Hi Everyone,
Meet BigRed! He is a 2004 Chevy 2500HD and was purchased in Oct. 21’ as a daily driver/work truck. Being an independent BMW mechanic and owning a shop, I needed a heavy duty work horse that could haul parts, tow heavy and be comfortable doing so.
My intention wasn’t to turn this into a adventure mobile, but youtube is a terrible place for inspiration. One rabbit hole led to another, and the modifying began.
How the truck looked for 2 years. It had an old, color matched LEER canopy. I loved this look and honestly miss it from time to time.
I added a decked drawer to house all of my daily essentials, while doubling as a sleeping platform. This phase worked well while my kiddo was still an infant. It had it’s downsides, which we quickly learned.
We camped like this for a year. It was fun and it made exploring easier, but we weren’t as comfortable as we’d like to be. The kiddo was getting bigger and we were getting more obsessive with exploring the outdoors and having the capability to go to more remote places.
More modifications, that have ‘Go Fast’ energy lol
Then one night, I stumbled upon GFC via facebook. The ad was simple and the seed was set. It was almost insidious. The more I saw the ad, the more I realized it was the perfect solution for my application. It kept my truck usable for truck things, while integrating everything I wanted out of a camper setup. I pitched it to the wife, she thought it was a great idea as well, and we pulled the trigger!
We made the trip from Seattle, Washington to Bozeman during January 23’. The roadtrip was a blast, and getting to spend time in Montana was a treat.
In love!
Added a fan, since condensation was pretty bad.
Rough Country 270’ awning installed utilizing GFC universal awning brackets.
Other than my truck, I love BMW E30s! This is my 1990 BMW 320i Mtech 2. Imported from Japan. This will be receiving an S54 engine swap from an E46 M3 for any BMW nerds out there. I’ll be undertaking that project once summer season ends.
The GFC has been such an asset for my family. My daughter calls it the “Camp house”, and we utilize it any chance we can get. Our most favorite past time is going to the beach, grabbing fish and chips, and watching trains drive by.
Camping in the cascades
We are now entering Phase 3 of the GFC Build which included removing the Decked drawer system and going back to an empty bed. My one quip with my setup was being able to spend time in the bed. In my opinion, the decked drawer takes up too much vertical real estate. And after installing the decked drawer, I wasn’t capable of transporting engines anymore due to height restrictions. I just purchased a ‘BedRug’. After reading reviews and seeing what it’s capable of, it seems like a great product to really tie the interior of the camper together. And with us trying to utilize the bed more while camping, it should be a perfect companion with the GFC.
More updates to come!