The Dirt Sherpa Build
- Thread starter GCecchetto
- Start date
AeroNautiCal
Explorer
Looking at those very neat mounts and by the way you chose heavy load inserts, the phrase, 'Excellence Is Standard', springs to mind!
GCecchetto
Adventurer
Thanks everyone, I really appreciate the flattery, it helps motivate me to keep pushing through this build.
Chevrolado
Cruisin'
Woooah! Awesome build! Keep at it. Definitely subscribing to see progress on this one. Very nice. 
GCecchetto
Adventurer
Here's a few photos of this weekends fun. Most of the weekend was spent getting the jack brackets, front wall trim pieces, and rear fold away step brackets fine tuned so they can go to the powder coater for finishing. Unfortunately my fears regarding the jack brackets have come true. I had speced 10ga stainless steel for the construction of the brackets but the shop took it upon themselves to change that to 14ga. I told them I didn't have much faith that 14ga was going to be robust enough but they assured me it would be fine. Well, the brackets seem to support the weight fine but the flanges the jacks bolt to flex more than I am comfortable with so I have taken the brackets back to the shop to add some gusseting. In the end this may be the best setup as it does keep the overall weight down but I'm concerned the front brackets might whistle at freeway speeds once the gussets are added since the gussets will face forward. I also installed my Smart Plug shore power connector, and did some rework on the tie downs since I cut down the dock bumpers on the front wall to move the camper closer to the back of the truck cab which resulted in the tie downs being loose and I did not have the room to shorten them. I had to cut some new threads on the welded stainless eye bolts on the front and cut the eyes and roll them in further on the rears.
Here's the camper up on the jacks after unloading. You can see why I want brackets that don't flex.
Here are the rear fold-a-way steps with all the final angles cut. Nothing left to do but radius the corners a little and do a little overall cleanup.
Here is the Smart Plugs shore power connector. Expensive but trick.
Here's the camper up on the jacks after unloading. You can see why I want brackets that don't flex.
Here are the rear fold-a-way steps with all the final angles cut. Nothing left to do but radius the corners a little and do a little overall cleanup.
Here is the Smart Plugs shore power connector. Expensive but trick.
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GCecchetto
Adventurer
Here are a few picture of jack brackets and trim installed for good now. Didn't get a photo of the upper trim on the front wall or the steps in the rear The gussets did the job on the jack brackets, they're rock solid now. The thin stainless distorts at the bolt locations but is nothing I can do about that, wish they been made out of 10 gauge like I asked.
Here is the electrical connection between the truck and camper.
Temporarily wired up the running lights and third break light to make sure everything was working correctly. Took the the camper out for a shake down run to make sure the jack brackets don't whistle and took a couple of photos.
Here is the electrical connection between the truck and camper.
Temporarily wired up the running lights and third break light to make sure everything was working correctly. Took the the camper out for a shake down run to make sure the jack brackets don't whistle and took a couple of photos.
SLO_F-250
Explorer
WOW! Looks great on your rig! Love the matching white. You build is way nicer than my "red-neck" version! haha Keep the pictures coming. I really like your clean electrical work. Im still running the "get-r-done before the trip" mode. :drool:
PS. Im not a big fan of the new Tundra, but I gotta admit. Your rig/setup looks killer!
PS. Im not a big fan of the new Tundra, but I gotta admit. Your rig/setup looks killer!
Mark Harley
Expedition Leader
Excellent work! It looks great Love the details you have added to make it functional and useable.
Brackets and fab work are over the top. Very interested in the finished look.
Brackets and fab work are over the top. Very interested in the finished look.
GCecchetto
Adventurer
Thanks everyone. Today is the big day, ordering my new composite lift panels and planning to take Friday off to pick them up. Hopefully I'll be putting the roof on the weekend following this weekend. It's going to hurt to put the old roof and tent on my otherwise new camper. I do plan to build a new roof and have a new tent made in the next year or two.
Odds of me building a pop-up camper=zero. Odds of me stealing an idea or two for fabricating something=quite good.
I know for awhile there it seemed like no one was watching, but trust me, we are. I appreciate attention to detail even though I might rush the occasional project myself. But you're showing us what IS possible, if we want to try it.
Kudos to you and keep up the good work.
I know for awhile there it seemed like no one was watching, but trust me, we are. I appreciate attention to detail even though I might rush the occasional project myself. But you're showing us what IS possible, if we want to try it.
Kudos to you and keep up the good work.
GCecchetto
Adventurer
Thanks Rob. There are times when I seriously question my decision to take on projects like this and this weekend was one of those times. Trying to put the clear finish on my teak wall panels in 100 degree heat just wasn't do'n it for me. Couldn't roll it on and strike it off fast enough and ended making a mess of one panel. So, I'm sanding out the panels and taking them to my buddy to spray the last couple of coats. It will all be worth the effort when I'm drinking my first beer in the eastern Sierras.
The motto I try to live by: doing what's right doesn't always mean doing what's easy.
Five years ago I swapped out a 3.0 liter engine and swapped in a 3.4 into my Toyota. Lots of work, lots of hitting my head against the wall. But I don't regret it one bit. A day doesn't go by when I don't think how much more fun the 4Runner is to drive
SLO_F-250
Explorer
I like that quote. I have learned that the hard way many many times!
Keep up the good work GCecchetto!! Its looking good! Hope those snazzy new lift panels work out. Im thinking they are shorter for less canvas interference. The shorter they are the easier the canvas corners fold in IMO.
GCecchetto
Adventurer
I like that quote. I have learned that the hard way many many times!
Keep up the good work GCecchetto!! Its looking good! Hope those snazzy new lift panels work out. Im thinking they are shorter for less canvas interference. The shorter they are the easier the canvas corners fold in IMO.
Yes, the wider panels dig into the softwall when folded so the shorter panels will be good in that respect. The downside is, elastic straps that pull the tent in when folding are 6" out past the end of the panel both sides, leaves electrical feed to roof exposed, and insulated side walls no longer finish out behind the lift panels.