Ok, I am going to collect random thoughts and progress pictures and put them here in a thread.
Goal: Construct a true flatbed camper with cabover, no slideouts but full 8 foot floor width inside. This will mount on a 2006 Isuzu NRR truck with a GVWR of 19,500 pounds and a current dry weight of 8700 pounds. The truck has a 20 foot flatbed that is 8 feet wide. The camper will take up 11 feet of the flatbed and the remaining area will be home to a future garage for our toys. We will install a hitch so we can pull our 17 foot Montgomery sailboat (trailer + boat is about 2200 pounds). The camper and garage will be removeable so the flatbed can be used for other purposes, or in case the truck needs extensive shop repairs down the road. Or if we are in Alaska and want to go pick up 3 cords of firewood or something 🙂
Here is a picture of the truck with some important dimensions:
Goal: Construct a true flatbed camper with cabover, no slideouts but full 8 foot floor width inside. This will mount on a 2006 Isuzu NRR truck with a GVWR of 19,500 pounds and a current dry weight of 8700 pounds. The truck has a 20 foot flatbed that is 8 feet wide. The camper will take up 11 feet of the flatbed and the remaining area will be home to a future garage for our toys. We will install a hitch so we can pull our 17 foot Montgomery sailboat (trailer + boat is about 2200 pounds). The camper and garage will be removeable so the flatbed can be used for other purposes, or in case the truck needs extensive shop repairs down the road. Or if we are in Alaska and want to go pick up 3 cords of firewood or something 🙂
Here is a picture of the truck with some important dimensions:
This is and has been one of my favorite threads to follow here. Sorry, Jfet you just can’t post enough pictures and info about your build and now, being used! Basecamping and exploring is not something that is frequently posted here, by others.
Right about this time in 2014, I found myself discovering the Mt St Helens area too. I fell in love with the area that my intended 2 nights extended into 3 weeks of hiking and motorcycle discover riding in and around the area, kayaking on the Cowlitz & Toutle Rivers. Proudly, all boondocking, which is my norm. Met some wonderful people who in turn welcomed me to visit, their large properties, to base camp to explore, all the way to the coast and Astoria. After that, kayaking on the Rogue River, for 5 days too.
Jfet, as for Adventure Bikes, you are a bit off, they are around 700+ lbs. While the majority of riders never get them out of the urban areas and OHV areas, there are some of us that are quite adept and ride the single tracks, especially in Death Valley and Southern Utah. While I will pull out one of my two dirt bikes (CRFX 450 @ 261 lbs., 500 EXC @ 269 lbs.), my GSA certainly has the scratches, dents, caked on dirt and grime of daily off road riding. For me, there is nothing like riding one of the increasing numbers of Backcountry Discovery Routes on an Adventure Bike.
These Adventure Bikes, seem to take me to some of the most wonderful and beautiful locations. This is why I laugh, silently, when some scoff at my ability to reach such remote locations, but I do.
Climbing up into Death Valley on some of the back trails don’t slow some of the more experienced riders.
Some days the bike gets tired and picks a place to take a nap. Granted, a hazard of most off road riding, but a little more work when the bikes are laden with overnighting gear.
Then riding the trails along the San Juan River, running below Muley Point, drying out the boots is a day end necessity.
Hope to see some of you out on the road, during some of the best Truck Camper exploring season Labor Day through Memorial Day.
b
Right about this time in 2014, I found myself discovering the Mt St Helens area too. I fell in love with the area that my intended 2 nights extended into 3 weeks of hiking and motorcycle discover riding in and around the area, kayaking on the Cowlitz & Toutle Rivers. Proudly, all boondocking, which is my norm. Met some wonderful people who in turn welcomed me to visit, their large properties, to base camp to explore, all the way to the coast and Astoria. After that, kayaking on the Rogue River, for 5 days too.
Jfet wrote:cewillis wrote:About 290lbs each dry. We could put 3000 pounds in the garage pod and still not have a problem with the rear axle.
Looking great. How much do those motorcycles weight?
(not worried about your rear axle)
I wouldn't want a heavier bike but I have seen 400 to 500 pound BMW dual sports on single track. Not sure how they do it.
Jfet, as for Adventure Bikes, you are a bit off, they are around 700+ lbs. While the majority of riders never get them out of the urban areas and OHV areas, there are some of us that are quite adept and ride the single tracks, especially in Death Valley and Southern Utah. While I will pull out one of my two dirt bikes (CRFX 450 @ 261 lbs., 500 EXC @ 269 lbs.), my GSA certainly has the scratches, dents, caked on dirt and grime of daily off road riding. For me, there is nothing like riding one of the increasing numbers of Backcountry Discovery Routes on an Adventure Bike.
These Adventure Bikes, seem to take me to some of the most wonderful and beautiful locations. This is why I laugh, silently, when some scoff at my ability to reach such remote locations, but I do.
Climbing up into Death Valley on some of the back trails don’t slow some of the more experienced riders.
Some days the bike gets tired and picks a place to take a nap. Granted, a hazard of most off road riding, but a little more work when the bikes are laden with overnighting gear.
Then riding the trails along the San Juan River, running below Muley Point, drying out the boots is a day end necessity.
Hope to see some of you out on the road, during some of the best Truck Camper exploring season Labor Day through Memorial Day.
b
We took the camper to Mount St. Helens last week (first time ever visiting even though we have lived in WA state nearly 20 years).
We stayed at the Lower Falls campground on Lewis river. This is a great time of year to go as we had the entire campground to ourselves the first night. The falls are about a 2 minute walk from the camp site we chose.
We unloaded the motorcycles and rode them up FS road 25 then 90 to the Helens crater. This is a very good motorcycle ride and the day was a sunny 65 degrees.
On the way back from Helens we decided to take a detour to the WA coast since we were relatively close to Long Beach, WA. We ended up staying two nights on the beach at the Cape Disappointment state park and rode our motorcycles some 20 miles up the beach.
The camper/truck did quite well on the bumps (even got it on some dirt and gravel going to Lower Falls) and averaged 10mpg which made me pleased. The propane cage we added under the truck (holds three 20 pound cylinders) let us use the furnace and stove on this trip. We didn't run the furnace much because the camper seems to stay warm in this milder season (2 inches of wall insulation paying off).
We stayed at the Lower Falls campground on Lewis river. This is a great time of year to go as we had the entire campground to ourselves the first night. The falls are about a 2 minute walk from the camp site we chose.
We unloaded the motorcycles and rode them up FS road 25 then 90 to the Helens crater. This is a very good motorcycle ride and the day was a sunny 65 degrees.
On the way back from Helens we decided to take a detour to the WA coast since we were relatively close to Long Beach, WA. We ended up staying two nights on the beach at the Cape Disappointment state park and rode our motorcycles some 20 miles up the beach.
The camper/truck did quite well on the bumps (even got it on some dirt and gravel going to Lower Falls) and averaged 10mpg which made me pleased. The propane cage we added under the truck (holds three 20 pound cylinders) let us use the furnace and stove on this trip. We didn't run the furnace much because the camper seems to stay warm in this milder season (2 inches of wall insulation paying off).
We have taken a few trips now and are still working a bit on inside cabinetry. We added a bag awning, welded up a propane cage that holds three 20 pound tanks under the flatbed and has a diamond plate aluminum front to match the other boxes, and welded up a really nice trailer hitch that bolts to the Mansfield bar.
This week we needed to take the truck in for regular service and decided to de-pod. While the pods were off of the truck, we removed all of the old wood flatbed, purchased three 20 foot lengths of new Apitong and mounted them. We covered them with 1/4" rubber screwed down and also fasted the same rubber to the top metal edge of the flatbed frame. The pods are now still well supported but we are ~600 pounds lighter. 600 pounds of junk, I mean cargo, we can add.
This week we needed to take the truck in for regular service and decided to de-pod. While the pods were off of the truck, we removed all of the old wood flatbed, purchased three 20 foot lengths of new Apitong and mounted them. We covered them with 1/4" rubber screwed down and also fasted the same rubber to the top metal edge of the flatbed frame. The pods are now still well supported but we are ~600 pounds lighter. 600 pounds of junk, I mean cargo, we can add.
