Arctic Fox 811 Short-Box to Long-Box Conversion

[Troutguy]

I'm considering buying a long-box dually to replace my Chevy HD short-box truck. My AF 811S is the short-box version. AF makes the 811 in both versions with, to my knowledge, the only difference being the two rear storage compartments.
I haven't contacted Northwood yet as to the availability of parts and the difficulty of doing this. I would be doing the conversion myself and am aware of losing the full generator compartment and the extra storage on the left rear box. I will not carry a short-box camper on a long- box truck with the 18" gap at the front of the truck box. Those of you that do this is your choice, not for me.
So has any one done this conversion on a AF 811 SB or vice versa? Any info would be appreciated. I'm the original owner of this 811 and a new camper is not in the cards at this time. Also I would want a new truck w/8' box so I can upgrade to a AF 992 or 1150 in a couple years.

Thanks
TG

[trail-explorer]

d3500ram wrote:
If, as you state, the "boxes are just bolted on" then I would think that it would be a rletivly easy removal job, but I am ignorant of AF campers.

THe thing about AF campers, is the rear wing area on teh short bed is not a simple "bolt on affair"

The short bed has the access hatch for the tank valves in the side wing.
The long bed has the access door in the rear panel next to the tail light.

[billyg]

Hi The time and effort that you will put into this project, could build a spacer box that will completely fill in the space from cab over to bed floor with doors and shelves for storage that could compliment your camper? Down the road you could use that storage box for something else. Bill

[Troutguy]

Bedlam wrote:
In addition to relocating the forward box wall, you will need to shorten up the sidewall rear skirts. I don't expect you to be able reverse this later unless you are good at joining and patching Filon.

I also used a short bed AF811 on more than one truck. I went from a short bed F250 to a 9' flat bed 5500 knowing I would AF a couple more years before upgrading to a triple slide. I used the space between camper and truck to store my spare but had room barbecue, generator or fuel cans if wanted bring those items.

Some Lance models had bolt on rear side pods to convert the camper for short bed use, but this is not the case with the Arctic Fox.

Thanks for posting Bedlam. I just got off the phone with Clint from Northwood and the verdict is in......."No can do" he said nothing is impossible but he said that the factory wouldn't do it and recommended that I not try it myself. I think you are right in the fact that this is easy to do on some Lance models but the 811 would be very difficult. I guess that I'd better conceive Plan B.
Thanks to everyone that replied and offered help and suggestions including d3500ram.

I bet you're pretty excited about the new Mammoth!!

[Bedlam]

In addition to relocating the forward box wall, you will need to shorten up the sidewall rear skirts. I don't expect you to be able reverse this later unless you are good at joining and patching Filon.

I also used a short bed AF811 on more than one truck. I went from a short bed F250 to a 9' flat bed 5500 knowing I would AF a couple more years before upgrading to a triple slide. I used the space between camper and truck to store my spare but had room barbecue, generator or fuel cans if wanted bring those items.

Some Lance models had bolt on rear side pods to convert the camper for short bed use, but this is not the case with the Arctic Fox.

[d3500ram]

If, as you state, the "boxes are just bolted on" then I would think that it would be a rletivly easy removal job, but I am ignorant of AF campers.

With the NorthStar campers (my frame of reference) makes my camper for long or shortbed; the floor structure will work with either one. My model can have no skirt storage (long bed), storage integral to the body (re: photo) or bolt-on (ergo, bolt-off) storage boxes- these latter two for Short bed use. If the AF is similar to my NS bolt-on version than it should be easy. If it is integral similar to the photo then some body work will be involved. If your model side skirts are strictly storage (i.e. no batteries or other major components) then it would be up to your body work skills.

Can you post a photo of your specific camper?

[Troutguy]

d3500ram wrote:
@OP- Mine is the second photo posted by RoyB... I was in the same predicament as you when I bought the camper.

I already had the truck and the camper was too good a deal to pass up when it came along. My initial thoughts were to do the conversion to remove the skirts. The biggest challenge for me would be having to relocate the 2-battery compartment. After bringing the camper home and looking closer at what was needed to do the job I ended up leaving it as is. The generator storage on the other side saddle skirt is welcome space as is the front portion of the truck bed.

I know you said that you are not interested in having the gap at the front of the camper but perhaps you might want to try that set-up on a few outings. I say this not from an observer who has a normal camper configuration, but from the point of view from one who actually has this camper placement.

I liked the advantages of how mine works and I avoided a lot of camper body work. Just my opinion, but feel free to ask any questions about my set-up if you want to pursue that direction,

Thanks for your reply and for taking the time to do so......I do appreciate it!
The 811 has its batteries mounted up high on the sidewall . The existing rear compartments only store the gen ( which I don't have) and the black/gray drain.
The 811 long-box has the same rear compartments but are shorter from front to back.
I'm pretty sure that the boxes are just bolted on with no structural modifications to the camper body/frame. It may be too cost prohibitive or labor intensive to do this however but I'm sure AF can answer this.
My 811 was purchased new by me and has always been stored inside when not camping and is in excellent shape.

[d3500ram]

@OP- Mine is the second photo posted by RoyB... I was in the same predicament as you when I bought the camper.

I already had the truck and the camper was too good a deal to pass up when it came along. My initial thoughts were to do the conversion to remove the skirts. The biggest challenge for me would be having to relocate the 2-battery compartment. After bringing the camper home and looking closer at what was needed to do the job I ended up leaving it as is. The generator storage on the other side saddle skirt is welcome space as is the front portion of the truck bed.

I know you said that you are not interested in having the gap at the front of the camper but perhaps you might want to try that set-up on a few outings. I say this not from an observer who has a normal camper configuration, but from the point of view from one who actually has this camper placement.

I liked the advantages of how mine works and I avoided a lot of camper body work. Just my opinion, but feel free to ask any questions about my set-up if you want to pursue that direction,

[Troutguy]

trail-explorer wrote:
WIth the plumbing and electrical in the compartment, it's going to be a challenge to deal with that stuff.

I have never heard of a dealer offering a conversion. I have never seen or heard of one being converted either.

Someone in this Arctic Fox discussion group might have seen or heard of it being done.

Bob,
Thanks for that Facebook link! Some good reading from real AF owners........
TG

[trail-explorer]

WIth the plumbing and electrical in the compartment, it's going to be a challenge to deal with that stuff.

I have never heard of a dealer offering a conversion. I have never seen or heard of one being converted either.

Someone in this Arctic Fox discussion group might have seen or heard of it being done.

[Reality_Check]

Grit dog wrote:

RoyB wrote:

Grit dog wrote:
Focus Roy....op said he don't care to load the camper back.

Grit Dog
Yeah - I know - was just dreaming again about owning a Truck camper...

Sorry to bother you guys...

Roy Ken

im sorry it was uncalled for.

lol, go easy on yourself Grit. It's so common in threads on this forum to read answers that completely ignore the op's questions/direction.. almost like no one reads anything but the title? Roy has been a decent contributor, and his explanation was humorous. But don't beat yourself up... it was funny and hit the nail on the head.

To the OP... totally agree that SB units in long boxes are awkward. Wouldn't go there either. I'm curious what the final work/cost will be.

[Troutguy]

jimh425 wrote:
I think I'd speak to Arctic Fox to see if they have guidance. If it has the generator in the compartment, that would be more difficult.

My 811S does not have the onboard generator but it is generator ready.
Thanks for your comment.

[Troutguy]

AnEv942 wrote:
Yes if there's no plumbing or structural reason sounds like a simple task. Northwood should be able to confirm.
However its the comment "...so I can upgrade to a AF 992 or 1150 in a couple years..." that makes me wonder if worthwhile. DRW should be less affected by weight transfer so dealing with the 18" back for a while less a hit than modifying camper. If you really hate it might force the 'dream' camper into reality sooner.
Maybe it does not matter- but selling or trading modified camper seems
might decrease its value to the point getting replacement that much further out? Then again might open larger market if more long beds in your area.

The 811 can be converted to either version at the dealer level, however I'd like to do this work myself. A new truck will cost between $70-80k and another $30-40k for a new TC....not in the budget for the next couple years. Maybe I could start a Go Fund Me account! As I said in my original post.....I won' t put a short-box camper in a long-box truck.....this has been argued before. An 811 can be converted back to the SB model to make it saleable to a SB truck owner quite easily.
Thanks for your input.

[Grit_dog]

RoyB wrote:

Grit dog wrote:
Focus Roy....op said he don't care to load the camper back.

Grit Dog
Yeah - I know - was just dreaming again about owning a Truck camper...

Sorry to bother you guys...

Roy Ken

im sorry it was uncalled for.

[AnEv942]

Yes if there's no plumbing or structural reason sounds like a simple task. Northwood should be able to confirm.
However its the comment "...so I can upgrade to a AF 992 or 1150 in a couple years..." that makes me wonder if worthwhile. DRW should be less affected by weight transfer so dealing with the 18" back for a while less a hit than modifying camper. If you really hate it might force the 'dream' camper into reality sooner.
Maybe it does not matter- but selling or trading modified camper seems
might decrease its value to the point getting replacement that much further out? Then again might open larger market if more long beds in your area.