landy_andy

Machine shop made a start on the 1350 pinion yoke and a spare t’case output flange. Yoke just needs to be counter bored a bit deeper for the nut & washer then they can be sweated together. New shocks arrived to, so there on also 😀

This is our current setup, F250 and a Lance 825… works great for a couple of weeks away but it’s got limited fresh water & only one propane tank so any longer and you have to restock mid trip. Tows the boat really nice too 👍

Little sales video of the 10.6 from our local dealer…. You can see the dry bath towards the end. I’d not have the Onan generator & replace with the lithiums in the battery box. Gives more outside storage then 😉 Bigfoot 10.6 camper video

Exactly, the F550 has a maximum payload capacity of around 10 to 12,000lbs depending upon spec. so the rear leaf packs are very stiff. There generally used for dump trucks, trucks, delivery or any other commercial use. One real advantage is they have a wide track front axle so turn a lot tighter (7’ approx.) than a F250/350, that’s a godsend when your in a town. The wife curses her F250 when she goes shopping & it’s busy with tourists at the supermarket, I guess it’s just one minor inconvenience of living in a ski resort. F550 general specs

It was late…. Planning on using two Battleborn 270Ah lithiums, these : Gamechanger batteries Campers here can have either a wet or dry bathroom, basically in a wet one the shower is over the toilet, in a dry the shower is a separate area that is screened off from the toilet space. In some this is a separate room, others will have a screen door. Generally means you have somewhere to hang wet coats without being dripped on whilst having a #2 🙄

Or live out of it for 3 to 4 months at a time… 😉

Yes, there are Class B & C motor homes that are built on similar chassis’s but… you’ll be limited on trailer capacity and most importantly you can’t demount the camper & leave it at the campsite whilst you head out for the day in the truck. This is where the rear air suspension really shines. Drop the bag pressure and it’ll ride like a regular pickup, then pump back up to ‘loaded’ mode for traveling. Also, in the winter we can daily drive the truck so we don’t have to have a second vehicle…. D100 excepted.

Exactly 👍

Rear is a parallel 4 link system to all the use of air bags, gives adjustable ride height & let’s you soften it up when your running without the camper on. Super singles get rid of the rear dually’s as there prone to getting rocks jammed between the tires if used off pavement whilst maintaining the carrying capacity as there rated at 6000lb per tire. In addition, better ground clearance, better off highway performance, can be beadlocked to run aired down on sand… basically building a poor person Earth Roamer for a fraction of the cost. Gotta remember we have 100,000 km’s of unpaved road here in BC alone, let alone heading up into the Northern Territory or Alaska. Couple of links to look at : Rear 4 link air suspension system Super Single conversation kits

Don’t be cheap.. just buy one of Jason’s new fixture tables… you just can’t have enough tools… 😀 New Fireball Fixture Table

When we retire I plan on putting together a HD truck camper setup for extended travel (3-4 months at a time) around Canada & the US. Basis will be a Ford F550 dually chassis cab. Truck will get a super single conversation onto 42” military tires, rear springs converted to 4 link & air bags. Will build a custom subframe that isolates the camper from the racking you get in the truck frame. Main benefits for us are 1000 mile range on dual diesel tanks, can carry up to 10,000lbs on the bed and still tow a 7000lb auto trailer with the D100 on it to Moab 😉 Camper will be a Bigfoot 10.6 due to it having a dry bath, 50 gallon fresh water tank, dual 20lb propane tanks, room to install 800w of solar on the roof, 500kwh of lithium batteries and a 3kw inverter. There also made in Canada and are rated for our severe winters. Not cheap but we expect to cover 10,000+ miles each trip and North America is a large continent.

Finally got the order of limit straps… after installing the fronts had a change of plan for the upper mounting point… now I need some 12” ones. Tested the drive shaft for binding at full droop & stuff, will be needing to use the Tom Woods high angle joint on the steady bearing end for definite. To add insult to injury… the courier has lost my order of new Bilstein shocks 😡

So, have decided whilst we’re down this rabbit hole I might as well upgrade the rear drive shaft to 1350 u-joints from the (similar to LR sized) 1310’s I was running. One of the guys on Pirate modified his LT230 many years ago using modified Ford 9” pinion yokes and I already have the disc brake conversion and a 1350 yoke for the axle…. As I’m already using a Rakeway carrier bearing to get the front drive shaft over the cross member I’ll be leaving that with the 1310 joints. If it becomes an issue I’ll have to change it all out to either 1330 or 1350’s but that’ll require a complete new carrier bearing unit and that’s not in the budget for now. I have included the front yoke conversation pic for info. That’s just a quick machine to match the LR seal diameter & trim the threaded shaft for joint clearance. So, here we go….

Front hubs assembled, just need some brake pads to finish off. Waiting on the new shocks & limit straps to arrive too… I hate waiting 🤬

Caliper brackets assembled & painted, give them a couple of days to harden up & we can get the front axle finished up 👍

Added the final brake lines, filled the PAS pump & it’s not leaking. Just need a couple of plastic line clips to make it look neat. Soon as the front axle is assembled we can bleed the brakes.

Got the sump back from the welder, leak tested & measured the capacity. Lick of paint & back on next. Front axle shafts assembled with Spicer lifetime joints & final assembly begins.

Finished the hydro pipe work, added a rear brake proportion valve and just waiting on some 3/16” pipe nuts to finish it all off.

Mr UPS made a delivery….😀

Installed then front 3rd over the weekend, after cycling the suspension decided that I wasn’t happy with the clearance to the sump at full stuff for the larger pinion yoke. So, zip, zip and it lost the corner… am wondering if painters tape will hold the oil in 🤔

We’re fortunate we purchased our 1/4 acre lot at the time we did, one a few doors down sold in the last 3 months for $500k cad, about 323k pounds. Neighbor has there place listed for $2.65m… that’s just insane 🤪

Going to be heading out here… follow the power line cut (on the right) for the next 100km or so… just taken from my front lawn. Also, have sold the 14” shocks, so can get the new 12’s on order now 😀

Thanks, not many events to go to here…. but we do have ~350k of forest access roads used for industrial & logging operations. A lot of the ones around where we live are in/out due to the steep mountain terrain but if I head north you can put together days of driving where you’ll never see a paved road.

So… the project starts to draw to a close as the pile of parts is getting smaller ! We have currently on order : Front & rear braided brake hoses Last fitting for the hydroboost lines 4 limit straps & tabs to weld on the front shock towers To order still : Front inner custom 35 spline axle shafts 4 Bilstein 12” shocks Front brake pads Front axle shaft u-joints New fluids…. Will need to have the drive shafts adjusted & rebalanced but that’ll be the last thing once it’s all back on the ground.

Front 3rd member assembled & setup. Was a bit of a pain getting the air fitting in as it landed right in the reinforced interior web. Just waiting for the paint to harden & in it’ll go.