The Memorial F150 Craptor.

[dbhost]

Before anyone fusses, no pics in this post, the truck is at the shop and well away from me for right now, so nothing to take pictures of.

For anyone keeping track, here is where the truck sits now, or at least once the stuff from the mechanics shop and tire shop are done,

2004 F150 XLT Supercab 4x4 5.4L 3V. All upgraded hardware with all TSB fixes on the VCT system, oiling and an upgraded Melling Hi Flow oil pump. This engine is coming with a 4 year unlimited mileage no questions asked warranty.
Ford 8.8 IFS and 9.75" rear with 3.55 gears. This will be upgraded down the road, not too far, more on that below the list...
DV8 Off Road bumper / winch mount with LED lights where the factory fog lights would have been
Rancho Quicklift 2.5" fitted with Moog HD coils, RS9000 shocks.
Moog Problem Solver upper and lower ball joints, tie rod ends.
PowerStop slotted / dimpled rotors and Ceramic pads.
AirRAID cold air intake
Headlights and 3rd brake light are the smoked style. Headlights are OE replacements with LED bulbs, brake light is just, well LED.
SCT XCal2.
Magnaflow high flow cats
Pro Comp 1089 17x9 rims x5.
33x12.50/17 BFGoodrich All Terrain TA KO2 load range E.
Front fenders clearanced via bead trim and fold, A.K.A. the California fender trim.
Everstart Platinum (Walmart, it was the only gorup 65 I could find) AGM battery
Realistic TRC-465 AM/SSB CB radio. The 102 is now gone and I am pending delivery of a Lil Wil mag mount.
Bed Rug.
Unknown MFG Fender flares with 1.5" added tire coverage. Trimmed for the custom front bumper.
Towing harness, and Ford towing package tranny cooler.
Line of Fire LED accessory brake / turn / tail lights.
Haul Master hitch hauler.
Binize single din Android Auto car stereo / infotainment system / backup camera monitor with 10" display.
Replacement tailgate handle with integrated reverse camera.
Summit step bars.
Ford suicide door fix kits on both back doors. The aluminum cable end bits to help keep tension on the cable after the factory plastic garbage fell apart.

So the diffs. They are factory open diffs with basically highway gears. Great for mileage, lousy for towing especially with bigger tires. And they are open diffs.

The problem is the pre 2011 9.75" Ford does not have a lot of options for selectable lockers. I KNOW ARB lists an air locker for that diff, as well as the front 8.8 IFS, but not a lot of places sell it. I found one supplier and need to verify before my friend and I disembowel my diffs that they do indeed fit and are are for this truck. SHOULD I be able to go with air lockers, I will, and 4.11 gears.

Should the air lockers NOT be an option, I will have to settle for Detroit True Track limited slips. Still way better than open diffs, but not quite a selectable locker. And yes stay with 4.11 gears.

The bed, and electrical compartments are done. I list bedrug in the list of truck done but it is sitting in my living room needing to be installed.

The hitch hauler is problematic due to departure angles, Thinking about getting one of those hitch drop things, flipping it and putting the hitch haul raised up.

I do have a weatherporoof roof cargo bag that will carry most likely light, soft stuff like sleeping bags, blankets, coats, etc... My traction boards have a bag, and will likely be stowed up there as well.

I have the raise strap for the tailgate done and isntalled, and the lower strap for the hatch done waiting to be installed.

Again, once the truck gets here and tires installed, I have the following left to do.

Install Bedrug.
Install bed frame and electrical cabinet. Run screws in connecting the two so they are one solid unit.
Run wire / complete circuit from starter battery to DC to DC charger, trim excess, terminate ends and make connection.
Run wire from solar pass through to charge controller, terminate ends and make connection.
run wires from back seat of cab, through access port, in cab, seal that up, and through access in bed, seal that up and re-bond it to the truck bed with some Butyl tape.
Make all battery connections to LifePo4 battery, and test.
Move fridge into back seat, and get it settled into place. Need to figure out how to get it to ride level.
Remove rear bumper, Strip down to just the bumper bar. strip chrome down as well as possible with 80 grit, and thoroughly clean with degreaser / prep spray, coat with black Raptor Liner. I am trying to dechrome the truck somewhat and make the rear bumper look like it should be on the same truck as the front bumper... Reassemble.
Swap OE taillight housings and LEDs for blacked out aftermarket LED housings. These are just the series of dots LEDs not the big funky tubes. I am not a fan of the look of the tube fixtures.
Install pull handle for the hatch on the shell.

I think that more or less covers everything left on this project. And where we have been. I am anxious to get the rig back from the shop as I am anxious to be able to start camping further away from the roads than I can do with my Malibu and a tent...

At some point I am going to go with a 3" cat back system from Summit, might go with a Magnaflow muffler in there, might stick with the Summit muffler, not sure. Looking to flow a little more freely so I can, as long as I keep my right foot under control, let the engine breathe better / more efficiently. No clue why Ford went from 2.5" through the cats on each side to a collector and 2.5" pipe on back. Definately restrictive...

Oddly enough the pipes for the cats are 2.5, into the Y / collector that is technically part of the cat assembly that is 2.5, all cat backs that I know of start off with a 2.5 to 3" bell to the 3" pipe.

I will likely need an exhaust shop / someone that can weld better than me to clip the 2.5x2.5x2.5 collector out, and replace it with a 2.5x2.5x3 collector, and go straight into 3" pipe all the way back.

 

[dbhost]

Given all that I have gone through to get the camper done for this truck, I may have just sidetracked myself. I mentioned it in another thread, there is a Sun Like Eagle 2 side dinette (long bench not really a dinette) for sale within a couple hours drive that is in the price range I am willing to accept. Furnace is out in it, and it has no AC, BUT... I have no intention of using the 3 way fridge, and the fridge cabinet is huge for what it holds, and will offer plenty of space for my 5K BTU AC, breathing room for it, and even possibly if it is deep enough, space for 2 200 amp hour lifepo4 batteries. I was planning on building a pop up sometime next year, this might actually radically accelerate that plan... Assuming of course once I go and see it in person and it is worth it, and nobody buys it before I can get over there to check it out...

There is also the option of the Dometic RTX2000 roof top air conditioner. This would take up valuable real estate in the roof and make raising and lowering it a bit harder, but it doesn't look like it is THAT much harder. But oh boy the price tag.... HOWEVER, this is FAR too small of a camper, even with the canvas pop top to justify a 13K BTU AC, especially with one guy and a dog in it... That RTX might solve one problem but be a financial leap a bit far for what I am wanting to swallow for now...

I checked the factory listed weight for that camper and it is pretty light coming in at 920lbs. Not sure if that is wet or dry, but that still leaves me with plenty of payload so not worried about it. I have everything to fix the things I know are either needing repair, or just don't meet MY requirements, so it might just be a quick way to get where I want to be truck camper wise.

 

[mekcanix]

Wow that sounds like a great option, are you waiting on the engine swap to be complete before you head out to check it out?

 

[dbhost]

Wow that sounds like a great option, are you waiting on the engine swap to be complete before you head out to check it out?

I can't exactly get it without my truck. If it isn't done by Friday I am going to rent a truck from Uhaul to go get it... Or at least check it out.

Honestly I am plenty anxious about it because these don't come up very often here in TX. I know I can haul my tail to Oregon / Washington and find them almost littering the sides of the road, but generally lacking AC they didn't sell well down here. My thought here is add a Dometic RTX2000, and do the Reflectix thing on the insides of the canvas when needed.

If it is in the shape he says it is in, I hope to remove the 3 way fridge, build a slide out for the 12v compressor fridge and close off the vent for that, remove the broken furnace and install one of those diesel heaters, do the Dometic roof top AC, put 1200w of solar on top and as much battery as I can afford in / under the camper. Hoping to be able to run the entirety of the camper electrical system off grid with no generator. Not that I am anti generator per se, but that is one less big item, more fuels to worry about etc... Battery bank and solar panels nowadays take up less space than even a small generator and a couple 5 gallon gas cans to keep it going.

Oh, and the water pump for this thing is one of those, well manual jobs, where you pump the faucet... and no water heater. Figure out how to integrate my Camplux and a 12v pump....

That would leave the bed...
As we all know, factory camper mattresses are abysmal. From the pics it looks like it is 4" thick and probably made from lumps and stinky old cardboard. There SHOULD be more than enough room to replace it with a 6" thick, use the twin mattress I have for now, maybe just add an extra strip of 6" thick memory foam to the side, the high density stuff to match the twin, and then just pull a queen fitted sheet over it and call that good enough.

Not sure I ever explained the what I am trying to accomplish here. And that is sustainable, comfortable remote workcamping. I work in IT in a hybrid fashion these days, and I REALLY can't stand the days my remote is work from home. The whole empty house nobody here thing. And even before my wife passed, we were wanting to travel more, a LOT more, and wanted to do it while we were still young enough to enjoy it. I can absolutely make the camper shell camper work, and it has advantages over the pop up camper. Most notably stealth. But I am not real sure how stealthy a 4x4 on 33s with a heavy duty winch bumper etc... is going to be. I do NOT look anything like a work truck. My entire camping rig weighs probably less than 1/2 of what a pop up would.

The pop up would certainly be roomier, and give me standing room to cook, get changed, in a pinch put a doggie pool on the floor to catch gray water and bathe in bad weather etc... It would be more of a micro apartment experience. It would give me also more space to share with the dog who will be traveling with me. Probably need to make a tie out so I can let him out unattended should I be on a conference call or something like that...

The pop up DOES have the fold out couch so I can sleep in the bottom part of the camper should I need to actually stealth camp.

Either one is good for the type of off roading I am planning on. No wild sidehills or anything like that, just exploring old logging roads, beaches and things like that. I don't have the stomach for the wild stuff at my age.

I will absolutely be documenting my travels, and likely sharing them here. My first few will likely be REALLY tame, boring, blah you know... Hoping it gets interesting once I figure out how to travel well within the time limitations and just how BIG Texas is...

 

[dbhost]

Well, whether I stay with the truck shell, or manage to get the slide in pop top, I need my solar. I am using waterproof 10ga SAE pass throughs to connect the outside portable panels to the charge controller / DC to DC charger inside the camper. I grabbed a 6' 10 ga extension, double, triple, and quadruple checked my polarity to insure the red wire stays on the positive side, clipped the end toward the charge controller, stripped it back and soldered it to the whip wires off of the controller. I don't have ring connectors with rings that small so I used what they gave me.

I have the 10 ga from the main battery to the DC to DC charger with a fuse installed, 3/8" ring terminals to fit the battery terminals on the truck, and covered all the way in split loom even though it is a bonded cable, as in both wires jackets are fused side by side for the entire run. The sp loom just gives it that much more of a finished look, and a bit extra potential chafing protection. I have short SAE extension whips in 10ga, I am planning on a solder connection at least between the whip and the correct end at the controller. The cable will likely end up being done with heat shrink crimp splices Not exactly ideal, but a bit of a PITA to solder while under the truck...

I fully admit I am stymied by whether or not I should try to grab that slide in, it is the right weight, it is allegedly in good, well good enough shape for me, and the price is close to what I want to pay. I think I am going to try to talk him down due to some cosmetic damage and a non functional furnace...

Truck shell makes me more stealth sure, but pop up gives me standing room, and more room to be inside should weather force my hand...

I like what that guy Crazy Quady is going sort of. I want to be more off grid, for longer periods. He looks to do one or two nighters at most...

If I go with the slide in, I CAN do enough solar to run the AC on solar, but that would run me an additional $1,500.00 + depending on if I go with a bigger DC to DC charger. Would absolutely need to be a stand alone unit instead of charge controller + DC to DC charger... And with 1200w solar coming in, don't think I need that at that point...

 

[dbhost]

I must admit, I am beyond anxious right now. The truck was supposed to be done last weekend, he has now had the truck for 3 weeks, and I REALLY need to get this thing going. Have not heard from him but am also resisting the urge to melt down the guys phone. I want the work done right, not just quick. I kind of need the truck this weekend to go get that camper, OR finish installing the truck shell camper before Veterans Day weekend since I will be working during the day all week and won't have enough time after work to drive up there, properly inspect it, make a decision, pay, load up, and get back in time to get back to work...

 

[dbhost]

So the cablingis as done as it can get. I have the whips from the charge controller to the cable for the solar panels soldered, heat shrunk and taped.


That entire cable is encased in 3/8" split loom and taped at the ends, and at the solder joints where it is a wee bit fatter than the rest of the cable.



The same can be said of the cable except for the far end, for the truck battery which I have the truck battery side done, to the DC to DC charger which is still pending return of the truck so I get the sizing right. Those will be crimped and heat shrunk since I do not want to be soldering under the truck...

That cable is done the same way in that it is wrapped in split loom as far as it could go. I kind have more cable than split loom there though. I suspect I am going to be cutting cable, and loom before it is all done...



I will have WAY more than enough DC to DC capacity from the truck as the alternator is being swapped with a high amp output alternator that can push up to 220amps, which is WAY more than I will ever need.

Should I decide to upgrade my solar to the 1200w rig, I will likely just use their 2@ 40amp charge controllers, and set up DC to DC charging with a 60amp unit. Although with 1200w coming off the roof unless the weather is just downright foul, I seriously doubt I will ever need to use DC to DC charging...

The smoked LED Taillight assemblies came in yesterday as well. This means except for the chrome rear bumper, which will be fixed with some Raptor Liner, the front bumper, side steps, and lighting are all now blacked out on this truck. I liked the chrome bumpers when the truck was new, but the black trim look has REALLY grown on me over the years.

Still anxious to get the truck back, but don't want to bug the mechanic... He is supposed to be done tomorrow, but i kind of need the inspection certificate today so I can get the renewal sticker...

 

[dbhost]

So doors are done, trans is back in, engine is having accessories reinstalled. Injectors and throttle body being cleaned up and to be reinstalled tomorrow. New motor mounts going on. Should be running and driving by tomorrow afternoon. He is going to do a drive cycle on it, and change the oil, so should be ready for delivery Monday... I pick it up, take it to tire shop, then back home, registration, put sticker on and head out to pick up the camper. Need some Brophy tie downs...

 

[dbhost]

Looking at my own photos, I think I used the wrong size ring terminals for the battery end. *******...

Truck should be allegedly be in my hands monday, I am waiting for delivery of some truck camper hold downs and then I head out to get the Sun Lite (Assuming it is in the shape they claim). I won't be too broken hearted. I can find within a days drive from here, at least 6 more just like it, 1 with existing but too big AC on the roof. Who ever thought a 13.5K BTU roof AC will work well pulling humidity out of the air in a truck camper? Honestly 5-8K BTU max for this size thing I guess they figured nobody would bother putting insulation against the canvas to help block the heat... I have now seen this exact model on a 2007 F150 4x4 (slightly different, softer rear springs than mine, sits lower in the tail blah blah blah) with no notable tail squat even with a 2" levelling kit. My truck has 2.5" Rancho struts / coilovers and there is still a rather noticeable rake to it... I might consider adding Ride RIte bags to it if it squats, but let's see...

Once I get the camper settled onto the truck, and get solar and DC to DC charging ports / cabling take care of, everything wired in, and at least the one 12V socket up by the bed, I can at least start camping, and have some innaugural trips in mind, one MUST wait until deer season is over. Too many morons in the woods in that area right now... Not an anti hunter statement, an anti inexperienced pulls the trigger at anything that moves statement.

 

[dbhost]

So per my last conversation with the shop Friday, the final touches were going on Saturday and he was going to run the new engine through a drive cycle and then change the oil. Which I should do again in 1K miles... No problem.

I should be picking it up tonight after work.

Until then, finished up as far as I could get with the 300w solar setup, short of setting up the monitor since I am just not smart enough to figure out the wiring for it... I'll get there, but Chinese is not my native language and whomever wrong the so called manual, English obviously isn't theirs...

So solar panel to charge controller DONE. So panel to extension, to side of truck to charge controller specifically DONE...

Charge controller to battery. DONE.

Panel to controller to battery configure controller and test. In process, if the lights tell the truth, it is charging. Set to Lion profile. If I don't get enough from this I will have to go with the Dokio stand alone charge controller that does have a profile for Lifepo4 and then source up a good DC to DC charger. I have a big amperage alternator in the truck. Most likely try to find a 60 amp charger and make my charging on the road nice and quick...

Now to get truck back in my hands, and determine if the pop up slide in is still available. Because if it is, I need to go check it out and get it. If not. I need to finalize the truck shell camper. Either way, I am 90% of the way there...

I was discussing pros and cons of traction adding diffs with a friend that does do diffs, and we both agreed for my application, mostly street, with only mild off road, no radical mudding, rock crawling but more trail riding. I think that I am best suited with Detroit TrueTrac limited slips on both ends. Keeps it civilized while giving me radically improved traction, and careful application of the left foot will kick it enough to actually behave enough like a fully locked diff to make it usable, which is not a problem considering the truck is an automatic transmission vehicle. The diff swaps and regear, since I will have the diffs apart, I am going to regear, throw new bearings etc... in there and try to be good for another 150K or so... anyway we are going to try to do those next spring, so try not to get too stuck in the meantime...

 

[dbhost]

Not sure it was supposed to work like that, but the controller during my testing was getting warmer than would have thought was correct. Are these things supposed to run warm? Not hot per se, but I wasn't expecting warm like that.

 

[dbhost]

Swapped the Dokio controller into place and found the same warm to the touch thing. So not a bad controller, and there is a reason for the heat sink...

 

[dbhost]

After yesterdays testing, and talking with a friend of mine that is doing a van build out of an old AWD (they made them?!) Dodge Caravan, not much headroom in that alternator, but we tested the 20 amp Atem Power DC to DC charger / Solar Charge controller and it worked with Lifepo4 on the lithium profile exactly as it should have. My friend doing the Caravan wants to swap for the current 20 amp controller I have, and I went and grabbed a 40 amp unit as they were stupid cheap lightning deal on Amazon, cheaper than the 30 amp unit, and some 4ga wire and Anderson connectors. I do want to be able to disconnect the DC to DC charger and remove the camper from the truck from time to time.

So upon install and configuration, that means I will have a sure fire 40 amps charging the battery at least every 3 days. And depending on the sun, up to 20 amps all day long every day. This of course going into a 200 amp hour Lifepo4 battery.

We are still enduring delay after delay on getting the truck back. Engine is in, injectors are fully cleaned up and ready to install, throttle body is in, leaving a couple of harness connectors, fluids, reinstall the fuel tank (had to be cleaned out from 5 year old gas...) and we should be done. That status was as of 4:00 P.M. yesterday.

I am getting VERY anxious because my timing was set to have me on the road for Veterans day (Her Birthday) so that I didn't have to sit here at the f*#king house alone but rather be out doing something she loved...

This mechanic has a reputation for being among the best in the area, he IS taking his time and doing everything ********** on right which is what we wanted, but there just seems to be an issue with timeliness. I know Good, Fast, and Cheap pick any two...

Once I get it back and into a good weather weekend at home situation. I am going to pull the rear bumper, pull the step pad and accessories off of it. See if I can't find a good solid location for D ring mounts, strip the chrome with some 80 grit a bunch of prep cleaner / degreaser / wax remover, and then hit it with Raptor liner to match the DV8 front bumper. Yes I am blacking out the shiny stuff. Emblems are next...

The new tail lights are in a box in my kitchen, I am not a fan of the tube LED style lights, but the dotted arrays are more my thing. I found a set on Amazon, that use the OE reverse light sockets and bulbs, I have those swapped for high output LEDs as well. But the new tails are blacked and extra bright LED arrayed...

That leaves the F150 logo badges. I am going to try to get a small QTY brush on like testers model paint QTY of Arizona Beige, and black out the emblems and do the currently black parts in AZ beige...

May Raptor line the step bars as well just to have some texture consistency. Might not, who knows?

 

[dbhost]

Got another frustrating delay call. The shop called telling me the injectors were not flowing properly / still crapped up and needed to go back into ultrasonic cleaning. Now mind you I REALLY appreciate that he is taking his time to do everything right, BUT.... My whole timing with this swap was predicated on me being able to use my truck to get the ******** away from here for the veterans day weekend. (My late wifes birthday). I am usually pretty chill about this, I have another vehicle that isn't the issue. I do not trust the rattle trap Malibu to get me in and out of a muddy field that is the campground at the Ren Fest whenever it rains...

I could have coughed up another $400.00+ for reman injectors.... And to top it off, I was supposed to have picked up that camper last weekend. This seller is not going to hold out forever...

 

[dbhost]

So a quick update. The shop is well behind getting the truck back to me there have been some parts supply issues. It seems to me like Things that needed to be started much earlier were delayed for whatever reason and then they ran into problems. As far as I know what I've been told is that we are down to just needing the fuel objectors which unimmediately have to be brought in from everywhere because of supply chain issues and nobody seems to want to carry parts in their warehouse anymore. The injectors allegedly are going to be here Tuesday or Wednesday basically that means yet another way before the damn thing is in my hands.

I was supposed to have had the truck back at least 2 weeks ago so I could finish up the camper build and be camping this weekend. Obviously that didn't happen and I am frustrated beyond words. However I am confident in the quality of work this guy is doing it's just hes slow. I knew he was slow going and I didn't know he was this slow...