Land Ranger 8TC Rebuild Project - All Input Appreciated

Beckerton wrote:
There is now no doubt in my mind that this is a massive project, far exceeding my initial expectations. I knew the floor was a bit soft but after pulling the carpet up I knew I was in trouble. The hammer went right through the floor, in some pictures you can see the aluminum bottom through the floor. The middle jack is rotten...scary stuff indeed. The panels on the outside were not pulled away by me, but separated on the drive home. I may have bitten off more than I can chew here but I figure I might as well tear into it and give it a go. I appreciate the words of encouragement

Please take heed of the previous posts , to put it mildly , all the goodness is gone from that old girl . There are signs of serious underlying damage in almost every photo . Setting aside the structural damage for the moment , mold has probably taken over to the point of no return . If you tear into it with an attitude of curiosity rather than hopes of resurrection you will learn a lot about TC's and what to look for next time .

On the bright side you can probably salvage enough parts to sell to get you money back . Best of luck

Also, whatever you do end up with, bear in mind the truck you are carrying it on. I'm struggling to tell from the photo, but looking at the wheels is that an F150?

If so bear in mind they aren't designed to haul much weight so you want to keep the weight of the eventual camper to a minimum to avoid either having to spend a lot of extra money on suspension upgrades or finding the braking / handling is frightening. Remember, although they just look like a plywood box, these campers tend to weigh far more than you expect.

Steve.

Welcome to the forum.

I also noticed the sagging at the jack mounting points and I reckon that is because the timber the mounts are bolted onto is rotten through. There is a lot of visible water damage there, including the paint peeling on the inner side panels, the rotten floor and around the roof vent. In my experience the smallest sign of water damage is just the tip of the ice berg. Typically I would advise anyone looking for a camper to look for the smallest signs of water damage / leaking and not buy if found - yours goes way beyond that. The problem is that because campers have two or more skins (inner and outer), water that gets in travels around between these destroying the timbers BEFORE you see much sign of it appearing on the inside of the camper. I suspect you will find that every inch of timber in that camper is rotten and needs replacing (including the roof, cabover and wings). So that would be not just a huge project (year or two?) but expensive too. I also bet that fridge doesn't work, and they are expensive to replace. It may be justifiable if you were a true fan of that model of camper and wanted to restore one, but if you are just looking for something for your family to camp in I suggest a rethink now before you throw too many $$$ at this.

Assuming you don't want a massive ground-up restoration project, the good thing is that you have only parted with $200 (you could spend that on sealant alone when recaulking a camper). I suggest ripping the camper apart to see the real state of it before you spend a penny more on the project. I suspect it will be a write-off, but in tearing it apart you will 1) obtain some potentially useful spare parts and 2) learn how these campers are built and where the failings are (e.g. identify the bits inside that rot but aren't obvious from the outside). I would then use the knowledge learned from that to hunt around and buy a used camper that is in better condition and will therefore cost you less in the long run. You would have a great advantage over other buyers because you would know exactly what to look out for having stripped a camper already. So think of the money spent buying this camper as a valuable training course to save you many times that amount on the camper that becomes your eventual 'keeper'.

Good luck,

Steve.

There is now no doubt in my mind that this is a massive project, far exceeding my initial expectations. I knew the floor was a bit soft but after pulling the carpet up I knew I was in trouble. The hammer went right through the floor, in some pictures you can see the aluminum bottom through the floor. The middle jack is rotten...scary stuff indeed. The panels on the outside were not pulled away by me, but separated on the drive home. I may have bitten off more than I can chew here but I figure I might as well tear into it and give it a go. I appreciate the words of encouragement

You sir, are obviously a classic underachiever :) It appears as though you've been peeling away some of the outer layers to see just how bad things are, and you are a brave soul indeed if what you have seen so far does not make you flinch.

I'd most most concerned at this point with the structural soundness of the framing - the rot evidenced in the pictures likely goes well beyond what you can see. The one image in particular that concerns me is where the jack is attached to the midpoint of the camper body. Either there was an impact of some sort or the framing is so spongy that it can no longer support the weight of the unit.

I don't want to discourage you from trying to make this vintage TC something you can use, but please be realistic about the extent of the damage.

Good luck.

great pics,but that looks like a huge project,good luck