My daily driver as well. I have grand plans for the future, but currently in between careers so can't afford a whole bunch right now. A lot of DIY.
2014 F150 XLT--let me know what you think.
- Thread starter IronAndRice
- Start date
DIY stuff tends to impress me more than something bought and bolted on. It looks like a good setup that will take you every where you want to go. I would use the hell out of it the way it is.
Thanks Benson! The roof rack I made by chopping up a small trailer frame (in my apartment living room with a hacksaw lol) and gave it the body fill and rattle can treatment. Then I ordered prinsu mounting feet and jerry-rigged them to work with the rack and mounted them on yakima tracks. Also made a drawer system using wood.
Lol. Gotta improvise when you don’t have a place to work on things. I’ve built transmissions in bath tubs and heated exhaust manifolds in a kitchen oven so they could be brazed together.
Show off the bed box. I may be building one of those in the near future. I’ve read just about every thread on here about drawer setups trying to figure out if I really want one or not.
I like that set up. Really like the improvised shooting range picture too. If I build a drawer system I want one drawer for my big tools - hi lift, shovel, axe, recovery ropes and straps. The other one I’d want to hold a rifle or 2 and my fishing poles.
If you end up building it make sure to post pics. Also if you do decide and if you want, send me a PM with your email and I will email you a copy of the actual plans from Third Coast Craftsman with supply list and cut list to make it easy. Cheers!
Thanks. I will definitely post pics if I do. I should probably start a build page on my truck. I’ve just been using the let’s see the rams page. A rear plate bumper with tire carrier is coming next. But my last upgrade blew up one me and my truck is getting an extreme make over. I’ll start a build sheet when I get this part finished.
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IronandRice - Curious about the RTT on your topper. Did you check into the static and dynamic weight ratings of that topper? I'm looking at mounting my RTT to a topper but have been running into this issue regarding weight
Check caravan campers out. Expensive but they had pictures with 4 wheelers on top of their campers in their shop.
I'm running an ARE HD series with a roof top tent and it works well. The HD series has an internal aluminum frame to support the roof rails so none of the weight is on the shell itself. There aren't many options for shells that can support that much weight on top. I also looked into the caravan camper option but the ARE was quite a bit less expensive. I believe it is rated for 500# dynamic loading. The picture isn't the greatest but you can see the RTT.
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I loved the way my ARE Shell looked. And I bought it for the same reason being the cost of the caravan. I never had anything more than a 6 foot piece of pvc strapped to the rack. But mine fell apart after 2 years. That’s when I decided caravan or nothing for me. Wish I would have bought it in the first place.
Sorry I was studying for an exam and haven't been online. The dynamic load is about 160 lbs, directly to the roof, which with the rack and tent I am close to...but I have the weight spread out along tracks and rack. No cracking or bending at all. The static max is about 800 lbs so its fine with me and my wife up there. Honestly, I was initially worried, but after running it for a few months, it is solid. I check it every morning before I leave and when I get home at the end of the day to make sure nothing has shifted.
I plan on switching it up when I get some time and money in the future or maybe switching to a "smart cap".
Trail Blazer III
I really like the drawers setup and how you have your load plan worked out. I thought about a topper for my rig, but ultimately went with an overland rack instead. But I really like how you did your setup. How did your tent do in the snow? We bought a extreme weather cover for ours since it's been known to snow mid may early June here in idaho. We haven't used it yet, im curious how well yours keeps warm.
