1977 Pop Up Camper Rebuild
- Thread starter TheThom
- Start date
VanIsle_Greg
I think I need a bigger truck!
So much rain and cold wind...I am so far behind now its not funny. Awning looks great!!
TheThom
Adventurer
[PHOTO BOMB WARNING] I took the camper to a 2 night shakedown run at a nearby state park. My plan is to boondock a lot. But for the next year, I live less than hour from 3 or 4 beautiful state parks. While I'm still working the kinks out of everything, it's hard to justify bypassing those just to get off the grid. I'm moving back to CO next summer and expect to do more boondocking once we're there.
A few more poser pics, but at least it's out of the driveway.
Anyway, everything with the camper is going well.
BATTERY: I had some battery issues the week before. I must have a slow leak to ground, because the new battery DIED. I took it to a local auto parts store and they put it on their big charger and revived it. But needless to say, I'm not yet confident in my wiring to leave it in there long term. The battery performed great: I plugged my son's white noise machine into it (with a 12V adapter) and it ran all night and barely dropped the voltage.
Propane: this was my first time connecting so many things through one tank (stove, grill, firepit, heater). It performed well. Only hitch is that my heater wouldn't light while my firepit was running. Turned it off, lit the heater, started it back up with no issues. Didn't mess with the portable water heater. B/t my battery concerns and some remaining troubleshooting to address leaks, I just didn't get to it.
Heater: got into the 40s and I used my portable Mr Heater all night with no issues.
Stove: I really like my Camp Chef Explorer stove. I only used it a couple of times to cook eggs, and boil some water, but it's so much more powerful that a small portable stove, that it makes quick work of these tasks.
FirePit: I'm a big fan of our new Camp Chef Redwood portable firepit. It doesn't have the character of a wood fire, but it is REALLY easy to get going and I didn't realize how much of my gross-comping-feeling came from all the smoke. It's nice to sit by a cozy fire and not be overpowered by smoke.
Awning: you might notice the pole in the middle. It's just too big and the fabric doesn't really stretch, so the poles kept collapsing in the middle (during the driveway test). I fixed it with an aluminum paint pole with a pad on the end to protect the fabric. Works great and is adjustable.
Things to do: I definitely need to make my chuck box to organize my cooking/eating stuff. I have the drawer slides installed. I just need to make the box. I also have some general organizing to do inside the camper.
All in all, camper performance wise it went great. Little guy got sick and grouchy, but that wasn't the camper's fault.
A few more poser pics, but at least it's out of the driveway.
Anyway, everything with the camper is going well.
BATTERY: I had some battery issues the week before. I must have a slow leak to ground, because the new battery DIED. I took it to a local auto parts store and they put it on their big charger and revived it. But needless to say, I'm not yet confident in my wiring to leave it in there long term. The battery performed great: I plugged my son's white noise machine into it (with a 12V adapter) and it ran all night and barely dropped the voltage.
Propane: this was my first time connecting so many things through one tank (stove, grill, firepit, heater). It performed well. Only hitch is that my heater wouldn't light while my firepit was running. Turned it off, lit the heater, started it back up with no issues. Didn't mess with the portable water heater. B/t my battery concerns and some remaining troubleshooting to address leaks, I just didn't get to it.
Heater: got into the 40s and I used my portable Mr Heater all night with no issues.
Stove: I really like my Camp Chef Explorer stove. I only used it a couple of times to cook eggs, and boil some water, but it's so much more powerful that a small portable stove, that it makes quick work of these tasks.
FirePit: I'm a big fan of our new Camp Chef Redwood portable firepit. It doesn't have the character of a wood fire, but it is REALLY easy to get going and I didn't realize how much of my gross-comping-feeling came from all the smoke. It's nice to sit by a cozy fire and not be overpowered by smoke.
Awning: you might notice the pole in the middle. It's just too big and the fabric doesn't really stretch, so the poles kept collapsing in the middle (during the driveway test). I fixed it with an aluminum paint pole with a pad on the end to protect the fabric. Works great and is adjustable.
Things to do: I definitely need to make my chuck box to organize my cooking/eating stuff. I have the drawer slides installed. I just need to make the box. I also have some general organizing to do inside the camper.
All in all, camper performance wise it went great. Little guy got sick and grouchy, but that wasn't the camper's fault.
VanIsle_Greg
I think I need a bigger truck!
looks good out in the woods!! Nice work, and great to see it getting used now.
I was worried that the propane manifold you made would have that concern.
The amount of BTU's needed for the fire pit/ stove alone puts a large tax on the tank's quick connect neck.
Maybe if you can find a longer and larger diameter nipple for that section it will work more efficiant.
Your not going to gain more BTU's faster out of the bottle, but like a coleman's tree,the longer nipple will add more volumn for the appliances to use at any one given time.
Good luck with it.i have enjoyed following along with the build.
The amount of BTU's needed for the fire pit/ stove alone puts a large tax on the tank's quick connect neck.
Maybe if you can find a longer and larger diameter nipple for that section it will work more efficiant.
Your not going to gain more BTU's faster out of the bottle, but like a coleman's tree,the longer nipple will add more volumn for the appliances to use at any one given time.
Good luck with it.i have enjoyed following along with the build.
TheThom
Adventurer
Thanks, but it really wasn't that much of an inconvenience - at least not yet. Just had to briefly shut it off to start the heater. After that, they both ran just fine.
Titanpat57
Expedition Leader
Awesome job....Way to go!!
Expedition Essentials
Approved Vendor : Expedition Essentials
Great set up! Man I can't wait to get out there and camp; I've been hard at it for far too long!
jim65wagon
Well-known member
Well, it rained here most of the holiday weekend and since I won't have time to let the canvas air out and dry, I collapsed it all before the weather turned. I did have time to tweak my awning. I'm copying an idea from Jim65wagon. I bought a large tan tarp from this site The local upholsterer actually had the same fabric because it's what she uses to make dump truck covers. She sewed the keder welt that let it run through the sail channel on my roof. She also sewed a pocket in each corner for a tent pole. I bought tent poles from this site.
I had to trim about 6 inches off the pole, but it should work OK. The outer edges are supported by extending tent poles.
Here are some pics of the set-up with the camper collapsed. It's worth noting that those poles extend up to 8 feet or so.
The awning is 8' wide and extends 10' out. Total cost was ~$200 with over half of that being the upholsterer's fee.
.
Wow! You not only copied our awnings, you took them to a whole nother level! Nice work! Trailer looks cool!
TheThom
Adventurer
Thanks. I'm sure you noticed later on that I had to add a support pole in the middle because it's just too long.
TheThom
Adventurer
Well, the wife got a new vehicle. Since we need it to be able to tow for family trips, we got a new to us '12 Tahoe ( I still have my Cherokee). I had to get a drop hitch to get the height right and this pic is taken during the around the neighborhood test drive. Height looks good. Mark, I realize the wheels don't match and they never will, but at least this one has the paint. One TV has wheels that match and the other has the color.
It makes me sad to say, but the Tahoe towed it so much easier than the Cherokee does. This won't be a set-up for trails, but, in reality, 95% of our driving will be national forest and fire roads which this can handle.
The good news is that I had the trailer out and about to talk to a couple of local welders about ideas for rebuilding the roof. I can make it out of mostly wood myself, but it'd be nice if I could get an aluminum tube cage and build from that. We'll see what the estimates are.....
It makes me sad to say, but the Tahoe towed it so much easier than the Cherokee does. This won't be a set-up for trails, but, in reality, 95% of our driving will be national forest and fire roads which this can handle.
The good news is that I had the trailer out and about to talk to a couple of local welders about ideas for rebuilding the roof. I can make it out of mostly wood myself, but it'd be nice if I could get an aluminum tube cage and build from that. We'll see what the estimates are.....
VanIsle_Greg
I think I need a bigger truck!
Looking good man, all ready for your trip up to the island!
SwampfoxSC
Observer
I think a good offroad popup is a Rockwood. They are simple, light. good ground clearance stock(for a popup), have a angled F/R. I have been eyeballing a few local. They also seem to hold up very well. And they can be had for $2k range. If you cut the rear bumper/pull out support off. It really does give some off road capabilities. You would just have to mod the bed support. Where they run straight down to the ground. And a SOA mod can get you a few more inches of clearance. They really kept the little ones basic, versatile and simple. Instead of the fancy and complicated swingup kitchen. The just have a two burner in a box. That you set on the counter. Or the the clip on outside table. So you can cook outside under the awning instead of stinking up the inside. I think these have been overlooked for light duty offroad rigs. I know they will not handle the Rubicon. But FS roads and maybe a bit more with some roads are in reach. Here is a link with some pics.
http://providence.craigslist.org/rvs/4120803024.html
Nice Build!!! Hey I you add a couple of more links to the chain for the side hatch. It could do double duty as a table.
http://providence.craigslist.org/rvs/4120803024.html
Nice Build!!! Hey I you add a couple of more links to the chain for the side hatch. It could do double duty as a table.
Last edited: