DavidR
Well-Known Member
- First Name
- David
- Joined
- Jul 22, 2019
- Threads
- 4
- Messages
- 388
- Reaction score
- 323
- Location
- Eastern CA
- Vehicle(s)
- 2019 Ranger XLT Supercab Saber FX4
- Occupation
- Engineer
I agree, that ski closet is really nice (if you ordered a shower, I suppose you could store skis in there as well). Skis are always a hassle in a small camper, which is why I'm building a side rack, so I don't need to store them on top.Lighter weight shells are becoming a thing and a few new companies have popped up...
Wondering if you had any fit issues moving the 4WC to your new rig, especially with the high bed rails on the new Ranger?
Also, I agree, sturdy shells with rooftop tents, like the GFC, are trending really big right now. Those are great for off-road and probably don't affect the truck handling very much, but are more minimalist and not for everyone. The 4WC is in the middle. For a full hard-side, the Capri might be the only one with reasonable enough weight.
I was going to mention the issues moving the 4WC to the new truck but decided I didn't want to get too wordy, but it definitely was a challenge due to the high bed rails and it ended up having both good and bad aspects. To get it to work, I needed to build a 4"+ high platform that goes into the bed for the camper to sit on so the camper sides would clear the high bed rails. The good part of that is that there is enough room under the platform that I was able to build a 7-gallon gray water tank out of 4" ABS, and I left a long space (on the right in the picture) that can be used to store other fairly flat objects like hiking boots, raft oar shafts and paddles, or folded camp chairs. I've used it to store skis too, but then I can't store anything else there which is why I'm building the side ski rack. This is the platform before I finished optimizing it:
The primary downside is that while the bed rails are much higher than on the old Ranger, the height of the cab above the floor of the bed did not change much, so with the platform, the cab-over part is now a lot higher above the top of the cab. It's not a huge deal, but it does add some extra wind resistance:
I'm thinking of using that extra space to add a water tank for longer overland trips in non-winter seasons (it would freeze up in the winter). Like you mentioned, storage is always at a premium in a pop-up
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