Overland set up questions

[Jim Caruso]

New 2020 Raptor owner. I have a fare amount of off-road experience. Most with a 1979 Bronco (loved that truck,) 94 Defender 90, and on two wheels with a BMW 1250 GSA. I want to set the Raptor up with few things. Im thinking a chase rack with light actuator that works with the Retrax XR cover if possible. Also an onboard air compressor, winch up front. Most overlanding with be in the mountains in Idaho. I also have a Patriot X3 camper I will be towing sometimes. Any advise on this and any other accessories I should have would be very much appreciated.

 

[zombiekiller]

I'd recommend against a chase rack ( like the ADD offerings).

The aluminum beds flex. Adding a steel chase rack will almost certainly cause the aluminum to crack with consistent offroad use.

I like A-Pillar lights as an alternative. You won't be going fast enough while overlanding to need more than they'll provide. you can supplement with some bumper lights.

You'll probably want adjustable collars to bring the nose of the truck up a bit. the ride height will suffer from an aftermarket bumper.

To run a winch, you'll need a new intercooler.

I'd probably mount an air compressor on a built right panel either in the bed or behind the passenger rear seatback.

lastly, the bed isn't waterproof and won't be, no matter what you do.

 

[Sgt Beavis]

new winch = $$$$$
Zombiekiller is right about waterproofing but a Diamondback cover can get you closer to that than most covers.

 

[Jim Caruso]

Thanks for the feed back guys!!!! Good advice

 

[DINOZR]

FWIW, I recently drove my 19 on a round trip of about 500 miles over a long weekend. It rained off and on literally the whole weekend, including the drive home. When we got home I inspected my bedrug thoroughly to see if I could find any wet spots that would indicate my Bakflip MX4 was leaking. The only place I found was the crease at the bottom of the tailgate where the tailgate transitions to the floor of the bed. All together, I was very pleased with how well the MX4 kept water out of the bed. I'm not naive enough to call it waterproof. But it is 100% good enough to keep my gear perfectly dry all weekend while in the rain.

 

[Joshua Krueger]

I would hook up your camper and see how much the rear end sags. You might want some deavers springs out back.

 

[TurboTJ]

I would highly recommend a Diamondback bed cover instead. You can mount racks to it or just strap down your load on top. Way more useful than one that can’t take load. I’m planning to mount a chase rack to mine

 

[GordoJay]

I would highly recommend a Diamondback bed cover instead. You can mount racks to it or just strap down your load on top. Way more useful than one that can’t take load. I’m planning to mount a chase rack to mine

Aren't those pretty heavy? And getting the weight up high by putting a load on top isn't good for handling. I've done quite a lot of camping in mine and have found that the 1200lb payload limit restricts my options in a hurry. I have to put the water and coolers in the back seat to keep weight forward enough to keep from ruining my rear springs when I run with 1000lb or more. That also keeps the weight low and the hit to handling is reduced. You cannot put 1200lb in the bed and expect the rear leaf springs to survive.

 

[GhostRHR]

I overland my Raptor, and currently run a 2nd "house" battery, and Dometic Fridge in the bed with a retrax Pro XR with a Front runner rack and iKamper tent. i'm going to be running a ARB Dual Air compressor in the bed as well. lighting i'm more than likely just going with SDHQ A-pillar mounts with XL80 ambers. I was planning on running vpracing fuel cans but unfortunately they don't fit under the bedcover (about 1/2" too tall) so i have to figure that out. I own an overlanding business so i have access to lots of options but this is my personal setup if it helps.

 

[TurboTJ]

Aren't those pretty heavy? And getting the weight up high by putting a load on top isn't good for handling. I've done quite a lot of camping in mine and have found that the 1200lb payload limit restricts my options in a hurry. I have to put the water and coolers in the back seat to keep weight forward enough to keep from ruining my rear springs when I run with 1000lb or more. That also keeps the weight low and the hit to handling is reduced. You cannot put 1200lb in the bed and expect the rear leaf springs to survive.

OP mentioned a Retrax cover, which appear to be 90lbs. Diamondback is 70lbs for both panels plus struts and center. Probably less than 90lbs overall and you can walk on it! Then with a retrax, you need a rack on top to put cargo on (you cannot mount directly to the cover) so it would be heavier.

Being able to walk on it gives you a way to load a rack over the cab, a spot to put your cooler or in my case, a way to transport stuff to my place in the mountains without losing my weatherproof storage in the bed. We have two German Shepard’s in the back seat so cargo spade is at a premium.

For example, we cut down our own Christmas tree. Normally this would mean putting our luggage in the bed with the tree meaning our luggage gets wet and covered with tree sap. Now, I just tie the Christmas tree to the bed cover and load stuff in the bed like normal keeping it dry and clean. Problem solved!

No matter what you do, you have to figure out the cargo weight limit. Easiest seems like Deaver HDs but that is a discussion for somewhere else.


Right now, my plan is for my spare mounted to the diamondback and a winch where the spare was. I may but a tent on a rack above the bed cover leaving more cargo space above the bed cover but below the tent.

I am not so worried about center of gravity since it’s not that much higher than what is in the bed. You want to avoid heavy weight far away from the Cg (in the vertical direction). Yes, it will hurt the Cg but I don’t see a way around this.