It’s been twelve years now since we bought our 2012 Four Wheel Camper. In that time we’ve slept in it well over a thousand nights, a figure I used to keep track of and long ago lost count. While we’ve experimented with towing trailers of various sizes for living on the road full-time, the one thing that has remained the same over the last decade is the truck and Four Wheel Camper. It’s always served us well and is something we could never imagine giving up. As our dreams and desires for international overland travel have blossomed over the past year, we decided it was time for some major modifications.
In the Spring we returned from our third consecutive winter spent camping throughout the Baja peninsula; something we would do with our 12’ utility bed trailer in tow that was full of toys and extra resources. However, when we returned to the States this past March, we knew our next winter trip to Mexico would be different. We planned to go beyond Baja and over to mainland Mexico for several months of exploring. In favor of more ease in navigating Mexico’s narrow town streets and steep mountain grades, we decided we would leave the utility trailer behind. This desire is what ultimately led to our choice to modify our truck bed.
Thus began the four month process of modifying and preparing our truck in a myriad of ways for 4+ months of travel around Mexico. Last week we finally wrapped everything up and got on the road. Now that we’re past project mode and into travel mode, we’re excited to share everything that has been done!
Truck Bed Modifications
Not breaking the bank on this project was a priority for us. We’d rather spend money on fuel. Thanks to a lucky find on a used flatbed and really reasonable prices on custom boxes made by a fabricator in Grand Junction, our bed conversion was completed for well under 10k.
- Used Overland Explorer Vehicles 6.75 Aluma Tray found on Facebook Marketplace
- Custom aluminum boxes made by DW Metal Works in Grand Junction, Colorado
- Custom steel bumper made by DW Metal Works
To read more about what we learned from researching flatbed options and how we arrived at the above configuration, check out this post:
Truck maintenance & upgrades
The odometer on our 2001 Ford F250 7.3L turbo diesel turned over 300,000 miles this year. Thanks to Mark’s ability and desire to meticulously maintain it, we have hopes of this truck going many more miles. Every year he makes it better than the last and after everything you’ll see in the list below, it’s running better and is a smoother ride than it ever has been.
- New springs from Alcan Springs in Grand Junction, Colorado
- New Bilstein 5100 shocks
- New BF Goodrich KO3 285/75r16 tires
- New ball joints
- New front wheel bearing assemblies
- New rear brakes
- rebuilt rear differential
- transmission fluid and filter change
- New main engine wiring harness
- Resealed fuel bowl
- New Alternator
- New fuel pump
- New in-tank fuel pick up
- New pre-pump fuel filter
- New fuel lines
- New main fuel filter
- New coolant hoses
Four Wheel Camper Upgrades
Deciding to get a new truck bed spurred the conversation of whether or not we thought we might want an entirely new camper. If we did, this would probably be the time for it. After talking over all the options, we concluded we would want the exact same thing – another Four Wheel Camper Hawk shell with all the same options. Aside from expected wear & tear, we’re really pleased with how it’s aged. Further, we love having a camper that’s broken in and we therefore don’t stress about beating it up. Finally, we love being debt-free. With all that, we decided to keep what we have and instead put our time and money into the following upgrades:
- A new Victron Orion XS DC to DC charger
- Additional Victron Solar charger with bluetooth for turning Starlink on and off
- ARB refrigerator fan replacement (the only repair this fridge has needed in 12 years)
- Electrical rewiring
- New cushions and mattress from Foam Factory
- New Dometic five gallon cassette toilet (we replace ours every few years)
Photos of our Four Wheel Camper Hawk Slide-In Camper with Flatbed and Utility Boxes
We are now headed back to Baja where we will spend some time decompressing on our favorite beaches before boarding a ferry in LaPaz and making the sixteen hour journey to mainland Mexico. The hope is to travel longer and further than we ever have in our Four Wheel Camper. We’ve set ourselves up for success with a rig that is everything we’ve ever wanted. Now all we have to find out is whether or not we have what it takes to thrive in 40 square feet for 1/3 of the year.
Stay tuned, our daily post series will be returning in December with daily recaps of our travels around Mexico!
Love the upgrades! Looking forward to seeing more of your travels!
Thanks Greg!
Nice job optimizing the available space for storage. Very clean looking. Looks like there’s a door in a compartment between the camper and truck cab – is that part of the headache rack with the aluminum tray or is it separate? Could you please provide a photo from the back to illustrate the clearance between the camper and the storage boxes? The camper tie-downs go through the storage boxes to the truck bed or ?
Thank you.
Thank you! There are two narrow storage boxes built-in to the headache rack that is part of the OEV alum-tray. It’s a great use of space. The tie downs for the truck camper do not go through the boxes. There is an inset in the camper wall where the wheel well of a traditional truck bed would be, we didn’t have the aluminum boxes made to fill that gap so that is where the turn buckles connect to the flatbed. I just emailed you a few photos to help answer your questions.
Congratulations!!!
We found it better for each of us to have our own rig. She has a 2008 RAM 1500 with 4wd and a Capri Camper. I have a ’96 Geo Tracker with 4wd. I took all the seats out and replaced them w a platform. But we’re olde…I snore and she gets up at 3 a.m. every morning for a snack.
Further!
A his and hers setup, I love it.
Here’s to your sharp looking rig, have safe travels with lots of fun.
Thanks Russ!