NOCO power port

I'll be sealing the port to the camper with Sikaflex 221....Good stuff.

The port will be going into the battery compartment just aft of the vent.

Pilot hole drilled....committed now lol.

2" hole drilled.

And power port installed and sealed.

Hodakaguy

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

Nice work! If the grip on the cap to the power plug isn't tight, you might consider rotating it so that the wind stream doesn't pull it open on the road. We've had that occur to another, less important cap, on our travel trailer.

 

[Hodakaguy]

Nice work! If the grip on the cap to the power plug isn't tight, you might consider rotating it so that the wind stream doesn't pull it open on the road. We've had that occur to another, less important cap, on our travel trailer.

Thanks for the tip. The cap is pretty secure once inserted, I wanted the cap to open upwards but the holes in the gasket didn’t allow for that orientation.

Hodakaguy