Old camper, same gameplan, let the mods begin!

[IdaSHO]

So I scrapped my idea of a scratch built camper. I found this '71 Bell slide in for $150, and couldnt pass it up.

Especially seeing that it had this beauty in it... A Calson 6M propane sealed furnace.

I think the furnace alone is probably worth 3x what I paid for the camper. It is an 8' camper that is actually designed for a small truck. Previous owner had it on a Nissan pickup. So the thing is a bit narrow, but the floor to cab-over height fits my flatbed pickup PERFECT! :sombrero:


Anywho.... this is the thread that will tell the tale of the Bell camper.

There will be at least 3 stages of modifications. The first of which is almost complete. A simple refurbish that will render the camper road worthy, and capable of keeping us warm on our annual 1800mile (round trip) road trip.

Stage 2 will be adding boxes to the undersides of the camper to allow the camper to ride properly on my flatbed pickup. These boxes will also allow for a bit of interior modifications, increasing square footage, relocation of items like the fresh water tank and propane tanks, adding a battery, isolator, and other 12v items, etc.

Stage 3 will be a complete exterior refinish, including furring the walls out a bit, re-insulating the entire structure with high r-value rigid insulation, and a complete smooth-wall re-skin.

Updates to follow :ylsmoke:

 

[adrenaline503]

Looking forward to the flat bed mods since I retrofit a slide in that's what I'll be up against.

 

[IdaSHO]

Yes, the flatbed certainly changes things. Good and bad. It raises the floor height quite a bit (6 inches in my case), but it also gives you the option to really open up the floor plan of a slide-in. :sombrero:

Here we go....

First order of business was to rip out the furnace to go through it. I tried lighting it with it in the camper, and the pilot wouldnt light. I figured it had a plugged line, or orifice. I was right. And after a tear-down, cleaning, and reassembly, it is reinstalled and working flawlessly. This model even has a thermostat :wings:

After getting the furnace back in, I tested the remainder of the propane lines and fittings for leaks, then cleaned up and test ran the 3-burner range. All looks to be good to go.

 

[IdaSHO]

Next up was to replace the roof vent, and reseal the roof joints. The previous owner had a tarp over the camper, but it looks like he had tried to fix the leak at the vent a few times. Then the vent got broken. So I tore off the majority of the old "fix", removed the old vent, cleaned things up, installed a new vent, re-sealed the roof joints, and installed a bit of paneling to clean up the interior.

The paneling is temporary, as next spring the roof will be redone, and the interior ceiling paneling replaced.

 

[IdaSHO]

After that I started addressing some of the exterior issues. The drivers side cab-over lower molding had come loose, so that was repaired, the drip rails along the roof were straightened, and all loose screws tightened or replaced.

next up will be to start building the lower boxes, insulated the existing floor, and knock out the bench seat to increase the square footage, while making room for the dog crate :ylsmoke:

 

[Harald Hansen]

Great project! I'll be following this thread.

 

[adrenaline503]

Looks good. Have you thought about what to do with the additional 6 inches you be gained under the cab over? What kind of truck is it going on?

 

[IdaSHO]

Looks good. Hvae you thought about what to do with the additional 6 inches you be gained under the cab over? What kind of truck is it going on?

Sorry, should have included the truck, as well as make my intentions more clear,

The truck is a '96 F260 powerstroke 4x4. with a flatbed.

The camper is designed for a small truck, however, having the flatbed the deck height to cab height is perfect when using a small truck camper. So the gap will be minimal, and fitment should be great. Deck to cab on a stock fullsize ford pickup is 42 inches or so. With my flatbed, Im looking at 36 inches. The camper has a deck to cabover height of 38 inches. :victory:

 

[adrenaline503]

Oh, that's nice. I am starting off with a Nissan Frontier, so more compact dimensions. My Ute tray lifted my height 8 inches so I will have quite a gap. The upside is I have tons of space under my bed, I should be able to house all my water and batteries and propane under there and maximize camper space.

 

[kerry]

Am I correct in thinking that the furnace is NOT a forced air but just a radiant/gravity model? If so I REALLY like it. I think using electricity for forced air in a small space like a truck camper is a poor decision since the heater then relies upon and runs down the battery. Is that model still manufactured?

 

[IdaSHO]

You are correct. This furnace is REALLY cool.:sombrero:

For two reasons...

1.

It uses a triple wall vent, to allow a sealed burn. Combustion air is drawn from outside the camper, burned, and exhausted out the same location. None of the inside air is burned, nor exhausted. All you get is heat.

2.

It also relies on convection heating. As the unit heats up, it draws air thru the bottom, through the heat exchangers, then draft out the top, nice and hot!


no electricity needed, just propane :wings:

I dont thin kit is made anymore. I did find a little bit of documentation online about it, but cannot seem to find any info about the manufacturer online.

 

[IdaSHO]

Oh, that's nice. I am starting off with a Nissan Frontier, so more compact dimensions. My Ute tray lifted my height 8 inches so I will have quite a gap. The upside is I have tons of space under my bed, I should be able to house all my water and batteries and propane under there and maximize camper space.

You could easily box in 5-6 inches of that 8 inches, and have it as either storage assessable from the inside, or even drop the bed down, to gain headroom in the sleeping area. :ylsmoke:

 

[adrenaline503]

You could easily box in 5-6 inches of that 8 inches, and have it as either storage assessable from the inside, or even drop the bed down, to gain headroom in the sleeping area. :ylsmoke:

I had thought of that, although I am hesitant to modify whatever camper I get. I do like this solution though:

http://www.wanderthewest.com/forum/index.php?/topic/1298/

 

[kerry]

You are correct. This furnace is REALLY cool.:sombrero:

For two reasons...

1.

It uses a triple wall vent, to allow a sealed burn. Combustion air is drawn from outside the camper, burned, and exhausted out the same location. None of the inside air is burned, nor exhausted. All you get is heat.

2.

It also relies on convection heating. As the unit heats up, it draws air thru the bottom, through the heat exchangers, then draft out the top, nice and hot!


no electricity needed, just propane :wings:

I dont thin kit is made anymore. I did find a little bit of documentation online about it, but cannot seem to find any info about the manufacturer online.

It's too bad it's not made anymore. I owned a camper in Europe that had a similar kind of heater and really liked it. No concern about running down the battery when running the heater at night. Too bad it's not made any more since the triple wall pipe is brilliant.
I don't really understand why mfg's put forced air furnaces in such small spaces unless it's simply to give the impression that the camper is like a house.

 

[IdaSHO]

I think that is just it, most people cannot seem to leave home, HOME. So traveling for most must include all of the pleasures of home.

Silly, I know. Peeps like us like to travel because it takes us AWAY from home. Totally different mind set.


Here is a quick rendering of the camper on the truck. The boxes will fill out the bed. Later on when I re-skin the thing, I will fur out the walls to be fluch with the boxes, and make this thing super insulated. :costumed-smiley-007

Tonight I will start the demo-work, get all of the underbelly sealed up nice, then te fab work will start. :wings: