Alaskan Camper Build Up

[VikingVince]

Sweet setup...you're giving Alaskan a lot of good PR...they had, for some reason, fallen off my radar as a possibility...but after following your build and seeing the results they're a viable choice for sure.
What do you do for a shower setup? (sorry if it's somewhere in the thread) Am I correct that Alaskan doesn't offer a shower option?

Happy travels...

 

[wild1]

Tw200

The TW200 is more like a burro then a regular dirt bike,you just kind of point it in the direction that you would like to go and let it find its way.Works great for getting around once the camper is set up. The locals in Baja just loved this bike, I was a little concerned if I was going to get it back across the border. I carry it on a modified Versahauler rack, I cut off the 2 inch stinger to get it as close to the back of the truck as possible and to take advantage of the strengh of the 2.5 inch shank. I use it with a Tow Beast 2.5 inch hitch and it has been very rugged. The nice thing about this rack is that I can flat tow my Rubicon using the 2 inch receptacle that is built in to it. Great minds must think alike, I carry my Cannondale tandem mountain bike on the Versa hauler outriggers and my Soar s16 inflatable canoe/kayak behind the seat. I will try to attach a couple of photos but I may need to wait till my son can help.

 

[Carlyle]

Shower

Alaskan will put a shower in if you want it, but in reality we never used the inside shower on our previous camper in the four years we had it. On the other hand we did use the outside shower and have that on this camper as well. We currently use a small cedar deck and are considering getting a little shower enclosure for a bit of privacy if we happen to be in a place people can roam by.

I'm interested in seeing some pictures when you get a chance wild1.

 

[wild1]

Wild 1 in Baja

Wish it had been us Joaquin, my Dad's been ill so we decided that we needed to stay a little closer to home. We spent most of our time in Arizonia and Utah. We were in Baja for about five weeks last winter and spent a couple of them in the Muluge area. One of the border patrol told us that he had seen a truck all most exactly like ours coming back into the states from Baja last year so there are a few out there. Hopefully I can corral my son and have him show me how to attach a couple of pictures tonight.

 

[wild1]

Wild 1 pictures

Here's a couple of photos that give you an idea of how the bike looks on the truck.

 

[Carlyle]

Now that I've finally done a little cleaning inside after vacation and being back at work I have a few more shots, mainly of the interior:

ICP Solar fan, 3 total in the roof. Quiet and and run 24/7 w/o wiring

Sirius Radio and DVD player in overhead cabinet. I'll be moving the Sirius to be under the deck shortly as it blocks access to the cabinet too much.

22inch flat screen LCD; can you name the movie?

LCD in travel position behind settee. Settee and LCD are on roller bearing guides for movement. Dampened gas struts go on the LCD later.

Solar and Battery bank monitoring system. Still awaiting the battery shunt, but shows the amps coming in from the sun.

Pull down double shades that are partial or full light blocking. I need to mount them closer to the wall for total blocking still.

Thetford toilet cassette; takes a little getter used to, but makes you oh so versatile on the road. We'll never go back to a holding tank again.

More to come after the battery shunt arrives and I read the 200 page manual for the Outback charger/inverter.

 

[Curmudgeon]

Sorry to sound so ignorant, but what is a "cassette" toilet? It looks like what I know as a porta-potti. How is this different? Or is this just the kinder, gentler, more civilized terminology?

-

 

[boblynch]

Sorry to sound so ignorant, but what is a "cassette" toilet? It looks like what I know as a porta-potti. How is this different? Or is this just the kinder, gentler, more civilized terminology?-

You're not far off. It just goes one step further in the separation of the two halves. The best overview I've found is here... http://www.lewisgray.com/Sanitation_products/Cassette_Toilets/howitworks.htm

Bob

 

[Carlyle]

It is a little more than a porta-potti, at least in my opinion. It does have a flush system and has no odor when flushing or changing the cassette. It may see backwards, but truly hauling around a holding tank full of "black water" and trying to find a dump station whenever you camp is backwards and much more primitive. After a little learning about how to do this I would never go back.

 

[Curmudgeon]

You're not far off. It just goes one step further in the separation of the two halves. The best overview I've found is here... http://www.lewisgray.com/Sanitation_products/Cassette_Toilets/howitworks.htm

Bob

Thank you. That was very informative. I can see that it's far more sophisticated than what I'm used to. I've always seen the porta-potti as kind of a necessary evil. Great in a pinch, but a real PITA to dump and clean.

 

[fisher205]

Even the Thetford portable model (similar to the Porta potti) is really easy to use. I got rid of the old Porta Potti in my Alaskan and put in the Thetford Cassette. Not as nice as Carlyle's but I still like it better than a holding tank.

 

[boblynch]

Carl's build got some good press.

http://www.truckcampermagazine.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=472&Itemid=2

 

[wild1]

camper article

That' s great that they did an article on your Alaskan, after living with a 11 1/2 monster for eight years downsizing both systems and size in the Alaskan without losing the comfort has been a liberating experience.

 

[Carlyle]

Thanks Bob and wild1 for the follow up. Gordon at TCM did a nice article and it does a nice overview of why I went with the present camper. I do think that I will have to do a write up to explain a little more. There are a lot of truck camper people out there that don't realize that they don't have to have what's sitting on the lot that is probably too big for their truck anyways.

 

[Carlyle]

Well I finally got a nice day to put a couple coats of wax on the top of the camper started adding the Yakima racks.

Towers and cross bars in place.

Load Warrior on with shovel and axe attached.

Steps to climb up to the top. One more is going on lower so that I can climb up when the steps are not deployed.