72 IH + ‘85 Alaskan = Questionable Judgment...

[Nailhead]

JJ is the man! Super nice guy and literally has anything IH related you may need. I bought my power steering set up from him.

He's a good guy, and willing to provide: I got the gas tank, DS tank strap mounts, and a washer reservoir from him, and I'm probably not finished yet.

 

[Nailhead]

July ‘19: headed for Wheatland with my new seat, A/C system, and other goodies-

Went & got some steel from a buddy for building the bed/subframe to support the camper:

And went to the fairgrounds to watch the fireworks:

Also got some work done on the new gas-fill fender:

I had pretty much cherry-picked Coonrod’s D-Series fender selection, and the best one they had still had a small rust spot that needed a patch, so time to cut & weld. It also had about fifty little holes from trim strips that needed welding up, too.

A little undercoating topped it off, and then Harry took it the local body guy for finishing & paint prep.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Andrew_S]

Man I absolutely love everything you've got going on here. That alaskan is such a mint looking unit. Can't wait to see more.

 

[Photobug]

I love this project, I considered an Alaskan for my project but it did not fit my vehicle of choice.

Can't wait to see more of this project. I wish I had your skills and friend with a shop to work in over winter.

 

[Nailhead]

Jeez, I’ve completely neglected this thread— guess I should get back to it.

I think we were in late summer of ‘19...

Got some bodywork done:

Refinished my A/C dash panel I got from Coonrod’s on the way back from Breckenridge:

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Nailhead]

Then the real fun began: building the camper frame:

We got really lucky in that the metal we had would accommodate our camper-with-side-boxes plan almost like it was made for it.

Just needed to do a lot of cutting:

And quite a bit of sanding because that metal had sat outside for some years:

And the fun part: a lot of welding:

We followed this with some paint:

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Nailhead]

At this point, we had to get the frame off the old flatbed/work table, get it turned right-side-up, and finish painting. We were NOT looking forward to this, because it required using Satan’s minion itself, Harry’s old Vermeer.

Two old men did the rigging:

And over it went, in a surprisingly controlled fashion.

Out the door the old bed went, too:

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Nailhead]

Next, it was time to mount the frame on the truck.

First, finish the paint.

Then, after being shocked at the price some new oak would cost, I rehabbed the old bed spacers:

And finally some paint on the truck frame & cab while the access was still good:

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Nailhead]

Time to set the camper frame. First, rigging to find the balance point:

This took a few attempts.

We finally got it good enough, so...go time:

Mounted & bolted up:

We had to mock up the box fit for S&G’s:

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[DirtWhiskey]

What a great old beast. This is a special build. May the force be with you..

 

[Nailhead]

Sorry, got distracted by, well, 2020...

Next time in WY, we lined the gas tanks, which required a cleaner as a first step. Drying them required a little ingenuity:

What could possibly go wrong?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Nailhead]

IH D-Series trucks have a tendency to rust through around the windshield. Harry fixed the spot at lower driver side while I was gone:

The spots on the upper corners required staging, however, so that project was all mine:

I made a pattern for cutting both the parent metal and the patch:

A little surgery:

Patched:

On to the A/C install...


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Nailhead]

Man I absolutely love everything you've got going on here. That alaskan is such a mint looking unit. Can't wait to see more.

Thank you, belatedly. It was a one-owner, garage-kept.

 

[DJSponge]

I can't tell you how much I love this project...can't wait to see this come to life!

 

[Nailhead]

I can't tell you how much I love this project...can't wait to see this come to life!

You & me both, buddy, you & me both...

It's been 2 1/2 years.

Thank you for the compliment!

I just read the whole thread and I can think of only one word to describe it... FANTASTIC!!!!!

I am just starting the refurbishment of my camper "Casa Azul" and have spent the last few days overwhelmed by the details. Now after reading about your thread, following your process, and attention to detail... I am raring to go, THANK YOU for the motivation!

Oh and, KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!

"Attention to detail"...are you sure you replied to the right thread?

Seriously, thank you very much. Be sure & post up a thread on your project-- that's how I learn how to do this stuff.

Oh, and watch how much time you spend contemplating the project as a whole: you gotta do that for planning purposes, I understand, but don't do it to the point that hopelessness or panic sets in. It's a fine line sometimes.