Lone Peak Camper Build-Out/Review

Howdy!

The purpose of this thread is to document the build-out of my new Lone Peak Camper while also critiquing the quality and functionality of the camper over time as I get to know it. In the past (with this Tacoma), I've tried a fiberglass canopy (too cramped), a slide-in camper (PITA), and a 16' Casita trailer (too much rig for me). I'm hoping the Lone Peak is just right after dialing it in.

Here's the camper, brand new at the factory in Wenatchee, WA:


The camper is serial number 802, optioned with the 520w solar panel, rear grab handles, and one MOLLE panel for my electrical gear. I opted for the white side out on all of the panels. The black side out does look cooler, but the white side out will be thermally cooler. After spending over $7k on the unit and waiting three months, I was not impressed to have to pay another $30 for the little locks that keep the honest thieves out of the roof...

As of writing this post, the camper has been installed for seven days and I've had it on a two-nighter beach trip. So far it's been decent. The setup was a breeze and the mattress is pretty comfortable and a full-sized fitted sheet from Walmart went on there OK. The biggest things missing at the beach were interior lights and a better heating solution than a Little Buddy. Upon packing up, it was a little annoying to have to remove my blankets in order to put the lid down without forcing it. More research is needed, but I have a mod in mind that may help with this.

Driving-wise, there's a little more wind noise and a little more body roll. I can tell that the rear is bouncing off of my Timbren bump stops sometimes, but it's not so bad to make upgrading the rear leafs a priority at the moment.

MPG's so far:
Back from Wenatchee, lots of big hills, 180 miles: 16.5.
Beach trip, 500 miles round trip, pretty flat: 19 out and 20 back.

Let's talk a build-out plan!
-Lights (it's dark in there)
-Everything electric besides the solar panel
-Fridge
-Heat (diesel, probably)
-Induction cooker (this ain't your grandpa's camper)
-Insulation
-Leaf springs
-??

Since I still need to use the pickup for pickup stuff, my plan is to build an appliance cage out of generic 80/20 that rides over the right wheel well and bolts in to the bed rail channel. The materials are on the way, so hopefully I measured and designed the cage properly! It all should be easily removable in a short amount of time. I used ideabuilder.io on my laptop in the back of the pickup while taking measurements with a tape measure to design the cage.

The cage:


Electrics-wise, I wanted to do it mostly myself, but the big solar panel installed all neat and tidy at the factory was hard to pass on. Other than that, I already have two 100ah LiFe batteries, a 60 amp charge controller, 35l DC fridge, and a 2000w inverter to throw at the build. Some giant welding cables and a jumbo crimper showed up today, so I'll be spending this evening temporarily getting some of those components working and roughed in. I'm going to skip a DC-DC charger for now because I suspect the 520w solar panel will be plenty.

Stay tuned for progress and more pictures!

 

It's time for an update before I head out camping this weekend.

Charge controller: Renogy Rover Li 60amp
Batteries: 2x Wattcycle 100ah trolling
Fridge: ICECO VL35ProS (The lid opens from the outside and the inside!)

I've temped in the charging system, batteries, fridge, and lights.

Check it out, my first 2/0 crimp job!


The electric panel is coming along, with temporary wiring. Eventually the fuse block will have a dedicated feed coming off of the big circuit breaker for the inverter. For now since the amp draw is so low, it's coming off of the 6-gauge battery charging cable. The breaker is there to protect the system from the charge controller.

The charge controller required some holes to be drilled in the MOLLE panel to make it straight. The other things I mounted through the existing holes with fender washers.


I'm not in love with these lights, they're just a 5 meter strip of el-cheapo LEDs from eBay. The strip is wired in to a dimmer switch, but at full brightness it's just enough light. Better than nothing, so it stays for now. If I keep these for much more time, I'll wire in a plain old switch. The fridge is running and wired up how I had planned. Eventually it will sit above the wheel well, cradled in the future appliance cage.


More to come!

 

Bummer, the LP seemed roomier than the GFC or SP. The larger tent just takes up more space (the structure for the kick out)? I'm not asking to keep my wife's couch pillow collection up there, just want a light weight summer sleeping bag up there, or blankets.

 

That's surprising. The LP tent section is almost two inches thicker than that of the SP and GFC, and I would've figured it could hold more bedding. My 7.5-inch thick wedge RTT also closes with bedding (two sheets, comforter, poncho liner, two pillows, mostly deflated foam-air mattress) without issues. Was the air mattress fully deflated?

 

At the factory the dude told me to keep the bedding less than 1" thick. The problem is that the tent extension bar can push against the roof panel and damage the seal. The two times I've had it out now, it's been more convenient to grab my wad of blankets and throw them below than to actually make the bed up neat... My comforter and wool blanket would most likely pack in there just fine if I was less lazy!

I want to modify the tent bar by either making it telescoping or removable, which would allow for much more stuffage without a single pressure point against the roof.

 

Interesting. I really do like the LP, but the height (31.5" above the bedrails) makes it just a little too tall to fit in the parking deck at my work. It's really too bad, given that it's got a very high bang for the buck in terms of features.