Preparing for Raven Shell delivery

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highway41

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Hello.

I'm hoping to get some insight on preparing for delivery of my Raven Shell in a couple months.

My first question is about weight and truck prep. I currently have a 2021 F150 with a payload of 1538 pounds. My understanding is the Raven Shell camper will be about 870 pounds dry. Adding weight for batteries and jacks will put it about 1050 pounds.

Why would I need to do anything to upgrade this truck prior to getting this camper? I'm not even remotely near the max payload?

I understand once the camper is on and loaded I may see the need to make changes, but for initial delivery where is the need?

I'm also curious if anyone has converted their FWC from battery power to full electric? In my case there will be minimal need and having a onboard generator (Ford Pro Power) will help me save weight on batteries?

Anyone have experience with this?

Thank you in advance.
 
i have an atc shell on a full size gmc, with 6.5' bed. i figure with shell, battery, awning, solar panels, large dometic cooler, i come in just under 1000 lbs, and the truck handles it very well. i dont count the weight of the jacks, as they come off once home, and only used to get camper off, and into garage.
 
IMO, consider adding air bags to level the truck. You don’t want your low beams in the eyes of oncoming traffic. My guess is with full loads of fuel, gear, driver and passenger you’ll have the truck squatting.
 
You won't have a problem getting it home or using it as long as you are equal to or under the manufacturer's GVWR (there is even a generous safety factor built in). Some trucks, like RAM come with full air ride as a factory option, nice ride and never a squat. You can have your headlights adjusted to match a loaded truck. Much easier then adding air bags.

Do you really want to run the (large) truck engine to generate you electric power needs for a small camper? Especially when it can easily be manged with a roof solar panel and charging the house batteries when traveling. Or a small suitcase style inverter generator that can be placed to keep exhaust fumes from poisoning the camper occupants from carbon monoxide! Remember the truck's exhaust is going to be right under the camper. It is not something the Ford engineers planned for.
 
RE: Airbags/Suspension upgrades
My Hawk shell was about 1040 lb delivered, 1500lb after build and loaded for the first trip leaving me 656lb below payload capacity rating for my F150. In preparation, I got airbags then botched the install by overcranking the bolts. However, when I loaded the shell, my bed top rail dropped from 54" to 52.5" in the front and from ~57" to 53" in the rear -- so they are built higher in the rear to allow for loads and it was still higher in the rear than in the front when loaded so I decided I didn't need anything. It's been 3 years and no problems.

RE: Generator vs Battery
My factory 79AH battery does great with a 100W panel on top ($132 + $33 for a cheap controller in 2019). No fuss, no fumes. It easily runs a 30Qt Indel/Truckfridge refrigerator, the lights, some fan time on hot days and maybe 20 minutes of furnace on cold mornings. The generator would be a great backup, but unless you are running more equipment, I personally would avoid the noise and fumes of a generator day-in, day-out.
 
Thanks for your opinions.

Should've mentioned my truck is a Powerboost Hybrid. So it has the 300 pound battery (?) already onboard matched with the 3.5L engine. That supplies 2.4kw of power to several outlets including a couple in the rear of the truck bed.

In a Ford forum, several owners are talking about how they have the 7.2kw version and are able to run their entire homes or large RV's with it. With that said I think you are right about trying to balance it with the included camper battery and a solar panel. I just thought losing 100 pounds of batteries might be helpful. And propane tanks too? Maybe I can consider doing without the second battery I ordered with the camper.

I will likely only be charging a couple laptops, a small TV monitor, and maybe a fridge when at camp. If that can all be done easily with the batteries, I will consider the 2.4kw generator a backup. Or maybe just run an extension cord from the bed outlet into the camper as needed. I need to see more obviously. Exhaust and fuel use are enough for me to not want to rely on it full time.

Being a minimalist I won't concern myself with any suspension mods until after I have the camper on. There wont be much added weight to start. I will measure the rear fender wells prior to loading it, can't imagine it dropping more than a couple inches being only 2/3 of the rated payload. And I'll look closer at the headlamps too.

All this feedback will help my research moving forward so its greatly appreciated.
 
Yes, you have lots of power to spare! Maybe best to just see how you do with your setup as ordered then decide. One of our 10lb propane tanks last us about 40 days so I never travel with both of them and that saves weight. Maybe dropping the second battery and the second 10lb propane bottle would be a compromise toward minimalism, especially given your massive backup power. I love my solar panel as it is always on (when the sun is), but it may be redundant in your case.

If your generator only puts out AC and not 12 volt, a converter/charger like the IOTA DLS-30 that FWC supplies with full models would be a nice addition to make use of the generator to recharge the battery. Easier than converting everything to AC IMHO. I just added the charger and a 3 circuit AC breaker panel for charging the battery (via the IOTA), running the refrigerator and powering outlets when shore power is available. A battery monitor is critical too, in my opinion, for knowing when your house battery needs charging.
 
One less battery and one less tank sounds like a good plan. If nothing else its a good starting point.

I still have a lot to learn about the on board generator. The Ford guys are saying its a game changer for camping though. I do see 2 120v outlets in the bed of the truck so if I can easily run a extension cord into the camper it might be that simple. Then propane for the stove, and the battery in the camper as needed. I do remember FWC mentioning an inverter so I'll check that one out.
 
For initial delivery you may not need to do anything. The headlights may be pointed a little higher towards oncoming traffic because of the load; even though it may be below max payload. Many folks install airbags which can help level it again and if you go offroad and anticipate much articulation, consider Daystar cradles to allow the suspension to flex without being limited by the airbag.
 
Although this may not be a popular solution or even a consideration for many, would you be willing to trade your truck in for one with more payload capacity?

My suggestion is based on the fact that most every mechanical, electrical, optical, etc. system with variability functions best in the middle of it's range. If your end goal is 1.5k of payload then a vehicle with 3.0k of payload capacity should be ideal. It's not just the suspension system either - we should consider braking, cooling, transmission, etc. When we push a system out near it's design limit, 1.5k payload in a truck with 1.5k capacity, it generally is not able operate in an ideal way.

Over 40k people die in motor vehicle accidents in America annually. Viewing campers from a safety perspective; many owners drive at high speeds (55-75 MPH) over long distances for extended periods of time in unfamiliar territories. Some are under pressure "to get there" or to "get home" and are forced to drive in undesirable conditions including darkness, rain, snow, etc. Add hills and curves to the equation and the deck is stacked in the wrong direction.

Just my thoughts...
 
I wont be anywhere near the 1540 max payload, ever, so its hard to imagine Ford making a new truck that doesn't handle properly or struggles at 70% (during part time use) of their listed specs.

Nonetheless, I'm already considering a F250 for next year more-so than putting thousands into this F150 if for some reason its not functional with this lightweight camper. For now I'm just focused on prepping for delivery.

Thanks for the input.
 
Payload includes passengers? I've been told that is GVWR not payload. If payload is not just in bed weight but also passenger weight, then that changes the plan.
 
GVWR is the complete, entire weight of everything (passengers, fuel, luggage and lunch. Everything in, on or bolted to the truck). The downward force of the tires to the pavement.
 
The easiest way to calculate available payload capacity is to take your vehicles GVWR and then subtract the weight of your vehicle fully loaded. That includes all passengers, luggage, full bag of gas, etc. Some just roll up on a scale at the beginning of an adventure and use that number to subtract from GVWR.

For those that tow, you must include the tongue weight of your camper also.
 
Okay, I'm glad I have that clear now. With that said; I will still plan to take delivery of the camper and will immediately start looking at better truck options. I'll still be under payload during that initial drive, and of course will take safety precautions as well. But I won't put this F150 to work longer term if its not the ideal vehicle.
 
Looks like I might be stuck with a F150 to match with a Raven. The F250 and F350 dont have a 5.5' bed.

Which means Dodge is likely the same story.
 
Hi Highway,
I'm a newbie to this forum, in the process of considering a Raven for my Crewmax Tundra (5.5' bed) or go with a PowerWagon and Hawk... just love my current truck so much (so many upgrades)

I am trying to figure out if with a 5.5' bed the Raven will allow me to keep my swing arms on my rear aftermarket bumper. They latch with about 3"gap between them and the tailgate.

Anyone have any idea on probability it will work? (waiting on hearing back from 4WC dealer)
highway41 said:
Looks like I might be stuck with a F150 to match with a Raven. The F250 and F350 dont have a 5.5' bed.

Which means Dodge is likely the same story.
Click to expand...
 
trabs00 said:
Hi Highway,
I'm a newbie to this forum, in the process of considering a Raven for my Crewmax Tundra (5.5' bed) or go with a PowerWagon and Hawk... just love my current truck so much (so many upgrades)

I am trying to figure out if with a 5.5' bed the Raven will allow me to keep my swing arms on my rear aftermarket bumper. They latch with about 3"gap between them and the tailgate.

Anyone have any idea on probability it will work? (waiting on hearing back from 4WC dealer)
Click to expand...

Unfortunately I don't have the camper yet. Its scheduled for delivery next month. So I cant help you.

Maybe someone else will chime in.
 
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