Oh man that's awesome. Good luck on the build.
Oh man that's awesome. Good luck on the build.
I typed this in this morning but forgot to post it.
In order:
The0retical: The interior will be refinished, but not updated. I'm going to keep the vintage look. I'll recover the cushions, but the majority of the refinish will happen after the trip to Canada. Probably late this summer or early fall. For now, I'm just getting everything working.
Dusterbd13: Spar varnish is a possibility. I also might use polyurethane.
mazdeuce: Yes, it's framed with 2x2s, Lowes was out of them so I'm ripping down 10' 2x4s. I'm getting better quality lumber by ripping, so it doesn't bother me any.
Once again this morning was tied up. I played hooky from church and spent the morning changing the fan assembly and motor on the air handler at my rental house. I didn't get started on the camper until after noon.
The passenger side is now 90% complete. Lots of glue, monel staples, SS screws later and all the framing is in.
Apparently I was working so fast I forgot to take pictures. 
This is what you get, I had already started re-skinning it.
This shot has the front corner jacked up to install the slide assembly. It's no longer fastened to air. 
Since all four cylinders are plumbed together, it will jack up crooked. A good thing when working on it, I'm not so sure afterward. It's a bear to get it to go up straight.
Next up was the bottom aluminum panel and the window.
I should have replaced the bottom panel and probably will in the future. I beat it back into submission, it will do for now. I need a 10' metal brake. 
That's where I stopped. Still to do, install the front trim and drip rail, install the rear drip rail, and install the window rain diverter. Then I'll turn it around and do it again.
For those of you that were curious about how the front walls worked.
Folded down onto the bed.
With the top up, you just stand them up and latch them in place. In this picture, the top is jacked up too high so I could install the slide assembly. Usually there is a stop it hits to keep it from going this high.
Today I got a full day in. I turned it around and started on the drivers side. It wasn't quite as bad as the passenger side except for one thing.
There were thousands of them. Luckily they weren't fire ants.
Other than the ants, this side went just like the other. Remove the rot, replace.
Once again, many SS screws and a lot of glue fastened everything back together.
Pretty much back together.
Here are a few more interior pictures for the interested.
Front. The two aluminum poles are actually the hydraulic cylinders that lift the top.
Rear with the other two cylinders.
Close up of the cylinders.
The rest of the exterior.
Nice work! Did you figure out where the ants were nesting? I'm guessing the camper sat for some length of time on the ground before you bought it?
Maybe a matter of perspective, but the inside of that looks much more roomy than i expected.
Where did you relocate all of the ants to? SC has laws protecting occupants from eviction without notice you know. : )
In reply to pinchvalve:
They were relocated to another plane of existance. The state will have to hold a séance to get their statement. 
In reply to Ian F:
It had been sitting under a oak tree for a while. The ants were under the roof skin.
What happens when the hydraulics decide to develop a leak during the night?
Id assume that there's some sort of safety catch.
I bet this thing smells of rich mahogany and leather bound books on the inside.
NOHOME wrote: What happens when the hydraulics decide to develop a leak during the night?
It has some 1/8" cotter pins that are supposed to catch it. 
Being a un-trusting soul, I'm going to come up with something a little stronger.
Scottah wrote: I bet this thing smells of rich mahogany and leather bound books on the inside.
Not quite.
It's more like the smell of old paneling and wood. It's not as musty or moldy as I thought it would be. It smells vintage, like that first deep breath after walking into a antique store, like antique furniture. Probably one of my favorite smells.
My butt was whooped from working on this all weekend so yesterday I didn't do anything but look at it and run the hydraulics up and down a couple of times. I did find the correct oil for the pump and a gallon should be here Friday.
Today I tackled the refrigerator. It has a Dometic unit that uses a ammonia absorption cycle for cooling. It runs on 120V or propane. I started with the 120V system.
For the interested.
There is no compressor on a ammonia absorption refrigerator, just a heat source. This refrigerator uses a 120V heat element or a propane flame.
Long story short, it's working. I bought the camper assuming it didn't. I am super happy it does. That saves me a bundle of money either trying to fix it or replacing it.
And since everyone knows I love pictures.
Ignore the power supply, it's wired in to run the fan.
You can't see it in the pictures, but there are tiny ice crystals on this coil.
When I first saw a frige like that when I was a kid, I didn't believe that burning something would cool things down. Was amazed that it did.
Such a simple system.
In reply to alfadriver:
Agreed.
If you guys want to learn about popup truck campers. Go check out wanderthewest.com
Four wheel campers and flippac are two brands to check out.
In reply to Fueled by Caffeine:
That cost me a few hours last night. Thanks.
This is very cool. I love the wood panel interior. i've often thought about remodeling the inside of my Coleman pop up camper to look more like that.
Today's first project was attaching the camper to the truck. When I brought it home, I used a couple of ratchet straps and drove slowly. With a 3000 mile trip coming up, I needed something a little more permanent. I priced a set of tie downs online and choked a little. They wanted $100-$250 for a handful of turnbuckles and some chain links and a couple of brackets. My truck already had the brackets so all I needed was the turnbuckles. Off to Northern Tool. While I was at it, the rear hooks on the camper were threaded into a wood 2x2. Kind of hokey. I drilled the 2x2 an installed a 3/8 eye bolts with backing plates in their place. I also didn't like the tie points on the truck. They were just attached to the sheetmetal fender. (Seen below in front of the tail light.) So I installed eye bolts in the rear bumper. Total cost for all the tie downs, about $40.
Front.
I'm satisfied it will stay in place in anything short of a rollover.
Next I worked on the refrigerator cooling fan. This fan cools the condenser and absorber coil on the refrigerator. It had a 1970s fan and motor. Not efficient to say the least. I replaced it with a brushless muffing fan.
Old busted vs new hotness...er, coolness.
I was hoping for quieter too, but that didn't happen. I'll have to do some digging for a better quality fan.
Last for today was the gas system. I wanted to see if the refrigerator would run on propane, but the lines were stopped up. I pulled all the fitting and blew everything out with the air compressor. Presto, we have gas.
The refrigerator is now running on propane and cooling like a charm.
That's it for now.
Cool! How does the water system look?
In reply to Ian F:
I know for a fact that at least one line has a screw run through it, because I did that yesterday.
Other than that, no clue. It's on the list.
You'll need to log in to post.
