1968 Alaskan Camper: Restoration/Refurbish

[KEENO]

Over the past few weeks.... I have finally managed to get my 1968 Alaskan Camper (8' model - Non-Cabover) over to my buddies shop & up on the Chassis lift, for what started as a Floor Replacement Project. Simply, re-applying a 4' x 8' sheet of 3/4" Marine Plywood in place of the 40+ year old plywood that looked like wet, soggy, corrugated cardboard.

As with most projects & improvements, this one has now taken on a direction of it's own and evolved into an full blown "Make-Over". (Definitely, Not... "Flip my Alaskan" tho!) The wallet is being emptied, the UPS driver shows up almost daily & many hours being spent in the shop with power tools. Before I go much further, I would like to thank my long time buddy, Eric, for his skills, knowledge, & work space to proceed with getting this particular Alaskan set for 40+ more years of service!

A quick history and then.... On with the Build!

I purchased this camper over the Christmas Holiday 2008 out in Ventura California for $400. It's actually in great shape after spending the majority of it's time in Baja Mexico attached to a 1970 Chevy C20 Pickup as a mobile surfing home.:sombrero: I also believe it has spent some time up in Banff, Canada by the stickers on the back. I guess it's got Overland-ing in its blood!

Pulling the Alaskan out to the back of my First Gen Dodge/Cummins:




The 40+ year old Plywood Floor/Bottom:




More to come.... It's about to get ugly!

KEENO

 

[Metcalf]

mmmmmmm.....dodge.

Looks like its still in pretty good shape though!

Are you going to nida-core the bottom, that would be trick!

 

[KEENO]

Hey Metcalf...

Nida-Core really never crossed my mind for Flooring? Maybe some investigation is required. So far, I have a $69 piece of 3/4" Marine Grade Plywood slated for the floor with Alumimum or SS angle to reinforce.

KEENO

 

[KEENO]

More pics.... The Day Bottom dropped out

Here's a few more pics of the floor being affect by gravity & the aftermath:




KEENO

 

[Funrover]

I feel this is going to be a great thread to follow!

 

[KEENO]

Divorced

After getting the spent floor/plywood cleaned up, we quickly set the camper base back on the floor before anything else fell out or sagged & proceeded to split the camper halves. Placed the Lower Door back into position, wrapped the lower section in 3" cam straps to preserve what remained of it's structual integrity, lifted the lower section onto (4) dollies and rolled to the otherside of the shop.




Let the work on the Upper Section begin....

KEENO

 

[Tennmogger]

Now there are at least two Alaskan Campers in TN! I'm near Knoxville and have a '70 model 10 ft no cabover. You have a good project ahead of you but it's definitely worth the effort!

We found our Alaskan last fall up in MN. My wife made it clear that further camping was going to require better facilities than before, and I like the camper too.

BTW, when I mounted mine on my flatbed I lifted it enough to put 4 lengths of treated 1x6" boards front to back with air space between them. The idea is to avoid the capillary action and trapped water of having the floor of the camper directly in contact with the truck bed.

Looking forward to watching your progress. What luck to have that lift available!

Bob

Over the past few weeks.... I have finally managed to get my 1968 Alaskan Camper (8' model - Non-Cabover) over to my buddies shop & up on the Chassis lift, for what started as a Floor Replacement Project. ...chop....
More to come.... It's about to get ugly!

KEENO

 

[driller]

hey thats not fair using the lift that just not fair.

 

[KEENO]

hey thats not fair using the lift that just not fair.

What can I say.... Great Friends with the Goods! Git-R-Done! :wings:

KEENO

 

[KEENO]

Hey Tennmogger!

I love your Rig! it was one of the first vehicles I ran across while looking for an Alaskan last Christmas. Your rig & Carlyle's builds come up when Google'ing for Alaskan Campers.... That's what drew me over to ExPo! :victory:

I appreciate the tip on the 1x6 strips to create an air gap under the flooring. This was also recommended by Bryan at Alaskan Campers. I now wish I wouldn't have spent the $135 for the high density rubber floor mat back in December. Shop Mat?

No Worries! Looking forward to a "Shake & howdy" at a Regional Expo event sometime soon!

KEENO

 

[KEENO]

Basement?

Klahanie....

What is an average depth dimension a truck camper with a basement?

I do have sketch of expanding into the wasted space in front of the rear wheelwells tho. Wings? The only conern being, clearing the wheelwells while loading/unloading the camper off of Jacks.

Trying to keep the CG low in the truck bed is always a challenge with a slide-in truck camper. Noodling on the basement thought tho...

KEENO

 

[kerry]

Subscribed x2.

 

[tlbrewer]

X3

 

[Tennmogger]

That was a very funny basement comment :wings:

Keeno, yes, there is significant storage space in those gaps ahead of the wheelwells. Does your Alaskan have the trap doors under the seats? Those give access to storage in those voids. You could build in storage boxes in those spots.

If you expect to have the chassis lift available in the future, one option would be to build a cheap trailer to set the camper on. Just run over to your friend's lift, raise the camper, then lower it onto the trailer. I really don't like lifting a camper on jacks from a tall truck....

I don't have the wheelwell problem so have put a topside box on the left, and Diesel cans and other storage boxes on the right. I actually like having those void spaces for outside-access storage.

(I also have a friend with a lift and that's the only way the camper has been lifted. Now it's on the 'mog "permanently".)

Those overhead bars on your camper front and rear look handy. Great idea to attach them where there's good structure to hold them. I am contemplating adding two pieces of Unistrut from front to back along the top to provide support for the top (tends to sag) and provide a place to bolt down 'stuff' like solar panels.

When your camper is functional again we must arrange a middle TN campout!

Bob / Tennmogger
WB4ETT


,

Klahanie....

What is an average depth dimension a truck camper with a basement?

I do have sketch of expanding into the wasted space in front of the rear wheelwells tho. Wings? The only conern being, clearing the wheelwells while loading/unloading the camper off of Jacks.

Trying to keep the CG low in the truck bed is always a challenge with a slide-in truck camper. Noodling on the basement thought tho...

KEENO

 

[Metcalf]

I always wanted to build fuel or water containers that where molded to use the wasted space between where that camper wall and the bed wall is.

If someone had a spare truck bed you might be able to mold the inside surface or make a plug then a mold. It would be a lot of work but it would be a really really cool feature to have. I bet there is about 20-30 gallons of capacity if not more.

Last thought.....blow or roto-molded HDPE......