New (to us) Ranger II

Eldough

Advanced Member
Joined
Apr 6, 2009
Messages
39
Hey All - Like many of the junior members here, I too was a lurker…until now. So I’ll give a little background then some pics of our setup and mods. Before that, I need to thank everybody here for posting their mod and trip info; and Chicali at FWC for all his help.

Very similar to a post by slooowr6 (http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3615), we had a 1987 Westfalia Camper and we too suffered from the “westy syndrome”…meaning “how far will we get before we break down?’, and ‘how long will it take us to get home?” After putting a lot of money into our westy and having had enough of the ‘syndrome’, we decided to look into a pop-up cabover. Former tent campers before the Westy, we grew accustomed the creature comforts of the Westy and could not go back to tent camping.

Our first chance to view a pop-up cabover came when someone was selling a FWC in our neighborhood. Turned out to be a shell model Hawk, that would neither fit our current ‘95 Tacoma or the much anticipated (still anticipating) ‘05 or newer Tacoma. However, it was good to actually see the inside and all the workings of a FWC. About one month later we saw a 2004 Eagle listed on Craigslist and located about 30 minutes away. Knowing these things usually went fast, we immediately set up an appointment to view…but we had to wait a week! The day after we set up the appointment, I was running some errands and saw a FWC on a newer Nissan Frontier. I chatted with the owner of the FWC/Frontier about his rig and needless to say he loved it, but he and his wife were ready for something a little bigger. I thought this could be it! However, he informed me that in order to move onto something bigger, they needed to sell their house which in this market didn’t look like it would happen very soon and they weren’t in any hurry. So, the day before we were going to go look at the Eagle, I received a call from the FWC/Frontier guy…he said his wife’s MG needed an engine rebuild and that he would sell the camper to us for the cost of the engine…an even swap for him. One day later we were the proud owners of a 1990 FWC Ranger II.
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The camper came equipped with a 3-way fridge, sink, water storage and stove. With the Westy, we never used the sink or stove, so those were the first things to go. And with the propane now gone, no need for the 3-way fridge. Additionally, when we hung out in the camper for the first time, it seemed like the counter was right in your face and very little standing room. So the first task was to remove the entire interior leaving the fridge cabinet for storage.

After removing all the cabinetry except the fridge part, we rebuilt a new 30” by 14” counter using the old cabinet wood and a piece of scrap corian from a local counter factory. Found some plastic slider track online and made slider doors from some fiberboard lying around the garage.
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Installed an optima blue top and wired it to a Surepower 1315 then to an Iota distribution panel. The distribution panel powers the lights (interior: cool white LEDs from superbrightleds.com; exterior: one red LED), a radio, and a couple of 12V outlets.
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Conveniently, our ’95 Tacoma had a hole at the bottom back of the truck cab that could be accessed via the storage compartment under the drivers side rear seat and was the exact right diameter to fit the Marinco receptacle…so we ran 10 awg wire from there, along the side of the drivers seat under the step, through the firewall where the other wires were run, then to the battery (thanks FWC for the wiring diagram).

Because we shortened the counter, there is now a 24” by 14” space in front of the counter that we are currently using to store a foam pad for the bed.

Oh, by the way, Sadie and Leo like it too!
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After our maiden voyage, we came up with a few more ideas. The most important was to lift the couch to the window ledge level so we could maximize the floor space while maintaining a level surface for the dogs to ride/sleep.
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A few more mods....

Forgot to add a picture of the setup!


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Also, some more mods...originally we had a door covering the former fridge cabinet, but found that it was basically impossible to access from outside the camper, so we installed some vertical cabinets with flush-mount push button latches (I think someone on this forum had similar ones).


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We also created a small outside storage space where the fridge access panel was and sealed it up to store our propane/butane/etc.


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Got the idea from one of the threads in this forum and had the hardest time findings these hanging tent pockets.


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Camping

Our first trip with the FWC was to the hills behind Lake Cachuma near Santa Barbara. We installed some supersprings, so that helped a lot, but the small 4-cyl doesn't really appreciate the hills.


Our Campsite

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Hiking around


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On the way up Figueroa Mtn. Rd.


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More camping.....

Our second voyage was to the hills east of San Luis Obispo for two nights to catch some of the wildflower bloom.

Camp


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Bloom


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Sadie runnin


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The little "wings" that wrap around on the back of the camper can be trimmed off.

Just thought I would let you know in case the camper is rubbing on the side of your truck bed.

I see some blue duct tape in the pictures. Wasn't sure if that was to keep the camper from scratching your truck paint?

Just a thought.

Happy Camping !






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Well done!

After reading how well the Engle's work, I have thought about replacing my 3 way refrigerator with one, then recovering the place of the 40# propane tank and the space for the controls to the 3 way refer much like you did.

If I'm not mistaken, the "Hiking Around" picture was taken at the first creek crossing going up Figueroa Mtn from the Happy Canyon side and the "On the way up Figueroa Mtn." picture was taken across from a burned down ranger station and a road that leads down to Nira CG and Manzana Creek.

Did you make it a round trip and go past MJ's Neverland Ranch? If so, how was the traffic? I go up there regularly, but not since MJ died. News is that the road is practically impassible because of the fans swarming the place. I hope the fervor dies soon.
 
Thanks all

Thanks for the kind words all.......I'm definitely not the master craftsman, but it works for us. And again, thanks to everybody who has posted their mod and trip info on this forum.

To address a couple of questions/comments:

Stan: The person we bought the camper from had it on a newer 4-door Nissan Frontier with a short bed and the wings started right at the end of the truck bed. I thought that looked pretty good compared to the gray surface underneath...and based on some research, it looks like the '05 or newer Tacoma beds have about the same dimensions. Therefore, I'm trying to hold out until we can get the new Tacoma. For now, we had some leftover flooring underlayment from a home remodel that we taped onto the backside of the wings using black duck tape. But thanks for the tip and pics!

Edo: That trip was actually several months ago...just finally getting around to some posting...so no Micheal traffic at the time. And your correct, first crossing on Figueroa and I don't remember the burned down station, but the picture was taken facing SE and the background I believe is San Rafael Mountain?? We recently purchased an Engel 45...more details in the next post.

Marc: Not sure on the weight exactly. Dry weight I guess would be around 600lbs?
 
And more camping.....

Our most recent camping trip was for seven nights and started over Memorial Weekend. We met some friends at Bass Lake and camped up the road from their home for three nights.

On Bass Lake...

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After visiting, we headed east along the Sierra Vista Scenic Byway. Although the roads weren't bad, with enough supplies for five nights, the 4-cyl Tacoma was not very happy (can't wait for the new Tacoma!).

Going over the pass...

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We spent three nights at the first campsite. View of the creek from our campsite...

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Prior to this trip, we had just purchased an Engel MT45. The daytime temps were in the mid to upper 80s and nighttime lows were into the 50s. The Engel ran off the Optima for about 48 hours until we reached 50% (with minor LED usage)...we then had to drive about 2 hours to charge back to full (we went looking for showers, but we were one weekend to early for the season so we ended up using the sun shower). I can't say enough about the Engel...just for that trip it was worth the money!...no ice...no soggy cheese...vegetables lasting 7 days...no cooler water in every tupperware! We still brought an ice chest for the fermented beverages, but sloshy ice water works just fine.

Along the road...

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Some scenic shots...

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Meadow stop for lunch...

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Globe rock...

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Our last two nights were spent closer to highway 41 (Yosemite) and all that goes along with that.

All in all it was a great trip. And again, the Engel is awesome! Next mod is hopefully either another Optima or a solar panel (leaning towards the solar panel because I like the concept and the prices seem to be coming down).
 
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Edo: That trip was actually several months ago..
...

That would explain what looks like snow in the background.:thumb:
 
Was wondering if some of you out there might be able to give me your opinion on this. I didn't want to drill into the camper, so came up with this (see pics). It feels solid underneath all the way until about 1/2" past the lowest vertical framing. The bumpers attached to the rear bed rail (pic1) are adjustable left to right and would meet the camper as shown in pic2.
 

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did you get a newer tacoma ??

that pic looks like the "new" tacomas with the composite (plastic) truck bed ?

what are you using the bumpers for ??

(to keep the camper off the front wall of the truck bed) ???


the lower the bumbers are placed, the better

the top rail on the front of most truck beds is not very storng and doesn't have much support

we add the rubber bumpers to the bottom of the front wall of the camper

simple, works great !

just my 2 cents worth



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Was wondering if some of you out there might be able to give me your opinion on this. I didn't want to drill into the camper, so came up with this (see pics). It feels solid underneath all the way until about 1/2" past the lowest vertical framing. The bumpers attached to the rear bed rail (pic1) are adjustable left to right and would meet the camper as shown in pic2.






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Thanks Stan. I should have explained what I was doing all that for...but you got it. I bought the bumper kit from FWC, but was trying to avoid drilling into the camper. Sounds like attaching the bumpers near the bottom of the camper might be the best bet though. Do you have any pictures of exactly where you guys are installing the bumpers? And yes, we did get a 2009 4-door Tacoma with the short bed. Going to put the camper on this weekend...I'll post some pics.
 
Was wondering if some of you out there might be able to give me your opinion on this. I didn't want to drill into the camper, so came up with this (see pics). It feels solid underneath all the way until about 1/2" past the lowest vertical framing. The bumpers attached to the rear bed rail (pic1) are adjustable left to right and would meet the camper as shown in pic2.


I just leave a couple 4x4 blocks in the front of the bed that the camper bumps against.
 

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