Alu-Cab Canopy Camper Roll Call

[Steven_B]

Like many have said, the Dickinson is a game changer. Came in handy last week in the below freezing weather when I was working on the interior of the camper. Looking forward to using it in the wild on the way too and at King of the Hammers in a few weeks time. Anyone else do any mods/upgrades to their campers the past couple of weeks?

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[flipboltz]

Like many have said, the Dickinson is a game changer. Came in handy last week in the below freezing weather when I was working on the interior of the camper. Looking forward to using it in the wild on the way too and at King of the Hammers in a few weeks time. Anyone else do any mods/upgrades to their campers the past couple of weeks?

This is what I wanted to hear. I am about 90% on pulling the trigger to add this. What about propane usage?

 

[Steven_B]

This is what I wanted to hear. I am about 90% on pulling the trigger to add this. What about propane usage?

According to the manual the came with it, burn rate is 5 hours per lb on the high setting and 7 hours per pound on the low setting. I have a 10 lbs bottle mounted to the back and a small 5 pound Ignik bottle as a backup and wont make every trip so I think I will be good. I think this unit is designed for up to a 30ft boat lol.

 

[Mac Attack]

The current status of my Mojave and ACCC build:
LOD front and rear bumpers
LOD slider/steps
LOD lights in rear bumper
Genesis dual battery system with Victron solar controller and 180 panels.
3” JKS lift
Falcon steering stabilizer
ARB dual compressor under passenger seat
Air Lift air bags
AluCab canopy camper
AluCab 270 awning
Expedition Essentials stove
Dometic fridge (in the garage right now)
Warn 10s winch
Rancho diff skids (powder coated to match Mojave orange)
ARB Shackles (powder coated to match Mojave orange)
Hellwig anti sway bar
Brandmotion rearview mirror
Custom camera mount
lots of small crap

It gets 35” Geolander XATs, Fuel Beasts and Fox Elite 2.5s this week. I hate to replace the rear Mojave shocks but the camper and all the other crap with it adds enough weight that it bounces going to the highway.

The fans help a lot during the summer. The white one pulls air in through the side window and the dual black fans push it on us. I plan to relocate the dual fans to the top of the trap door next spring but will need to come up with a quick release mount so I can move it when the camper is packed.

The boxes hold the dry food goods and recovery gear. The 80/20 framing holds the boxes and the cookware. I looked at Goose Gear and really like it, but it was too restrictive for our use. The boxes allow us to pack the food box in the house and move it as needed. The recovery gear box can be moved to our JL. GG would not allow flexibility.

The boxes also create a nice couch for when it is too cold out or bunches of mosquitos.

i plan to move the propane tank to the right side of the truck. We usually have bikes on the back and I am tired of hitting my head on the tank bracket. At that point I will also rin the gas into the camper and have a quick release on the outside. That will allow me to power the buddy heater without using 1lb tanks and more easily run gas to the stove. We live in South Carolina and have camped when the temps are on the teens. The buddy heater has been fine so I see no reason for a Dickinson or other heater. It is unlikely we will camp when it is colder than that.

The utensil holder was several iterations in the making. We bought one that did not suffice so my wife remade it. It was better but she finally started from scratch and came up with this one. There are a few things that could be better, but it is pretty darn good now.

Did you build the aluminum extrusion system yourself? Like it...probably very light weight and simple.

 

[Mtpisgah]

Did you build the aluminum extrusion system yourself? Like it...probably very light weight and simple.

Yes, I built the rack myself. It took a couple of iterations to determine what we really wanted. The first one had across the bulkhead area and then we moved it to the side. The pot And pan storage took some experimenting to see what worked best.

 

[813 Fabrication & Design]

I have the same suspension as you (but the diesel version) and installing the Hellwig tonight. Out of curiosity, what setting do you have it in? They say to start with the middle hole, but I know I am pretty heavy so I may just jump to the stiffest hole to start.

FYI - I heard a rumor that that AEV will soon be releasing the higher capacity springs for the Gladiator.

I went with the stiffest setting when I installed mine.

 

[813 Fabrication & Design]

I started with the stiff settIng but want to switch to the easy setting, drive for a while, and move to the medium and then back to the stiff setting just to see the effect. I am sure stiff is the way to go, but every truck is different and the roads I drive may be different from others. Experimenting can be fun.

I had 35” tires installed today. Also had Fox Elite 2.5s installed. I will drive around a bit tomorrow just to see how it handles and if the bouncing stops.

I have the Fox 2.5s ready to install. I am waiting on a set of heavy duty Dobinson springs. How do you like the 2.5s so far?

 

[Mtpisgah]

I have the Fox 2.5s ready to install. I am waiting on a set of heavy duty Dobinson springs. How do you like the 2.5s so far?

I think they are helping some, I am going to have the fronts installed too.
I am excited to hear about how the Dobinson springs do. They will be on my list as long as they are not too stiff.

 

[813 Fabrication & Design]

I think they are helping some, I am going to have the fronts installed too.
I am excited to hear about how the Dobinson springs do. They will be on my list as long as they are not too stiff.

I just received them today. I am going to have a local shop install everything since they will be adding some Steer Smarts components also and need to do an alignment.

 

[Steven_B]

Anyone have a short rack installed on their freedom panels utilizing the gutters? I have been thinking about grabbing a JCR rack and cutting it to length to fit and use for firewood or lightweight gear and also act as a wind deflector. I haven't really noticed any wind noise, but after seeing how many bugs splatter on the camper this past summer, I am wondering if a wind deflector would help push air up and over.

 

[Moriarty]

Anyone have a short rack installed on their freedom panels utilizing the gutters? I have been thinking about grabbing a JCR rack and cutting it to length to fit and use for firewood or lightweight gear and also act as a wind deflector. I haven't really noticed any wind noise, but after seeing how many bugs splatter on the camper this past summer, I am wondering if a wind deflector would help push air up and over.

I plan to do the same thing.
Bob has done the cut down JCR, jt_rdb on Instagram.
Also, one of the Goose gear employees has done the same to his JT.

Please post pics if you take on the project. Safe travels

 

[Redruby]

I have a soft top on my gladiator and since installing the alu cab I had very strong air turbulence and I’ve added a custom aluminum wind deflector that I made out of 1/4” aluminum flat stock and welded some reinforcements to eliminate flexing of the aluminum, and it has eliminated over 95% of the air turbulence

 

[Mtpisgah]

Interesting solution. Now that you have that, you might as well mount some lights to it. Can you still open the top?

I really wanted to get a sun rider top to replace the freedom panels but between you and Jeremy commenting on the turbulence and noise, I guess I will keep my panels.

 

[Redruby]

To answer your question Paul no I can’t open the top and I’ve ordered a 50” light bar and the deflector will be power coated a semi gloss black

 

[813 Fabrication & Design]

Interesting solution. Now that you have that, you might as well mount some lights to it. Can you still open the top?

I really wanted to get a sun rider top to replace the freedom panels but between you and Jeremy commenting on the turbulence and noise, I guess I will keep my panels.

Yes, I would have loved to keep the top, but it was really bad.

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