The Memorial F150 Craptor. A semi foamie camper shell camper

[dbhosttexas]

Since I am a Walmart+ member, which is WAY cheaper but doesn't have all the benefits of Amazon prime, which I have too, I took advantage of shipping. I expected them to put 3 of these in a truck from their warehouse and kick them out to me. But Walmart has a tendency to use their local stores as warehouses.

If you are looking for a 7 gallon Reliance Aquatainer, don't look at Kemah, TX. I have the inventory they had, plus I am waiting for one to be delivered.

The plastic is different from the old ones. Probably a good thing. I know the new ones are BPA free.

So, for now, once the third tank gets delivered, I will have 21 gallons fresh water + what is the fresh capacity in the toilet something like 3 gallons and I have a 5 gallon black tank on it? Actually 5.3 gallon black...

I typically have hauled my gray water that I do capture in those 5 gallon flexible bladders. I will likely have to look for a gray tank of some kind that is easy to carry.

As mentioned previously. I am planning on doing a basically foamie version of the Four Wheel Campers Project M, however I want to design it to accomodate an AC, that has always been my long term goal, camper with AC for summer beach camping in TX... Or even spring / fall desert camping in New Mexico / Arizona... For that, I will likely use a 25 or 30 gallon fresh tank. Even with 4 AquaTainers that is 28 gallons. That is a lot of water for one person, and actually plenty for 2 that are using their heads... Anway put that tank at the front of the truck bed, and build a folding sofa frame over that so you have seating over the water tank, bed in the overcab... So long winded story shortened a bit. The AquaTainers are only for temporary use for just the camper shell camper. I do have a friend with a SuperDuty and a roof top tent that has WAY more than enough space to carry extra water. My old AquaTainers can be used for "guest water supply" as long as they haul it.

The new Aquatainers do have a nice threaded cap that seems to seal well. I closed both caps tight and gave one of them a bear hug. no leak... So no worries..

Ordered 12 yds of 1.5" nylon webbing strap. The strap for the winch hook like most is just that, a strap with one loop. I don't have enough material to make a handle, and having a strap / handle makes, at least for me, it much easier to drag the winch hook to where I need it without trashing my hands.

2 more loop handle straps are needed here. #1. The strap needed to pull the tailgate up to the closed position from inside the truck bed, and #1. The strap needed to pull the hatch closed from inside the truck bed.

[dbhosttexas]

I may have to ask forgiveness here folks. I am getting very frustrated with not being able to get the foam over here to do the inserts, and MAY end up cladding the exposed sides of the cabinets with some T&G pine beadboard I have laying in my shop. I am just frustrated with that one item keeping me from being able to finish off my build...

I got the plywood for the platform, and after the skeleton frame, the plywood, and stresses being dispersed in the mattress, I have no reason to have any reliability issues RE: my weight and 1/2" sanded ply...

Test sat the setup again, now the height is rather complete aside from the bedrug, and I have about 2" of headroom which the bedrug will not consume. so check, checker, checkarino...

Before I give up on the foamie, will top off the Electrical compartment. Which I as an imbecile forgot to get hinges for that as well...

Just need to keep my shorts out of a wad long enough to get the truck over to the Home Despot and grab the foam before I do something rash...

[dbhosttexas]

Whipped up the strap for the winch hook. Just basically copied the OEM strap but intead of just a strap, created a loop handle on the tag end. Honestly I am not sure what those straps are for other than advertising. They are super tough to actually hang on to. Set up the way I have it I can stick a gloved hand through the loop, drag the hook to where I need it, get connected and move on instead of struggling with a hook, the cotter pin which inevitably cuts cold hands, and all kinds of slippery crap. No thank you...

Now on to making the straps for the tailgate and hatch... Same idea...

[dbhosttexas]

Realized the bedrug is going to add 3/4", and the headliner / rat fur carpet / insulation on the cap will go another 1/4. Not sure where I thought I had more headroom, but my hair is getting fuzzed about on the roof, so I don't really. I can cut a max of 1.5" off the uprights, but no more, and still fit the new AquaTainers under the bed. That is the bad news.

The good news I had the mattress out on the platform in the back of the truck. and I opened up the windows, and did my fit test / sitting test. Yep, comfy. Nice breeze even in upper 70s weather, in the cap with the windows open, it was plenty cool enough to be able to if I wanted to have a comfortable nap. Close the windows though, and it gets awfully warm in there awfully fast...

I am not sure what is different from my last test sitting / fitting. Maybe I somehow managed to squish the mattress down a LOT more I dunno... This is manageable, but just barely and more room would be better.

Like I mentioned, I am planning on doing a project My style foamie cabover pop up slide in. Anyone want to help with that project is welcome for sure. I have no idea what I am doing...

For the Project M-ish build. I will likely go with an onboard 30 gallon fresh tank actually properly plumbed in. https://amzn.to/3rOsv76


Again, up against the front wall of the truck bed, next to the power center box, and both of them enclosed in a structure to create a folding futon like couch more focused on seating than sleeping, Probably make it only big enough for a kid to sleep on east / west...

Oh my other option height wise, is bob the uprights down to a height I KNOW will work for me, but not the water jugs, and just carry the water jugs in the cab. That is just putting a LOT of demands on the space in the cab and I am not fond of that...

Again I do not need all 3 aqua tainers for just me. 2 and a couple of single gallon grocery store water bottles (refill of course) and I should be good. The main purpose to the AquaTainers is to be able to carry enough water for showering...

I should note. I do NOT feel bad about buying the new AquaTainers even if I have to haul them in the cab. These have much nicer / better venting system than my originals, and are BPA free which I doubt my old ones are.

[featherliteCT1]

When I am not towing my trailer with my truck, I have an aluminum hitch rack from Harbor Freight that I mount in the receiver hitch with an aluminum box mounted inside the rack. Gives me lots of outside storage in a dust and rain proof enclosure. I also bought the "L" shaped Harbor Freight hitch adaptor/extender to raise the rack up so that the tail gate clears the box when the tail gate is in the down position.

Not sure if you could use a similar setup.

[dbhosttexas]

I thought about that, and I do have the Harbor Freight version of a Hitch Haul. The problem is that it sticks out of the back end, meaning my departure angle gets destroyed, and I am going to off road this rig.

I tested it out today and the water carriers are fine in either the front passenger seat, obviously with seat belt latched to avoid the computer from confusing my untethered passenger for something living and causing me issues like not running. Not sure if this truck will do that, OR in the footwells in the back seat and the cargo that was intended to go back there (Tarp, Ensuite etc...) can easily swap into storage under the bed.

And honestly not a horrible idea because the water carriers can occupy the space the dog would tend to fall down into thus making his travel safer and more comfortable. It might actualy be a win / win / win for us...

[dbhosttexas]

When I am not towing my trailer with my truck, I have an aluminum hitch rack from Harbor Freight that I mount in the receiver hitch with an aluminum box mounted inside the rack. Gives me lots of outside storage in a dust and rain proof enclosure. I also bought the "L" shaped Harbor Freight hitch adaptor/extender to raise the rack up so that the tail gate clears the box when the tail gate is in the down position.

Not sure if you could use a similar setup.

Double, triple, and quadruple thinking this.

If I use something like this to get the hitch haul UP that more or less eliminates the departure angle issue.


I have the steel version of the cargo carrier you are talking about. And when travelling during the hot summer months, as long as I build a lockable enclosure that sounds like a perfect way to haul my generator, AC, and generator fuel. The big issue with carrying water off the hitch like that is weight. Water is plenty heavy and I was trying to keep it between the trucks axles....

[dbhosttexas]

So todays status?

The license plate bracket arrived. Removed license plate from old roller fairlead bracket. Probably have to naval jelly the old roller fairlead and steel cable before I try to sell it BTW...

Removed the winch to give me enough room to remove the hawse fairlead.

Removed hawse fairlead, the kind you use for synthetic winch lines, installed the license plate bracket for that, installed fairlead with bracket back onto bumper / winch mount. Installed winch back from whence it came...

Reassembled hook,

Installed license plate.
Hooked winch hook on the D ring.

Test fitted AquaTainers in cab back seat footwells. Perfect fit even behind drivers seat. So not going to keep them under the bed.

Got call from mechanic, engine on its way, wrecker picked truck up and delivered it to the shop.

Went over all items needed. Engine swap, all belts and hoses including vent lines / trans lines, I want no chances for leaks. Check out and fix IWE system as necessary, and repair suicide doors.

Fabbed up pull strap for tailgate and installed before the truck got hauled away....

Working on cutting down uprights for bed platform. Measuring, measuring, and measuring again each segment of the bed platform. I need to have the part closest to the front of the truck bed hinge at the front wall, and the other 2/3 hinge at the wheel well side... Has to do with the recesses in the truck bed and the length of the thing. Full length and it won't open up...

With delivery and inspections / etc... should be mid / late week next week before the truck is ready to pick up, I hope. Honestly I gave him 3 weeks to get it all done, but if he gets on and just goes through it, should really just be a couple of days work to get it all done. And I need time to get to the tire shop before my maiden voyage...

Oh, and I sorted through my self recovery bag, I am removing items like the logging chain, the literally half a dozen extra cable hook ends. Why I have them I have no idea. the massively oversize D ring that could drag a Terex out of quick sand etc... Replaced with soft shackles, synthetic recovery straps, tree savers and proper sized D rings. I found I already had a receiver hitch D ring adapter and D ring. Installed one of my surplus D ring isolators on it and jammed it back in the bag.

[dbhosttexas]

So my cut down of the verticals ended up being 2-3/8" just to give me some room for error so I don't smash into the wheel wells.I now need to cross cut the plywood decking so that the end by the front of the truck bed hinged at the front so it clears the bumpouts...

The Skeleton frame is reassembled at this time, I did try, I knew it wouldn't fit due to how much I cut down, but I verified, absolutely not, no the AquaTainers now no longer fit.

Crosscut the plywood, added an additional support to brace the plywood panel and installed the hinges so now I have the front hinged at the front and the main panel hinged at the side... Need to get the trim router bit out to clean up the sides. Not everything is square, and I honestly don't care. Construction grade pine 2x stock does that...

Now I wait for the truck to come back from the shop. Anxiously, but I wait...

[dbhosttexas]

Test fitting gear under the bed platform. We are good to go it looks like... Between under the bed, between electrical compartment and truck bed wall, back seat of truck cab, and roof cargo bag, I am golden to haul everything I need for long excursions, like month long with occasionaly provisioning stops...

[dbhosttexas]

Like I said before, I am going to have to beg forgiveness here. I am giving up completely on going with foam on this build. I do intend on going with PMF OR Fiberglass over foam, haven't decided which yet, for the Project M style camper build I will be doing next year though.

For NOW, I am just needing to get things finished with what I have available or can carry in my '06 Malibu until my truck is fixed, and really when truck is done I am looking to just finish the wiring, stab the interior in the camper and go.

So bead board it is. Got the long planks cut, needed 3 to make the distance with no trimming needed and simply glued it to the frame. Nothing fancy and will probably fall off in a year... But what will I be working on in a year? Yeah no worries...

Once the glue sets on the long boards, will work on the narrow side, and then the battery / electrical box which will likely end up being plywood since, I am going to run out of bead board.

I still need to go to Home Depot to get one more pair of hinges,

This should be able to drop in fairly quickly once the truck comes back from the shop...

[dbhosttexas]

Okay I just have to beg forgiveness. No foam. I went ahead and worked it out with what I had on hand or could easily get to the house while the truck is stil being worked on. Sorry. It is still a tiny camper though!

So I got sides and a top put onto my electrical cabinet.

So I pulled apart the 12v battery power box I built after the 2021 Texas freeze, and repusposed the switches, 12V power outlets, and USB charging ports / voltometers. The lid sits uneven for now because the side panel is too wide by 1/4". I need to trim it down but I don't want to mess with it right now. And I may not ever. Options are router with flush trim bit, Dozuki pull saw, or hand plane. Considering it is plywood, hand plane does NOT sound like a great idea.


Here you see the Atempower 20 amp solar charge controller / DC to DC charger. Several Amazon reviewers say it won't handle lifepo4, Atempower says the profile for Lifepo4 and Lion are the same more or less and it will work. Testing pending. This might get chnaged out for the factory solar charge controller that DOES have a lifepo4 setting and a Renogy DC to DC charger.


I at least tried to do a somewhat clean install on the mounting screws and all for this. Didn't want any protrusions.


An inside view of the cabinet, I am leaving the side and back that will be exposed to the truck bed / bedrug open, at least for now. You can see the wiring harness I have whipped up for the 12V output, and a tiny sliver of the wiring for the inverter. The battery is a Chins 200 amp hour 12v lifepo4 on reccomendation of a friend that has 4 of them in his class A motorhome. Oh, FWIW, when we go beach camping, he uses a tent...


Lastly, the Bestek 500w pure sine inverter. I don't need a lot of 110v power off of the battery, at least for now, and I would like to discourage overloading the battery. At some point in the future with sufficient panels and at least one more of these batteries, I am going to upsize this to a 2KW at least inverter.


So far, after doing some math, and mind you I failed differential equations twice before I decided to change majors away from engineering, but assuming standard weights for materials included I am just under 300lbs for the camper shell, bed rug, cabinets, mattress and electrical components. So still pretty light weight.

I am already seriously thinking about the foamie build for the pop up camper. REALLY hoping for some input from @rj howell. I like his build and need to know lessons learned from him, particularly on the pop top...

[RJ Howell]

Here you see the Atempower 20 amp solar charge controller / DC to DC charger. Several Amazon reviewers say it won't handle lifepo4, Atempower says the profile for Lifepo4 and Lion are the same more or less and it will work.

Do you have the actual spec sheet? Couldn't find one in a couple searches.. I understanding is older Li-on's only charged to 4.1v where as Lipo wants 4.2v. I've been told newer Li-on chargers do go to 4.2v.. Other real curious part is charge rate (i.e. 1C )?

I like the price on the 30amp unit! Since my Renogy Solar / DCDC died.. I'm back to my old 20a DCDC & a separate solar charger..

[RJ Howell]

As far as pop tops go.. this guy has me beat! When I re-build I will do this! A double wedge top! How cool is that

https://www.reddit.com/r/overlanding/comments/l2rrsx/self_build_shell_with_self_sewn_singledouble_roof/

I have done a single (wedge) set before in higher winds, but too much loose material. His design fixes that issue! Still like my non-strut lift system better though.

[dbhosttexas]

Here you see the Atempower 20 amp solar charge controller / DC to DC charger. Several Amazon reviewers say it won't handle lifepo4, Atempower says the profile for Lifepo4 and Lion are the same more or less and it will work.

Do you have the actual spec sheet? Couldn't find one in a couple searches.. I understanding is older Li-on's only charged to 4.1v where as Lipo wants 4.2v. I've been told newer Li-on chargers do go to 4.2v.. Other real curious part is charge rate (i.e. 1C )?

I like the price on the 30amp unit! Since my Renogy Solar / DCDC died.. I'm back to my old 20a DCDC & a separate solar charger..

Funny part about that, the voltages listed in the spec sheet / users guide are from the Australian version, and have charging at 14.4v and lists Lifepo4. Their advertising copy for the US version shows 14.4v for Lion.

I am honestly having trouble understanding the email from Chins as, well Chinese to Engiish loses a LOT in translation, but it looks like charging voltage ranges is 14.2 to 14.6 where the internals of the battery cut off voltage should it get an overvoltage situation. Between that and the dozens of reviews of this unit, it does not seem to be a danger to the battery, it just might not charge it properly.

Honestly if this doesn't pan out function wise, I am going to upgrade to a 40 amp DC to DC charger, don't want to overtax my alternator as I already push it kind of hard with the winch... And then just use the provided 20 amp solar charge controller that came with my panels since it is rated for Lifepo4.

There seems to be a bit of a conflict from reviewers as to whether or not this device works for Lifepo4, several say no, several say it doesn't start charging until the batter bank is down about 10 to 15 percent which is still fine, and some say absolutely no issues. So which is it? I limited my search to verified buyers and verified sample testers. Basically people that actually got the thing and tried it, not just astroturfers...

SO I will go ahead with the install and try out. I still have the 20 amp solar and can get a Renogy DC to DC charger, just not super impressed with them either. Heard of reliability and configuration issues with those... I know Renogy is the big popular solar company, but I see just as many people saying they don't work either. Maybe people just like to complain...

Anyway, so that is the electrical, kind of. I still need to insulate / headliner the camper shell, and will then permanently attach the 110v outlet to the inside of the cap, and likely an extension to an outlet strip. Not sure about that. Need to if I have power at camp, be able to plug in a heater / air conditioner, and maybe run my laptop and USB chargers off of 110v taking load off of my battery rig.

As to the wedge / double wedge design pop up. I know there are advantages in high wind situations, like not getting pushed around when beach camping with a constant gulf breeze / wind at night. I am a pretty big guy though, and I do NOT want to feel claustrophobic. I can do small-ish spaces, but for example I went to a LOT of hassle to cut down my bed to be sure I didn't hit the ceiling / had headroom. My family had a VW Westfalia camper van with the wedge style pop top / sleeper when I was a kid and even back then the area by the feet bugged me.

Maybe wedge it at the back and point the tail of the truck into the wind so the overcab sleeper still has lots of room.

I think the big thing, at least at first, is how to set up the pop up system so that it doesn't leak. I assume you overlap the fabric over the ouside edge of the lower portion of the camper somewhat so water running down has no entry point...