Phoenix pop-up camper for Bigassgas8.1L
 

After years of tent camping, then Sportz Bed-Tent camping and a few years of camping in a Snugtop topper it was time to upgrade to something more substantial with more room and amenities. I narrowed down my choice to a Four Wheel Camper, All Terrain Camper or a Phoenix Camper by Coyote RV in Denver. What sets these three campers apart from your usual cheaply constructed Palomino, Sunlite, etc pop-up truck camper is the fact these are constructed from light weight aluminum frames opposed to the typical heavy wood frames with stapled joints. The aluminum frames are also much more suited for off-road as they flex with the bed of the truck like an airplane wing instead of breaking up into a pile of kindling.

It was a tough call between the Four Wheel Camper and the Phoenix. I chose the Phoenix over the FWC as the Phoenix is made locally (150 miles away in Denver) and each of their campers are custom made to order with no two campers being the same. The folks at Phoenix were great to work with as well. What turned me off about the FWC the most was their exterior construction made of corrugated aluminum siding. How 1970’s is that! You can hardly tell the difference from a 1981 FWC or a 2011 FWC. Not to mention the corrugated siding would last though one hail storm or one trip to the mountains without being denting up like a piece of aluminum foil in a wind storm. I also didn’t find the crew at FWC very friendly when I looked over their products at the 2010 Denver Outdoor Expo nor did they seem flexible to build anything outside of the box. Ironically, the owners of Phoenix (Coyote RV) are actually the children of the founders of FWC but their family sold the FWC brand to an investor in California many years ago.

Here are a few pictures of my Phoenix camper in the build process.
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Loaded on different truck as it was being transported to the paint shop today for a coat of late model GM truck Storm Gray.
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You can see the edge of the refrigerator (gray thing). It is a hard core off-road and marine refrigerator from South Africa called National Luna that is very effective in extreme hot temperatures and resistant to vibration. If you ever had experience with the typical camper refrigerators that never seem to work, the high cost of this South African gem was well worth it extra $1000. A guy has got to have cold beer in the desert! :lol:
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If all goes as planned I will be taking delivery of the camper next Thursday (3-17-11) then shortly after the rear bumper will be going through a remodel to add a barn door style tire and fuel can carrier. Much like the one my buddy just finished for this Ram Charger.
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More to come soon as the mods begin!

Re: Phoenix pop-up camper for Bigassgas8.1L
 

Looks GOOD! Can't wait to see it finished and installed in the truck. Once it's all together if the Boss sends you to the doghouse, you'll have one hell of a nice place to catch some ZZZ's!

Re: Phoenix pop-up camper for Bigassgas8.1L
 

I really like that. I've wanted a low-profile for years. They were all over the place when I was out your way years ago. I wanted one for my '90 Blazer. They don't sell anything like that back here. I got out of my '71 C/20 camper to get one for my '72 K2500 and it hasn't happened yet. Can't wait to see it on the truck. Gonna take it up another notch on the cool scale.

Re: Phoenix pop-up camper for Bigassgas8.1L
 

Really sharp looking camper Larry. I'm jealous is all! Can't wait to see it on your truck. You are going to have a killer camping rig.


You'll be able to spend weeks out there, no trailer, all the luxuries. Sounds perfect. What more could you want!!

Re: Phoenix pop-up camper for Bigassgas8.1L
 

can't wait

Re: Phoenix pop-up camper for Bigassgas8.1L
 

Seeing pics of some of your trips that camper will be put to the test. Cold beer is important!

Re: Phoenix pop-up camper for Bigassgas8.1L
 

Got the topper off Friday night with the help of four friends then removed the interior kit today and installed the 4 eye bolts that the camper will attach to.

It looks really bare without the topper on the back. Hard to beleive the topper has been on the truck for 5 years already. Wow, that time went fast! Seems like yesterday I was putting it on. With the topper off the rear even grew about an 1 ½ in height. It sure rides like crap with no weight in the back but sure spins the tires easy and hops all over the road when doing so :lol:

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Re: Phoenix pop-up camper for Bigassgas8.1L
 

What brand of flares are those

Re: Phoenix pop-up camper for Bigassgas8.1L
 

There’re Warn brand. I wouldn’t recommend them. They are hard plastic and have been warped since they were new. These are actually the second set, Warn Industries sent me a new set because the first were so warped right out of the box I didn't want to use them. They also rub the front tires like crazy due to their design where they hang down so low below the fender towards at rear. Xenon actually has the best flares for the square body style trucks. Theirs are more of a soft flexible rubber material. I may change to Xenon’s someday.

Re: Phoenix pop-up camper for Bigassgas8.1L
 

How much lift on the blue truck? Very nice.

Re: Phoenix pop-up camper for Bigassgas8.1L
 

Thanks... it is lifted about 6 to 7 inches with front Superlift springs and ORD pieces front and rear.

Re: Phoenix pop-up camper for Bigassgas8.1L
 

Larry,
That will be a very nice upgrade! You will be spoiled and can no longer call camping "roughing it". Just kidding..... I can't sleep on the ground anymore.
I think it's called age or something to that effect.
Looking forward to seeing some more pictures.

John

Re: Phoenix pop-up camper for Bigassgas8.1L
 

I like the build pics. Kinda cool seeing how things go together. Should be a good addition to the family.

Re: Phoenix pop-up camper for Bigassgas8.1L
 

Here is a couple after paint spy photos that I received today.

There will be rearward facing lights mounted to those L brackets.
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Happyjack mounts. These will be coming off about 10 minutes after I get it home.
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Here is a link to the Manufacturers thread at Expo. They build some really neat stuff!

Re: Phoenix pop-up camper for Bigassgas8.1L
 

Made the 300 mile trip again to pick up the camper today. Man, it turned out great! I’ll get some pictures of the interior soon. Stupid steering gear box input seal sprung a big leak on the way home. Oh, well….that is about the only thing on the truck that I have never had to mess with over the past 15 years.

As we picked it up from the manufacturer
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The tires hadn’t even cooled off from the highway before I got those jacks yanked off.
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Let the mods begin! :lol:

Re: Phoenix pop-up camper for Bigassgas8.1L
 

Outstanding! Fill the fridge with beer, something for on the grill, and you are good to go! Very very cool.

Re: Phoenix pop-up camper for Bigassgas8.1L
 

Yeah, looking forward to all of that Billhilly! Probably will be a month or two before I get it out in the bush.

Here are a few of the interior the manufacturer posted on their thread. Though you ‘all might like to see the inside

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Dinette makes into a bed. Storage cubbys hidden everywhere! Most are hidden so well you don't even know where they are....like under the carpet on both sides of the the table pole. That is just too cool!
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National Luna Weekender – Refrigerator/Freezer. These things are awesome but comes with an oddball European power plug. The neat thing is it is portable so it can be moved to the tailgate when went cooking for ease of getting to the grub...and beer! Can also move it to a different vehicle if needed…just got to remember that oddball power plug. :lol:
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Bed in sleep mode in the queen size position
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Bed in space saving mode to make room when working on the cook top or sitting at the dinette. If the truck was an extended cab this wouldn’t need to be adjustable but with a standard cab truck I didn’t want the bed above the cab to stick past the windshield. This is how the Wescott's original Turtle Expedition camper was on their old '75 K20. Turned out great!
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Re: Phoenix pop-up camper for Bigassgas8.1L
 

Very slick. I know you were sweating the color, but I've got to say it looks good with what you picked. I'll have to swing by this weekend to take a full tour!

CONGRATS!

Re: Phoenix pop-up camper for Bigassgas8.1L
 

Man seeing the old turtle truck takes me back. When I was a kid back in the 80's, in second grade I got in a ton of trouble because I refused to read see spot run because reading about the turtle expedtion was way more interesting.

Personally I am tired of reading about everyones rock crawler.

Re: Phoenix pop-up camper for Bigassgas8.1L
 

Exactly! I was in the same boat. My older brother got tired of me steeling his magazines so he got me my own subscription to FOUR WHEELER and Peterson’s. I thought I was the only kid in Elementary School with a subscription to 4x4 magazines. They always got me in trouble with teachers too and many got taken away. :lol: The turtle truck was one of my dream trucks…..as you can tell. I also hear you on today’s FOUR WHEELER and Peterson’s. Neither appeal to me much anymore. After 25+ years straight I let Peterson’s expire and I really don’t miss it. If you want to read a good rag subscribe to the Overland Journal. It is pricy but worth it. The Wescott's from the Turtle Expedition still contribute their journeys in the Overland Journal.

Re: Phoenix pop-up camper for Bigassgas8.1L
 

I remember the one they did in russia that was pretty cool, as I recall wasnt it before the wall came down?

Re: Phoenix pop-up camper for Bigassgas8.1L
 

I can’t remember if it was before the wall came down or after but it was around that time. I remember thinking that would have been a scary trip.

Re: Phoenix pop-up camper for Bigassgas8.1L
 

I was pretty fascinated by it. In fact I think it started me on a life long obsession with pickup trucks, and really there has been no point in my life I did not have a truck.

Re: Phoenix pop-up camper for Bigassgas8.1L
 

Oh and I am going to subscribe to Overland Journal, looks like an interesting magazine.

Re: Phoenix pop-up camper for Bigassgas8.1L
 

I really like the way it turned out. Makes you want to get out there and break it in!! Make sure to put some more pictures up when you get it out.

Re: Phoenix pop-up camper for Bigassgas8.1L
 

I was over at Larry's place last Friday charging the a/c on my S10 and got to look over the Mobile Casa. Photos do not do this thing justice. It's flat out cool. You can tell these guys have been around because in the space of a short box they've crammed a lot of stuff inside. No space is wasted. Every nook and cranny has a purpose. Plus with the lid up the inside is tall enough that my dome isn't hitting the roof and I'm a tick over 6 foot. It's well thought out that is for sure. I can't wait to see it in action. I'll have to bank some time off to ride along for a desert run. I'll do the cooking!

Re: Phoenix pop-up camper for Bigassgas8.1L
 

Man Larry you are a bad influence, because I just realized I could make one of these for my flat bed. That is bad, very bad!

Re: Phoenix pop-up camper for Bigassgas8.1L
 

MrBeast…

Yeah, the possibilities are endless! Heck, they made one for an early 70's Ford Ranchero a while back :lol:

Ah, man…if you like the Overland Journal you would love the Overland Expo going on this weekend south of Tucson in Amado (you’re on Expo right?)…… It is kinda like the SEMA of the old school vehicle dependent living off-roading adventures now reviving the old “Overlanding” nomenclature. I wasn’t able to go this year but my buddy Bill took off from Pueblo at 3 AM this morning in his badass Ram Charger for some desert wheeling outside of Phoenix then on down to Tucson for more wheeling then onto Amado for a few days of Expo events. He and a few others are looking at doing the El Camino del Diablo along the Mexican border while in the area meanwhile I am stuck on a business trip to Atlanta this week. I got hosed! I feel more UNSAFE here in a hotel in Atlanta than he probably will in the desert along the Mexican border.

Zoo, yeah….great idea although you will probably have to fight Trail Boss Bill for cooking duties. Odd that we guys never want to cook at home but are the first in line to cook up a campsite meal. I am good with you clowns cooking, I’ll just sit around and drink more beer!

Bill Wolf McQuade’s Ram Charger (anybody remember Lone Wolf McQuade :lol:) D44, D60, ARB front and rear, with tons of other goodies.
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Re: Phoenix pop-up camper for Bigassgas8.1L
 

Larry, sounds like an awesome time, I think next year I will actually try and make it, if my truck was finished id do it this year, I am about due for a vacation.

Right now though my camper plans are a bit larger, I am going to be getting a 34' airstream, going with a big trailer for the simple fact that I am going to spend about a year living in it while I go explore and figure out where I want to settle down next.

Re: Phoenix pop-up camper for Bigassgas8.1L
 

Last time you said you were going to do the cook'in you held up that tree all afternoon and kept that beer bottle warm! :lol:

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Then turned the shishies once while Bill did up his famous tators. :lol:
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.....meanwhile, I took pictures and drank beer with other hungry peeps

Re: Phoenix pop-up camper for Bigassgas8.1L
 

I'm ok sharing camp cookie duty with McQuade. I've been mastering my technique with the cast iron. But yes, something about cooking outside brings out the caveman in all of us. Plus it tastes better. I've never had a better pot roast than one cooked in a dutch oven in and under the coals of a campfire. The boys and I were fighting over who got to scrape the bits off of the dutch oven. We've run the same exact recipe at home using another dutch oven but not over the campfire, good but not as good as the camp version.

Re: Phoenix pop-up camper for Bigassgas8.1L
 

Very nice larry. The only thing i don't like about my original 4whl pop top on the K5 is it makes a great sail...and the 350 tbi mouse struggles to keep it at 75mph...but with your 8.1L i am sure thats a non issue.

Re: Phoenix pop-up camper for Bigassgas8.1L
 

that looks really good! you say you're going to put a spare tire carrier on the back like the ram charger? ever since i was little i thought a spare tire carrier on a pickup truck was so coolest looking thing. here is one by me that i really like

Re: Phoenix pop-up camper for Bigassgas8.1L
 

Looks nice Savage. I would love to have a M1009 or M1008. Lately, I have been really Jonesing for a M1009 Blazer to take up the slack for short runs up to the mountains nearby now that the K10 gained a hou$e on the back. Nice truck you have!

To tell you the truth, I never gave much thought to hanging a spare tire on the bumper until I was faced with no place else to put it. The rear winch bumper takes up too much real estate to mount it under the frame plus I need place to carry extra fuel for long runs anyway…..so the rear bumper is getting reworked yet again.

Here is another view of my buddies Ram Charger. He is the master fabricator of the circle of friends. My double swing gates will look pretty much identical to this in a few weeks except my bumper has a winch that we have to work around, which will make fabricating the lock latches interesting.
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Here is where the bald-ass spare used to live when I had the topper on it with the custom made sleeping platform with basement storage. Since the spare will now be visible, I am getting a matching wheel and a matching tire. I run Q78x16 Super Swampers on 7” wide wheels for the CO mountains and 315/75R16 AT’s on black steelies for desert runs. The spare will be a 315 on a black steel wheel as it take up less space on the rear bumper being it is 1” shorter in diameter. The black steel wheel is cheaper too :lol:
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Re: Phoenix pop-up camper for Bigassgas8.1L
 

Thanks Doug. Yeah, campers do indeed make for a great sail. I drove mine in the wind today and you definitely know it is back there as the truck gets pushed around on the highway much easier now. Nothing like driving a rig with the aerodynamics of a drive in movie theater screen! Power wise, the weight and wind drag are hardly noticeable behind the 8.1L. In fact, the NV4500 shifts better with a load and maintaining 80 MPH on I-25 is still a non issue even in the wind in 5th gear at 5,500 ft elevation. Gas gauge moves fast though with these little short bed fuel tanks! :lol:

Re: Phoenix pop-up camper for Bigassgas8.1L
 

AWESOME DL!!!!!!!!!! :metal:

I got me a popup Outfitter for my towrig and I'll never use a tent again :metal:
:mm::chevy::mm:

Re: Phoenix pop-up camper for Bigassgas8.1L
 

I’ve been so busy lately that I still haven’t taken the camper out for its maiden camping voyage yet but I got a few things done to it. First we got the camper leveled out. As it turns out these truck bed floors have a ¾’ angle built in where the floor tilts lower to the front which made the camper look goofy as the bed rail and camper bottom didn’t have an even gap from the front to the rear. The angle was also causing the camper overhead to run really close to the cab roof. It is beyond me that if it is commonly known the in the camper industry that bed floors are slanted why the camper wasn’t built to compensate for the angle. Ah, well… we got it fixed up now and it looks a lot better.

Also added 2 additional 12 volt outlets for accessories. It only had one 12 volt outlet inside which is a goofy European Hella receptacle for the National Luna fridge/freezer. While I was wiring those in I reworked the wiring to the battery to add a GM truck junction block for powers and another junction block for common grounds. It really cleaned up the wiring in the battery box.

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Lastly, I finally got the decals installed that I had made up. I think they turned out pretty cool!

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Next weekend the rear bumper is going through surgery to add the double swing gates with a tire and fuel can carrier.

Re: Phoenix pop-up camper for Bigassgas8.1L
 

If I didn't know better, I would think you were originally from New Mexico just based on the decals!:ito::ito:

I need to see this awesome camper someday. Can the fridge hold a case of beer and enough steak to last a week? No problem, I can stoop to crown and water, but I need my steak. The camper looks great and I bet you will have a ball with it.

John

Re: Phoenix pop-up camper for Bigassgas8.1L
 

This truck is so cool. I have drawings of a short bed crew cab with a similar camper setup. Now you have me thinking again and that is always bad. I have always liked your truck and follow your adventures thanks for sharing.

Re: Phoenix pop-up camper for Bigassgas8.1L
 

Looks Great!!!