We own a Raven for the last 3 years. I converted it to lithium batteries and added a inverter along with a few other upgrades. We live in Pa and in the winter we head to the Q in Az and Nevada where we spend most of the winter. We spend 95% of the time dry camping. We agree about the storage but realize there is no real space to create storage. However we also do mostly off roading. That really out ways the lack of storage. We found out early on we over packed. Once we adjusted we now find we actually have plenty of storage. We used to have 40' motorcoaches we traveled in. I love the change personally, So very easy to get around now. Hope you enjoy your camper as much as we do... Nice video, very well done.
You are living our dream. We are almost to that stage of our lives where we will be able to leave for extended periods of time to enjoy the great outdoors. Hoping to head towards New Mexico, Arizona Utah and many other areas. We will most likely remove the backseat of the truck and build some storage there. Thanks for watching and keep living the dream!!!! Safe travels!
You are welcome! We hope to do some extensive travel in ours in the future in retirement. Maybe then we will think about professional you tubing but it's alot of work. Thanks for watching, we plan to keep people's informed on all of our issues and updates to make FWC a great viable option for travel and camping.
I have a 1997 Sunlite truck camper. They made them with 2 jacks on the driver side, and 1 jack in the center on the passenger side. I also have a slope driveway, so it was very scary loading and unloading the camper. I ended up adding a 4th jack, and moved the center jack to the back. Lot more stable now. I paid $2,600 for the camper. Replaced all of the outside lights. I had to find and install a 3 way refrigerator. Camper came with roof AC ( I live in Texas), but never had a furnace, so I added one. I have a 3 burner stove. Also up graded to the sissor steps. Added 100 watt solar and 1 battery. Will upgrade that soon. I also have an indoor bathroom, with an outdoor shower. So far my total cost is $3,400
I have a 2020 fleet on a 2019:chev colorado z71. I agree with all the pros and cons. however, my small dometic 3 way fridge won’t start up on LP mode which is the latest pain to deal with. It has never worked well. FWC has many videos about their products but not many on troubleshooting. I chuckled about putting on the camper (putting it on is easy). We take our camper off every year sometimes twice a year and it is a good test of a marriage! One last point, i needed Air bags, e rated tires, and heavy duty bilstein shocks. May still add an extra leaf spring for more serious off Road even though the chev has a good payload. It now handles so well on the Highway and moderate Bush Roads that I hardly know its on.
I put Froli springs under the stock mattress... makes the mattress more comfortable and also provides some insulation benefit between the mattress and the very cold platform supporting it.
@@db2overland The Froli springs are kind of expensive, please read the reviews of others before buying them. I have used my stock mattress about 300 times and it's finally worn-in to the point that I find it comfortable. But still, when the temps drop < 25F it still takes about an hour for it to warm up and feel comfortable after getting in it at night to sleep. The Froli springs are about 2 inches thick, making that tight space push up on the roof when it's down so condensation control is important otherwise the condensation will get into your bedding.
To clarify, the heater is fine until around 30°f, with only one person in the camper. We have not had both of us camping in the cold yet. We will keep you posted on any fixes or upgrades we do. Thanks for watching, we appreciate it!
I enjoyed watching your long term review and comparing it with my experience. I have an All Terrain Bobcat that is smaller width wise than your Raven. I must say it sure beats camping out of a 4Runner SUV. Yes, the small space makes it necessary to pack light like a backpacker. You are not alone. I also have a slanted driveway. 🙂 With regards to your furnace shutting off early when the temps are below freezing - my guess is the air flow inside the furnace drops a bit as the voltage output of the AGM battery tends to sag during a long duration amp draw. There is safety sail switch inside the furnace that needs a certain volume of air to keep it running. Try removing the air hose to the vent grille that is mounted to your cabinetry. It runs from the actual warm air output on the furnace itself. This will increase the air flow across the sail switch. Just a 2 cent opinion - I'm not a big fan of the lead acid and AGM batteries used by the RV industry, to include Four Wheel Campers. A 12 volt system with LiFePO4 battery bank is way better - but can add a thousand bucks or more to a camper build. - One of the advantages of using a lithium battery, (provided it has a built-in self heating function), is that it maintains a stable voltage output of 13.1 volts - which is greater than the 12.7 volts of a lead acid or AGM at full charge. Unfortunately - a lithium battery install is not a simple plug and play install in your Raven due to the charging profile of the particular AC to DC inverter used to convert shore power to 12 volts. The same manufacturer, in this case IOTA, makes one with the correct charging profile for lithium. Also, the weak charging solution used by FWC for charging from the truck's alternator is another joke courtesy of the RV industry. For lithium install, it is best to use a DC to DC charger for charging from the truck's alternator. In short, the switch to lithium is not cheap.
I appreciate your wisdom and experience. We plan on a battery upgrade in the future and your advise is not going to fall on deaf ears. Also we will try the furnace fix. One thing that comes to mind from your comment is that your camper build never really finished. (Same goes true to our motorcycles). Thanks for watching we appreciate it!
I realize this is an old video. I’m in the market for a popup. I think. Watched tons of videos so now I’m an expert. lol. Thanks for taking the time to share this. I realize we all have our own opinions. But it seems all of the cons really don’t seem like a con of FWC but rather more on slide in pop up campers themselves. The insulation is one area that may be the exception in my mind. I believe I read or watched something where it was stated FWC improved the insulation option. Anyway this is not a knock on your video. Opinions are all over the place on these. I love your camper though!!!!
Wait, why do you take the tailgate off? I thought you said the camper is a 6.5? Is that so you can use steps near the camper vs steps at the tailgate in the down position?
We have a short bed Tundra. The Raven Four Wheel Camper is made for the short bed full size pickup so we have to remove the tailgate. I have seen people use the Hawk camper which is slightly longer than the Raven and it will extend past the tailgate. We chose not to do that and stick with what fits the manufacturers recommended size for the vehicle.
I suggest; leave the camper on the truck, find a small utility trailer to tow with you when you need a pickup bed's versatility. I tow a single axle Mirage brand dump trl. Behind my pickup. I can actually haul more with it than with my pickup's empty bed. Or you can put the camper on or in a suitable trailer.
