qwest

belly bars, chains ,turnbuckles, all locally purchased.
cheap and sturdy...

Fueling around

I said it was top of the line, that usually infers top dollar.
Reread my post. I went with Happijac and never looked back. I think it cost me around $200 for the anchor system and basic spring loaded tie downs. I saved $40 by purchasing a piece of rectangular tubing from local metal supply instead of using their cross over bar. I will add another $10 to reinforce the rear bumper system. I recently backed into a garbage dumpster and sprung one side of the factory bumper.
I will mention again, spend the $250 for a set of airbags. They are impressive for load control, ride control, and infinite level control. My buddy cut off his factory overloads after installing airbags.

-John

OUTDOORSMAN

I spent half the day playing with the camper. I built some horses for it to sit on and built a set of steps that can be tossed inside. I lit the fridge and it works fine after I leveled the unit a little better. I had the unit setup with a pretty good pitch to it for run off. I wanted the water to drain away from the front. With the pitch I had the fridge was running very weak. just cool. After I leveled it better it is cold now. per owners manuel.

So far everything works. But I do not know how to run the furnace? The only control I have found inside or out for the furnace is the thermostat. Is it electric igniting? no pilot?

I found the leak also. someone put silicone caulk along the front seam between the aluminum and the vinyl roof. It didnt adhere to the roof at all. I cleaned some of that silicone up but I plan to repair the leak after the rotted wood is replaced. So silly it is such a simple leak and it caused alot of damage.

I am 6'7" tall so I plan to remove the bathroom walls and the toilet and all the plumbing for it. I plan to add an outside shower with that water line from the toilet and make some better storage in that space. I will also be making the dinette bed longer.

I found the fastgun sytem and the torklift system on ebay for about $500. Much better than the $900 I was quoted today. I really like the torklift system, It will be hard to sell me on anything different. I just didnt expect it to be so much $. Thanks very much for the links Fuelling around. I really appreciate it. I have my mind on airbags as well. I have installed them on another truck for the same use (truck camper).

crobtex

TIRES! Don't learn the hard way like I did. Be sure you have good, minimum of 8 ply tires. Especially on the rear where most of the weight is.

CTD NUT

Well, I'm not sure where that advice came from....sounds like somebody not really "in the know"?

While my set up is a bit backwards from what you had in mind - very large and heavy slide-in and only about 7500 lbs of trailer, you get the idea. It certainly can be done safely and relatively easily with our trucks. I find that the the trailer has even less influence on the truck when the camper is in place than when there is no camper at all. This is partly because the truck and camper combo vastly out weigh my loaded trailer.

Fueling around

I found you need some mass in the fridge for it to cool properly. Keep a gallon water jug in their to test it out. Nice to have a drink while working, too. I keep a blue ice pack in the freezer.

Do you have a grill for the furnace? My gas valve is located behind a grill.

Silicone caulking isn't good for much. An eyebrow seal above clearance lights is about my only application.
I use Butyl for a flexible and still removeable seal and Poly for a permanent job.
The extra storage space would be nice, but my family would shoot me if I pulled the toilet. We don't use the shower , but that toilet is invaluable. By not using the shower it really extends the black water capacity. We stay in campgrounds so an outdoor shower would just create a muddy mess in the campsite.

Unless you have front centering guides the fast gun or quick-load tie downs are useless.

I went with 85 series load range "E" tires. Much firmer sidewall.

Your welcome for the links. Someone had to keep the thread on your topic.

-John

CTDinMT

My SRW truck handles an 8.5 Lance with no problems. The only things I did to improve the handling was added air bags and a sway bar. I also tow behind my camper as well. FYI, also this picture was taken before I had sway bar and air bags. I was barely squatting below level. About an inch off the overloads before the air-bags.

OUTDOORSMAN

John, I do not know what a front centering guide is?

I do run e rated tires. I have that covered.

Last night I left the thermostat on and cranked right up to 90. So you guessed it. lol.... This morning when I went outside I opened the door and felt a heat wave come out. lol.... Furnace seems to work good. I need to adjust the thermostat. lol

Nice rigs guys. I have wanted a truck camper for so long. I just couldnt justify it while I have the 34' tt. I am pretty excited about it. With the easy tie down systems they have and the ease of just backing under it and going I am sure I will use it alot. I cant wait to get the repair done so I can take it out.

We already have plans to use it this fall to accompany my travel trailer for our deer hunting camp. Camp is growing. lol..

I am simply amazed at the size of some of these truck campers. On our trip to alaska we saw many and some were just gigantic. Now looking at the price tags on them I cant believe how much they cost. At this point in time I am very satisfied with the size of this camper. It really seems it will suit me just fine. I like that fact it isnt to long, 8.5'. Not ot heavy, 1700lbs loaded.

thanks for all the comments

herb

anyone had any expeirence with the pop up style as to how well they heat up in COLD weather or Cool in the Hot wheater

OUTDOORSMAN

Herb, I had a popup camper for a few years a long time ago. lol... The camper heated up fine, the problem I had was condensation and putting the camper down with moisture in it. It dosnt take long to ruin the canvas that way. I did use it in the winter and all weather. I dont think they are intended for that kind of use.

There are several in mi for sale right now and a couple of them have a nice price on them. Although they need to be looked at. Did you see the one in st johns that was listed on the site I sent you? Not bad for $800 obo.

herb

I still have not got an authorazation link from them. i went back and tried it 3 times and each time it said link would be sent by e mail but did not get it. (i tried 3 different e mail addresses

OUTDOORSMAN

here are a few pics I uploaded.









and of course the water damage. yuck.

I have been looking on the net but have not found much of any info about truck campers and I have been looking for camper sales for parts and accesories. What have I missed? Is there anything that you consider a must have for you truck camper?

Fueling around

A set of blocks/rails in the front of the box to keep the camper centered. Mostly applies to Happijac with the short & angled turnbuckles. An inch shift in the camper means re adjusting the turn buckle length

And the weight of those units, especially ones with a slide out.
Our neighbors at a KOA last year had a huge Bigfoot. I was relieved to see a 1 ton dually haul it. Scares me the amount of big trailers pushing around a poorly equiped ½ ton pickup.

Fueling around

Here is a link I found at RV.net
http://home.comcast.net/~netboy/

qwest

Hard to tell from the pic's but did you loose any wood framing ?

TC's are kindda made like airplanes, framing is used for strength,
The overhang uses all that framework to stay in place

May want to check to be sure there is not any weakened framing,
It does'nt hurt to add some additional support,

I had a 9.5 Hideway, Good camper, mine lasted about 11 years, did have some leaks..

Mine had an alum roof that was formed over the edge to make a drip rail.
the edge looked like a "L" Where it was bent into the L the alum was stressed
. Caused very fine cracks in alum, from flexing, Leaked through these cracks.The camper acts like a siphon, warms up, rains, cools with rain and sucks in water from drip rail. ( after 30 plus yrs of TC'n, still to lazy to put a cover on ),

Your camper looks Really clean, worth the effort, I have since bought
a used Alpenlite, MANY LEAKS, worst I have owned, FILON sides a real
pain to work on , I like the old alum side construction..

If you are going to take the TC on/off a lot you may want to strenghten
the jack areas, they compress over time. I usually add " Hardwood ;
plywood under the jacks and run it full length, distributes load. also check
the inside attach points, and ad bracing if loose, when they get loose,
the movement continues the ' loosing process, easier to strenghten than
repair.

enjoy the pictures, let us know how the project go's