Truck Utility SpaceKap to Camper Conversion

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mobydick 11

Active member
sorry think i screwed up the weight . it would be about 420 LBs . brought it home today ,it is very back end heavy ,i guess because of the double doors . We had no tong weight and i had to stop and purchase a few bags of ready mix to through in the front .I had a 5 x 10 trailer and it would not slide in past the door section .
 
vintageracer

vintageracer

To Infinity and Beyond!
Looking at your cap pictures again I want you to know your truck cap is NOT a SpaceKap!

It's a PELSUE Products Cap!

This cap was manufactured by Pelsue Products in Englewood Colorado. I knew something looked funny to me about your cap when you said SpaceKap in the title of this thread.

Great bunch of people at Pelsue. They make all sorts of safety related items for telecom and other industries. Been in business a longtime over 50 years. I am friends with the VP there who is part of this family business. Stopped by last Fall for another personal tour.

Here is a link to their main website with ALL their products and a link to their line of what they now call fiber splicing caps. That's why the cap you have is so tall, has the cab overhang and has double doors which was what they used at that time. It was probably used for fiber cable splicing.

I looked at their basic empty shell telecom trailer with off-road package for a potential trailer build.

Nice well built products all the way around. They have to be as the telecom's use their caps and trailers for a longtime and over a lot of rough terrain.

Pelsue

pelsue.com pelsue.com

Product | Fiber Splicing Truck Insert

Fiber Splicing Truck Insert
pelsue.com
 
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Danm7890

Danm7890

Member
vintageracer said:
Looking at your cap pictures again I want you to know your truck cap is NOT a SpaceKap!

It's a PELSUE Products Cap!

This cap was manufactured by Pelsue Products in Englewood Colorado. I knew something looked funny to me about your cap when you said SpaceKap in the title of this thread.

Great bunch of people at Pelsue. They make all sorts of safety related items for telecom and other industries. Been in business a longtime over 50 years. I am friends with the VP there who is part of this family business. Stopped by last Fall for another personal tour.

Here is a link to their main website with ALL their products and a link to their line of what they now call fiber splicing caps. That's why the cap you have is so tall, has the cab overhang and has double doors which was what they used at that time. It was probably used for fiber cable splicing.

I looked at their basic empty shell telecom trailer with off-road package for a potential trailer build.

Nice well built products all the way around. They have to be as the telecom's use their caps and trailers for a longtime and over a lot of rough terrain.

Pelsue

pelsue.com pelsue.com

Product | Fiber Splicing Truck Insert

Fiber Splicing Truck Insert
pelsue.com
Click to expand...

The main structure has Pelsue at the top in vinyl with SpaceKap Plus on the side. Seems to me it was built by SpaceKap and outfitted by Pelsue.
 
Danm7890

Danm7890

Member
Some more updates since it's been a while.

I sanded and patched then rhinolined the bottom. It turned out a lot better than I anticipated.

IMG_6109.jpg

IMG_6110.jpg
 
Danm7890

Danm7890

Member
One thing I will lack on the truck is a space for storage and a potential shower. Well, I bought a small trailer and converted it to have a heated shower via propane and solar power for the pump and plenty of storage. This will house our "stuff" and also a spare for the truck since I can't fit my 35" AT under the truck. Under the wood bench is the pump and water tank. You'll see the fill and vent port sticking out of the bench as well. I have a 30watt solar panel on the roof to charge the 18 Ah battery. Off the battery I can run my water pump and led interior and exterior lights. Only thing left to do on this project is to mount a holder for the spare tire, add the shower curtain and think about removing the traditional vent for a 12v fan vent to help with circulation. For those curious, the drain for the shower goes below the trailer and into a gray water 32 gal portable transport tank. The tank below the bench is 21 gal, so plenty of room in the gray tank.

Excuse the chicken!

IMG_6114.jpg

IMG_6115.jpg

IMG_6116.jpg

IMG_6118.jpg

IMG_6119.jpg
 
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P

pablo1960

New member
mtbrown14 said:
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.
Click to expand...
I don't want to hijack the Spacekap/full size slide-in thread, but have you checked with Tufport, just north of you in Delta, B.C.? They have the T55 and T59 units that fit mid-sized trucks. They're somewhat expensive, solidly built, and it will probably outlast my truck. They just had a rare used T55 for sale in September. I boogied up from Colorado to get it. Here's a picture from the trip home. I'm pleasantly surprised at how aerodynamic the cabover is. I had a 4WheelCamper Fleet that was like driving a parachute down the road. With the T55, I'm cruising 75mph,getting 17mpg and my truck cab is quiet. But of course the T55 is tiny compared to the Fleet (apples/oranges). OK, sorry for the interruption, back to Spacekap!
 

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M

mobydick 11

Active member
Hi your build turned out really nice . I am wondering do you know what the completed camper weight is ?? I am looking at buying a new F 150 4x4 reg cab 8 foot box ,it has the 2.7 ecoboost . the reason is I want to travel a lot and the gas mileage from this set up is real good like 25 mpg. My cap is the wild so it is lighter then yours starting out . SpaceKap list a new Diablo at 825 pounds and a wild at 625 . so starting out a bit lighter ,but no standing head room ! I am also using a gear trailer . so the cap will mostly be a sleeping platform and seating for when the weather is real bad . I realize the f 250 is a better platform but the big difference in gas mileage will be huge for me by the end of the day. think I would have about 1200 or 1300 lbs to do the build out .
 
Danm7890

Danm7890

Member
mobydick 11 said:
Hi your build turned out really nice . I am wondering do you know what the completed camper weight is ?? I am looking at buying a new F 150 4x4 reg cab 8 foot box ,it has the 2.7 ecoboost . the reason is I want to travel a lot and the gas mileage from this set up is real good like 25 mpg. My cap is the wild so it is lighter then yours starting out . SpaceKap list a new Diablo at 825 pounds and a wild at 625 . so starting out a bit lighter ,but no standing head room ! I am also using a gear trailer . so the cap will mostly be a sleeping platform and seating for when the weather is real bad . I realize the f 250 is a better platform but the big difference in gas mileage will be huge for me by the end of the day. think I would have about 1200 or 1300 lbs to do the build out .
Click to expand...

Honestly I haven't weighed it yet but while jacking it up I could tell my jacks were struggling a little more. I still think I'm sub 2k but my F250 doesn't notice the extra weight much. I also didn't skimp out on materials. If you stick to 1/8" paneling and light material, you can keep the shelter light. If I were to do it again I would build the same layout, but with lighter materials. Once I get it weighed I will post my findings.

As for the fuel mileage you will suffer, but not as much as a full size truck camper. The profile of these are lower, the reason you don't have much headroom to start with, but I think overall its a better design to start with these shelters.
 
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mobydick 11

Active member
I visited the spaceKap web site the other day .I was able to download a PDF on the installation . the reason your Kap may be rocking is when you buy a new one it comes with a sub floor frame that you place on the bed of your truck before installing the Kap. Also they supply metal pockets that you screw to the side of the box were the lock downs contact . I could not find a parts department ,but they must have one . They also say when closing the tie down there must be pressure or it is not adjusted right
 
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