2007 Bronco 800 Pop-up Expedition to South America

[rockandroll]

Mpg

Thanks! With just a truck cap I was getting 19 mpg highway. The Bronco lowered that to 13 on the only trip I've taken. I'll have some better numbers down the road.

 

[rockandroll]

Jerrycan Mounting

Today I installed a Jerrycan mount. After doing much research, I determined that all of the existing Jerrycan mounts on the market are much to expensive for my taste. I dreamed this up which cost less than $20 at Home Depot and took less than an hour to install.

I want to do something similar to create a secure lock for when we're not near the camper. The gap I need to cover is about 4" across as you can see in the photo, in order to get a good drilling location. Any idea?

Here are the pictures:

I used 4 3/8" eye bolts (each with 2 washers, 1 lock washer, and 2 nuts). I also used some left over RV sealant to seal the holes. The rest is self explanatory. I can go into more detail if anybody would like.

 

[shortbus4x4]

Maybe I can't see it but do you have that can strapped down so it doesn't vibrate around on rough roads and wear holes in stuff. It just looks like it would be able to wiggle around alot. Is the lid on the can locked too? If not it would still be fairly easy to steal your gas.

 

[rockandroll]

Maybe I can't see it but do you have that can strapped down so it doesn't vibrate around on rough roads and wear holes in stuff. It just looks like it would be able to wiggle around alot. Is the lid on the can locked too? If not it would still be fairly easy to steal your gas.

Thanks for the advice. It is not strapped down and does have a bit of wiggle room (less than in the photos after I messed around with the cable) but still a bit. I plan to buy a few rubber strips and place those on the tailgate and camper wall to prevent wear and the wiggle. That's what I was thinking anyway, have any suggestions?

 

[450 DUDE]

You could ratchet strap it but I would put something (a barrier) like polyurethane or rubber even wood between the can and the body of the camper.
Whatever you do make sure you cant move the can, any movement will be really not good.

ken

 

[JCMatthews]

More info please.

What other mods did you make before you left? How is it holding up one month into your trip? Anything you would change yet? How is gas milage? Better after the airdam mod? Keep us posted.

 

[rockandroll]

What other mods did you make before you left? How is it holding up one month into your trip? Anything you would change yet? How is gas milage? Better after the airdam mod? Keep us posted.

That was it for the mods. I'll continue to evaluate them as we go on. And also opine on what we should have done additionally.

Gas mileage is wonderful in large part due to the speed limits throughout Mexico (mostly 60km/h). I'm currently averaging 15-16 MPG. The airdam was an excellent addition not only for the MPG but the wind noise factor, which is currently non-existent.

What mods we can't live without: We're currently loving the A/C here in Southern Mexico with overnight lows of 70 degrees. I also swapped the front tiedowns from happijack to the tork lift fame mounted variety complete with spring loaded turnbuckles (also tork lift brand). This has greatly enhanced the handling of the load. I Highly recommend tork lift tiedowns.

 

[bernardbarbour]

Thanks for bringing this up! Jack stands must stay

Great. advice. Just checked it out and we are (barely) okay. We can lower the spare with the tailgate down. Off with the Jacks!

We do plan on leaving the tailgate on as a landing/outdoor shelf. It's come in quite handy so far & the camper does sit about 3-4 inches on the tailgate. The steel steps that came with the camper weigh a ton, so we're going to get a little step stool to use with the tailgate.

We're actually going to mount a jerrycan right on that tailgate with a cable lock running through O-bolts screwed into the camper rear wall. Thought about mounting a custom rear bumper to get the job done but this is free! I will put up some pictures once this is completed.

We just bought a Palomino 1500 for our 2008 Tundra long bed for our South American trip. While reading this about accessing the spare tire, I realized our camper completely makes any access to the reaching the spare tire impossible. The only option I have is to jack the camper up, therefore I must leave the jack stands in place.

I'll be posting the build up of the Tundra and camper mods soon. We'll leaving in September 2016 for the long way down.

 

[bernardbarbour]

Installed an air dam in the rain today. Like most truck camper and Tundra combinations there was a substantial gap between the cab and cabover. The idea and install was straight-forward: 2 4x4 white vinyl posts at 90 degrees, 4 screws and washers on each post, and a healthy dose of construction adhesive. I had to drill holes on both sides of the post to access the screws with a screw driver.

While it's mainly for noise and handling, I'm hoping to get back about 1-2 MPG with this install.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Can you repost photos of this mod. Thanks

 

[gtbensley]

A thread from the dead!! I too recently figured out I need to figure out how to get my spare tire with my camper in the truck.