HandyRandy
Northern Colorado
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I am in the very early stages of considering buying an F550 chassis cab truck and outfitting it to carry my truck camper.
I have an older Lance camper I have modified/customized to be exactly what I want. We love it and will not replace it.
I can shop for the truck and understand the range of prices for what I am looking at.
There are lots of upfitter sites on the web, but I am just beginning to put a wish list and budget together so I am not even close to asking for quotes.
Required:
A custom flatbed with storage boxes and tie downs. Preferably aluminum for weight reduction and corrosion resistance.
Wish list:
Oversize single rear wheel conversion with the necessary suspension mods. For example: https://www.buckstopinc.com/single-wheel-conversions.html
Extra fuel capacity
On board air compressor
Can anyone provide ballpark costs for the bed and the mods I listed? Any recommendations for suppliers?
Thanks,
1999 F350 Super Cab, DRW, 7.3 4" Exhaust, Ford AIS Intake, RideRites, Gauges, Exhaust Brake, PHP Chip
2003 Lance 1030 295W Solar
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Bedlam
PNW
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Joined: 06/13/2012
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My prices are dated from 2014, but for $6k I got a flat bed, two lower enclosed boxes, 30k lb gooseneck hitch and 30k lb receiver installed. I sold my long turnbuckles for half price and bought new short ones for full price. Locally, i bought two horse stall mats from a farm store. I added 4 upper boxes in 2017 for $1200 and installed those myself. I already had a SuperTruss, but it was too short. I was able find one of the correct length for half price and sold my old one for the same price.
* This post was
edited 03/31/23 10:59pm by Bedlam *
Chevy Sonic 1.8-Honda Passport C70B-Host Mammoth 11.5-Interstate Car Carrier 20-Joyner SandViper 250-Kawasaki Concours ZG1000-Paros 8' flatbed-Pelican Decker DLX 8.75-Ram 5500 HD
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3 tons
NV.
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Well, I kinda been looking at the same thing, and here are some things to consider…
If the underside of your camper has a drop-down overhang in the back, this overhang will impact how far you’ll be able to forward position the camper atop the flatbed (varies per bed length)…This may result in a sizable gap between the campers front bulkhead and the flatbeds ‘headache bar’…(possible extra storage…).
Once you get the camper aboard the flat bed, the front swing-out jacks will need to swing in to their travel position…This may be adversely impacted if the camper (assuming a drop-down) cannot go most of the way forward…Flatbed width will play a roll here, meaning narrower is better - angled front bed corners can help…Tie-down points can be easily improvised, say, inside the steak-bed receptacles…
Review bed offerings critically, as some that may appear suitable are actually for chassis mount 3500’s & 350’s (pick ups) having different chassis widths than true work trucks such as 4500’s, 5500’s or 550’s…
On a 550 or 5500, a steel bed can actually be an attribute to help buffer an unloaded uber stiff ride…
The two popular bed types are a fully skirted type with integral built-in boxes and ICC rear, or a traditional flatbed with side mounted boxes, with or without a full ICC skirted rear…Rear hitch size options can vary…
Allow somewheres between $1500 and $2000 (and a full day) for bed installation which includes electrical (lights, F&R 7 pins, camera’s, etc…), mud-flaps (if non-skirted), and fuel neck(s) extension-relocation…
Hope this helps…
3 tons
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Grit dog
Black Diamond, WA
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Buckstop tells you $16k for the big Wooly booger conversion. Somewhere between $16k and a bazillion dollars depending on how many boxes you check.
Not exactly a project for someone who doesn’t sound like a shadetree mechanic so add another pile of money on top of that.
You can doo a big srw conversion for waaaaay less $ than them guys but you have to actually think and wrench.
But when you’re done, where are you gonna go with a presumably tall full height hardside camper on top of a flat bed covering up 40” tires with a lift kit on a F550?
Think aboot how big your cajones are and if yours will let you use the big wheel kit substantially in any way.
2016 Ram 2500, MotorOps.ca EFIlive tuned, 5” turbo back, 6" lift on 37s
2017 Heartland Torque T29 - Sold.
Couple of Arctic Fox TCs - Sold
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markowwes
Vegreville, Ab. Canada
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Hey HandyRandy, I set up a Ford F550 Super Duty in 2018. Purchased a Kelderman https://kelderman.com/ full air ride system and installed it myself, The air ride system was $10,000.00USD. Rides great empty, came with an extra heavy sway bar so there is no issues with camper sway. Also got the bags for the front. All self-leveling so there are no issues with ride height. All the equipment necessary to install the ride system was included, Air compressor, leveling arms, hoses and fittings, even installed a dump valve so the truck can be lowered and raised when loading and unloading the camper (very handy) In 2008 I had Alum Line custom build a service body to fit the camper, at that time I had it mounted on a 2008 super duty. $13,000.00USD. out of Helena Montana. Nice thing about custom building a deck or service body, they are transferable between all cab and chassis models and years as the frames are the same.
![[image]](https://i.postimg.cc/sQt5GG2x/20190615-135344.jpg)
![[image]](https://i.postimg.cc/xqfXgPwQ/20190616-173251.jpg)
![[image]](https://i.postimg.cc/hJ8G1JMh/Begore-Air-lines.jpg)
![[image]](https://i.postimg.cc/rzHqWCcQ/Front-bags-in.jpg)
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zb39
slippery rock
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What Grit said is correct. How much further do you think you would really go with the stock duals VS super singles when loaded. I put my money in a full Kelderman air suspension, front and rear. I also went with a CM skirted bed, steel. Weight is not an issue, steel cost less, I can attach my fast guns directly to the steel rub rails. I'm in my camper as I type this. Good luck.
2017 Host mammoth, sold
49 states, 41 National Parks, 7 Provinces
2019 2 door Rubicon 6 spd.
2019 Berkshire XLT 45B
2022 Host Cascade
2021 Ram 5500 Air ride
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3 tons
NV.
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zb39 wrote:What Grit said is correct. How much further do you think you would really go with the stock duals VS super singles when loaded. I put my money in a full Kelderman air suspension, front and rear. I also went with a CM skirted bed, steel. Weight is not an issue, steel cost less, I can attach my fast guns directly to the steel rub rails. I'm in my camper as I type this. Good luck.
Question, with your stock CC 550 and the camper aboard, how objectionable did you find the ride??
Thanks,
3 tons
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zb39
slippery rock
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Ride is fine loaded . Its not bad unloaded if roads are decent.
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3 tons
NV.
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zb39 wrote:Ride is fine loaded . Its not bad unloaded if roads are decent.
Good to know! So on a different note, when traveling with the camper aboard, what has been your practice when approaching the various truck scales??
Many thanks,
3 tons
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FireGuard
Frazier Park
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There is a couple that have a YouTube blog that have had different RVs.
They now have a Ram 5500 converted to SRW with a Bigfoot camper. He found the truck already converted from the oil fields in Alaska.
They give a thorough review and he’s pretty talented with the systems.
Google “Morton’s on the Move”
13Jeep Wrangler
07 Ragen 21FB
12 Yamaha Super Tenere
14 Suzuki DR 650
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