Spaceship-esque Ford F-350 pickup truck is a rare modded engineering feat
- This Ford F-350 truck camper is a modified feat of engineering
- It was designed as a cut-price homage to the luxury EarthRoamer truck camper
- However, the engineer behind it invested a lot of time and energy into the year-long project
Published on May 07, 2024 at 3:47 PM (UTC+4)
by Amelia Jean Hershman-Jones
Last updated on May 09, 2024 at 6:25 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Tom Wood
This Ford F-350 truck camper is a modified feat of engineering that looks out of this world.
It was designed as an homage to the luxury EarthRoamer truck camper.
And so, the enthusiast named simply as ‘Andy from the Czech Republic’ made a ‘homemade’ and ‘off-road-ish’ version for a far smaller price.
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Instead of cold-hard cash, Andy’s investment, as documented on YouTube by TFLnow, was in hours and energy spent.
He worked full-time on the rig for a year due to the complexity of the project.
He used the 2008 Ford F-350 with a 6.4-liter engine as his base.
Heavy-duty trucks are rarer in Europe and modification regulations on mobile homes are tighter than they are across the Atlantic in the US.
Andy spent $33,000 on the second-hand pickup that had 25,750 km (16,000 miles) on the clock.
A fraction of the cost of the $1.1 million off-road EarthRoamer RV that’s perfect for a zombie apocalypse.
And it’s not the only vehicle that is claimed to be capable of giving its owner a fighting chance in the end days, like the Tesla Cybertruck.
It cost a third of the price of a brand-new 2024 model, which is far more expensive in Europe than across the pond.
His reasons for choosing the Ford F-350 were simple: he was planning a North American tour, and parts and servicing were easier there.
Andy removed the truck’s original bed and installed an enormous camper box with two large slide-outs that looks like it could be fiberglass.
That means that the unique box opens upwards as well as outwards – offering more bang for your buck space-wise.
While it’s unique, it has nothing on this school bus that was transformed into the coolest western-themed home on wheels.
At the mere touch of a button, the roof is lifted by four linear motors in 30 seconds to bring the interior height to 188 cm (6’2″).
It sits on airbags to absorb the vibrations of normal driving and off-roading, allowing the camper to remain level on a slope.
At the rear, Andy had to install a hinged bumper because of European regulations to protect fellow drivers from the sharp angle of the back of the box that can be lifted to 45 degrees for a bigger departure angle.
The camper’s spaceship-like hatch entrance sits above this bumper that, at the time of filming, was only accessible via a step ladder.
On the exterior, you’ll find storage compartments for tools, Maxtrax traction boards, plus the electrical system.
The electrics comprise 400 Ah batteries and a DC-DC charger that charges as you drive.
The truck camper weighs in at just 5,897 kg (13,000 lb), which is the maximum payload.
Andy claims he gets about 24 L/100 km (9.8 MPG) when it comes to fuel economy.
Inside the interiors are more focused on function than form, with the steel frame still visible.
It boasts a bedroom with a large bed and a bug net in the front part of the camper box, a two-person workstation, a kitchen – including a stainless steel sink, a 95-liter Domestic fridge/freezer box, and a two-burner induction stove.
The bathroom, meanwhile, features another sink with an extendable faucet that can serve as a shower head, a urine-separating composting toilet, and a shower pan that can use the rig’s 38-gallon (144-liter) freshwater tank.
Most of the floor panels lift to reveal storage space beneath, and Andy claims he will be adding more windows to his design.
He estimates the conversion, including the base Ford F-350, cost approximately $180,000.
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All Supercar Blondie contributors undergo editorial review and fact-checking to ensure accuracy and authority in automotive journalism. After gaining her BA Hons in French and English at the University of Nottingham, Amelia embarked on a vocational diploma from the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ). This led to numerous opportunities, from interning at Vogue to being on the small team that launched Women’s Health magazine in the UK, which was named the PPA Consumer magazine of the year for three years running. As Health, Beauty and Fitness editor, Amelia personally received a Johnson & Johnson Award and was shortlisted for both PPA and BSME titles. Since then, Amelia has created content for numerous titles and brands, including the Telegraph, 111 Skin, Waitrose, Red magazine, Stylist, and Elle, as well as being Head of Content at Vitality and Editor in Chief at INLondon magazine. “My superpower is translating technical jargon about the mechanical workings of a supercar into a relatable story you’ll want to share with your friends after you’ve read it.” After joining the SB Media family as a senior journalist in September of 2023, Amelia’s role has evolved to see her heading up the SEO output of the editorial team. From researching the most ‘Google-able’ key terms to producing evergreen content - it’s been a time of hard work, growth, and success for the editorial team and the Supercar Blondie website. “I like to think of myself as a ‘method journalist’. In other words: I live and breathe whatever I am writing about. When writing about fitness, I trained as a personal trainer, and as a beauty editor, I completed an ‘expert’ in scent diploma with the Fragrance Foundation. “During my tenure at Supercar Blondie, however, I did something I never thought possible: I passed my driving test at the age of 36. One day I’d love to train as a mechanic to better understand what happens under the hood, too. “My sweet spot is providing readers with a ‘takeaway’ (read: something new they didn’t know before) after reading every one of my stories. While I don’t claim to be an expert in the automotive world, I know the experts and bodies in the field to rely on to provide our readers with an informative and thought-provoking story every time they visit the site.”
