New owner of a 1991 shadow cruiser.

[Bigvw]

Well I am out of state and my wife bought a 1991 pop up track camper. Its a shadow cruiser. She said the interior is like new. The floor does not look used at all. As I can see the only problem I have when I get home next weekend is to haul it home with the pickup. I guess I can use my motorcycle straps to get it home.
Another thing will be is we need AC in the camper. This is a must have item, and I told the wife when she said we could get a truck camper is that it would have AC. She does not like the heat at all. So should I get a roof AC or some kind of small window unit.
What do you guys think?
Thanks very much.
OH I will be hauling this on my 2000 chevy long bed standard cab. And this is for a long bed so I'm good.

 

[rangerdogg]

Congrats from another shadow cruiser owner

 

[tanglefoot]

Congrats!

Does it have a window in the back wall, next to the door? If so, that's an ideal place to install a wall-mounted A/C unit in place of the window.

A/C units in the roof of pop-ups can cause some problems. It makes it harder on the lift mechanism, can induce leaks and can threaten the integrity of the roof.

 

[Bigvw]

Thanks I have been doing some research on this topic and can't find much. I was really thinking about putting a small window unit in back like you said. I have a roof AC in my TT and I had to work on it this summer. Oh my it was no fun. I can't wait to sell it. Its only two years old, but I can't haul the motorcycles and camper at the same time. I really am surprised that wife went with her step father and got this camper. I think it will be a lot cheaper to do the window unit install also. This is good.
After all my searching I can not find how much this camper weighs.

 

[rangerdogg]

Hi big vw on my 98 that's were they installed ac in the rear window its framed in for one. So I'm sure you 98is the same .If u have any question I have had mine for a few year and have done a few thing to mine

 

[jkce72]

looks awesome. anymore pics.

 

[Bigvw]

oh cool so I have a 98is. This we did not know. This is the first time my wife bought without me. I like it because she paid for it. Well she did tell me Im paying for half. lol. She said it did have a small back window. I guess thats where I will put the AC. I would really like to put a door so the AC can be put in and out when ever we need it. Im going to purchase some happy jack or something like that to attach it. I really was thinking about fabing something at work, but I would still need to get the turnbuckles, so Ill just pay for them. And when I go and pick it up ill post some pics. Thanks guys.

 

[subterran]

Welcome! It looks like you have a nice camper going there. As for the AC, have a look at the last several posts in my thread about installing a cheap but effective AC unit that is removable in cold weather to save weight and wear and tear. There's a link in my signature. Have fun!

 

[Bigvw]

Yup that looks good. I would like to put it in the side window, but Im not sure much about the camper yet. I do know I have a back window. I will look this weekend and see what kind of space and side window I have. Still think its funny the wife got it without me. She did say that if I say anything bad about it she will never do that again. She is so worried that I won't like it when I get home. Just from her description and the bad side picture I like it. Some of my best camping memories were in my palomino pop up. We took that think every place. When my son came along we had to get something bigger so we could all three go camping. I hate big campers. That 28 foot TT with the super slide sucked. Big and heavy. When I get this truck camper done to my approval I am going to sell my 18' TT.
Oh and I was looking at some of the portable AC units. I could get a 8000btu and only have to take it when I need it. I am sure we will need it when I go to sturgis next year. It is the 75th sturgis rally and my wife has never gone. This will be fun.

 

[subterran]

I had considered using a portable too. We have one for our house as an emergency backup. They just don't put put the same as a window unit of the same BTU rating. Also- they are power hogs. If you expect to run it from a generator, you'll need a big one. My setup is designed to run off of a 1000 watt genny, for quiet and less weight.

 

[Bigvw]

Ok that I didn't know about being power hogs. I might just have to use the back window and put a small unit there. I hope the window is big enough to put one it. Ok its friday and Im going to be going home and picking the camper up from Ill. Saturday. I can't wait to see it. I am going to use the motorcycle straps to hold it down for transportation. I don't thing that will be to bad. I also hope my truck does ok. I have no idea how heavy this camper is. Nothing on line.

 

[Bigvw]

Well I'm very happy with the camper. I was worried about the truck but it did not squat very much. Needs to be caulked because it's been sitting in storage for so many years. The interior looks like new. The vinyl trim cover that hides the screws needs to be replaced, but other than that it's nice. The data plate on the camper says its 1100 lbs fully loaded. I can't wait to get it on a scale.

 

[brian90744]

window A/C

measure the rear window hole size. and check out home depot for a 5000 BTU window unit. Check your unit for a 110 Volt outlet near the window. I picked mine up off ebay. it is a 6ooo BTU with remote control. Post some Pics of your camper inside. just FYI=brian

 

[gingerK]

I have that same camper, check your data plate for a manufacture date. Mine's a 93. My first pop up had a small ac unit mounted in the rear window and it worked great on shore power. I didn't have a gennie at the time so I never tried running it on a gen. My SC has no air but we make do with a couple of fans. Congrats to your wife on a great find! BTW, I also bought both my tcs and I'm a woman so tell her I said good job!

 

[Bigvw]