That Aterra XL is sweeeeeet
. Not really sure what the next iteration for us will be once the Wagon is dead (hopefully many, MANY moons from now). Hell...by then trucks may be a bygone memory
But we, definitely, want to go the route of a side entry flatbed camper...just dunno if we want a fixed roof like the Aterra or another pop-up. That extra clearance is really welcome out here, though, it's not nearly as finished or thermally efficient. That's, hopefully, a problem for 5-10 years from now
So, yeah...the TradeWagon set up is 100% a Power Wagon as far as underpinnings go. Lockers, selectable swaybar, winch, all the suspension, etc. It just omits the seats which I don't care about as I knew I was ripping the rear out for a K9 insert and replacing the covers with Katzkin's heated/cooled seats. No power seats, but...again...don't care. It doesn't have the LED headlamps (so I just put really good LED cut-off bulbs in), and other rando stuff that's not worth the $8k+ premium for a "real" Power Wagon (like black bumpers I knew I'd replace). I have Chassis Unlimited's Octane Series bumpers front and rear with dual swingouts on the rear. Absolutely bomber bumpers with the front designed around the factory winch cradle...you don't have to touch the winch during install. But their swingout design is absolute shit. I mean...terrrrrrrrrrrrible. I had a local fab shop "fix" them. We'll see how they do after being bounced around for a month straight on our trip and I may end up saying screw it and paying (and waiting...and waiting...and waiting...) for an Expedition One rear bumper.
The heater has been fantastic. Admittedly I've only had time to test it in the wilds of my front yard in the few weeks I've had it, but we were comfy when it slammed down into the teens overnight. Yes standard, woefully pathetic, gas tank. I really wish the EPA wasn't a bunch of goons that made actual extended range gas tanks such a barrier that no one builds them. I'm impressed you were able to get yours modified sufficiently for venting and such...no thrown codes? In the meantime we'll just settle for Rotopax.