Just got me a Skamper!
- Thread starter Ponyracer
- Start date
As I figured, I did done basic doodling on a napkin designs and came up with the following.
Est 8'x7 ' camper footprint
6' tall walls
12" OC (may be to much, 16" OC better?)
Grand total of 281' of tubing
Steel 230 lbs
Ally 75 lbs
Not sure if the added expense of material and having to spend $6-800 on a welder is worth 155 lbs.
At the moment I tend to doubt it. Esp since I'm in a 3/4 ton truck. I didn't notice I had anything in the bed until I hit 2500 lbs when hauling scrap steel.
Thoughts?
I may still try to redesign the roof out of square ally tubing, maybe 3/4 and ally sheeting with a roof coating on it. The goal is to remove all wood from the frame of the camper. If I can get the roof light enough maybe I can redesign the problimatic skamper lift assembly or do away with it all together.
Est 8'x7 ' camper footprint
6' tall walls
12" OC (may be to much, 16" OC better?)
Grand total of 281' of tubing
Steel 230 lbs
Ally 75 lbs
Not sure if the added expense of material and having to spend $6-800 on a welder is worth 155 lbs.
At the moment I tend to doubt it. Esp since I'm in a 3/4 ton truck. I didn't notice I had anything in the bed until I hit 2500 lbs when hauling scrap steel.
Thoughts?
I may still try to redesign the roof out of square ally tubing, maybe 3/4 and ally sheeting with a roof coating on it. The goal is to remove all wood from the frame of the camper. If I can get the roof light enough maybe I can redesign the problimatic skamper lift assembly or do away with it all together.
Are you talking about Aluminum?
The other thing to think about is the (cheapest possible) wood was put in there in 1995, its now 2012 so that is 17 years. Mine is from the 80's so my wood has survived 25+ years. Do you think you'll keep this camper for another 15-25 years? and if you use a decent joining rather than big staples that allow too much flex and wear their holes out and put some care into it you can probably get more use out of wood.
I redid my roof frame with cedar, its light weight and rot resistant so if a little bit of water does get it it won't hurt. Screws tend to strip out easily so I used bolts and t nuts and the bolted together sections allow some bending and flexing.
I'm using plain old homedepot pine for the frame, light and strong. I'm joining with dowels and good waterproof wood glue. The doweled joints you can research and I've tried before to break one and the wood will break elsewhere besides the joint, modern glue is stronger than wood.
If you really wanted to make it good you could prime all the frame with a water resistant paint.
I'm also using plywood rather than paneling so the plywood gives more strength (glued on). Paneling is like gluing to the page of a book, rip that one page out and its done, plywood is like gluing all the book pages together first then gluing to that.
I figure mine will outlast the original.
Wood isn't that bad of a material, most of the rv industry is more a poor construction issue than the fault of wood.
and yes, the lifting mechanism sucks, I cranked mine up quick in the garage one time and didn't notice I didn't have it centered and the roof corner hit the garage door track and stripped the gear. next summer my wife tried to lower with the vanity lid open and stripped it. so I've bought two $35 cranks.
The other thing to think about is the (cheapest possible) wood was put in there in 1995, its now 2012 so that is 17 years. Mine is from the 80's so my wood has survived 25+ years. Do you think you'll keep this camper for another 15-25 years? and if you use a decent joining rather than big staples that allow too much flex and wear their holes out and put some care into it you can probably get more use out of wood.
I redid my roof frame with cedar, its light weight and rot resistant so if a little bit of water does get it it won't hurt. Screws tend to strip out easily so I used bolts and t nuts and the bolted together sections allow some bending and flexing.
I'm using plain old homedepot pine for the frame, light and strong. I'm joining with dowels and good waterproof wood glue. The doweled joints you can research and I've tried before to break one and the wood will break elsewhere besides the joint, modern glue is stronger than wood.
If you really wanted to make it good you could prime all the frame with a water resistant paint.
I'm also using plywood rather than paneling so the plywood gives more strength (glued on). Paneling is like gluing to the page of a book, rip that one page out and its done, plywood is like gluing all the book pages together first then gluing to that.
I figure mine will outlast the original.
Wood isn't that bad of a material, most of the rv industry is more a poor construction issue than the fault of wood.
and yes, the lifting mechanism sucks, I cranked mine up quick in the garage one time and didn't notice I didn't have it centered and the roof corner hit the garage door track and stripped the gear. next summer my wife tried to lower with the vanity lid open and stripped it. so I've bought two $35 cranks.
HUH so these are the teeth that get ripped off? It's on the handle and not on the camper itself?
http://www.canvasreplacements.com/p...d/354?osCsid=d9cfce7b3fcb5b5686c2c336e19b9746
http://www.canvasreplacements.com/p...d/354?osCsid=d9cfce7b3fcb5b5686c2c336e19b9746
Correct....but once the teeth strip they get stuck in the track and it is a pain in the ********....
As long as you are careful when inserting the handle and you make sure it is in all the way you will be fine. No need to redesign because the lift mechanism is solid. I used a small pick and needle nose pliers to remove the broken teeth.
I haven't had ANY problems with mind. In fact, this past winter, I had a brain fart and raised it in the garage. I shattered the light bulb that was just above the very front corner and didnt even feel the resistance in the crank. I also bent the linkage attached to my garage door bracket with a sheet of plywood which was sitting on the roof of my skamp.
Crank handle is 100%, and mine is an '89. I'd say just keep an eye on it, but no need to stress over it!
Crank handle is 100%, and mine is an '89. I'd say just keep an eye on it, but no need to stress over it!
The thin strap that holds my garage door opener is bent from the camper roof hitting it as well. Mine stripped because I was in a hurry and cranking fast and hit the door track which is much more solid.
Mine also the p.o. cut the front to back part of the lift arm so that back corner comes up slower than the rest and I think puts extra stress on it. he cut the lift arm to make an overhead cabinet so I'm going to redo that and see if I can't make the cabinet smaller or make the arm clear it under, something to be able to reconnect the front and back.
Mine also had a tree fall on the roof before me so nothing fits together quite right and I patched it one side at a time, one of these days I'm going to rebuild it from scratch as soon as I can find an inexpensive skin.
Mine also the p.o. cut the front to back part of the lift arm so that back corner comes up slower than the rest and I think puts extra stress on it. he cut the lift arm to make an overhead cabinet so I'm going to redo that and see if I can't make the cabinet smaller or make the arm clear it under, something to be able to reconnect the front and back.
Mine also had a tree fall on the roof before me so nothing fits together quite right and I patched it one side at a time, one of these days I'm going to rebuild it from scratch as soon as I can find an inexpensive skin.
SLO_F-250
Explorer
I'm going to agree with xdbx. Mines an 89' as well and I just am careful when lifting. 2 years of owning it with no issues. Thanks for the link though. Its nice to know they make new crank handles if you need them!
Guess what I just bought?
http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/product/dometic-cabana-awning-for-pop-ups/7384
$179 delivered for a 10' version off fleebay!
Anyone ever seen or used one? They seem to get good reviews on the popup site except their STUPID expensive price. Will be used on the pass side to enclose the door and cooking area. (after rebuild)
http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/product/dometic-cabana-awning-for-pop-ups/7384
$179 delivered for a 10' version off fleebay!
Anyone ever seen or used one? They seem to get good reviews on the popup site except their STUPID expensive price. Will be used on the pass side to enclose the door and cooking area. (after rebuild)