Our "NEW" Raven Camper - Let the Build Begin

[Hodakaguy]

We just picked up our new to us Raven camper from the original owner. He only used it a couple times and it's like brand new, even has that new smell inside still . My father, my son and I all left WA state and headed to Reno NV to pick the camper up.

It's a modified shell version with a few extra add on accessories (Heater/propane tanks, Artic Pack, Fiamma Awning, Solar plug, Single batt setup, Jacks with aluminum mounts, extra left side opening window, Opening front window, Screen door, Fantastic Fan, Yakima Racks on top, forward mounted bench seat/bed with under bed storage bays). I really wanted a full camper version with silver spur package (Minus the sink as we've found we never use it and would rather have the space than the 20 gallon water tank) but we saved a TON on this one vs a new one so we decided to snag this one and build it to our liking

We plan on building up the truck (Lift, bumpers, lights, etc) and adding a few more modifications to the camper...Stove, custom table, etc. I added air bags to the truck before we left to snag the camper, once the camper was installed we used them to level the truck back to factory ride height. The truck handled great on the way home and you really couldn't even tell the camper was on there!

I forgot to remove the tailgate before we left so we had a porch on this trip Here are a few pictures from the trip home.


Loading the camper at the original owners house. We removed the wiring harness from his Ford Raptor and did a temporary install on our Tundra, I'll redo the wiring later using a heavier gauge wire and paying attention to protecting abrasion points etc.

We stopped at Reno to let my son play at the Children's discovery museum and check out the Reno auto museum. Waiting for the discovery center to open.

Stopped to check out the shoe tree.

Camp in the middle of no where . Snapped this shot late at night with a full moon shining. The heater had never been used so we broke it in on this trip...worked great! The heater kept us toasty warm all night, it was 27 deg outside when we woke up.

Waking up

Very nice sunrise the next morning.

Stopped to check out a cool old church and school.

And home sweet home.

Lots more to come. I'm going to tweak the interior a little and we have several mods to the truck that are planned. I'll post up the progress here as it happens.

Hodakaguy

 

[bill harr]

Congrats on the camper. Nice to find a used one almost like new. Looking forward to your build making it just like you want.


Bill

 

[escadventure]

Looks like a great setup to have a lot of fun with!

 

[shanz3n5]

nice truck and camper. Not so sure if your tailgate is easily removable but if it is and you plan on keeping it on the truck with camper on... i can attest to two things to keep in mind. One is it dislodging from the truck while in the down position with no weight on it. Mine came off while on mild off road bounce, would have hated it if it was on the freeway. Two is the attempt to having it stolen. I caught them in the attempt. Granted it was a chevy and not a toyota. i qwkly purchased a right side hinge pin lock. Im sure there is a tail gate hinge lock for a Toyota.
Have a blast.

 

[bajafshrman]

Nice looking rig! And, great first trip, too!!!

 

[Tacovendor]

Looks great, should be picking up my Raven in December. Doing a full Icon suspension with air bags and a modular storage system in the rear seat area off the Tundra. Looking forward to your adventure, congratulations

 

[Hodakaguy]

nice truck and camper. Not so sure if your tailgate is easily removable but if it is and you plan on keeping it on the truck with camper on... i can attest to two things to keep in mind. One is it dislodging from the truck while in the down position with no weight on it. Mine came off while on mild off road bounce, would have hated it if it was on the freeway. Two is the attempt to having it stolen. I caught them in the attempt. Granted it was a chevy and not a toyota. i qwkly purchased a right side hinge pin lock. Im sure there is a tail gate hinge lock for a Toyota.
Have a blast.

Thanks guys, we are looking forward to getting it set up the way we want it

The tailgate is easily removed and I had planned on removing it before I left to pick up the camper...but I remembered it about a hr into the trip so had to deal with it coming home. The camper sticks out a few inches and traps the tailgate in the down position so no chance of it coming up and dislodging or being stolen. It will be nicer without the tailgate on though as every time you back up now you have to watch for overhang and things that will damage the tailgate.

Hodakaguy

 

[Hodakaguy]

Looks great, should be picking up my Raven in December. Doing a full Icon suspension with air bags and a modular storage system in the rear seat area off the Tundra. Looking forward to your adventure, congratulations

I'll be watching your build, sounds great! Can't wait to get going on ours, I build our Syncro in our two car garage but don't have the room to start the build on this one yet...may be waiting till warmer weather :-(

Hodakaguy

 

[Hodakaguy]

A few pictures of the interior.

Initial Thoughts..... The build quality of the camper seems very good, the camper is very sturdy and for the most part fit and finish is very nice. The front bench is deeper than it needs to be and although it allows a lot of under seat storage space (three separate large bays) and a large lower bed it makes the storage space hard to access and takes up valuable floor space in the process (FWC could have added a couple small doors under the front of the bench to help out the accessibility problem, as it sits now you have to remove the large couch cushions then a wooden access panel to gain access to the storage area). The small corner Island that FWC built to house the heater and the propane tanks could have been designed better as well to utilize space and allow more storage. The roof (Especially the front) is very heavy and difficult to raise...I will be adding pop top shocks to help address this problem.

I'm not totally sure yet how I will be re-arranging the interior to suit our needs, I will defiantly be adding a stove and may eventually change the entire interior layout as I would like more counter space as well...time will tell I'll also be adding a 220W flex panel solar setup, relocating the battery and adding a second battery as well. LED flood lights are on the list as well as a few other small options.

Why used and not New.....I liked the full FWC camper layout and we came real close to ordering a new silver spur Raven camper (Would match our truck nicely!) but the unwillingness of FWC to accomidate non standard changes got me to looking at used units more closely. I asked them to Install a Dinette option (I realize space is small but they flat refused to build a new one with that option any longer and this was the option that fit our needs the best), the inability to change small options like a black Fiamma awning to match the black/grey Silver Spur Exterior (This option is available from Fiamma and really should be standard on the Silver Spur packages) and small lack of choice items such as the new (what I consider ugly/busy dog bone fabric pattern) silver spur interior fabric are all reasons that drove us away from a new model. I know I know kind of a rant here but on a camper that cost over $20K new (For a small slide in camper!) these options should be available. For the money saved buying used I'm more willing to deal with these short comings.


Here's a few interior pics of our setup in it's current as purchased configuration.

Bench in the upright position.

The corner area currently housing the battery, heater and propane tanks.

Bottom bed way larger than it needs to be.

More to come....

Hodakaguy

 

[Tacovendor]

A few bits of info; The reason that the dinette is no longer available (I also wanted it) is that due to the length of the bed it two people sit across form each other their feet overlap and to the rear the seat obscures the door opening. The small space in the bed of our truck is a challenge to say the least, also keep in mind that some parts have to conform with minimum standards for clearance and safety, hence some of the extra space around the furnace etc. You can also order the Silver spur exterior only. I think you have made an excellent choice and look forward to your posts.

 

[Hodakaguy]

A few bits of info; The reason that the dinette is no longer available (I also wanted it) is that due to the length of the bed it two people sit across form each other their feet overlap and to the rear the seat obscures the door opening. The small space in the bed of our truck is a challenge to say the least, also keep in mind that some parts have to conform with minimum standards for clearance and safety, hence some of the extra space around the furnace etc. You can also order the Silver spur exterior only. I think you have made an excellent choice and look forward to your posts.

Yeah our small beds make a camper a challenge for sure.

Every design has its trade offs but I was willing to deal with the dinette shortcomings in the Raven, I'm pretty skinny and wouldn't have an issue squeezing by the rear seat going through the door (Looked at many pictures of the dinette/raven combo and talked with a couple people who currently own/like that combo), also wouldn't have a problem sitting slightly sideways and placing my legs out in the isle. The table would only be used rarely and I planned on modifying it to fold out of the way easily when not in use, Without the table in place the T shaped floor space would be nice for standing/cooking etc. Our son is only 7 so the short bottom bed wouldn't have been an issue as well.

Seems odd to me that they have the ability to make that combo but refuse to sell it any longer even if a customer requests that configuration. I guess in the end they can manufacture/offer whatever combinations they see fit...it just cost them the sale of a new camper this time around.

Looking forward to building this one to suit our needs, time to do lots of research

Hodakaguy

 

[Hodakaguy]

Built a quick storage deck to set the camper on so I can get the camper off the truck and some work done as weather allows. The Syncro is keeping it's place in the garage which makes it a little hard to get much work done when the temps outside are hovering in the 20 deg range. I'll eventually add some casters to the bottom of the deck so I can easily move the camper around as needed.

More to come as time and weather allow.

Hodakaguy

 

[Overland Hadley]

Congrats on the FWC! I will be interested to see what you do with the camper and the truck.

 

[Advmoto18]

Congratulations! The camper looks brand new!

 

[snekvasil]

Built a quick storage deck to set the camper on so I can get the camper off the truck and some work done as weather allows. The Syncro is keeping it's place in the garage which makes it a little hard to get much work done when the temps outside are hovering in the 20 deg range. I'll eventually add some casters to the bottom of the deck so I can easily move the camper around as needed.

More to come as time and weather allow.

How much would you guess that camper weighs?