Hi All,
I wanted to introduce my families build.
A bit of background. We use our truck as a support vehicle for just about all the outdoor activities from whitewater rafting to bow hunting with a fair amount of moto, mountain biking and skiing in between. We camp about 30-40 nights a year in the GFC, about 2/3 of those with our 3.5 year old. Over the last 20 years I have had pickups with toppers, two transits, a tundra with a FWC and most recently a Ram 2500 with a GFC. Each has very real pros and cons.
We ordered a 2025 F350 Tremor from Granger Ford. This was the first time specing a brand new vehicle and Granger was great to work with. We ended up with a lariat with a few key features: dual alternators/battery, upfitter switches, tailgate step, vinyl floor (rather than carpet), and adaptive cruise.
We went with the gas powertrain for a few reasons. Primarily maintenance, upfront cost, and most of our towing is <5000lbs (aluminum fishing boat, raft, drift boat). A more difficult factor to characterize is driving feel. I have driven a bunch of diesel full size trucks over the years and I don’t really like the feeling of all the extra weight in the front end, especially when off-road. I never thought I’d call an F350 nimble but the 7.3 is certainly more nimble feeling than the diesel variant.
The truck is spectacular so far, though I am less than impressed with the Goodyear Duratrac tires. More to come on that.
I had the chrome accent on the steps wrapped with PPF. This was purely cosmetic but I didn‘t really like the chrome detail on the step on an otherwise chrome free truck.
Last week I drove to Bozeman to get our GFC put on. This is our second GFC and we love them. Our experience has been that the GFC is light, unobtrusive, and complements our activities rather than forcing us to work around the camper all the time. Our FWC was a good example of this. Great to camp in but kinda terrible for hauling our stuff around. We went with no windows after having one with front and back windows. Mostly they were dirty all the time and let people look at what you have in the bed. We like to drive into Baja and figured less visibility is better. So far no regrets! The install process at GFC was awesome. I’ve had a fantastic experience with both campers.
Our future plans include a few upgrades that I think are high yield. We travel solo a fair amount and do enjoy spending time in baja. Maxtrax for sure and likely a winch are coming. I am leaning toward the Ford/Warn factory option. I tend to favor OEM where I can, especially with a brand new vehicle.
I have spent a ton of time researching Carli suspension and may eventually go that route. I am interested in the new fox 2.5 performance with HTO. This would get me some better heat dissipation without a lift, which on this truck I definitely don’t feel like I need.
I am also working on a storage system for the back. We have run decked drawers in our last few vehicles and love their product though I think there is some opportunity to make it work better for our needs. I spent the last few months while waiting for the truck designing a drawer, fridge, water, battery system that will bolt in using factory threaded locations. Ford was generous with sharing their CAD data and I anticipate fitment will be near perfect. These drawers are being built with 0.100 aluminum, formed by a local sheet metal manufacturer that works on projects for the aerospace industry. I’ll get more CAD images uploaded once the design is final. I have a few things to check now that the truck and topper are here.
I have learned a ton on the GFC forum over the years and want to share my own project. Hopefully it helps someone else!
