AbleGuy
Officious Intermeddler
1980ish Alaskan 8' Over the Cab Camper. "It Raises, It Lowers" - $1500
Needs work
(Not mine)
https://flagstaff.craigslist.org/rvs/d/1980ish-alaskan-8-over-the/6419961424.html
purchased this unit from a party in San Diego who got it from a party in Seattle, Washington. The Pacific Northwest took its toll on the unit so I have replaced some (not all) of the internal framing that I could access without a complete tear down. There was some water damage to the original paneling so I replaced some, patched some and then painted to cover the stains. Someone before me must have damaged the roof, as there is a metal patch up there. To insure that there were no more small leaks I applied a silicone roof coating.
On the inside, I remodeled somewhat as you can see from the pictures. The refrigerator has been removed as it was damaged so now there is a bit more space and I use an ice chest. I have added a propane heater where a porta-potty may have been, lowered the countertop and detached the oven from the stovetop. This gives a bit more storage under the stovetop. The original propane tanks are still there and not sure if they are legal still but they sure are cool looking (little torpedo's). The hydraulic lifters have been rebuilt and work great, no leaks. Takes about 40 pumps to get the top up. The seal between the upper and lower sections has been replaced mostly. I was short about 10 feet so left the old seal in place.
There is a solar panel and battery to operate a 12-volt fan and LED lights. The original shore power plug had a short somewhere so I started to remove all those wires, as I could not locate the problem and was intending to replace the old with new.
The biggest issue at this point is that the rear panel of the upper section with the upper door needs to be replaced due to rotten framing. Though the door works I have had to add a removable wood cross piece to make sure the door remains closed when driving. The lock keeps becoming unaligned (what a bother).
I have the camper mounted on a 2001 Dodge Ram (not included) with the 8' bed. The width of the original camper was a hair too wide so I ended up rebuilding the box where the porta-potty was and taking off a few inches. I added 4 permanent jack brackets to attach the jacks too, which come with the camper. I usually X brace the jacks to ensure rigidity front to back. The process of putting the camper on and off is a bit tricky since the jacks are manual and I use cinder blocks on some. The jacks are not matched since I had to round them up from different sources but they do work with care and patience.
Though I have put some time and energy into the camper and it is not in original condition, it is very functional and we have used it without problems.
I would say that if someone wanted to use it as is or wanted to take it to the next level then it has possibilities. I am asking $1500 and am open to offers and/or trades. If someone had a pop-up trailer camper to trade, that would be welcome as a possibility. Details could be worked out.
Email me for more details or requests for specific pictures. I have another 75 pictures that show details. It is on the truck so I can deliver within reasonable distance (up to 100 miles) but only after purchase.
(This is a very honest posting and it could be a “fun” project for the tool savvy handy person, especially if you could get it for basically a salvage price - value of solar and hydraulics, etc. alone. There's probably a pretty small pool of potential buyers for this so I'd guess the final purchase price is going to be a bargain. So many of these older Alaskans for sale seem to be worn out and used up but someone's buying them! Gbail)
Needs work
(Not mine)
https://flagstaff.craigslist.org/rvs/d/1980ish-alaskan-8-over-the/6419961424.html
purchased this unit from a party in San Diego who got it from a party in Seattle, Washington. The Pacific Northwest took its toll on the unit so I have replaced some (not all) of the internal framing that I could access without a complete tear down. There was some water damage to the original paneling so I replaced some, patched some and then painted to cover the stains. Someone before me must have damaged the roof, as there is a metal patch up there. To insure that there were no more small leaks I applied a silicone roof coating.
On the inside, I remodeled somewhat as you can see from the pictures. The refrigerator has been removed as it was damaged so now there is a bit more space and I use an ice chest. I have added a propane heater where a porta-potty may have been, lowered the countertop and detached the oven from the stovetop. This gives a bit more storage under the stovetop. The original propane tanks are still there and not sure if they are legal still but they sure are cool looking (little torpedo's). The hydraulic lifters have been rebuilt and work great, no leaks. Takes about 40 pumps to get the top up. The seal between the upper and lower sections has been replaced mostly. I was short about 10 feet so left the old seal in place.
There is a solar panel and battery to operate a 12-volt fan and LED lights. The original shore power plug had a short somewhere so I started to remove all those wires, as I could not locate the problem and was intending to replace the old with new.
The biggest issue at this point is that the rear panel of the upper section with the upper door needs to be replaced due to rotten framing. Though the door works I have had to add a removable wood cross piece to make sure the door remains closed when driving. The lock keeps becoming unaligned (what a bother).
I have the camper mounted on a 2001 Dodge Ram (not included) with the 8' bed. The width of the original camper was a hair too wide so I ended up rebuilding the box where the porta-potty was and taking off a few inches. I added 4 permanent jack brackets to attach the jacks too, which come with the camper. I usually X brace the jacks to ensure rigidity front to back. The process of putting the camper on and off is a bit tricky since the jacks are manual and I use cinder blocks on some. The jacks are not matched since I had to round them up from different sources but they do work with care and patience.
Though I have put some time and energy into the camper and it is not in original condition, it is very functional and we have used it without problems.
I would say that if someone wanted to use it as is or wanted to take it to the next level then it has possibilities. I am asking $1500 and am open to offers and/or trades. If someone had a pop-up trailer camper to trade, that would be welcome as a possibility. Details could be worked out.
Email me for more details or requests for specific pictures. I have another 75 pictures that show details. It is on the truck so I can deliver within reasonable distance (up to 100 miles) but only after purchase.
(This is a very honest posting and it could be a “fun” project for the tool savvy handy person, especially if you could get it for basically a salvage price - value of solar and hydraulics, etc. alone. There's probably a pretty small pool of potential buyers for this so I'd guess the final purchase price is going to be a bargain. So many of these older Alaskans for sale seem to be worn out and used up but someone's buying them! Gbail)
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