Scott's 2000 F-250 came to us a couple years back to get a Mits Alloy tray and canopy installed — the Australian-style replacement bed system that's been quietly taking over the overland market in the US. He's a mountain biker first, camper second, and what he wanted was a cargo platform that could swallow bikes, gear, and everything else he hauls on long weekends, with side-door access to all of it instead of climbing over a tailgate. Plus the truck is a 7.3 diesel with a manual transmission — the "dumb old diesel" combo a lot of us have a soft spot for — so it deserved the build.

The tray and canopy are Mits Alloy: a full-size aluminum deck about 8 feet long and 80 inches wide, with side and rear under-tray storage boxes, a 37-inch spare tire holder in the rear gap, factory tail light and fill neck relocation, and a backup camera relocation so the truck operates exactly like it did from the factory. On top sits the 7-foot Mits canopy with a 30-liter headboard water tank, full-side doors on both sides, and a roof track around the perimeter for accessories. Mits is no longer importing to the US, but we now build this same configuration through Summit Expedition Trucks — same dimensions, same accessories, same workflow on any full-size or midsize truck. Inside the canopy: a Mits vertical pantry, side-by-side drawer system, drop shelf, and a single drawer with a pull-out table, plus Scott's own buildout — Elra airline cargo track, MOLLE panels on the back wall, and a fork mount for his mountain bike.

Power runs through a REDARC TVMS Rogue Redvision system on twin 100Ah lithiums, with alternator charging, shore power, a remote solar plug, and a 1000W pure sine inverter for basic 110V duty. Two Hardkoor 39" dimmable orange/white LED bars under each canopy door. A passive ventilation system on a thermal switch — two 12V fans, filtered and waterproofed against the elements — that kicks on automatically when the canopy heats up (San Diego summers are not kind to a black canopy, especially with a fridge inside). A fridge feed runs into the back seat where Scott did a rear-seat delete. Out the side, an 18-gallon Valterra under-tray water tank plumbed into the headboard tank for around 26 gallons total, fed through a SEAFLO diaphragm pump and a Jabsco flush-mount marine deck fitting at the passenger rear corner.

Last fall, Scott came back for the latest addition: a Go Fast Campers V2 Pro RTT XL on top of the canopy, with the Beef Rack crossbars, the Pro Headliner Upgrade, the Pro Door Prop Kit, and a 180W solar panel that powers the canopy system below. We ran a tent power harness through the canopy roof to a panel inside the tent — USB-C and USB charging plus 12V cigarette outlets for heated blankets — re-programmed the Rogue to combine the canopy door lighting circuits and free up a 10A circuit for the tent, and upgraded the canopy roof to a double Scanstrut waterproof passthrough. One of my favorite trucks to come through the shop. The 7.3 diesel manual, the dialed-in Mits tray and canopy, and now a GFC tent on top.