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DurOverlander: For Whatever Pops Up

After working overseas, Brad Boschetto returned to the USA, retired, and put plans in motion for an ultimate truck and camper rig. That journey led him to Phoenix Campers, a Nuthouse, some BoonDockers, and a little Lunar Rock. This rig is ready for whatever.

Duroverlander Overland Camper Rig

We met Brad Boschetto at Overland Expo Mountain West last year and stopped in our tracks at his side-entry Phoenix Camper pop-up camper and Chevy Silverado 2500HD Duramax flatbed build.

First, it’s rare to see a truck, camper, and flatbed combination that’s so tightly coordinated in design, color, and detail. And second, the pop-up roof looked especially tall. Brad explained that his camper was a custom build by the team at Phoenix Campers, and that he did indeed ask for an especially tall pop-up.

As we looked closer at the truck and camper, more and more unique facets emerged. The truck had been tricked out stem-to-stern. The flatbed was made by a company called NutHouse Industries, a vendor we had never heard of before. The camper looked like a Phoenix Level 2 flatbed, but had a number of interesting custom changes and design choices. Finally, the paint job was simply stunning. Even at Overland Expo, this camper truly stood out.

When we asked Brad about all of the above, the build story was even better than the camper before us. That’s our cue to ask for an interview, and Brad was game.

DIY Area Overland Expo Mountain West

Above: This is where we met Brad; at the DIY Area Overland Expo Mountain West

Tell us the story of how you were first introduced to truck campers.

I started camping with my family as early as I can remember. Camping was simply a family thing. In 1978, I was a full-time starving college student and part-time carpenter in Anchorage, Alaska. I bought a 1972 Chevy LUV pickup from a municipality auction and built a camper shell out of scrapped job site materials. Since then, I’ve owned a Bigfoot, Alaskan, and now a Phoenix pop-up camper.

Duroverlander Side Profile

That’s a wide range of camper brands and types. What led you to choose a Phoenix pop-up for your latest camper?

I spent five years working overseas without a camper. During that time, I planned my return to truck camping when I retired. I love the concept of pop-ups for their lighter weight, better fuel efficiency, and lower overhead clearance. My first pop-up was an Alaskan. Then I decided to downsize and became fond of the Four Wheel Campers. However, during that research process, I met Rob and Cari Rowe at their Commerce City facility and felt their fully custom-built approach was the way to go.

Duroverlander Phoenix Camper

What aspects of your Phoenix Camper build is custom?

When working with Rob, I asked for a couple of key things. First, I wanted a comfortable bed that I could sit up in without hunching and plenty of storage. That’s why my camper is the highest pop-up camper I’ve ever seen.

Second, I wanted a side entry design. I took Phoenix’s basic flatbed design and worked with Rob on the layout. Of course, there are only so many floor plan variations you can do in a truck camper.

Inside Phoenix Camper Silverware Storage

My key design driver was storage. There’s under and side bed storage for the queen bed.

Phoenix Camper Underbed Storage In Duroverlander

Phoenix Camper Side Storage Area

There’s a storage area above the water tank below the step to the bunk area, a vanity above the refrigerator with a mirror, and a cabinet above the sink with a drop-down spice rack.

Phoenix Camper Refrigerator And Storage Overtop

There are also two storage areas beneath the dinette seating with outside access and two more in the floor.

Phoenix Camper Storage Under Dinette Foot

I selected a manufactured solid surface countertop that looks like marble. I have industrialized rubber floor tiles with round spots (think ice rink/airport). I went with birch wood for the cabinets, sage-colored laminate on the inside walls, and color-coordinated interior fabric. The design included space for a cassette-style toilet and shower combination.

Phoenix Camper Bathroom Area

Tell us about your electrical system.

There are 740-watts of standard house solar panels on the roof installed by BoonDockers Power Company of Cottonwood, Arizona. They also designed my control systems using Victron components and 320-amp hours of lithium batteries. There is a 3,000-watt inverter in the camper and a 1,000-watt inverter in the truck cab that supplies power to the cab and the rear end of the flatbed.

2007 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 HD Classic Duramax

Phoenix offers custom paint as part of their option list. Did you have your truck and camper painted by Phoenix?

The first challenge was the color choice. Much of the build happened during Covid so there weren’t a lot of vehicles on dealer lots to look at. Through that process, I fell in love with Toyota’s color called Lunar Rock, and opted for a matching truck and camper.

I had a hard time finding someone to paint my truck. The body shops have mostly gotten away from custom paint jobs. Eventually, I met a kid with vehicle painting experience who needed work. He was a friend of a local body shop and offered to paint my truck. There were quite a few dings on my truck and body trim to remove when he started.

Fender Flares New Chevy 2500

He sanded the truck and did the body work in my garage. It was his idea for details like the fender flare bolts and the front emblem matching the truck and camper color. In the end, the process did not go according to schedule and it cost twice as much as I had wanted to spend, but he did an exceptional job.

Phoenix Campers has a place to paint their campers so I matched the truck color. Painting the truck was expensive and kind of stupid given the first thing I’ll do is scratch it up, but I love the way it looks. When buying coffee in Ouray, Colorado one day, I had dozens of people walk up just to look at the rig.

Duramax Diesel

You didn’t stop at a paint job for your truck. Tell us about that transformation.

The 2005 to 2007 Chevrolet Silverado Duramax is among, if not, the finest trucks ever made. Mine is a 2007 Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD Classic. It’s a four-wheel drive, diesel, extended cab, standard bed truck. I selected the extended cab to retain some space in the cab and the shorter bed to reduce the overall length. I rebuilt much of the truck, but it still has the original 6.6L diesel and much of the drivetrain.

Duroverlander Truck Dash

For the truck interior, Industrial Custom Interiors of Chandler, Arizona did a complete refurbish with new heated leather seats, headliner, and carpet, as well as a custom switch/gauge panel and a new stereo system. I removed the rear seat and built a storage box to hold tools, clothing, the sound system, and the 1,000-watt power converter.

Back Seat Storage Box Chevy 2500 Truck

To complete the exterior and suspension, there’s a 4-inch lift, 33-inch tires, rear air bag suspension, fender flares, a pre-runner style bumper with a 12,000-pound winch, two sets of lights in the front, one set of lights in the rear, a gooseneck ball hitch, automatic running boards, a larger fuel tank, and a fly rod holder.

Flatbed Chevy 2500 Structure

You also converted the truck to a flatbed. How did that process go?

The supply chain issue during the build made it difficult find anyone to do the things I wanted including boxes and improved departure angle. Then I found Nuthouse Industries in Morrow, Ohio online. I liked what I saw on their website and had a fun conversation with Ryan on the phone. I said, “I’d like to do this, and this, and this” and Ryan said “Okay”. When I asked them about building the rear storage rack, Ryan said, “We’ve never done that, but we’ll figure it out.”

Flatbed Chevy 2500

The guys at Nuthouse were the best part of my truck build. They were fun, competent, and just the nicest people. They also did some of the finest welding I’ve ever seen. They did exactly what I wanted, and did it better than I had imagined.

My flatbed has five storage compartments; two on each side and one long storage box across the rear. The long storage compartment works well for tow straps and soft hardware for vehicle recovery. All of the compartments lock.

5th Wheel Gooseneck Chevy 2500

There’s a picture of your bed with a box lid in the middle. What is that?

I put in a B&W Turnoverball Hitch so that I have the option to haul a gooseneck trailer when the camper is off. That lid allows access and I put in an offset hitch.

Fifth Wheel Access

Duroverlander Nuthouse Back Rack

Where did you get your rear tray?

The rear tray was my idea. The guys at Nuthouse built it. They modeled it after a bumper hitch cargo rack.

The tray holds my spare tire, a generator, extra fuel, a 42-quart cooler, firewood, a fire pan, and Rotopax fuel containers. It’s about 400 pounds.

Rather than one receiver point we used two to spread out the load. This load is directly on the flatbed rather than the camper wall. Each receiver point has tension bolts so the rack doesn’t rattle. At various places on the rack, there is a 1-inch long L-track to secure the load.

Two people can lift out the tray if it’s empty or I can take it off fully loaded with my tractor and forks. It has to be removed to offload the camper.

Rear Bike Rack With Camper

In some of the pictures, there’s a bike behind the rear tray. Is that attached to the hitch?

Yes, that’s attached to the original hitch. This two-bike rack is made by 1UP USA and fits up and out of the way.

Duroverlander Back Tray

What is the triangle coming out of the top of the camper?

That’s a custom lift arm that I built that is attached to the camper wall. It is used to remove heavier items, like the 105-pound spare tire. I attach a pulley to the end of the arm and use the Warn hand-held winch for the lift. The axe/shovel clamp is attached to its base.

Duroverlander In Toyota Lunar Rock Color

Now that you’ve got everything set up, where do you go with your rig?

Southern Utah is a primary camping area for me. I love the area surrounding Lake Powell, Canyonlands, and Natural Bridges. I also went on the El Camino del Diablo trail with the Arizona Overlanders Facebook group. Living in mountain ranges in southern Arizona, there are lots of mining and canyon roads here.

Tall Overcab Phoenix Camper

For a little over 30 years, I’ve gone on an annual trip with five college buddies who studied geology with me at Western Colorado University. We do a lot of camping across the western US. It’s a lot of fun.

Overlanding Friends

I love to fly fish so I take a yearly drive to and from my buddy’s house in Whitefish, Montana while fishing along the way. This includes Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Northern Nevada.

This year’s big trips planned are to Burning Man, hiking in northern California, fishing and hiking in south-central/eastern Oregon, and back to Southern Utah for more hiking and some e-biking. The second trip this year is driving the Baja Peninsula. I will attend a wedding in Cabo in November and do some fishing with some friends that live there and then slowly make my way back to Arizona.

I like traveling with groups, but I also like to do my own thing and enjoy solo camping. It’s always nice to have another vehicle around for safety or potential recovery.

Duroverlander Phoenix Camper Popped Down

So is the build complete or is there further work to do?

I guess there will always be things to do. On the top of the list is to upgrade the onboard air system for higher output and electronic rather than pneumatic switches/gauges. Down Range Vehicle Solutions of Phoenix, Arizona is working on this now. The next item on the list is a rear differential locker. And someday, maybe, I’ll convert to a solid front axle.

H Brad Boschetto’s Rig
Truck: 2007 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 HD Duramax Classic, LT 4×4, diesel, extended cab, standard bed
Camper: 2022 Phoenix Pop-Up
Tie-Downs and Turnbuckles: Bolt through into flatbed
Suspension: A 4” lift kit, upgraded shocks and rear air bags

 

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