Introduction:

We are a family of three, Mark, Grace and Cate (3yrs old), and we had a goal.

Our goal was to find some type of camper/vehicle that would suit us for many years to come for short to moderate length trips throughout North America, and possibly Central America, and would also be useful for a one year long trip to Australia. Our first choice was a Northern Lite or Bigfoot fibreglass camper mounted on our existing 3/4 ton diesel truck. We believe that campers are a more logical RV for us than motorhomes, since we need a truck anyway. We also wanted to avoid towing a trailer as much as possible.  However once we started looking closely at these units we realized that they were just too large and top heavy for our needs. After doing some research on the internet we came across two similar and very interesting sites: earthroamer.com and TurtleExpedition.com. At this time both sites were showing diesel trucks with pop-up campers. After much deliberation and research we finally decided to replace our 1997 F250 crew cab 4x4 7.3 litre diesel truck (with 185,000km) with a new 1 ton model and also buy a new Four Wheel Campers pop-up camper. Our goal was  a cross between Turtle Expeditions’ “Weekend Warrior” and “Turtle IV” vehicles.

Step one, ordering a new truck:

We thought we would get a new factory ordered, 2004, Ford F350,since these vehicles are also sold in Australia and spare parts would be available. However we found out about a lot of problems people were having with the new 6.0 litre diesel engine. We found a great site called thedieselstop.com, with lots of information about this engine and the associated problems.  At about the same time it came to our attention that the 6.0 litre was not sold in Australia, they continue to use the 7.3 litre. Therefore it seemed a better idea to find a low mileage 2003 model with the 7.3 engine.  We found a vehicle that was close to what we would have ordered and with less than 30,000km, listed for sale on the internet. The only problem was that the truck was in Saskachewan and we were in Kelowna,BC. One flight from Kelowna to Regina and 2 days driving back solved that problem. The truck averaged 23 mpg on the return trip across the prairies, but unfortunately  we  would never see that type of fuel economy again.

Step two, ordering a camper:

We were not impressed with quality of interior finishing in the Four Wheel pop-up camper, and the layout did not suit our needs. Luckily they sell a shell model that you we can finish off ourselves. This was ideal, we ordered a Hawk shell model for delivery in August 2004. We picked the camper up at the factory in Woodland California. The following options were added at the factory:

• Mechanical camper jacks
• 2^nd roof vent over upper bunk
• Extended 48” upper bunk
• Power roof vent in “kitchen” area
• Privacy curtains
• Rear flood lights
• Rear wall steps
• Yakima roof tracks
• Screen door
• Side awning
• Side awning light
• Swing out jack brackets
• Auxiliary battery system

Step three, Truck modifications:

Several of the modifications we have done to our truck would not have been necessary for North America, but are highly recommended for travel in remote outback regions of Australia.  One of the best sources of information we found about Outback travel is Australian 4WD Monthly magazine. We would also like to thank Jack and Rob, two Aussie friends we have come to know though internet forums (thedeiselstop.com and rv.net) for all their help and advice. These are the truck modifications so far:

• BF Goodrich All-Terrain tires LT295/75-16, these were the biggest tires we could fit without lifting the truck.
• Clarion am/fm/cd/mp3 player with remote and removable face plate and aux hook-up for an Apple iPod.
• Allstart remote start and keyless entry.
• ARB front and rear locking differentials.
• Remote diff breathers.
• TJM snorkel, vital for crossing rivers in Australia, and also helps reduce dust drawn into intake.
• Viair 450H 12 volt compressor and custom aluminium mounting bracket, 3 gallon air tank and quick release air fittings each side of box.
• Espar D5 diesel heater with remote and 7 day timer, with quick connect coolant fittings in bed of truck for camper furnace and hot water.
• Ute Ltd front bulbar bumper with Hella 4000 driving lights, stock Ford fog lights and Warn 12,000lb winch.
• Ford “x-springs”, heavy duty front springs from F450 to compensate for additional weight of winch, bumper, etc.
• Aerotanks 55 US gallon replacement fuel tank (stock tank is 29 US gal).
• Lakeland Enterprises tilt and swing rear cargo carrier.
• Custom built centre console with 400 watt inverter, maglite bracket, switches for compressor and front & rear diff locks, and pressure gauge.
• Locking drawer under rear seat (modified cash register drawer).
• Box Mat
• Vinyl floor (replaces factory carpet) with B-quiet sound dampening material on floor and back wall.

Possible future modifications:

• Replace rear bench seat with single bucket seat and storage area (Australia trip only)
• Replace uncomfortable front seats with Recaro or similar
• Rear bumper back up lights
• Bilstein shocks
• Rear air bags (if required)

Step four, Camper modifications:

Since the camper interior was completely empty it gave us a chance to build the interior to suit our needs. We did not want a propane tank, propane furnace and propane cooktop for 2 reasons. Firstly there is so little room in this camper that this would really be a waste of valuable space. We wanted more storage than is typical in a compact camper not less. Second, most of our camping will be in mild to hot weather, and we prefer to cook outside. Because the Hawk camper was made 3” higher than usual to fit the 2003 F350 we had 6’6” interior headroom, this allowed us to build up the floor 5” to form a storage basement and still have adequate (6’1”) headroom, we are both 5’10”. Here is the list of what we have done or plan to do:

• Interior cabinets and lower bunk/seat (with storage, 20 gal water tank, and dual optima blue top batteries below) made from 9/16” plywood and formica.
• Interior stainless steel sink and cold water tap.
• 5” raised floor/basement storage.
• Outside shower with heat exchanger for hot water from engine coolant and or Espar D5 coolant heater.
• 27,000 btu forced air heater using engine coolant.
• Engel 45 litre 12 volt fridge/freezer with transit bag and transit slide lock (fridge can be moved outside, will be used as a fridge on short trips and a freezer on longer trips, providing frozen cold packs for use in conventional cooler).
• Shell 175 watt solar panel with interior control panel.
• Xantrex 20 amp battery charger
• Xantrex700 watt inverter.
• Xantrex Link 10 battery bank monitor panel.
• Porta-potti.
• Folding aluminum ladder
• Yakima roof racks with Mega Warrior basket, spare tire carrier and shovel carrier. (This turned out to be much too heavy and will be moved to a custom built rack over the truck roof and hood area; picture the type of rack used to haul a cartop boat when towing a 5^th wheel).
• High and low pressure water hook-ups with water filter and shurflow pump.

Step five, expedition gear:

This list will probably be changed and expanded greatly as the beginning of our 1 year trip approaches (June 2005). This is what we have so far:

Recovery gear:

• 12,000lb Warn winch, front bumper mount
• 60” hi-lift jack (mounted to rear cargo carrier) with jack mate, lift mate and off-road base
• Pull Pal ground anchor
• 3” x 10’ Expeditionwear tree strap
• 2” x 20’ recovery strap
• 50’ of 3/8” wire rope (for winching with hi-lift jack)
• 20’ of grade 70, 3/8” chian and 10’ grade 70 choker chain.
• 2 x 3/4” shackles and 2 x 5/8” shackles
• shovel, saw and axe
• custom built sand ladders (?)

Camping gear:

• 2 - 2’x4’ Lifetime plastic and steel folding tables (one can be used in the camper to expand single lower bunk to double)
• Coleman 2 burner propane stove, propane lantern, stove top oven and propane tree.
• 2x 10lb Manchester propane tanks
• custom built plywood boxes for stove, outside sink, cooking and eating utensils, and food
• 10’ x 10’ free standing screen room/awning
• Tarps, rope and pegs
• assorted Rubbermaid storage boxes
• 5 gallon gray water bucket with seat/lid
• 3 folding chairs

Safety gear:

• fire extinguisher
• EPIRB
• first aid kit
• satellite phone, and cell phone (Royal Flying Doctor Service, Australia only)
• emergency food and water

Misc gear:

• FRS radios with rechargeable batteries
• Battery charger
• GPS, maps and air photos
• Cordless rechargeable vacuum
• 2 x rechargeable Maglite flashlights
• Tire gauge, Staun tire deflators, 12’ air hose, blower and inflator
• Spare parts: CPS, glow plug relay, engine oil, atf fluid, idler and tensioner pulleys, fuel and oil filters, upper and lower radiator hoses, serpentine belt, fuses, bulbs, clamps etc.
• Tool kit:
• Wedco metal 20l jerry cans, 3-water(blue), 3-deisel(yellow) and storage rack for rear cargo carrier