Alaskan

[dzzz]

 

[Overland Hadley]

Wow, looking good.

 

[Cody1771]

does alaskan still build those or is that a custom dealy?

 

[ersatzknarf]

Wow ! Looking great !
Thanks for posting the photos.
That makes sense about using gas for cooking.
The potty arrangement looks good.
That fridge/freezer looks nice and large !
I'm interested to see the frame set-up, too.
This looks like a really great arrangement.
You put a lot of thought into it.

The camper will be put on a pre-installed frame that's attached at the back and spring mounted at the front. There's actually two frames. A small frame behind the cab to hold bikes or whatever. Then the frame that holds the camper.
Heat and hot water is be diesel, but the cooktop is gas. I didn't want to cook with diesel, and I wanted to be able to use an outside gas grill too.

 

[ujoint]

This is gonna be one killer rig! Can't wait to see it!

 

[dzzz]

does alaskan still build those or is that a custom dealy?

It's custom in the sense that it's not on their price list.
But critical dimensions are the same as their standard truck campers. In particular the width of the roof.

 

[dzzz]

...........
This looks like a really great arrangement.
You put a lot of thought into it.

It's mostly just a standard alaskan camper that's been squared off. The changes I made are:

-I had them design for a regular Full XL 10" thick mattress. (Without a cab over the mattress can be 80" long, something tall people need to consider.)
- It's taller. Conceptually the floor is "dropped" compared to their standard camper height. So the counters are higher than normal. This allowed for the extra large fridge. I also have a chest freezer.
- water/electricity/heat will all be upgraded by me. At delivery there's no heat or hot water. I had them put in a large water tank and a 30g propane tank. Propane is only for cooking.

I made sure there were enough 110v outlets and lights in the ceiling. As long as they pulled the wire that needed to be pulled during construction I can change it to how I want. I didn't see any advantage in them doing extensive customization with the mechanical and electrical systems.

 

[dzzz]

Thanks Peter. The front bed isn't common but it is a standard size. Double/full long (80"). I can buy a coil mattress and fitted sheets. The settee is close to a twin bed size.
I have no plans to sleep four. My kids are late teens/early twenties and can sleep in a big tent. At that age they're only going to spend a week or two a year camping with dad anyways.
I have the carry capacity to support a good size group. But I never designed towards many people sleeping under roof. I should have plenty of storage. I'm curious to find out if I feel I need more living space.
It's odd to consider that sitting I will be looking out the window at about 10' off the ground. I think that will give a sense of spaciousness, but I have a hard time imagining the feel of the interior. One practical advantage is that people walking by can't look in the window.

 

[VikingVince]

That's going to be a really nice rig...good choices you made!
What is the truck? A Fuso?

I've always wondered why Alaskan doesn't offer a shower/wet bath like other pop-up campers. It looks like it would work in your toilet space. (or do they? I didn't see it on their website) Do you have an outside shower...do they offer it?

Happy Trails! (you're destined to have them )

 

[dzzz]

The truck is a unimog u500

They have put in a shower as a special request. I believe they've done it several different ways. But as a wood camper builder I can understand why they don't offer it as standard. For me the advantages of a pop-up outweigh the disadvantages of no shower and a rear entrance.

I would rather have a nice outdoor shower considering my cabin size. A bit bigger and made of fiberglass I would go indoor shower. If I change my mind on this camper, I can add it later.

 

[wild1]

Your camper looks great.I really like the provision for a full size mattress,that has been my biggest complaint with our Alaskan after 400 plus nights out. Even with the extended cabover you are still limited to a 4 inch thick pad and that gets old pretty quick.A super easy addition that you might consider is a removeable counter extension across the dinette to the front wall. That and a cover for the sink more then tripled our counter space and removes and stores in seconds when not needed. Looking forward to seeing further progress, keep us posted.

 

[dzzz]

Hi wild, I remember your Alaskan with the utility boxes. I'm glad you like your camper. The counter extension is a good idea. I believe what your saying is that it covers the seat.
Anything you would have done differently in your build? Do you have solar?

 

[wild1]

My extension is very simple, I just used a piece of 12''wide shelving to bridge the gap from the section of the counter holding the sink to the front wall. I used shelf supports that just insert in a 3/8 inch hole drilled into the trim at the end of the existing counter top and the front wall. It works with the dinette seat up or down and can be placed to the front or back of the counter. It also works great for a shelf for the laptop when we watch movies with the dinette made up as a bed. I think that your use of a compressor type fridge is a very good idea. All of the downsides of a propane fridge are magnified in the Alaskan due to the lack of a vent stack out the roof. I currently have two deep cycle lead acid batteries in the utility bed and touch them up every few days with my 1000 watt honda but I will more then likely add a bit of solar this winter when I am down south. When you stay in one location for extended period's it makes a lot of sense. Our camper has seen more then 60,000 miles,lot's of it on back roads and two tracks and it is still tight and functions well. Alaskans are pretty low tech but they are hell for stout.

 

[dzzz]

Ordered 8 batteries today. Ouch. Here's the three starting and two backup that at being replaced. I didn't test. The starting are three different brands, and I wanted to go deep cycle.

impactbattery was the best for lifeline batteries I found. They came off their published price a bit. No shipping, no tax. BatteriesPlus was the most expensive I saw for the speciality batteries. Just short of 2x the low price.

 

[ETAV8R]

This is a pretty awesome rig. Anxiously waiting for the finished pics.