Here are some pictures of the completed F350. It’s been a fair amout of work with a few headaches along the way, but we’re pleased with the outcome. Best of all, we made our deadline and will be able to camp this summer!
At last! The camper still needs a lot of TLC, but is fully functional. We’d rather put it to use and work on it as we go, rather than start a full-blown restoration and postpone camping for another year.We’re still hoping to have the side emblem/sticker reproduced. In the meantime, I created my own by hand cutting one out of vinyl. Better than nothing.Much of the interior is still original. Dad had installed a clear protective seat cover when the truck was new. It did a good job of keeping the seat like new over the years. I replaced the clear cover. I wonder if it will be good for another 42 years?The headliner didn’t fare too well. I created a new one out of matching vinyl. It’s ok, but I’m not all that pleased with my job. My sewing skills aren’t there, yet.I’d added the tilt and cruise in 1980, since Ford didn’t offer them in ’73.Here’s the period correct clear cover. Nothing quite like searing hot vinyl in the summer, but it does a pretty good job of saving the factory upholstery.An insane amount of effort went into the bed. It had hundreds of dents from years of abuse as my shop truck.Ready for a final sanding before the paint.Almost all of the trim is original. It’s in amazing shape for the age. Wish I could say the same for myself.Bed has been prepped and first color appliedI straightened as many dents as I could, but still had to rely on plastic filler. This thing was a mess.Almost time to reinstall the bed. Seems like it took forever to reach this stage.I’m so thankful vehicles don’t have a rust issue in the southwest. I won’t be able to say the same once I start on our blue truck. I’m not looking forward to dealing with the rust.It felt so good to drive again after almost 2 years. The truck runs and drives like a new one. It was well worth the effort.
I came across this link and it made me hungry! I’m certain we’ll be trying out at least a few of these tempting recipes this summer!
Let’s start a recipe page and share some of our tried and true dishes for camping!
If you’d care to share any of your favorite recipes, please email them to me and I’ll post them. I’ll be rounding up some our longtime favorites and sharing on the site. In the meantime, please check out the link below. I think I need to go raid the refrigerator. All this talk made me hungry!
The truck is getting closer to completion. I’m almost through with the front 1/2 of the vehicle, and then I’ll tackle the bed. The project is finally becoming fun. These always drag on and on. And on.
Ive added a few more pictures below. I hope to finish the interior over the next couple of days.
Thank you for checking out our page! We have added a new camper to the registry on the main site. Chris from Minneapolis submitted his camper and story. Please check it out if you have a moment.
Happy Camping!
Tony & Michelle
Here’s the front 1/2 of the F350, stripped again, and bodywork roughed in.Bodywork completed and given a couple coats of PPG epoxy primerGray two component primer surfacer applied on top of epoxy. Then added a black guide coat to help see what I’m doing when I block sand it out.Ready for the black paint.The truck will now be 2-tone black and red. Here’s the first color.It feels so good to clean and detail the pieces as they go back on. I’m finally getting to the fun part, where you can see the efforts pay off. I want this to be finished in the worst way. Want to go camping!
…and now the second color has been appliedIt’s always fun to see the project start to come together. Still a long way to go. I need to paint the bed and finish assembling the truck. Maybe in a couple of months, it will be ready for the camper and the mountains!It’s my understanding that the DOT requires clearance lights on vehicles 80″ and wider. Although the camper itself has these, more had to be more fun, right? Although new to this truck, these are the exact lamps it could’ve been ordered with, in their correct locations.The original headliner had delaminated and disintegrated. I did my best to recreate the original, but my upholstery skills are still lacking. At least it’s not flapping in the breeze.All the interior is lacking at this point are the seat belts and seat. Should be back together today!
Before the American Road Camper, there was the Goldline. It, too, was sold exclusively through Ford dealers and was designed specifically for the Ford pickup. Unlike the AR camper’s fiberglass shell, the Goldline was constructed out of ABS plastic. I have never seen one in person. If you have any stories or pictures, please send them in and I’ll add them to this page.
Thanks to Mark @ onceuponapart.com for providing the Goldline literature!
If you're interested in the American Road Camper, you've come to the right place! Come on in!
