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I think Shadow Cruiser or whoever made it went belly up. I couldn't find any OEM info or parts, so that was really my only option. I shopped around locally and found an outfit that would repair the window vinyl and the screens, but that was going to run me close to $600, and the replacement...

Canvas Replacements in Loyal, WI. I would highly recommend them for anyone who needs new canvas for their rig. Plan on plenty of time if you do send something to them though - I think they're one of very few places in the country that do this, and spring is their busy season, so it took 10...

On the road! I'll post more pictures of the maiden voyage soon.

A few more test fits, but at this point it's pretty much ready to go. The solar system is completely up and running, and we've got electricity to spare. The only wire connections between the truck and the camper are for the tail lights (and if need be, a long set of jumper cables). At this...

Panels mounted, along with some extra illumination to light up the back yard. New canvas is in! Exterior painted! It's starting to come together! At this point the trip departure date was rapidly approaching, so there are fewer pictures of the work in progress (and the pictures get crappy...

Time for panels. The roof still has moss and crap growing on it from being parked under a tree for ages, but here's a test fit of one of the two panels. I used low profile aluminum unistrut to make a mounting rack. The other panel went on the other side of the roof hatch. I put on two 140w...

Batteries! As I mentioned, I wanted the camper to have a standalone power system. No power from the truck, no external power hookups, just solar panels and a battery bank. At work I had recently taken apart an old backup power system and had free access to 24 Trojan T-105s. Unfortunately the...

The camper had originally been for a shortbed truck. The overhangs made for a weird space to try to fill in on each side, so it was time for those to go. Much better, but not there yet. As I was tearing the whole back end of the camper apart, I found all the rot where the rear window had...

I had also started working on a frame for the whole thing to sit on. I wanted to make a nice clean setup without all the jacks and tie downs that a lot of campers use, so I welded up steel frame that the camper would be permanently attached to. It has 2"x5" tubing running the whole length of...

While all this was going on, the canvas came off and got shipped out to be used as a template for a replacement. A brand new one was only slightly more than getting all the windows and screens replaced in the old one. All the old wiring has come out, along with the sketchy shore power hookup...

The camper came with a dometic 12v/120v/propane fridge. This was the result of it being turned on for hours. So out it went. I had to take the entire door frame out to get the fridge out -there was no other way for it to fit. I tore out the cabinet the fridge had been in, and built a new...

The gutting commenced immediately. The cushions and mattress were the first to go, and proved to be comfortable outdoor dog beds. They were quickly followed by the shag carpet, linoleum, and most of the interior cabinetry. Everything that remained got a hefty bleach wipe down.

Ok, on to the camper! Last spring, my better half and I decided it was time to go on a cross country road trip. She's a teacher, and has the whole summer off. I work in the ski industry, so summer is a fairly quiet time of year compared to the steady 100 hour work weeks I deal with mid...

By now you've probably realized I like to tinker with things. The service body was nice. It was aluminum, so not too heavy, had good door gaskets so it kept everything dry, and I was able to squeeze an 80 gallon transfer tank into the front cross bed compartment. It did have some drawbacks...

I seem to have not taken any pictures of the truck once it was completely done with the paint shop. Skip ahead another year, and a cracked alloy rim forced me to find a new set of wheels. I ordered a set of Rickson 19.5" rims and put a set of Sailun S737 245/70R19.5s on them. You get what you...

Ready for paint. The hood is original, and that's it. Ooooh, shiny!

Fast forward and I have the frame all cleaned up and painted with Chassis Saver. In the meantime, I've prepped rust free cab off a Colorado truck. Excavators are handy machines to have in the yard... On to the rest of the body. New outer fenders, and after drilling out all the spot welds...

With the body entirely off, it's time to roll the truck back into the shop and get after some mechanic updates. I rebuild/upgraded the whole front end - wheel bearings, ball joints, u-joints, brakes, swaybar links, track bar, steering box brace, control arm bushings, and so on. You'll also...

1994 Shadow Cruiser. I just started a thread on the build.

I posted a picture of my setup in the photo thread the other day, and figured that it's finally time to post a full writeup on the build. This whole adventure started in 2012 when I tore my rusted out truck down to the frame and gave it a new lease on life. It started as a 4wd 2001 Dodge 2500...