My Build Has Begun
- Thread starter Hilldweller
- Start date
StumpXJ
SE Expedition Society
Looks great Billy Boy... I think its safe to assume you are out in the garage right now playing with the new toy since you havent logged on since 4pm.... I know I would be too.
This weekend aint happening for me, just cant swing two in a row. The yard looks like a jungle, so its time to break out the lawn equipment. Enjoy it, and if your'e like me you will start your running list of things that need to be modified and or tweaked to make life a little easier. Let me know if I can help on any of those items...
~ Stump
This weekend aint happening for me, just cant swing two in a row. The yard looks like a jungle, so its time to break out the lawn equipment. Enjoy it, and if your'e like me you will start your running list of things that need to be modified and or tweaked to make life a little easier. Let me know if I can help on any of those items...
~ Stump
traveler57
Observer
Congrats
Totally awesome looking !
Not only will you enjoy it, you will definately have every one else on the road pulling over to stare.
So now we will be looking for some action pictures out in the woods!
Totally awesome looking !
Not only will you enjoy it, you will definately have every one else on the road pulling over to stare.
So now we will be looking for some action pictures out in the woods!
radio_jumper
Adventurer
awesome, congrats! Are you gonna sleep in it tonight? Looking forward to the after action review.
Hilldweller
SE Expedition Society
The awning is gone. I have to call Martyn; Fiamma sent the wrong one and it just didn't work right.
The wind-blocks for the stove were poorly designed and flopped around; not any more.
There was a dummy knob on the false drawer under the sink; it's the bottle opener now.
There are quite a few sloppy spots where you can tell they hurried too much. The trim around the diamond plate in front needs to be secured better, there's caulk on the lights, and everything was dirty or covered with sawdust. We cleaned a bit.
The under-bed storage is sorta a joke. It's large alright but not very functional. And it droops under my weight. It will be redesigned, hinged, and more secure eventually.
The fridge slide has no positive latching mechanism, just an rv-style snap. That won't work offroad and I'm looking at what will work. Right now I've wedged a wheel chock under it.
We'll need to get creative with storage and lashing. They don't come with any lash-down points at all; I had Chris install some in the cabin. He chose some really cheap ones and mounted them to the storage doors ---- that don't close or secure.
It's very very obvious that he's never overlanded or traveled any distance offroad.
It'll get done. All it takes is time, saws, and a little money...
We did sleep on the mattress in the living room; it's thin and crushes all the way down under my weight. I'll have to figure out what to do about that.
The wind-blocks for the stove were poorly designed and flopped around; not any more.
There was a dummy knob on the false drawer under the sink; it's the bottle opener now.
There are quite a few sloppy spots where you can tell they hurried too much. The trim around the diamond plate in front needs to be secured better, there's caulk on the lights, and everything was dirty or covered with sawdust. We cleaned a bit.
The under-bed storage is sorta a joke. It's large alright but not very functional. And it droops under my weight. It will be redesigned, hinged, and more secure eventually.
The fridge slide has no positive latching mechanism, just an rv-style snap. That won't work offroad and I'm looking at what will work. Right now I've wedged a wheel chock under it.
We'll need to get creative with storage and lashing. They don't come with any lash-down points at all; I had Chris install some in the cabin. He chose some really cheap ones and mounted them to the storage doors ---- that don't close or secure.
It's very very obvious that he's never overlanded or traveled any distance offroad.
It'll get done. All it takes is time, saws, and a little money...
We did sleep on the mattress in the living room; it's thin and crushes all the way down under my weight. I'll have to figure out what to do about that.
Hilldweller
SE Expedition Society
Took it on the hills where I dwell.
Poser shots; the OJ sticker doesn't show up well since my vehicles aren't "ExPo White" :ylsmoke:
Poser shots; the OJ sticker doesn't show up well since my vehicles aren't "ExPo White" :ylsmoke:
What size is your storage area? What are your thoughts towards it being non-fuctional? I'm inquiring because I've been going back and forth about putting a 3" deep storage area under the cabover bed in my pop-up truck camper build. It adds to the cab over thickness in the down position which I don't like but adds a lot of storage for things as well. In my case I'd have somewhere to stand elsewhere in the camper to access it and I was thinking of doing partial depth drawers in the front part. Curious to hear your thoughts on under bed storage.
What size mattress are you trying for? When I added a pullout bed extension to my FWC I got some additional foam pieces from this place: http://www.thefoamfactory.com/ They have a few different firmness/densities available. If you're using a standard mattress LxW then the foam is cheaper in the mattress section otherwise you can click on the cushion section to get custom sizing. I think I used "Lux Foam - Regular" at 4" thick, its firm we definitely don't sink through (maybe a tad too firm, the HD36 might be worth a look too).
For my new build, based on a suggestion from this site I think, I'm planning to run down to ikea to check out the quality/comfort of the foam mattresses they have there. If you're in a standards LxW mattress and can work with ~4" min mattress thickness you could check out what they have as well. 3-7/8" looks to be the thinnest they carry and they progressively get thicker. They are a tad more than the foam factory pricing (but not horrible a 3-7/8" queen size is ~$180) but they appear to be two part construction (I'd assume one part is more supportive) so they may be more comfy. I haven't looked at them personally yet so take the suggestion at face value. http://www.ikea.com/us/en/search/?q...ame_chapter=Foam+mattresses&sorting=relevance
Hilldweller
SE Expedition Society
There are two 80"Lx34"Wx3.5"D, side by side. The area itself is great; it's the access that's not thought through well.
The access is via plywood that's perched along a thin lip; the plywood is barely stout enough to hold my 6'5" frame without caving in.
It comes right up to the exterior walls.
Rather than this set up, I plan to mount them with about a 2" lip toward the exterior walls and hinge them in the center; I'll likely divide them in half too and make two trap doors.
As a result of this set-up, the mattress is sliced down the center. To access either side you have to flip that side's mattress onto the other side and lift the plywood up onto it. It isn't elegant, easy, or something you can do one-handed.
I've had my eye on a product at Costco that tri-folds. Each one is 3'x80" and should work perfectly. I like the tri-fold so the mattresses are totally towards the galley while under power and then I can store cargo easier.
I'm still in the thinking stage of course.
Honu
lost on the mainland
Congrats 
been out this week with kids spring break
Hope ya get the little things worked out soon and look forward to a road trip review
Looks nice and the quick night setup should be nice and quick
Would a air bed setup work at all ?
Saw somewhere a thee wrest type setup that was like 6 inches thick forgot where ?
In ours we put down a thermarest type that was about 3 inches under the foam and worked good
Another thought could be a foam natural type mattress topper that could roll up maybe ?
Congrats again
been out this week with kids spring break Hope ya get the little things worked out soon and look forward to a road trip review
Looks nice and the quick night setup should be nice and quick
Would a air bed setup work at all ?
Saw somewhere a thee wrest type setup that was like 6 inches thick forgot where ?
In ours we put down a thermarest type that was about 3 inches under the foam and worked good
Another thought could be a foam natural type mattress topper that could roll up maybe ?
Congrats again
Hilldweller
SE Expedition Society
I ordered a kingsized camping mat from the site pods8 linked; nice service, nice price, nice prduct. Thanks.
I'll cut it in half and put a strip under each side; that should do us fine. The OE mattress is better than the thin jobbie that came with the Conqueror.
I'll take a critical look at the tri-fold product at Costco this afternoon too. I really like the idea of having all the bedding crammed way up front with cargo by the doors, evenly distributed, ready to deploy.
I'll cut it in half and put a strip under each side; that should do us fine. The OE mattress is better than the thin jobbie that came with the Conqueror.
I'll take a critical look at the tri-fold product at Costco this afternoon too. I really like the idea of having all the bedding crammed way up front with cargo by the doors, evenly distributed, ready to deploy.
Hilldweller
SE Expedition Society
Nope.
Pulls easily but it's a bear to move around in the garage. The bigger tires and different jockey wheel combined with the track make it much different to manipulate than the Conqueror.
It will be interesting to get it on a scale.