no longer considering a fwc grandby, went and purchased one. the fun begins!
- Thread starter bftank
- Start date
bftank
Explorer
as you can see i lucked out and got the 60" later model so i won't have to remove my liftgate again. i just need to put it back on, headsmack, i wish i would have measured this before i went to pick it up. oh well. in these pics you can see that it is missing the fridge and needs some other interior work. some paint and new upholstery on the cushions. so what do you guys think? did i do ok?
priorities are getting a doorknob, installing the camper tie down mounts on the camper itself and eventually getting a new canvas as this one is ripped. to mount the camper to the truck i picked up some e-track and d rings which should turn out pretty slick, and very usefull for when i don't have the camper in the back.
priorities are getting a doorknob, installing the camper tie down mounts on the camper itself and eventually getting a new canvas as this one is ripped. to mount the camper to the truck i picked up some e-track and d rings which should turn out pretty slick, and very usefull for when i don't have the camper in the back.
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rotti
Adventurer
Beware of the furnace vent when your door is open. It damaged the screen and glass on my 83 Granby. The only other major failure I had on mine was the rear door. It can disintegrate with out much warning - frame failure. Great camper though, mine served me well for over twenty years.
Yours looks a little rough, but with a little TLC it will come around. At $300 you did good, the fan on my new Hawk cost more than that!:Wow1:
On my Granby, the factory mounted the camper with four elevator bolts through the floor. Simple and worked great.
Yours looks a little rough, but with a little TLC it will come around. At $300 you did good, the fan on my new Hawk cost more than that!:Wow1:
On my Granby, the factory mounted the camper with four elevator bolts through the floor. Simple and worked great.
Rot Box
Explorer
HAHA! Looks just like mine :coffeedrink: I like the rear window mine has a small closet there.
You did great for $300. Agreed reinforce that rear door before it's too late. I thought mine was fine until the first outing and the wind hit just right and swung it open and blew it to pieces :Wow1: My cushions came to life with a steam cleaner you could give that a try too.
You'll fall in love with that thing trust me
You did great for $300. Agreed reinforce that rear door before it's too late. I thought mine was fine until the first outing and the wind hit just right and swung it open and blew it to pieces :Wow1: My cushions came to life with a steam cleaner you could give that a try too.
You'll fall in love with that thing trust me
SLO_F-250
Explorer
Congrats bfrank! Let the fun begin! Looking forward to watching this one! :coffeedrink:
Paul
bftank
Explorer
so what did you guys do to reinforce your doors? mine still shuts real nice, but i did notice that some of the sheetmetal on the outside has come out of the frame. ithink the only thing that kept my door alive so far was the door stopper at the top. after hearing your guys' stories i might put a door stop at the bottom to even the blow if the wind catches it. i thought about a spring and a chain like on a screen door, but it is already hard enough to get in there.
poking around in it yesterday, it looks like someone has done some "repair work" already. the electrical looks a little shady, and the camper looks like it was notched on the passenger side. i need to start looking at grandby pics to see what mine is missing.
thanks for the compliments folks!
poking around in it yesterday, it looks like someone has done some "repair work" already. the electrical looks a little shady, and the camper looks like it was notched on the passenger side. i need to start looking at grandby pics to see what mine is missing.
thanks for the compliments folks!
bftank
Explorer
thanks rot box. i assume the triangles were made out of aluminum?
craig333, i was planning on buying the vinyl from fwc, but after hearing rumors that it costs $800-$1000, i am leaving that as an option. my wife has a couple early to mid 1900's sewing machines that she brags built america. i might see if they would be up to the task.
looks like i need to rebuild the support boards for the roof as well. the passenger side of the camper was notched to make it skinnier, and in doing so they took out half of each of the holes for securing the camper to the bed.
for now i will duct tape the rips in the vinyl, resecure all the screws that are falling out. stuff a propane bottle in there and see what works.
craig333, i was planning on buying the vinyl from fwc, but after hearing rumors that it costs $800-$1000, i am leaving that as an option. my wife has a couple early to mid 1900's sewing machines that she brags built america. i might see if they would be up to the task.
looks like i need to rebuild the support boards for the roof as well. the passenger side of the camper was notched to make it skinnier, and in doing so they took out half of each of the holes for securing the camper to the bed.
for now i will duct tape the rips in the vinyl, resecure all the screws that are falling out. stuff a propane bottle in there and see what works.
bftank
Explorer
thanks shiryas. i will post some pics eventually of the lift and camper together, i plan on redoing the hitch before i put the lift gate back on, so it might be a while.
has anyone had the heater out in one of these? i unscrewed the front panel so i could remove the heater and it seems to be catching on the outside furnace vent. is there a proper way to remove it? trying not to "incredible hulk" it. i tend to break stuff when that happens. i want to be able to clean it out.
also how do people feel about there itty bitty sink? is it worth hanging on too? i am considering removing it and the water tank for extra storage, and just using a tub and 7 gallon water cubes. i think i will hang on to it for now. thinking about it, it seems redundant to replace a water storage tank with another water storage tank, and a sink with a drain for a tub.
has anyone had the heater out in one of these? i unscrewed the front panel so i could remove the heater and it seems to be catching on the outside furnace vent. is there a proper way to remove it? trying not to "incredible hulk" it. i tend to break stuff when that happens. i want to be able to clean it out.
also how do people feel about there itty bitty sink? is it worth hanging on too? i am considering removing it and the water tank for extra storage, and just using a tub and 7 gallon water cubes. i think i will hang on to it for now. thinking about it, it seems redundant to replace a water storage tank with another water storage tank, and a sink with a drain for a tub.
craig333
Expedition Leader
Go camping. See what works and what doesn't work. What needs repair now and what needs to be done down the road. The sink in mine doesn't see much use. Your mileage may vary. I asked about the vinyl because it seems to be a big job. Not exactly easy by yourself. Doable but some helpers are handy.
Man had a long reply to this thread and then my computer crashed before I hit "post". So I"ll try to keep it shorter this time.
I used 3 rolls of this product to patch the vinyl of my 83 fleet fwc I got in August. Works great. Had a lot of holes/cracks to patch so it took some time but I did this in September/October and the stuff feels stronger than the original vinyl. Not as pretty as new vinyl, but it works well and is a freak load cheaper.
http://www.amazon.com/Tear-Repair-T...UTF8&coliid=I1JIQP56HCPZ2&colid=3BDPBPSP55ZHZ
I expect you'll also want to re-seal the roof. The top edge of my vinyl was getting damp every time it rained until I cleaned out the old silicone/caulk and reapplied. I was told it is important to clean out the old completely since the new caulk/silicone won't stick well on the old. After scraping with a plastic scraper.. what I think worked well for me was finishing with a rubbing alcohol type cleaner and a scrub brush.
Another thing I did recently that you mentioned... was removing the water tank. Don't need to carry that much water on the east coast and I found it easy to connect a vinyl tube between the faucet and a 5 gallon water jug. Makes it easy to bring in or out the water jug. ie.. easier to fill and/or leave at home when I don't need it. Like when I'm only driving to work. That was a pretty easy mod. And it added a lot of storage room. The jug and a cooler is where the icebox use to be. The plastic of the icebox was so old and decrepit that the door fell off in my hand when I opened it shortly after buying the thing. Good riddance. A cooler works better and it doesn't have a huge colony of ants living in it.
$300 is a great deal for what you got. It will need some work, but it will be ALOT cheaper to do yourself. And when you spend so little on something it gives you alot of freedom to try all kinds of fun modifications without having to worry about breaking something expensive. Congratulations on your find.
I used 3 rolls of this product to patch the vinyl of my 83 fleet fwc I got in August. Works great. Had a lot of holes/cracks to patch so it took some time but I did this in September/October and the stuff feels stronger than the original vinyl. Not as pretty as new vinyl, but it works well and is a freak load cheaper.
http://www.amazon.com/Tear-Repair-T...UTF8&coliid=I1JIQP56HCPZ2&colid=3BDPBPSP55ZHZ
I expect you'll also want to re-seal the roof. The top edge of my vinyl was getting damp every time it rained until I cleaned out the old silicone/caulk and reapplied. I was told it is important to clean out the old completely since the new caulk/silicone won't stick well on the old. After scraping with a plastic scraper.. what I think worked well for me was finishing with a rubbing alcohol type cleaner and a scrub brush.
Another thing I did recently that you mentioned... was removing the water tank. Don't need to carry that much water on the east coast and I found it easy to connect a vinyl tube between the faucet and a 5 gallon water jug. Makes it easy to bring in or out the water jug. ie.. easier to fill and/or leave at home when I don't need it. Like when I'm only driving to work. That was a pretty easy mod. And it added a lot of storage room. The jug and a cooler is where the icebox use to be. The plastic of the icebox was so old and decrepit that the door fell off in my hand when I opened it shortly after buying the thing. Good riddance. A cooler works better and it doesn't have a huge colony of ants living in it.
$300 is a great deal for what you got. It will need some work, but it will be ALOT cheaper to do yourself. And when you spend so little on something it gives you alot of freedom to try all kinds of fun modifications without having to worry about breaking something expensive. Congratulations on your find.
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