Guess who's back!?! Atl-atl's K5 Blazer + Four Wheel Camper "The Crawlin Cabin" documentation thread!

I need to go back and read this entire thread but from what I have seen nice job. I am a diehard squarebody guy and now you have me thinking. My current rig is a 1st gen tundra with a northstar but I am now on the hunt for a four wheel blazer camper lol. Yours is absolutely amazing.
 

Atl-atl

Adventurer
I need to go back and read this entire thread but from what I have seen nice job. I am a diehard squarebody guy and now you have me thinking. My current rig is a 1st gen tundra with a northstar but I am now on the hunt for a four wheel blazer camper lol. Yours is absolutely amazing.
I actually just found another one and brought it home last week. I will be documenting the restoration of it on here and on CK5.com. Let me know if you might be interested in buying it once Im done. Here is the build thread I started. https://forum.expeditionportal.com/...our-wheel-campers-blazer.244874/#post-3178404

edit: I see you posted in that thread already!
 

Atl-atl

Adventurer
Well its been a minute. Ive been busy with a thousand projects this summer. Thankfully a lot of them involve the Blazer. We've taken it camping a couple times since Expo and Ive been able to slowly chip away at the endless to-do list even though Im in Flagstaff and all my tools are in Phoenix now.

Testing out the new bumpers bike rack holding ability when offroad. Passed with flying colors.
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Tomorrow Im planning to drive to Ridgway Colorado for a huge party that my buddy throws every year and Im hoping to take the Blazer instead of the RV. Should be a trip. Nothing spikes my anxiety like the thought of driving 5 hours across an Indian Reservation with no cell service in a 45 year old truck with completely donated organs(drivetrain) that I installed myself.

Ive done a ton of maintenance and mods to the Blazer to get it ready for longer trips like this. I installed a 250 watt solar panel, basic MPPT controller and inverter. This allows me to run the fridge for a couple days without worrying about anything and also use the Starlink when Im remote. I also installed powered fans in the holes where there used to be two basic vents. We've been getting a ton of rain in Flagstaff this summer, thankfully. But This resulted in the bed being wet one morning when the truck had just been sitting parked in front of the house. I took this as a sign that it was time to reseal the roof and I wasnt going to spend the time to reseal crappy passive vents so I installed fans. Running the wiring through the ceiling was a slight pain but nothing too bad.
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Also mounted a jerry can onto the back bumper, you know, for the overlander cred. It was actually supposed to be two cans but the mounts I bought were some Amazon crap and theres no easy way to link them together and mount them on the bumper the way I built it. This fall Ill probably build a new mount for two cans. One is good enough to get me an extra ~50 miles of range so thats fine.
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Since Im running a cat things get pretty hot under the driver side of the truck which is where the wiring harness runs for everything in the rear of the truck. This resulted in my wire loom starting to melt. Initially I just wrapped it in heat shield and called it good but I recently I started to smell melting plastic again so I relocated the wire harness to the outside of the frame rail. Its tucked up underneath so you cant see it unless you lay on the ground and look up at it.
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When I was under there I noticed I had a busted exhaust isolator and this turned into a whole day project. My exhaust install was sub-par from the beginning so this was long overdue. I noticed some cracked welds at a few joints in the pipes which I think was a result of too much movement in the exhaust. Thankfully I had brought the good welder up from Phoenix for another project Im starting so I was able to get this taken care of quickly. Its now solid, my muffler is like an extra skid plate at this point!
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Speaking of other projects, in case you didnt catch it in my thread in the Pop-Up-Campers forum on here. I managed to score another "Blazer" Four Wheel Camper!! I now own 2 of the ~1000 of these that were ever made. This one is going to be for sale after I restore it. In fact, it already has a lot of interest. Ive already gotten it stripped down to the aluminum frame and skin. We were able to park in the garage for all of about 6 days hahaha. If you want to follow along Im documenting it on CK5 and Expedition Portal here. I will also be documenting it on the new Darlington Adventures Youtube channel. Ive never done anything like this before so it should be interesting. Darlington Adventures on Youtube
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Atl-atl

Adventurer
Not a happy camper today. Accidentally backed the RV into the Blazer. Its very rare for me to be this absent minded. I had literally just parked the Blazer behind the RV so I could pull the RV into the driveway to get it ready for a trip. Like, park the blazer, get out and get in the RV, back right into the Blazer, all in the span of 30 seconds. Hit the front passenger corner. Dented in the hood, cracked the headlight surround, cracked the grill and pushed the fender back enough that the passenger door wont open.🤬
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ITTOG

Well-known member
Oh man, that is painful. Sorry that happened. I had an event like that once with the garage door. Unfortunately it happens.
 

Atl-atl

Adventurer
Put together a flat tow setup to see if the RV will be able to tow the Blazer. Spent ten days driving from Flagstaff to Durango, Silverton, Ouray, Telluride and back to Flagstaff using the RV as a home base either parked at an RV park or wild camped and then used the Blazer to drive around town, go on adventures etc. Pretty stoked about this new setup. Going up the higher passes gets pretty slow at times ~30mph for the steepest grades above 10k feet but highway and normal two lane driving 65mph is easy. The attention it gets is off the charts. Individually these rigs are eye-catching but towing a camper with a camper is a whole new level. Driving across the reservation from Cortez CO to Kayenta AZ there were gnarly storms and a 30-40mph headwind. Hand calculated MPG over the 120 mile stretch was 4.13!! Thats a new record!! :LOL:
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Here is a picture of the setup. Tow bar is a Roadmaster Flacon 2. This is a cool tow bar because it doesnt use a standard hitch with a ball. It directly mounts inside your receiver and has a pivot and swivel to get the flexibility it needs. This is essential for the type of offroad driving I do when seeking out remote camp spots etc. The only downside to this setup is all of the pieces involved have play and when you add up the drop receiver, brake, tow bar and d-ring adaptors there is enough play that the towed vehicle moves around quite a bit.
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Roadmaster Falcon swivel.
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For brakes I went with a Readybrake system from NSA RV. Its 100% mechanical and there are very minimal failure possibilities. There is spring loaded mechanism inside the silver sleeve that pushes forward when the towing vehicles momentum slows enough for the towed vehicle to push forward. This mechanism pushes the black lever on top which tugs on a cable that is attached to the towed vehicles brake pedal. My blazer happened to already have a hole in the firewall immediately behind the brake pedal so running the cable/housing to the front of the truck was super easy. The whole system is incredibly basic and just works. Its so much better than the alternatives like a huge box that you put in front of the drivers seat that pushes on the brake pedal, needs to be moved/stored every time you want to drive the towed vehicle, needs power to run and relies on sensors inside the box to know when to push on the pedal.
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I used a basic set of magnetic tail/brake lights that plug into the 4 pin harness on the RV and stuck them on the back bumper of the Blazer.
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If I decide to tow the Blazer more frequently I will definitely make some changes to this setup so the towed vehicle settles down. Ill swap the tow bar for one from NSA that has their ReadyBrake integrated. This will eliminate one link in the chain that causes sway. Also whenever I get around to building the front bumper for the Blazer Im going to integrate D-ring mounts that are high enough so I can ditch the 4" drop receiver. This will eliminate another link in the chain. Lastly I want to figure out how to wire the stock Blazer tail/brake lights so I can plug them into the 4 pin of the RV so I can ditch the magnetic trailer lights. In the end our trip was a success and I couldnt be happier about being able to bring both rigs on the same trip without the hassle of a trailer.
 
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arveetek

Adventurer
Lastly I want to figure out how to wire the stock Blazer tail/brake lights so I can plug them into the 4 pin of the RV so I can ditch the magnetic trailer lights.

I recommend these diodes from Roadmaster:


Essentially, you cut the factory wiring going to the taillight, then splice one diode in on each side. You will have two inputs and one output: one input is the factory wiring and the other input is from the 4-way from the motorhome. The output goes to the taillight. Makes it a cinch and keeps everything working properly so there's no backfeeding through the turn signal switch. Simply run a dedicated, permanent flat 4 wire from the front of the Blazer to the rear, and then use a short quick-disconnect cable between the front of the Blazer and the rear of the motorhome.

You don't need a diode on the clearance/running circuit, as it can power up all the clearance/running lights on the Blazer with no problem.

Casey
 

Atl-atl

Adventurer
I recommend these diodes from Roadmaster:


Essentially, you cut the factory wiring going to the taillight, then splice one diode in on each side. You will have two inputs and one output: one input is the factory wiring and the other input is from the 4-way from the motorhome. The output goes to the taillight. Makes it a cinch and keeps everything working properly so there's no backfeeding through the turn signal switch. Simply run a dedicated, permanent flat 4 wire from the front of the Blazer to the rear, and then use a short quick-disconnect cable between the front of the Blazer and the rear of the motorhome.

You don't need a diode on the clearance/running circuit, as it can power up all the clearance/running lights on the Blazer with no problem.

Casey
This is perfect, thanks!
 

Atl-atl

Adventurer
I decided to start a Youtube channel for Darlington Adventures. Im going to chronicle the drivetrain swap on Blazer #1 and the restoration Blazer #2 that I picked up this summer as well as document any adventures we go on. This is my first attempt at editing videos ever so go easy on me hahaha. Please like, subscribe, all that crap.
 

Atl-atl

Adventurer
Holy crap its been almost 3 months since Ive updated this thread. Its not for lack of progress, just lack of time. The biggest project I completed was a new front bumper. So here is Front Bumper Part 1 of 2.

Ive been thinking about how to build this for years. Before I did the motor swap I bought an Engineered Vintage behind bumper winch mount and had planned to use it as a base for a bumper. After staring at the front of the truck with no bumper and a 1 inch body lift for years Id finally had enough. What I decided on was actually modifying the winch mount so I could tuck the winch up closer to the bottom of the radiator support. I wanted the winch and front bumper to tuck in and up as high as possible. I dont like the way any of the "period correct" bumpers looks for K5s so I got to work. Whats nice is the frame rails on a K5 are approximately 24" apart and most truck winches are 21-22" wide. So I got some steel and got to work mocking things up. The starting point of the entire bumper is a pair of weld on shackle mounts from SDHQ which I will also be able to use for hooking up my tow bar. I welded them to some 2"x2"x1/4" wall tube and tied them together with 1/4" plate that runs down the outside of the frame rails. The shackle mounts wound up about 30" wide which is perfect for a tow bar. In conjunction with the frame plates that are part of the Engineered Vintage frame mounts the front frame horns are now sandwiched by 1/4" plate for about 12 inches down the length of the frame, tying in the steering gear and using almost 20 grade 8 bolts to sandwich everything together. I dont think its going anywhere. I did have to cut off some of the winch plate material so that the winch could suck up against the bottom of the radiator support. Not a big deal though because the top of the bumper, which is what the winch actually mounts to, is all 1/4" steel. This is probably getting really confusing so here come the pictures.

First things first I got this sweet band saw "table" from Swag Offroad which has completely changed my fabrication abilities for the better. What a difference this makes. Gone are the days of taking forever to cut 1/4" plate with a cutoff wheel or a chop saw!!

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Anyway, on to the bumper pics
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I kept the same shape/lines as the rear bumper where it steps up just after the frame rails and then has a 1 inch taper up as it goes outwards. I also added a 1 inch taper backwards as it goes to the outside and I think turned out really nicely.
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I used the Engineered Vintage winch plate to mark the mounting holes and fairlead holes which worked perfectly.
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Finished product ready for powder
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Atl-atl

Adventurer
Once I got it back from powder I mounted the winch and started to test fit the bumper.
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The winch didn't clear the "wings" of the Engineered Vintage frame plates so I had to cut them down. Thankfully I was able to cut them flush to the frame rails without getting rid of any mounting holes I was planning to use.
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Here they are trimmed, painted and mounted back up.
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I picked up a cheap 12,000lb Badlands winch from Harbor Freight that has a removable control box so I mounted that to the frame and wired it all up. The winch hangs upside down but its 2 1/2" higher up than the Engineered Vintage mount so the "bottom" of the winch sits higher than the bottom of the frame rails which was the goal all along. In the future Ill build a bolt-on skid plate for under the winch that has a cutout for the free spool lever.
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And the final result. I love it so much!
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Kingsize24

Well-known member
Once I got it back from powder I mounted the winch and started to test fit the bumper.
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The winch didn't clear the "wings" of the Engineered Vintage frame plates so I had to cut them down. Thankfully I was able to cut them flush to the frame rails without getting rid of any mounting holes I was planning to use.
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Here they are trimmed, painted and mounted back up.
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I picked up a cheap 12,000lb Badlands winch from Harbor Freight that has a removable control box so I mounted that to the frame and wired it all up. The winch hangs upside down but its 2 1/2" higher up than the Engineered Vintage mount so the "bottom" of the winch sits higher than the bottom of the frame rails which was the goal all along. In the future Ill build a bolt-on skid plate for under the winch that has a cutout for the free spool lever.
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And the final result. I love it so much!
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I love it as well. That's a damn nice looking bumper build you did there!
 

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