The odd couple. 83' Palomino Mini L and 04' Ram 1500

[GI Pirate]

OK so here's the deal. I started looking in to the idea of some sort of expedition vehicle when I lived in Florida. Being an avid backpacker and "off-grid" enthusiast I wanted a way to travel long distances from South Florida and be comfortable on the way, and in "base camp" scenarios. After the same questions most of us noobs ask here were solved. i.e. (Jeep, SUV, Truck, Van?. RTT, Pop-up, interior conversion, Astro-Conversion, or full blown Sportsmobile)?

After reading for months and months I moved back to my home state of NC. Raleigh to be exact. Which is perfect, 3 hours from the mountains and the coast. It was settled I need a camper. My new job in NC provided me with a company car. This then opened the door for me to make my daily driver more of an expedition platform.

That platform is NOT ideal. A 2004 Dodge Ram 1500 4dr 5.7L 4x4. With 150k on the clock. Terrible torsion bar front IFS, light duty axles, and to top it off, it had no tow hooks front or rear, and no factory tow package so it has a small spring pack. However, after driving it ten years I have added navigation, a great sound system, cold air intake, performance cat back, a super chips tuner and a Yukon Dura Grip Posi. Def not a rock crawler. The aftermarket does little to support this drive-train. Only one locker option (Detroit) for the rear and no front axle traction aids. Lift kits are very expensive and complicated.

Now that I have settled on a temporary base vehicle until I can afford a Dodge Power Wagon I need a camper.

I have looked at flip-pacs, RTTs, slide ins, pop-ups etc... After over 12 months I found my camper.

On EBAY I found a 1983 Palomino Mini L. Used twice, put in storage and then just pulled out. It is in as close to new condition as a 25 year old camper can be.

 

[mtnbike28]

NC is great for beach/mountains. I like the combo and all you need for what you describe....

 

[GI Pirate]

So now the Camper... There was very little information available for it. What I did learn, I learned mostly form the owner, a very nice Pastor in SE NC who intended to build a custom trailer out of a Jeep MJ Bed to pull behind his Wrangler, the fit wasn't right, and even though he had just gotten this camper from the original owner he decided to sell.
He told me the Mini L was designed for those early 80's compact trucks such as the Mazda B-2000 and similar? What ever it was designed for, it was skinny and long. Insert jokes here. So after negotiating with the seller I offered 3k to convince him to end the EBAY auction. Great, I owned it. Now, how do I load a camper that I know my truck bed will be too deep for. More jokes. So I stopped by a tractor supply, bought 2 8' 2x4's and salvaged a pallet from behind the store.
Thank god I had my High Lift Jack with me. Because not only was my truck to tall for the camper, it was too tall for the jacks. Oh, and too wide. Not to mention I have a Trac-Rac sliding ladder rack, and I left the rails on to keep my truck versatile, because I knew that the camper needed blocking to clear the cab anyway.
This is why I wanted this camper though, it fits like a FWC, very narrow and lightweight, 650lbs dry supposedly. It is long though a 7'4".


Needless to say, after 2 hours of wrestling the camper in the air, we had to drive 2 hours like this.
However, I now have the 2 main ingredients to Off Grid camp in the mountains and on the Beaches of North Carolina's Outer Banks. Specifically Portsmouth Island.
I will post periodically as time permits and especially try and keep the pictures coming and help anyone else who may be putting a compact camper on a full size truck.
I am ditching the old heavy steel tripod jacks, which only came with 3, and post as much as I can about the custom aliminum brackets that I am having fabricated. The new jacks I bought. Upgrading the propane system, electrical system, water storage etc... If anyone has any ideas or has done any thing similar, please keep me honest as I have no clue. Just OJT from here on out.

 

[GI Pirate]

Thanks. Yeah, some slight logging roads and sandy beaches. MOAB after I spring for a real FWC and Power Wagon.

 

[GI Pirate]

After realizing what a cluster the jack situation was, and after calculating the cost I decided to drop it off at a camper/RV repair center. I thoroughly explained my problem, or so I thought. Because after dropping the camper off; which took a forklift and 3 people and leaving it for a week I was told that the job would be too difficult he didn't want to do it. Since I know next to nothing about campers and their respective systems I decided to have him replace a kinked propane regulator, and test the furnace system.


Those were before. Here are the after:

 

[GI Pirate]

Now I had to find a way to pick the camper back up. I had no jacks to get it back on with and no platform built to handle it yet. So adapt and over come, I had the RV center order new Rieco Titan Camper Jacks x 4 (instead of the original 3) and built a really quick down and dirty platform because I needed it for a "shakedown" run in the mountains that weekend.
Remember the before:

Before I get slaughtered on my construction, bare in mind ALL of my tools are currently in storage, I am living with my girlfriend in her condo and built this in the parking lot in a couple of hours after work.

 

[GI Pirate]

Now with the camper back on the "temporary" box I could take it on the shakedown. My plan was to build a pull out drawer under the camper. Sort of a redneck Truck-vault. But the sizing of the box was wrong and I need to lower and slim it.

That was at the repair center.
I will add some photos of the new configuration shortly. I planned on taking more photos but this was Dec 21st and time was slipping away before I could get on the road. I still had to exchange the LP tank, get chain sections for the tie down turn buckles and pack for the holidays and a few days off of the grid. Also pick up a battery and converter.
I did not take my snow chains because we were having record temp here 70+ degrees. What I did not take in to consideration when I made this decision was that we have had over 5" of rain in December, 2.5" over average. This caused the ground to be completely saturated and my BFG's were no match. Even with 1000bls of gear in it. The surface layer off road was as slick as glass.
Here are a few pics. I will get better at this as time goes on.

If you look center right side of the picture you will see where I tried to climb up to the level spot where it sits. I slid sideways, all the way across that hill. total distance probably over 50 feet. What you cant see is a creek at the bottom of this hill with a 4' embankment.
So for my first shakedown, with improper mounting points, an ad hoc platform and while not being used to my new load, I almost flipped it in to a creek. So far so good.

Here are a couple of photos from the inside during the trip:

 

[GI Pirate]

Brackets are Finished and Installed

I had all of the brackets custom made out of aluminum.
Once I started to install them I ran in to serious problems. The front and rear walls were not 3/4" plywood as I had originally thought. Its 3/4" foam board sandwiched between the interior paneling and the outer skin. This is why you buy a FWC. Luckily, I had them brake the aluminum to sit underneath and bend up. Hopefully, this will prove strong enough to hold the weight evenly with 4 jacks.





I also have a picture showing the set up on the temporary box:




This is all pretty rough. Later I will make custome brakets for the inside walls as well to help distribute the weight. For now though I just need to be able to get it on and off of the truck.

 

[GI Pirate]

This weekend I will drill the holes for the actual jacks to mount to the brackets. Pictures will follow.
Then I hope to address the faulty inverter:


Anyone have any ideas what to replace this with?
I am also confused that this has a "battery" switch. With no way to connect a battery. I can't find any indication that it every could. Anyone know more about BW Manufacturers Series 6400 than me? (which is anything).

 

[subterran]

Hey there, East Coast buddy!
I think your rig is looking pretty good. Hey - you're living the dream now! I hear a lot of folks hating on Palomino especially, but you're a lot like me - you just need to get your feet wet first, before you dive all the way into a $20k + investment. You're a handy guy, so a little tinkering and upgrading will give you pleasure. Plus, both mine and yours are a little bigger than your average 4WC, and I already don't have room for all my junk, so I can't imagine what I would do with any less space. I think you are going to have a grand time with that setup. It looks nice, and if it don't leak, you're golden. Enjoy the ride, bro.

As for the converter, if it were me, and mine was not working, I might just do away with it completely. My rig just has a battery and fusebox. My camper is hooked up to my truck's alternator via a cheap solenoid and switch, and I added an 80 watt solar panel up top. I now only rarely ever have to plug it in to charge (only if we're parked for more than 3-4 days in the shade, in the heat of summer - I have a 12v only compressor fridge, couldn't stand the 2 way it came with) When I do have to plug in, I carry an 8 amp charger onboard. That should bypass any need for that failed converter of yours. If you have a 2 way fridge in there, you can run it on gas, and you may not need to plug in for a long time, using only lights and charging phones and such.

Anyhow, welcome to the rodeo!

 

[GI Pirate]

Thanks for the comments subterran.
I glanced through your build and I would swear we are doing everything close to identical.
I need to make sure the lady is on board with this stuff before I drop 20k. But this find was perfect for a "shakedown". Def longer than a Hawk, same width roughly and weight is decent, smaller bed though.
I do plan on a front receiver to hold a large 70qt cooler in a DIY basket. That will help with storage, I also want to build a rack like yours for a canoe I have.
As for leaks, this thing is in near perfect condition. First run in it we had a couple inches of rain in the NC mountains. Stayed dry even though it wasn't perfectly level.
I do want to scrap the current converter completly, it is old technology first off, and has no battery connection second.
I plan on adding a solar panel as well. If and when I may need additional power, a small generator will do the trick to help charge.
I do have a 2 way fridge, ran it off LP for 4 days. Worked perfectly, cold ice and food.
Some of those trails in TN looked right up my alley. My trucks size may limit the exploring but that kind of logging road exploring is exactly why I bought this.
I suscribed to your thread, maybe we can share some ideas. Also, if you haven't looked in to it or heard of it. Check out http://portsmouthislandfishing.com/.
Thanks.

 

[GI Pirate]

Jacks are on. Almost...

I have started a new job, as such I have had very little time to work on the camper. Also, the weather in NC has been terrible.
I finally got around to drilling the new brackets, however; the bolts, and nuts, thread count didnt seem to match up. I couldn't get the hardware on.
I called Rieco to ask what, if anything, I was doing wrong or if I had been given the wrong hardware. I have not heard back.
I will get my own hardware this weekend and order a speed bit for a drill/impact to operate these. I plan on removing them once the camper is on. They would be a nightmare off road.

 

[dtimms]

Nice work GI Pilot! I have an older phoenix and am constantly doing fix it stuff but it is fun (sometimes). I have a hard time stomaching some of the prices of these campers. I would have to live in it to justify the price. I paid $1000 for mine and for what I do, it is great. I am excited to see how you build yours out!

 

[GI Pirate]

Thanks dtimms. Mine is in "like new" condition so I am lucky that I get to focus on upgrades as oppossed to repairs. Once these jacks are on I will be able to get some real traction moving forward on the build.
I also have some upgrades proposed for the truck. With that camper on, the Drone from my exhaust has been magnified. I can barely stand to drive it right now. Thanks for following.

 

[GI Pirate]

Chapter 2

Ok, so after getting the box taken care of and getting the jacks on it it was time to update the interior. I also knew I could get my lady on board way easier if she had some emotional investment in it. So I let her chose the interior. The old interior was in great shape mind you, just smelt a little stale and was extremely dark and depressing on the inside. We decided to do a down and dirty paint job, all new fabric and new floors. I will eventually refinish the counter and table tops by laminating maps on to them, I forget what the process is called but it looks cool.
Here is a link to something I just googled. http://www.impatientlycrafty.com/20...o-with-regional-map-encased-in-bar-top-epoxy/

Paint:

Paint:

New Fabric installed:

New Fabric:


We used a great upholstery shop in Raleigh. AAA Upholstery, they were great, they actually have a place in Carolina Beach, which will probably be one of our most frequented spots. So they were super excited to get us exactly what we wanted without overspending. The finished product speaks for itself, we couldn't be happier. They even made some pillows for us with the extra material. If you need any upholstery in Raleigh, check them out.