Camper - A Blank Slate

It was love at first sight.  I wanted a FWC Fleet Shell model and there it was.  Only 1.5 hours from my house in superb condition.  

Only 2 previous owners and 2011 model matches the age of my Tacoma.  Other people wanted to buy it but had no way to come get it in Massachusetts and cost to ship was too much.  When I went to look at it I brought cash for a deposit in case I liked it.  I know FWC campers don’t last on the market long.

Minimal things had been done to the camper.  A cabinet for storage.  A deep cycle battery for some lighting and power for Engel compressor fridge, that was bigger than mine.  The battery is only charged from the truck’s engine.

The Engel was not only a larger model, it had the locking base and the two zone extension to make it an even bigger fridge.

Under the fridge was a propane install that supplies propane to a Wave 3 heater

The roof has a roof rack and two Fantastic vents.  The vent over the bed (further in Picture) is powered.  The one over the rear (closer to us) is passive (no fan - just a vent).

The original owner bought the camper from the FWC dealer in Wisconsin.  He lived in TN and had it for the majority of the time.  It was housed when in TN which accounts for the great condition.

The guy I bought the camper from in MA didn’t have it long using it for trips to the beach on MA south shore area (photo above).  He was selling as it didn’t work out the way he and his wife wished.

I paid a fair price for the camperat $9500.

I also knew when I bought it that I had my work cut out for me to outfit it the way I wanted for my 2018 travels.  

My future posts will take you through changes / modifications I have made.  This sounds simple but it wasn’t.  There were many things to learn, design, buy, and build/install to get it ready for January 2018.

Not included in the above, I will also cover preparations I made to my Tacoma to get it ready for the trip.

The reason I wanted a shell model with a blank slate was because I had studied the FWC and found them too heavy when the factory built them out.  

My goal during my build is the same I had when building my Prius in to a Vandwelling vehicle.  I wanted to have the same abilities in the Prius as I did in my Class B.  Now the Campervan will undergo a transition to provide as many of the abilities I had in the Prius.  Of course there will be some limitations, but there is a need for a goal.

I put the camper in my garage while working on it.

Thanks for following.

Brent

macaloney@hotmail.com