Back in August, we met @the_Levin_Life (Jacob) at one of our camp spots outside of Glacier. We actually already followed him on Instagram, because Jacob built his own camper, and Blake had been doing a lot of research about home-built campers on Instagram back when we were thinking about going that route. Jacob followed us on IG as well, and even though we’d never met, we immediately recognized each other at our camp site! We hung out at the camp fire before parting ways to go into Glacier NP, and we actually met up with him again at the Moses Lake OHV recreation area to camp for a night after our week in Glacier. Jacob built himself this really awesome overland truck camper, and has a custom rail carrier on the back for his dirt bike as well. His carrier has three rails coming from the hitch for more support. After taking a look at our own dirt bike carrier, Jacob had some advice for how we could improve ours. Yes, ours made it from Denver to LA several times, to Cabo and all the way up to BC, but it has definitely bent a bit over the months, and our bikes have always really rocked back and forth because there is nothing connecting the two rails under the bikes to prevent back and forth motion. Jacob mentioned that if we were ever coming to Kitsap County he could help weld us some improvements. If you’ve ever met Blake, you know that if you offer something like that, Blake is not afraid to take you up on it. So after returning from Canada, we went straight to Kitsap County.
Camped with Jacob outside of Glacier
We started with a Rage Powersports Double Dirt Bike Carrier and extended it with a Curt 34″ 2-1/2′ to 2″ Trailer Hitch Adapter so it fits under our overhang. We welded and gusseted the extension to raise it up a foot and add a step for climbing into the camper. The extension is bolted and removable from the rest of the carrier so we could it without the extension if needed.
Blake had been wanting to make some improvements to the rail carrier for a while before we end up unknowingly dragging a bike down the highway, and Jacob helped design these improvements:
We added two steel receiver tubes that extend from the outside of the hitch to the outside of the rail to help provide strength against lateral flex. These all are bolted and removable in case we ever want to use the rail separately without the extensions or without the side supports.
2. We also added a steel plate in between the bikes to mount our RotoPaks and another crate. We welded little metal loops on the corners of the plate to attach the crate via ratchet straps or bungee cords.
3. We added another steel plate on top of the driver side receiver tube, also with loops in the corners so we could have another crate to carry some oils/outdoor items.
Jacob worked his ass off to weld these improvements in a day, and it turned out super well. It’s hilarious that our double rail carrier that we bought for 200 bucks has turned into probably a $2,000 item. When we first got it three years ago, we traded a guy a used drone to help us weld the extension and gusset it to raise it up a foot. This had to be redone a couple times to get it perfect. A year later we paid a shop another $100 to re-weld the seams to reinforce it. Then when we bought a new camper we had to extend it out another 5 inches and pay for the welding to be redone. Each time we’ve redone it we’ve had to re-purchase the 34 inch stinger, which costs $130. Then we made all the adjustments with Jacob (traded him a Sena Bluetooth and $150). I think in the end it’s probably cost us at least $2k. But if this means getting to carry our dirt bikes with us without having to deal with a trailer, it’s been worth every penny.
I'm writing this almost a year late, but at least that way I can include all the modifications we've made to the truck and how it's performed over the last year. Anyway, we got a new truck. It’s 2 years newer and has 28,000 less miles. Okay, Okay. It’s not new, just new to us. It’s a 2003 F350 with 442,000 miles on it. BUT, it has a Ford remanufactured engine with only 58,000 miles (as o...
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Crates: Put everything in crates to avoid any loose items and make sure everything has a place. When you have limited storage, everything needs to have a place, or else things get messy fast. And this way, everything is waterproof in case you ever had any leaks.
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Blake’s family says that everyone has a shit story. Somebody forgot to put the cap back on, maybe the lines froze with shit inside, maybe the guy next to you in the dump station didn’t know what he was doing and aimed the wrong way, etc. Ours was when we learne...