Truck Utility SpaceKap to Camper Conversion

[vintageracer]

Pelsue in Evergreen Colorado makes some very nice fiberglass products and other worker protection products. Got a personal tour of their factory last October when looking at purchasing one of their small utility work fiberglass trailers. I was not aware that they manufactured a slide in.

 

[Danm7890]

I am making slow progress on this. I recently moved and took the camper to it's final resting place to get finished in a new shop, so that's very exciting.

The jacks I purchased are:

Rieco-Titan Standard Tripod Camper Jack - 4 Pack​

57881​

Rieco-Titan Standard Tripod Jack Lift Extensions​

57158​

These are not the cheapest jacks on the market but they are robust and work great for my application. I got the extensions because my truck is lifted on 37s. These were purchased from Dyers online for just under $700 all in for four.

 

[Danm7890]

I also had to replace the rubber bumpers as the ones I had were all worn out. I swapped the rounded ones out for a Energy Suspension 9.9136G 2" Tall 2" Square Bump Stop from Amazon for $17 a pair. If they will work with suspension, I'm sure they'll work fine under the F250 side rails because it's flat. First is OEM, second is replacement.

This is the OEM one:




New Replacement:

 

[vintageracer]

Early on you replaced the rotten wood floor under the fiberglass. You then laid down solid sheet pink insulation over that repair and then again installed another sheet of plywood over the solid sheet pink insulation.

Is this correct?

 

[Danm7890]

Early on you replaced the rotten wood floor under the fiberglass. You then laid down solid sheet pink insulation over that repair and then again installed another sheet of plywood over the solid sheet pink insulation.

Is this correct?

I replaced the wood inbetween the layers of fiberglass. Then glued 1" rigid insulation to the fiberglass floor and covered that with sanded plywood for the vinyl laminate to sit on top. I didn't want cold feet in the morning. This also strengthened the floor quite a bit which I wanted.

 

[phritz]

I have a SpaceKap Diablo and I like the shell. But it rocks around in the bed a lot when I’m driving - even on pavement. Do you find that as well or is your unit pretty solidly anchored in the bed?

 

[Danm7890]

I have a SpaceKap Diablo and I like the shell. But it rocks around in the bed a lot when I’m driving - even on pavement. Do you find that as well or is your unit pretty solidly anchored in the bed?

Have you tried changing out the rubber on the ends with something like I did above so its a solid connection instead of a point. Also when you use the bar inside to tighten and put in the pin does it give you a lot of resistance? Mine are pretty hard to pull down and get the pin locked in which makes for a solid camper with no rocking.

 

[Danm7890]

Couple updates over the last couple of days since I have been working on the small details. Got the doors mounted but had to mock up the door catchers as the fiberglass around them were gone. I made an aluminum mount with custom wedge washers before I reglass the area for strength. I also found a source for replacement door weather stripping and the oem stuff is hard to find.

 

[mtbrown14]

These are all looking awesome. I am looking for a capsule for a Nissan Frontier or Tacoma...AKA a mid sized truck. Does anyone have any recommendations on where to find one? I am in the Seattle Area, but willing to go far for a new or used. The Maranda V-165 seems to be the item I am looking for, but seem difficult to find. Any leads would be awesome.

 

[vintageracer]

Look at the commercial truck conversion companies in your area such as "Monroe", other re-seller's who are actual dealers for these caps or other commercial vehicle conversion companies who outfit a lot of trucks for industry. These companies contract with many different industrial companies such as ATT, Sprint, local utilities, government agencies and the like. They also decommission these same vehicles when replaced and as such may still have the USED and no longer needed truck accessory parts such as these fiberglass caps that have been removed from the older trucks.

You will be surprised how many of them are out there and available when you start looking in the right place.

You biggest difficulty will be your requirement of looking for a cap for a Nissan Frontier or Toyota Tacoma. Most of these types of fiberglass caps are manufactured for and installed on full size trucks. Not saying you won't find one however your mid-size truck requirement will exponentially increase the difficulty of your search.

 

[mobydick 11]

I was low bid today at Bryans auction on one of these caps . It does not have the extension over the cab though . looks good in the pictures,will know better when i pick it up . Think i got real good deal was just fooling around and did not think I had a chance . now I need a F250 with an 8 foot box shoot !!

 

[vintageracer]

It's rare to find a Spacecap with the extension over the cab.

 

[mobydick 11]

I think the biggest advantage will be , I can build it out without having a truck tied up . My ARE aluminum cap that I have about 75 % completed the truck needs to be there . if you need materials on hardware you have to pack up your tools or take another vehicle . If you have one .

 

[DzlToy]

What is the weight of an empty fiberglass shell?

EDIT: forgot to add the weight for the Master Truck Body version, for comparison. Their 6.5' version weighs 600 pounds and their 8' version weighs 700 pounds. Both seem quite heavy to me.

 

[mobydick 11]

The One I am picking up tomorrow is an 8 footer with no over cab box . they say it weight is 300 KG ,that is 660 LBs i be leave. it has no side doors as well so that would be saving a bit .