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I did not. I paid under invoice. Bought it Iowa and then made it a small road trip back to California. Check out Granger Ford - I highly recommend them.

Thank you. I will make a video about it. I am sure there are others that want to know as well.

Bowen seems to be the gold standard as it allows to maintain the lowest possible height. There are a few custom flatbed builders in the US and you may be able to find one that is not as expensive. Once I had the flatbed - it is a game changer in my opinion.

Thanks 👍

Thank you for watching my videos. I appreciate it a lot. Yeah, can't wait for my new rig to be complete. The paper towel holder is magnetic. Here is the link: amzn.to/3z3YRlo (affiliate link - thank you for supporting my channel). I used these magnetic parts on the ceiling. They were Ok. amzn.to/3RvTu4w

@@dtadventure4x4 wonderful! I ordered both. Thank you!

Great suggestion. I will address this in another video in detail.

It is a Mits Alloy flatbed.

I got it from Amazon (amzn.to/4cbQSRs). It is the Joytutus Spare Tire Trash Bag, but it was easy to attach to the Molle panel. It is a bit more compact and narrower compared to many others. I tried a few and returned them.

I think the Bowen Customs flatbed actually saves you weight in comparison to the OEM bed, but not sure if that applies to 8' bed. The 7.3 Godzilla with the 4.30 gears is a beast. I had this on my Tremor and also have it on the new F350 with the longer bed.

The Hawk is pretty cool, but yeah - the slide-in version is really small. The flatbed Hawk is much better in my opinion.

I heard good things about Bison campers and did talk to Drew a few times during my research. Great choice. In regards to insurance I am still researching the best options. It sounds like Progressive has no problems insuring any Bajas, but I am also looking at dedicated RV insurance. Potentially, I may re-register the vehicle as an RV and then get straight out RV insurance. Unfortunately, I am in the middle of moving to another house and that has taken focus and time away from these efforts. Hopefully next week things turn somewhat normal again. We should meet up for a coffee or beer when I am out there.

@@dtadventure4x4 Definitely!I'll try to find a way to message you my number on here. Would be cool to meet up. Ah sorry, I meant insurance once you go to Mexico and beyond. My understanding is finding comprehensive insurance (not just liability only) is quite difficult/super expensive (thousands per month) out of the US on a US registered vehicle. I'll 'only' have about $85k in my rig and I'm still nervous about taking it abroad (Pan Am plans, and Europe) but of course will do. I was just curious as someone who has considerably more invested in their rig would handle that part. Lets touch base when you are out this way, good luck with the move!

@@mack86523 Ah, got it. There is a FB group for Pan Am travelers (PanAmerican Travelers Association). Lots of good information about insurance and a lot of other related topics. There was a company mentioned specifically for Mexico as an example. I'll see if I can find it. Feel free to email me (netservicesusa @ gmail dot com) with your contact info.

Thanks, Chad. I probably could have made the video twice as long haha :-). PS: The new Photoshop features are pretty cool and I was surprised how "it helped me" with the thumbnail picture.

I do not have that info. I will ask Rossmonster when I get there in August, but they require the payload of the F350 for this model of the Baja. From my understanding I should have plenty of payload left when the build is done (`1,000+ lbs.).

Thank you!! :-)

Price. And then on top of that I figured why not make it a small road trip. Granger in Iowa offers great pricing and have an outstanding reputation. I've been following them for a while through one of the Ford Super Duty Tremor forums.

@@dtadventure4x4 yeah that makes sense. I get the road trip part of it. I bought a four-wheeler the same way. I live up in Reno myself but I just went down to San Diego couple weeks ago for the first time ever. I absolutely love that place. Been to LA and a lot of other places but never as far south of San Diego. I get why you live down there stayed up by Mount Laguna

@@dtadventure4x4 forgot to mention the Phil's BBQ that you guys have down there. Absolutely delicious! The best barbecue I've ever had

lol - yeah, I should invest some money into Chevron or Shell haha :-)

Thank you. I have a Rossmonster Baja on order. They will do the entire conversion for me - including Carli suspension, larger wheels/tires, and a few other things. I hoping to take delivery at the end of September or early October.

More details coming soon. I did order a Rossmonster Baja. Been super excited and can't wait for taking delivery.

The paper towel holder is magnetic and I stuck two matching phone magnetic backplates to the ceiling. I used those for some magnetic, rechargeable lights as well.

@@dtadventure4x4 Thanks!

If I would be just out there adventuring - my previous rig was perfect for that. Even full-time adventuring and travel. And maybe I am overly critical about why I sold the rig. Of course I could have made this work somehow. It's not that it was impossible, but I still have to work a few years and also want to build a business on the side and that is just where I felt that it would be better to start over. It'll cost me some money and I am aware of that, but I also feel that in the long run a new rig will pay off. I did order a Rossmonster Baja and will make a video about it soon to explain more (a few things (out of my control) in my personal life are changing and I am a bit behind in recording that specific video). Anyway, thank you for watching my video and for leaving a comment. I really appreciate it.

What color would you choose? I picked white because I will be going off-road a lot and feel it is the easiest color from that perspective. My previous rig was black and while it looked great when clean and with no scratches - it lost the shine so quickly.

Don't be surprised. Life is too short to be stuck in a situation that you can change. It takes a leap of faith and courage and trust in yourself to do the right thing. I guess that is how I got here. :-) Anyway, thank you for buying the book and coming here to leave a comment. Habe mich sehr darueber gefreut!!!!! 😀

Thank you. Will look at those when it is all done. Same applies to fender flares.

I am glad I could help. Thank you for watching the video.

You bet!

So, you got history. Very nice!!! If I can get 500K out of this one I would be estatic :-)

Well, I moved from a F250 to a F350. I think for my next one I will skip the F450 and go straight to the F550 ;-)

Oh, yes - I can't wait until the end of September.

I heard more about problems with the latches after I had sold mine. It's a shame - good looking bumper, and then such a disappointment.

Thank you. Yes, it looked nice on the website and on YT before I ordered it, but once I saw it in person - OMG so nice!!!!

I thought about it, but I also wanted the Lariat Ultimate package and bed-delete stops at Lariat :-( and the savings were insignificant.

I have a Rossmonster Baja on order. So, no need for a flatbed and it gives me the advantage of lower overall height when travelling, but having a hardsided shell all around. I looked at the new OEV Hudson Bay that comes as a full shell. Very nice. It was high up on my list, but it would have required a significant amount of upgrades after getting it from OEV. Unfortunately, OEV was not very open for making adjustments to the build and I am just tired of having my rig at the shop. I want to be able to go. Also, with OEV - the flatbed is not included and so the cost was almost identical to the my order at Rossmonster. But Rossmonster is fully incorporating all my required needs right from the get go. So, when I compared pricing and Pros and Cons the OEV was just not there. I admit, I have the need for a lot of electrical related upgrades and that my case is more unique than others, but as mentioned - in my previous rig I went through all those upgrades as I learned more of what I need and I am tired of that.

@@dtadventure4x4 the pass-thru to a rear seat delete would solve our 2 Labrador bed setup and more. I’ve cut thru new material in sprinter van builds to add windows….assuming what Rossmonster does for pass-thru is similar. Is there positive pressure built in while driving to support a dust free seal at the door as well. Looking forward to Overland Expo in hopes that the Baja will be on display. Thx for the info. Going to be amazing build out.

I know. I saw a video over at the TFL CZcams channel where they tested this out. In a few months my MPG will be taking a serious hit when I get the truck converted and upgraded. I won't be driving that much until then, so this thing will have to go so that I can look at the truck in peace 😂😀😎.

Ha, no the new truck has the upfitter switches (just not enough). The old rig did not have them. That old truck I bought of the lot from a dealership. The new one - as you mentioned - is custom ordered and the upfitter switches are included.

Host are ridiculous in my opinion. Way too big. I am planning for a lot of off-roading that goes way beyond a typical forest road. So, no traditional truck camper will really be able to take that type of beating.

Yes, on my F250 I upgraded the tank to the TransferFlow 58 Gallon tank. That was a game changer. This one has 48 Gallons already which will do the trick right out of the box.

Nope. The bed will go away in a few months.

Thank you, but the bed will be removed in a few months.

Yeah, I am super excited about the new build :-)

4.30. But I will carry a lot of weight full-time and think that 4.30 is the best choice for off-roading in that scenario. At the moment, 4.30 makes me think I drive a sportscar. lol

I am planning to make a video about it. I bought some 3M vinyl wrap in 2" and 4" width for this "project"

@@dtadventure4x4 Awesome, I look forward to it!

You got it. It has a ~4-6 week lead time, so I am hoping to have it some time in May. I have some Baja Design LP4s on order as well and will make a combined installation then. Does not make sense to install the LP4s before and then have to re-wire it.

Thank you. In one of my next videos I will talk about what the future build will look like. Make sure you subscribe to get it show up in your feed :-)

@@dtadventure4x4 i was one of your early subs

@@richbowie76 Thank you. I really appreciate that!!!!!

Thank you :-)

On the rig I sold I had the Hellwig sway bar in the rear and it made a dramatic difference. I am not planning for it (yet) on the new rig as I want to drive it first and add it if needed. That is how I did it on my previous rig. You could go with airbags or Timbrens or Sumo Springs to improve the ride. I am going with the Carli Pintop suspension again on the new rig, but will have the XXHD progressive leaf spring pack from Carli + airbags (with cradle).

Thank you. It was a dream build for sure and I wish it would have worked out for me. The rig was fantastic for adventuring, but with every trip I took I realized more and more how limiting it was for being able to do my job and also work on my side business. I am really bummed about it, but I am also not a person that drags this on and on and becomes unhappy. So, once I came to terms with the situation I decided to start over. Life is too short ....