What would you do? Slide in truck camper

[Zachcrosby4]

My wife and I were given an old slide in truck camper. It obviously won't fit my Tacoma so we bought a long bed dodge single cab for $2,000 to be able to move it. We may upgrade trucks depending if we keep the camper. Here's the camper:

And the truck:

I went to mount it up and one of the side walls holding one of the jacks collapsed, bending the exterior wall and breaking the interior paneling. Upon further inspection that wall was rotten as well as the majority of the exterior walls.

So it would basically need to be rebuilt completely to be back to mint. My wife loves the idea of having a bathroom and shower while camping and not having to go outside in the night to use it but the majority of the bathroom is rotten as well. It comes down to a ton of work and time to get this camper up to par so a few things have crossed my mind to do

1. Rebuild as is keeping same form.

2. Pull all appliances and "good" parts and build a small bumper pull using the good parts.

3. Part out and sell and get out of it, though it was given by my wife's grand father

4. Figure out some way to build a compact offroad trailer with it.

So what would you do? Trying to weigh options and keeping in mind that my time is a bit scarce at the moment with work and other projects going on. And would love to hear other options. We have never had a camper so it's all new to us. Thank y'all.


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[tarditi]

#2 or #3

This was the "warning shot fired across the bow," IMHO.

If it has tremendous sentimental value, you can restore it at great expense
If the parts are in good working order, you can pull them off, but I suspect most of them are old school at best, but there may be some nice items tucked here and there.

Building your own pull-behind can be fun and/or frustrating. Trying to work solutions around existing parts may be beneficial or infuriating - make sure to bench test them. You could always sell off the parts to a vintage camper restorer or person working on a project.

 

[Nicaragüense]

Check out rv.net, they have lots of rebuild and repair threads on there. It is a involved process, but it is just plywood and appliances all wrapped up in siding. Check out those threads to get an idea of what would be involved to restore one of those.

 

[Mundo4x4Casa]

You mentioned the one thing you need lots of to make this work: your time, or lack of it. I see two ways to go with the project:
1. Just patch it up to just make it leak-proof enough so it won't fall apart when you're on the road. The absolute minimum. Why? You will get the hang of TC's and there plusses and minuses, and this would be a test case. This is only if all the appliances work, the electrical is good, including the converter/inverter, the plumbing is good, and there are no other structural problems. In campers that I"ve seen that have major water intrusion, there is always the threat of mold and mildew. Don't discount this threat.
2. If the amount of work you will put into it is not worth the result, ash can the thing. To the dump. I know this is harsh, but there is nothing more common in TC fix-ups as good intentions that never make it across the finish line. The only TC i would ever try to resuscitate is one that had NO water intrusion and none of the systems needed much attention. Most TC-er's get there by degrees thinking a 1/2 ton pickup is plenty enough and a cheap, used TC is begging to be renovated. The paradigm for the day is:
"Always go for more truck and less camper." I would consider a 3 series (1 ton) truck to be ADEQUATE for the size camper you have inherited.
When I was writer for Off-Road.com and 4x4General Store I received many inquiries from men wanting to make their 1/2 ton, 2WD pickup into a 3/4 ton, 4WD model. It looked so easy on paper: just slap on a transfer case, leaf springs in front, a driven front axle, and all will be fine. The ratio of completion to failure was about 1:99. I know you are thinking this could be a fun project, but fun doesn't come to my mind. Only if you are VERY talented with finish carpentry, electrical, structural issues, and water proofing and can move very quickly would even consider this project.
I see this one as a basket case. Sorry, but someone has to say it. But if you must give it a go, go for #1. above. Think of it as an educational experience.
jefe

 

[calstar]

....I would consider a 3 series (1 ton) truck to be ADEQUATE for the size camper you have inherited.....I see this one as a basket case. Sorry, but someone has to say it.
jefe

Yep, 100% correct. That is one huge time and $ pit!!
Brian

 

[Zachcrosby4]

Well after posting this on a few sites, that seems to be the consensus. Can it. I hate that's the way it needs to go considering my wife's grandfather loved it so much. Salvaging parts and canning it was the way I was leaning but was hoping for a way to keep it that I wasn't seeing. Thank y'all for the push.

The wife will have to just keep peeing in the woods lol. Not like she's not use to it ha.

Thanks again!


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[norcal*PWRstroke]

If you have the time and have some carpentry/ handy man skills go for it!!! These old slide ins are incredibly simple, they can be alot of work when things keep crapping out, but nothing about the work is complicated. Just time consuming. The newer ones can be expensive to repair but the older ones are not bad, i havent even spent the 500$ i had saved to rebuild mine yet. I will be close to the 5004 mark after I buy the black diamond plate. have a look at my lance rebuild and see if its something you want to tackle.

 

[pappawheely]

It's often easier to build from scratch than to re-build.