pop up camper project log.

[wagex]

welp for family trips tent wasnt cutting it for the wife anymore, so we looked and ended up grabbing a 1990 starcraft pop up for a pretty good price. its very basic inside only thing 12v is the dome lights. the "fridge" ended up being an ice box. hand pump water faucet. i have an offroad trailer that will be my primary solo trip rig, and this will be when im bringing the family, which will be 90% paved roads.

build log for my offroad trailer: http://forum.expeditionportal.com/t...ffroad-trailer-build-log-move-new-tow-vehicle

progress so far..
- re-attached the vinyl walls to their respective rails, someone didnt feel the need to and just screwed it to the wall?!
- put 4.5" lift on it. it rode very low and leaned back made it tow bad and drug on the smallest divots when pulled with our dodge journey.
- started rewiring the entire electrical system, the charger and converter were very dated, 6a max on the 12v converter and it constantly hummed, and battery charger was only getting the battery to like 12.4v.
- installed some speakers with a bluetooth capable amp so i dont have to mess with a head unit.
- installed a digital 30 amp 120vAC to 12vDC converter.
- installed brand new 100AH deep cycle battery.
- finish wiring the 12v/120v systems some 12v outlets, usb charger ports, 2 more 120v outlets, battery charger, ect.
- seal the last leak which is the cover on the exhaust vent
- spray all the fresh metal underneath with some undercoating and scrape and repaint most of the chassis / frame
- scrub all the mildew off the vinyl inside
- put on new tires / spray paint wheels
- re-pack bearings they feel fine just need fresh grease

stuff to do:
- install 120v 5000btu AC unit / relocate battery.
- install solar panel / charge controller
- build and install roof rack for kayak mounts.

and heres a few pix of progress so far. first pic is pre-lift, second is lifted.

 

[Semi-Hex]

That just might work out for the growing family and will give you plenty to do in the off season.

 

[wagex]

just about finished wiring, i need to vacuum the saw dust and ziptie a few wires and its good. i do need to run one more 110 outlet when i put in the AC unit but that project for another day as they say..



the design, for the most part, everything having a common ground, this just shows the + route. minus the solar controller / panel for now.
also forgot, but the lights are on the same line as the amp and 12v outlets.

 

[wagex]

a little more done every day, wiring done, new tail light housings, most of the mildew scrubbed off and bleached, leak in the roof vent sealed, floors scrubbed, and new fridge secured in place.
of course bub is helping

 

[ivers]

I love those build, great choice for the family!

 

[wagex]

also i think the center of the camper is suppose to be curved like the sides, i think its settled and that's what has pushed the sides of the roof out, thinking a cable with a turn buckle and a pipe in the dead center with a base plate to push up in the middle and pull the sides in at the same time. when the lid is down both sides stick out an inch or two past where it should be sealing.

 

[wagex]

got a little more done this weekend, sprayed all the bare metal with rubberized undercoating so it doesnt rust on me. i also put on the new tires and scuffed and sprayed the wheels down with some fresh paint, good as new.

some day i might put some 13" wheels, with bigger tires but these should do for now.

 

[Travelin _man]

Awesome!!

 

[wagex]

no much else going on, we hung new curtains and hung privacy curtains at the end of each bed since mother inlaw will be sharing it on occasion. didnt grab any pix yet it stormed really bad shortly after so we rushed to put it down.

i also redid all the lid latches so they were tight and sealed them with some silicone.

i will likely have the roof rack built next week i did a favor for a family friend who owns a metal fabrication company so he said he'd make those in return probably next week as they are super busy this week.

also working on building a water filtration system to share between the trailer to fill water tanks when boondocking for long periods, this camper only has a 10gal tank and my offroad trailer has a 16 gal. which didnt last a whole 6 days with two guys last time. some reason even when camping i cant go more than 2 days without a shower if i can even make it that long. lol

the water and solar power i think will be interchangable between the trailers as theres no real way im going to be using both trailers at the same time in different locations. but neither of those are coming very soon so as for now il post some pix of the curtains and i think were gonna just go with a portable AC unit. instead of cutting a hole in the camper.

 

[wagex]

got some pictures of the new curtains and we got to take it out this weekend for my wifes family reunion had fun, ready to take it out again not much left to do, it does need a new valve stem on the driver side tire its kinda leaky.

i also need to take out the fridge and cut a hole for a fan to circulate air behind it thing didnt want to cool down very good till i put a fan blowing on it... it had about half an inch on either side and 4" in the back but i guess convection alone isnt gonna do it in there :\

 

[DanCooper]

Great job. I sure had fun in one years ago. Your upgrades/mods are excellent.

 

[wagex]

just got back to looking at this thread as camping season is soon upon us forgot to update I did put LED lights inside a while back should be a lot easier on the battery when boondocking and they run a whole lot cooler. really only thing I have left I really wanna do is add a like 120w solar panel to the roof for off grid camping mostly for charging devices, powering lights, and fans. will probably be detachable with an extension cord for when parked in a shady spot summers here arent exactly cool.


EDIT: i guess i never added pictures of the roof rack / kayak mounts.

 

[TexomaPowerboater]

Cool thread, thanks for posting. Surprised more people on this site don't use pop-ups. So much more space and comfort over the offroad trailers and other camping setups I've seen and much less money. Looks like you got one in very good shape. What did you end up doing on the roof sag? Am thinking about buying an older one myself. How much money do you think you have into the repairs and improvements?

 

[Darkrider]

Great thread so far! Looking forward to future updates. I will probably be looking into something like this in the near future to pull behind my Patriot.

 

[wagex]

Cool thread, thanks for posting. Surprised more people on this site don't use pop-ups. So much more space and comfort over the offroad trailers and other camping setups I've seen and much less money. Looks like you got one in very good shape. What did you end up doing on the roof sag? Am thinking about buying an older one myself. How much money do you think you have into the repairs and improvements?

i havent done anything with it yet, i probably need to do a little work on the lid this summer, the two sides need new wood put in them they are almost rotted out sadly. i might look into the lid more then, also looking at it closer ive started to believe it doesnt actually have any sag in it just the rotted out sides have worked their way out and started bowing instead of being angled from the sag in the roof.