I was delighted that I could have the new truck cap before the end of May, though maybe less delighted with the price, which is about 2/3rds more then almost the same cap I had built for my Silverado 14 years ago. But I do get a lot of use of cap, and I do want to camp and travel for at least a few more years before I settle down.
I mean I shouldn’t cringe that much about cutting another bank check of $4,900 to pay off the balance on the truck cap, 🚚 after spending $59,750 on the underlying the truck, but I do. But over 14 years, especially if I travel as much as I did in the previous decade and half, it will be worth it. I don’t stay in fancy hotels or resorts, but camp under the truck cap most of the time. And inflation has gone up by 45% in the intervening years, and my income by by like 325%. 💸 And I still live in my very frugal apartment that is only seen modest rent increases since my college years 20 years ago, ride my mountain bike or take city bus to work. Still I do feel awful about spending so much money, even if I know I will get a lot of use out of the new rig. With the MX Cap and Outdoorsman Windoors, it’s spec out almost the same as the old cap. Too bad the trucks are different sizes.
I mean, old Andy Ruth is always entertaining to deal with his shop, as he goes over all the details of the truck cap. 🛠️ Definately an old grease monkey 🐒 type, I got to hear his gripes about how expensive everything has gotten in recent years. I have to agree. 🔥 After the controlled burn in the Pine Bush apparently an ember fell on a stack of boxes and burned up a car behind his shop yesterday. 🧑🚒 And of course the fire department promptly pointed their finger at him for burning garbage during the spring burn ban. I doubt it, he’s too urban, with roads on both sides of his shop and houses down the road. 20 years ago, things were different.
But after going through the details carefully with a copy of the specs I set up in spring, 📄 I ended up ordering basically the same cap I have on my old truck, with one change – a sliding front window that also folds down. I will use sticky door foam strips around the sliding window in the truck, as a boot between the cap and cab, allowing me to pass a power cord or even some heat or air conditioning from the cab back to camper. I decided, especially with the costs, to for now just fully reuse all of electrical components – solar, batteries, controllers, relays – in my new set up with no upgrades at this point. 🔋 I do want to add a cellphone booster before my Michigan trip or at least the autumn but then it’s just the diesel heater for winter. Eventually I want to add a second solar panel and maybe a lithium ion phosphate battery for more storage, but the existing system works well enough on the old truck, and solar keeps things topped off. With remote start on the new truck, 🔑 should I get an undervoltage condition, I just tap the start button twice on key fob and it will run for 15 minutes and reset things automatically. Andy’s not wrong, shit has just gotten so expensive. People have suggested all other kinds of caps and campers, and I’ve looked into alternatives, but I have found the configuration on Big Red 🛻 to have served me well.
I pulled the bolts for mounting the CB radio 📻 on the dashboard, but I will need longer bolts to make it fit from the stock bolts. It will fit nice there, but then again it’s were Ford intended a CB or police radio to be mounted. Still studying my options on where to run the CB antenna wire through the firewall – I don’t want to accidentally cut any of the many bundles of colorful wires that are everywhere or get leaks in my new truck. There are several issues, as mounting radios and running antennas are a pretty common thing on a SuperDuty. Then I got to figure out where the up fitter switch tie-in within the cab are located. I do need to order a specific hood mount for the CB antenna for a SuperDuty, and I also want an intergrated-ampflier PA Speaker to install when I install the CB antenna on SuperDuty. I should order that this week. I think I might need a trim puller to access those wires. Holding off on the cellphone booster until mid-summer, though I want that before my trip to Michigan.
As far as the electrical for camping 🏕️, once I get the new truck cap installed hopefully in late May, then I will mount both batteries in opposite sides of the bed from my old truck. I should be able to reuse most of the fuses, wires and control circuitry from the old configuration, but I will need a second battery box but I they have them in stock at Wally World in Albany. It should be pretty straightforward. Going to run a wire straight back from from one of the starting batteries back to the big can relay I will mount in the bed. I will use big two diodes for monitoring voltages from the solar and alternator/starting batteries and that XY-60 switch, and when the engine is spinning, it will charge the camp batteries with ease (it’s a 420 amp dual alternator), and when the solar is out putting enough power, reverse the charge to the starting batteries.
So yeah, I got a lot of plans 💭 for the new truck. Drove nicely through traffic yesterday, the city gas milage ⛽ was nothing to brag about, but it is an HD truck. With a truck that big though the towing mirrors are wonderful (they let you see the lines on the pavement and cars in blind spots) as are the back up camera. 🔑 And I do love the remote start. Hiked for a while yesterday in the Pine Bush, 🌲 tried on shirts at Goodwill and Salvation Army, 👚 only found one that fit nice and was good at Salvation Army, the one I liked at Goodwill had stains from a leaky pen in a shirt pocket so I did not buy. It was kind of windy and cold though hiking in the Pine Bush. Ended up just stopping at Hannaford in Voorheeesville for some groceries, but forgot Apple Cider Vinger and cinnamon but I Might get some this morning at Market 32 for I am sure a premium price after doing some hiking and searching for spring signs 🌸 at the Pine Hollow Arboretum 🪷.