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I think it can be done. It will be beneficial if you can weld aluminum but not necessarily essential. Sort of the wildcard in my mind is how to extend the roof sheet metal, I'm thinking overlapping seam with Sikaflex to seal the extension.

It would be a challenge to do this without a lot of work. A roof extension (frame + sheet metal) and canvas extension would be in order, along with major surgery on the top hoop (C channel) of the camper frame, and obviously the bed wood would need to be replaced. If the canvas is newer, I...

F150 with a custom popup camper (originally '82 FWC Fleet) outside Marble, CO on the infamous Schofield Pass Road. This road isn't ultimately that hard, you just have to be 100% present of mind while driving it. Aired down and rear locker, the truck walked right up the narrow track without any...

My buddy used to pull a heavy steel 4 place open snowmobile trailer with a truck just like that, it did the job fine. Probably 1500 lb empty trailer (total guess, could have been much more, sure felt like it), plus ~2400 lb of sleds, and a tall spray shield on the front. Usually ran in 3rd gear...

That raises a good point. The cylinder sleeve is a loose fit in the outer finned body, with an air gap between them in most places. Seems like a good way to over heat the plastic piston ring.. stripping the paint and ensuring good thermal conductivity between the finned body and the sleeve could...

10ga cord upgrade made the single biggest difference on mine. Not sure I'd bother cleaning up the head casting again, but that was more to ensure it was assembled correctly (it was).

Far from perfect. Hm. Probably about perfect for an aluminum frame and ply bottom. Maybe I'm not picky enough to be a critic though? I think your business model is darn close if you're staying that busy. Not talking get rich quick business, but steady work, weather the storms kind of thing. From...

My FWC rebuild lifts the roof 34", and was not sturdy at all until I added canvas. Once canvas was in, it became very stable. I think I would update the gas struts for the weight, but not do anything beyond that until the canvas is in, as it [instability] might be a non-issue.

Loads better on dirt too. Even just walking around inside the camper it feels more stable. So, once I get an idea I can't leave well enough alone. I made a really simple spare tire mount in the camper: bolts the tire to the front wall. This is how it has been mounted on my flatbed for 4 years...

I'm in Laramie, in the SE corner of the state. That's good to hear on the ST Maxx. Winter performance is my only concern for that tire and a MT driver would know if they work.

I have skinny Wildpeak AT3W's on my truck. In the winter I'm usually chasing powder for snowmobiling, so snow and ice performance was my top priority. They are excellent for that. In fact I find them to be very good everywhere with one exception. They're lame in mud, worse than the BFG AT KO...

Driving around town, the shocks really help! No more undue sway/rocking.

Don't think I want the swing out tire carrier. Kind of a pain in the butt having to open it every time and I don't need it at this time. If I had the foresight, I would have put the entry door of the camper off to the driver side so I could do a non-swing tire carrier. Or a side entry door. So...

No the 285/75R16 is only available as an E-rated LT tire. I'll offer up my opinion of the AT3W's as well. Winter traction is excellent. Rock traction is good. Dirt traction is good. On road they're very comfortable. In fact I like them very much everywhere, except mud. They load up quickly...

I opted for a lunchbox (Aussie) in my old truck. Install was simple. I took my time, probably 4 hours. A pro could do it in half that. It clunks during turns on pavement under light-med throttle, but off road has been superb. I've only had open diffs before and I'm blown away. For the $280 all...

Raised height would be the only way I'd ever setup a topper for camping again. That should be a sweet setup, and $30 is amazing.

BRP, are you talking about sign material? I sided my camper in E-panel (well, off brand stuff, half the cost). 0.008" thick painted aluminum on each side of ~4mm polymer. Sikaflex 252 was used to bond it to my tube frame. It's tougher than you'd think, and reasonably lightweight. I didn't use...

After a bike ride today, I went to some FS roads on the way home and checked out how this articulating mount works in the rough. I noticed it sways a bit cruising along on dirt, and during a swerve on pavement. I may want to add dampers of sorts to keep that at bay (rubber in the front mount, or...

I picked up some 2x2x11ga steel tube, steel 2.5x3/16 angle, a spool of wire, and a big greaseable bushing. Built a pivot mount for the flatbed, that also works on a separate, more skeletal tube frame just for the camper. Here's the pivot & skeletal tube frame. Don't mind the mixed paint color...

My FWC roof looked bad when I was rebuilding the camper, and I was really tempted to reskin it too, but now that it's on the truck I never see it and with no leaks, I'm glad I didn't reskin. Like you, it was for budget reasons, and I do think this is an OK area to save (as long as you can keep...