Just Got My First Truck Camper! A Few Questions...
So I just picked up an old school (mid-80s) Palomino Bronco Mini L.
It's a little rough around the edges, but in surprisingly good shape for its age. Limited water damage, no mold, canvas is solid, working jacks, etc. Still need to test the appliances & pop it up, but even if it needs some work it's all good, I got it for a song.
Some questions for all the experts out there:
How high should it be up over the side walls and cab? I build a riser out of plywood & pallet, since it is for a mini truck and I have a full-size, but it seems to be a little too high. I want it to ride as low as possible, and want to make a lower riser with 2x8s, plywood, and a rubber horse stall mat. Was also thinking about affixing some sort of polystyrene insulation panel under the cabover part, and go down to about 2-3 inches clearance (it is around 5 now). With the side walls of the bed, should I put some kind of wood or something to fill the gap between the top of the wall and bottom of the camper?
Also, it came with some old turnbuckles, but I'm not exactly sure how to set them up (right now I just have a bunch of ratchet straps). Do they attach onto the hooks inside the bed? Or under the truck? The camper itself is wicked light (around 750#) so I assume they wouldn't have to go into the frame.
Last question is about jacks. It came with 2 manual rieco-titans, one on each side, (one near the front and the other closer to the back). It also came with a third tripod base (but no big pole part) though I dont see a third jack support anywhere.
Any advice is much appreciated, I'm new to all of this but am looking forward to start camping as soon as I get everything fixed up!
It's a little rough around the edges, but in surprisingly good shape for its age. Limited water damage, no mold, canvas is solid, working jacks, etc. Still need to test the appliances & pop it up, but even if it needs some work it's all good, I got it for a song.
Some questions for all the experts out there:
How high should it be up over the side walls and cab? I build a riser out of plywood & pallet, since it is for a mini truck and I have a full-size, but it seems to be a little too high. I want it to ride as low as possible, and want to make a lower riser with 2x8s, plywood, and a rubber horse stall mat. Was also thinking about affixing some sort of polystyrene insulation panel under the cabover part, and go down to about 2-3 inches clearance (it is around 5 now). With the side walls of the bed, should I put some kind of wood or something to fill the gap between the top of the wall and bottom of the camper?
Also, it came with some old turnbuckles, but I'm not exactly sure how to set them up (right now I just have a bunch of ratchet straps). Do they attach onto the hooks inside the bed? Or under the truck? The camper itself is wicked light (around 750#) so I assume they wouldn't have to go into the frame.
Last question is about jacks. It came with 2 manual rieco-titans, one on each side, (one near the front and the other closer to the back). It also came with a third tripod base (but no big pole part) though I dont see a third jack support anywhere.
Any advice is much appreciated, I'm new to all of this but am looking forward to start camping as soon as I get everything fixed up!
