OK, first let me say that I spent literally two years researching this thing, and reading and reading. I was very introspective and thinking about what we have liked and disliked in our camping past (although this is our first actual camper - up till now it has been "car camping using a tent"). I compared my best friend's experiences with what I have read on this and other forums. He started with an almost 40 foot 5th wheel, and has gone through three trailers all over 30 feet and a HUGE slide-in truck camper. Now he is down to a 23foot trailer.
I have read about all of the accessories and customizations that people have with FWC models, so I made my decisions based on two things.
1. What is just better to be done at the factory?
2. What do I really need with how we will use this unit?
I fully recognize that my opinions would differ from some of you as I read about your experiences because we have different camping styles.
But here is my setup:
Chevy 1500 crew cab 2x4
Raven with Dinette configuration, No fridge, No porta-potty
- Mechanical Camper Jacks
- Aluminum Jack Brackets
- Furnace
- 2 Fantastic Fans (one over bed, one over main)
- Screen Door
- Side Awning
- Side Awning light
- Auxillary Battery System
- 2nd Auxillary Battery
- Factory Air Conditioning unit
- Wiring for solar panel, plug back wall
- Rear Awning
- European silver/grey/black colors interior and exterior
OK, that is my setup. Now, let me tell you why...
We like the dinette configuration better than the couch, because we will use the table setup like that more. The couch when down in the bed mode just takes up too much room, and the dinette in bed mode still leaves room to step around in the main part of the camper. Our daughter will sleep just fine on the dinette bed.
We don't want a porta-potty. We had one in our boat and used it a couple times and found it was a complete pain in the ass so we decided to not bother. We will just get a campsite pooper and a shovel and be good with it.
We don't want a fridge. We have no current plans to live in this thing, and we have done just fine with a couple coolers for the past 15 years. We can go 4 days easy with just quality coolers, and coolers don't use any power. Other times we just eat at restaurants so all we need are sodas and junk. If we find that we do want a fridge, one of the ARB electric types will work just fine and we can just move it around as needed. Not having a fridge opens up storage and reduces weight and power consumption.
Camper Jacks (obvious)
Aluminum Jack Brackets (lighter weight and won't rust)
Furnace
I know that some people like the Wave better. We don't mind the noise of the fans clicking on and off, I plan on putting in a programmable thermostat, and I like the drying effect of the propane heat helping with condensation. We don't plan on massive arctic excursions, and I can handle a good bit of cold. When I get back into the northwest I will make my own winter thermo-pack and improve insulation so that I can use it for skiing but until then the furnace is simply for warm up when needed and keeping us from being miserable.
2 Fantastic Fans (one over bed, one over main)
I plan on replacing at least the guts of one with the 14 speed upgrade at some point, when I get a chance. I like the one over the bed that I can control from in bed and help move air around me in bed. I put one in the main cabin so that I could use it with the top down, to ventilate for the dog or keep things less warm in there. Ultimately two won't hurt but would be a big pain to add one later if I decided I wanted it.
Screen Door
I just like having more ventilation. Again, hard to add after-the-fact so might as well get it now.
Side Awning
Side Awning light
Here is the thing, we are not fond of sunshine. We need shade. This not only can be campsite shade but also shades the main windows in the camper. Also, if we make it back to the Pacific Northwest - this can help keep us dry when camping during the winter rainy season. And at many places in the west there are wide open places with no trees that more shade is always good.
Auxillary Battery System
2nd Auxillary Battery
I don't want to use the truck battery, and I want power enough for a few days.
Factory Air Conditioning unit
Currently I am in the south. For three+ months of the year it is EFFING HOT here, and massively humid. If I want to use this thing at all, I will need AC. Sure - it means having shore power or some serious wattage generators - but I imagine being constrained to campgrounds with power during those months is better than not going out at all. Also, it will be nice at lakeside campgrounds which are not really "camping" as much as "hanging out at the lake". After leaving the south the AC will become less usefull, but again - very hard to add in later if I want it. Besides, we are wussies in the heat.
Wiring for solar panel, plug back wall
I don't have the money (or realistically the need just yet) for the high dollar solar setup from FWC. However I like what some of you have done with aftermarket stuff so I figure get some wiring put in now, and then I can add panels and controllers. I like the idea of having a panel on a portable stand so I can put it in the sun while the camper is in the shade.
Rear Awning
Already talked about shade, but also back in the Pacific Northwest this will help keep rain out of the camper door. The FWC awning seems to be way better than I could rig myself.
European silver/grey/black colors interior and exterior
We personally found the standards blues and browns with the birch cabinets to look completely hideous. Our own personal opinion. When I saw the European colors I was like - Hey those are awesome. Turns out they can be purchased - not a cheap add-on but since we have to look at this thing, might as well get the colors we like. As an added plus our truck is silver so the silver exterior will match better with the truck. And then I am an Oakland Raiders fan so having everything silver and black is just extra awesome.
Things I plan on doing right away:
I wanted LED lights but didn't want to pay the $$$ for them. So I will be replacing the incandescent lights with LED drop-in bulb replacements on day one. I really like what one of you did where the first switch setting turns on red LEDs for soft night-light visibility and the second turns on regular bright LEDs for visibility.
Already mentioned, I will put a programmable thermostat on the furnace and probably upgrade the guts of one of the fantastic fans.
Insulation of some sort under the mattresses to help prevent condensation.
Things we didn't get and why:
Lift assist: Both my wife and I are not short, and we both are pretty strong. Since I didn't add stuff on the roof, we will have no trouble (based on my experience at the Portland RV show last year). If this gets to be a problem in 20 years when we remodel the camper we can add in some form of aftermarket lift assist.
We felt the struts were just too intrusive to the sleeping area.
Rear floods: That is what flashlights, lanterns, and a camp fire are for. Seriously I couldn't think of a reason to have a gazillion candlepower lights when camping.
Front opening window: No need. No opening window on truck and just felt we wouldn't use it much. I did read about people who used it for storm sheltered ventilation but I figured that would just be rarely used.
Radio: No need. We don't like radios when camping. When we do want to we can just play music on the iPhone or iPad.
Roof racks. I have no desire to put crap up that high, that I have to load and unload to lift the roof or get lift assist to help with.
Arctic pack. I just felt it was overpriced and wouldn't be used too much by me. If the need arises folks here have some good home made solutions that I can try.
Solar panel: too expensive, no flexible use (see my above comments about sun and shade).
So there you have it, a way way long winded post about our camper.
