Land Rover Camper 101
http://i856.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps95e35367.jpg
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Land Rover Camper 101
http://i856.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps95e35367.jpg
Nice, a more expensive LR waiting on parts.Quote:
Originally Posted by brutal
I ended up trading my Tacoma in for a Duramax. :D I now don't have to worry about towing capacity so Im leaning towards a pop up with the toy hauler space on the front.
Excellent choose on the truck. Anything else would have been junk
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave_L
Had you bought a RAM, you could actually tow anything you want.Quote:
Originally Posted by sniper7
ROFL. Yeah yeah yeah. I looked at Rams but for what I do, I really liked the luxury that came with the GMC. Its like I'm driving a turbo'd leather sofa.
Quote:
Originally Posted by brutal
Exactly, you could tow it a few miles till it broke down and a Chevy had to tow your ram and your load to the local dealer!
I got a load for you.Quote:
Originally Posted by sniper7
That Chevy must have been straight off the dealer's lot and under warranty because in the 12 years I have owned my Dodge it has racked up about $300 in repairs and $150 was for an alternator. In the same time my father and his Chevy Diesel has spent over $4K keeping it going. Just saying. [Flower]Quote:
Originally Posted by sniper7
Bring it on over! Just text me the cross streets when you break down and I'll come get you and your load! [Coffee]Quote:
Originally Posted by brutal
Quote:
Originally Posted by jerrymrc
Yeah but his has 300K miles, yours has 11,000 [Beer]
Back on the Camper Subject:
A couple weekends ago, we took out the Fleetwood Popup. I'd been working on it for a week or two, cleaning it, checking supplies, battery, water system etc.
This is how the trip went down:
Rental truck, wiring issues for some reason, only running lights will work, no brake or turn signals. I can't keep messing with it, not even out of the driveway yet. Had to get on the road.
Arrived to camping destination, FOUR people spotting for me as we get the camper parked. (Dad, Wife, the kids) all say "you're ok, ok, looks good"
Kid... Dad, I hear something? Sounds like water?? Crap, they had me drive the camper (pop up) right over a big boulder, Smashed the water tank brackets and the water tank, ripped off the hoses, all the water is draining out. No way to fix, water is nearly all gone now. Good thing we brought bottled water too.
Get the camper opened up, setup the awning, RIPPPPP! Awning falls right off the seam, apparently the stitching has rotted holding it to the rubber strip on the camper. Ok, Rig up some tie down straps to hold all that together.
All is good.
Evening falls, find out the battery is dead. It was fine for weeks before the trip, tested great with 50 amp load, no issues. Solar panel I have isn't enough to charge it up from that deadness. Well, I did have an LED light I rigged up before the trip, it does work with what juice is left in the battery. Happy family, can play some board games before bed. (too lazy to move the truck and setup borrowed jumper cables)
So, just an FYI, prepare the most you can, it might help. If you get a popup, do an axle flip so the camper is higher off the ground. It could prevent some damage. Get some LED lighting setup for inside and outside. Make or buy some kind of jumper cable setup to feed the camper from the truck, nothing heavy duty, but long enough to reach without rearranging the whole camp.
So I'm keeping more items that I might need, in the camper itself. Jumper cables. More LED Lights. Larger solar panel. Water problem, just be more careful where I park. Carry cargo tie downs, very useful.
Just my PopUp story to give some food for thought.
Dang, sorry to hear the bad luck but sounds like you made the most of it! At least it was a good learning experience
Never a dull moment when comparing trucks. Haha
Sounds like it was a rough first time out. Good tips on those things. The little things like that go a long way when removing headaches from a trip.
Are campers like motorcycles and other items and go down in price during winter?
Unless i am misunderstanding your terminology and you did an axle over - under, not actually flip the axle. In that case i apologize. Which i have seen while looking at pull behinds.Quote:
Originally Posted by gnihcraes
An axle flip may cause issues down the road, especially now the bow / camber of the axle is upside down. You can loose alignment once flipped, affecting not only tire wear but overall handling.
Easiest way to get ground clearance, put suspension on top of the axle. Dexter makes a spring Over-Under conversion kit.
I've not changed my camper height or axle/spring flip. You do have to purchase the spring mounts and have them welded on the other side of the axle. Or you can have the dealer do this, but I'm not sure of the costs involved from the dealer. I've no need at this time for the height increase, the axle will still be the same, just the body of the camper would be up out of the weeds a bit more. (and the water tank)Quote:
Originally Posted by Great-Kazoo
Best advice, get out and check things yourself before relying on the other folks to guide you. LOL
I've been renting a truck instead of taking mine. The old GMC (1985) has no radio, working AC etc. It doesn't like the summer heat either (vapor lock). So it's cheap enough to rent a modern truck and make the family happy during the trip. Rental 3/4 ton Crew Cab 4x4 is $300 for Friday/Sat/Sun return monday morning. I also get to do a real world test drive the different makes and models this way.
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-u...719_143343.jpg
Where you camped at? looks nice and people free.Quote:
Originally Posted by gnihcraes
The most exciting thing I see in that picture is your long bow! Lots of fun
Yep, shooting a new model, weekend of field testing.Quote:
Originally Posted by sniper7
Between Leadville and Buena Vista... private land bowhunting jamboree
Was not people free... couple thousand people I believe. Different angle looking down on camp... lol.
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Z...719_110033.jpg
You made all those folks walk up the hill ;)
That's a big boulder allright! Attachment 47987Quote:
Originally Posted by gnihcraes
Yes they do, BUT, you only have a short window of opportunity (between now and October) to buy one. After that most people will put their camper in storage and forget about it until spring. Best time to buy is late winter/early spring.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave_L
I get pretty nervous about hitting rocks as well; my water tank is in the box so it is not exposed. Sounds like you had one issue after another. It is a real bummer when things go south like that.Quote:
Originally Posted by gnihcraes
I plan to buy a new spring and axle assembly. It will cost me $300 for the parts, $250 for the wheels and tires, and a day of my time to deconstruct and weld the new mounts and shackles in place. When I am done, I will have a 3500lbs axle and a significant clearance increase. I will probably take the time to reinforce the frame under the box as well, which is a pretty minimal cost for the steal; I notice that my door frame flexes pretty good when I level it with the corner jacks.
Um, they are not there to level it. One uses dunnage under the tires and the front jack to level it then the corner jacks are put down to stabilize it. At least that is how I was taught.Quote:
I notice that my door frame flexes pretty good when I level it with the corner jacks.
Yeah those stabilizer jacks are just to keep it from swaying or moving around on the suspension while you walk/sleep. Don't want to level it with those things
Yeah, I learned that the first summer I had it; probably a bad example of illustrating how much flex there is in the frame. The terrain I camp in is pretty rugged sometimes and it doesn't always go as planned regardless of the lumber I keep in my truck. I had to use a high lift jack once and build a rock platform under the wheel. I finally got it stable, but it was still flexing some.Quote:
Originally Posted by jerrymrc
Well, the "BIG" boulder is double that size and the camper is still parked on it. Waited until time to leave, then had to build up a ramp of rocks and wood to get the camper up and over it.Quote:
Originally Posted by ruthabagah
My buddy bought a used warrior "light" toy hauler last year. Last week he noticed 1 tire was wearing really funny. Finds out his frame is cracked in half on one side and almost cracked in half on the other. DOH! going to take some fine welding of gussets to make it usable again.
So I may have found a camper:
http://denver.craigslist.org/rvs/4645671476.html
They said they would go as low as $3,000. Seems pretty fair and a good starter camper. Any thoughts? It does need a new hose that connects to the camper (what she told me). Thats the hook up hose I assume? Looks like they're cheap to replace. Looks clean and well taken care compared to a lot of campers out there and for $3,000, it's a cheap way to get into campers and upgrade later.
Just go over the structural stuff, get underneath, bring a ladder to look the roof over really closely. Test out all water connections, burners, heater, AC, water heater, etc
seems me like a good price, even if it needs a few things
Yeah, I thought so too. Im going to go look at it on Saturday and they said everything will be able to be tested (water, pipes, oven, etc).
Nevermind. She sold it from under me. I offered to come up last night and she said to wait until Saturday and would let me know if someone else became interested in the meantime. Emailed me today "It sold last night". UGH. I hate people.
Check this one out:
http://denver.craigslist.org/rvs/4652929006.html
That is a HUGE camper. Lol. Im trying to keep it around 20 feet to make it easier to get into mountain spots. But thats very cheap. Hmmm...
That's what she said!
Here is another for ya.
http://denver.craigslist.org/snw/4644172492.html
Or this looks kinda cool
http://denver.craigslist.org/rvs/4649489441.html
http://denver.craigslist.org/rvs/4704986850.html
Going to look at that guy next week when he's back from vacation. Has some hail damage (only cosmetic per seller) and had a little leak in the roof when a skylight was broken out. He said it's a small spot and doesnt leak anymore. He replaced all vents/skylights. Dual propane tanks that were just certified and filled. He made a small deal about the certification but I dont know why? Is it that hard? If it doesn't leak any longer, would that small spot be concerning? I plan on feeling around every window/vent/skylight for squishy. The hail doesn't bother me too much since it's a camper, not a show queen.
If it all checks out as he said, seem fair? Would I be better off waiting until December/January? I heard campers are cheaper around then.
Seems pretty high priced for being almost 20 years old and has hail damage. I'm thinking like $3k tops with all the history. Not to mention it really isn't camping season any more, and it will be stored for the next 5-6 months.
propane certification is I think 10 years and then a shorter duration after that. Some places will fill them either way.
That is a lot high. Yes it is 2' longer than mine but it is 5 years older and Jayco's are OK for quality. It is going to need an awning as well and looks to have had some repair work done. Almost the same layout as mine but $3500 tops. Inspect the roof very carefully.Quote:
Originally Posted by sniper7