What Was You First Truck Camper?

A 1974 Lance 8 1/2' with no bathroom or hot water or furnace, but it did have a fridge! I had to practically use a carpenters level to get it cold though! It sat on a 1974 F350 Supercab that I named Bessie. I loved it! It was all so modern to me considering the most I'd RV'd was in the bed of an El Camino with a sleeping bag up to that point. I paid $3,600 for both of them in 1987. It had 143k on the truck and the first year I had to have the engine rebilt (390v8) but after that it was perfect! The camper, unfortunately, collapsed one day on the jacks as I took it off the truck and tumbled down an embankment. How was I supposed to know about dry rot? or weight? or distribution??!! or that my friends weren't supposed to be riding in it when we travelled?... It was my party wagon! The entire cabinet above the dinette was completely FILLED with bottles of booze, mixers, soda, etc. It had to have weighed 200lbs at the least! What alcohol abuse that was when I lost it all! It was time for another camper! (a 1976 Vacationeer 10') I have a video on a videotape of me driving the Ford and Lance through a stream in 1987. I really want to put it into digital format so I can post it. That would be fun. What fun and frolic I had in the early days of TC camping! Of course I have MORE fun now, though I do worry about safety and "stuff" more now...

Dak

A 1974 Okanagan 7.5' import on a 1992 Isuzu Spacecab 4X4

Sleepy & 5percent,
Some pretty amazing photo's and great information.

Sleepy, with your knowledge and apparent construction ability, you could have been a Truck Camper manufacturer. You must have had a shed with a decent workbench/table, to be able to build that quite stylish TC, for it's time?

When I imported my last Adventurer TC, I did the conversion works on the front driveway, with the help of my two sons, for the physical work, refrigerator, in through the frame, taking the door out.
The rest of works for conversion, electrical, gas, lighting, airconditioner, etc., I did myself, over 3-5
weeks, after work, evenings and weekends.

I have KC Hilites, light bar & spot lights ordered, c b radio, waiting to be installed on new Dodge Ram.

Have installed, front & rear Torklift tie downs. Installed rubber bed mat, cut to size. Made wood guide system for loading TC. Yesterday, installed MRBP Chrome exhaust tip & Chrome mud flap
Weights.

However, my first Truck Camper, was a Pine Mountain Lonestar S Popup, about 7-8 years ago.
S was for Shortbed, and I had a Longbed 2002 Ford Super cab diesel, so I had to make some exterior modifications, so camper would slide fully into truck bed, looked great, when finished.

Installing Super Springs SSA24 this Friday, in readiness for Eagle Cap 1160, when arrives late
September, early October, this year. Much heavier TC than Adventurer 910.

Looking forward to Sofa in Eagle Cap 1160.

Our first TC was a Perris Valley shell on a Datsun pick-up. I built a false floor over the wheel wells hinged on both sides for ease of access. The area closest to the cab was the closet made of 3 cardboard boxes for clothing. The area by the tailgate was the kitchen. With some carpet over the plywood and big, soft pillows for lounging, we were ready to go.

We traveled all over the US with our daughter beginning when she was 18 months old. In the photo, I was 8 months pregnant with said daughter camping in the Grapevine Canyon area of the Anza Borrego State Park. We are still using the same coffee pot, BTW.

The truck has been colorized from a photo of our current truck - the Datsun was red too.

5percent

Sheriffdoug wrote:
Sleepy,

May I ask you, how much you paid, back in 1970, for your 10ft Hutch and the
3/4 ton Chev?

Would be interesting from a historical point of view.

Have been waiting with eager anticipation on your usual in depth postings.

Thank You.

I hope this meets your expectations... :B

I paid $2950 (cash) for the special order truck including factory installed overload leaf springs. I found out that GM wanted to market a longer truck bed (8 1/2') and didn't have a frame for it... they built the "Longhorn" on a 1 ton chassie. (My dad had a GMC 1 ton that had a 9' bed with the same frame. At the time Chevy's came 10/20/30 series 1/2 ton / 3/4 ton/ or 1 ton... mine was a 21034 series and thats the numnber that the parts store if I wanted to replace the brakes or anythin else.

I have no idea what the camper cost'd... the appliances were bought new from a RV parts store were very expensive (as they are now) special ordered ... all of the wood framing materials were bought at 84 lumber company, the panaling was bought at Weimers lumber... the cabinate doors and counter tops and door inserts were Formica was bought at Williams, Inc... special tools like routers were bought at the hardware...The skin was Aluminium sidding bought in 8' to 20' lengths from house trailer manufacturers (both colors white and copper) the siding was horizontal... connected by "pittsburg felt" joints, copper low, white high on the sides... white back and cabover nose... The roof was one piece of heavier gauge aluminum 8' wide x 20' long from Fruhoff Trucking (they repaired tractor trailers)... the 3 jacks were from a RV Parts store... three legged hand cranked. The three large dinnette windows were jalousie as was the kitchen window over the sink... the BR window was a verticle slider, the cabover side windows were horzontal sliders... the cabover front window was plexaglas. All of the windows had plexaglas storm windows. We heated with a colman catalytic heater at the door...The dinette cushions were covered with naughyde... the tape player speakers were accustically engineered for the space in the TC and covered with naughyde,,, The escape hatch and vents were from the RV parts store...

It had a observation deck on top and a canoe rack for our 18' Herters fiberglas canoe

It had 2 propane tanks... a 20 and a thirty...

3 way 6 cu ft fridge

The tie downs went to 4" x 1" "C" channel belly bars

I didn't keep track of the money... never wanted to know.

Mom made the curtains

:Z

It is used as a hunting base now...



43 years old



and abandonded mostly

there were two propane tanks mounted on the rear... the 20# above the left brake light, the 30# to it's right



Yes, it was Home made... I built it when I was 30 years old... working full time and carrying 18 hours in college... it took several months. It was pretty when new!

my wifes 1st camper was an 8ft Eldorado. it was pretty basic compared to today but compared to my Sixpac it was larger and nicer She had it on her 69 f250 with 360 and granny 4 speed..She used it to go to stay in during horse activities. Her and her mom would load it on her truck just about every weekend and off she would go.
Before she bought her camper she would sleep in her horse trailer.
When we got married we sold my C10 and Sixpac and horse trailer and kept her F250 , larger camper and better and larger horse trailer.
We took the ice box out and put a 3 way fridge in and added a second battery under the hood of the truck with solonoid to isolate it.
We did a lot of Boondocking in the deserts and mountains of southern cal and traveled across the country with it.
We still have that old truck and plan to restore it.

1985 Lance 200 purchased in 2005.



....and just for fun

1999 Lance 1030 purchased in 2007



...and 2007 Lance 1055 purchased in 2010



...and 2011 Lance 1050S purchased in 2011

Sleepy,

May I ask you, how much you paid, back in 1970, for your 10ft Hutch and the
3/4 ton Chev?

Would be interesting from a historical point of view.

Have been waiting with eager anticipation on your usual in depth postings.

Thank You.

One I currently have ;).

Our first TC was a 10' Hutch... 1970 model... we used it until until 2002, it was on a 3/4Ton Chevy model 21034 (Longhorn... 8'6" bed) it had a 350hp/350 4 bolt main engine with 4 bbl carbs... 10 mpg up hill... down hill... camper on or off. I rolled the odometer over 3 times.

The Hutch had a queen bed in the cabover, 6 cuft fridge, a Magic Chef Gourmet 4 burner Stove with overhead oven. Dual lighting 110 VAC and seperate 12VDC lights. It had an 8 track tape, radio... and a 9" 12VDC BW TV and a crank up antenna. Extra battery with cut off switch... the truck charged it after the trucks batter was completely charged.

Very nice custom cabinates and storage closets.

Porta potti... no shower... but still advanced for it's time.

Our 3 kids slept in the cabover... Janet and I nestled like spoons on the twin sized dinette bed. Man can always find a way :B when a good time is to be had.

We'd often go for a month at a time. Canpgrounds like Fort Wilderness... or boondock to watch Space Shots. We went all over the east coast... I spent a lot of time studying at the Smithsonian... stayed at Cherry Hill RV Park when in DC. Myrtle Beech... Key West... Asbury Park NJ... Michigan, then cross Canada to Niagra Falls... Quebec... Montreal...

On an early trip the kids asked "Daddy, what happens to the stuff in the porta potti" and being a fun loving daddy I told them, "we all put it in... we all have to help getting it out... I'll get the straws!" I got a lot of Uggs and eweee's... it took some convincing to get them to go back to using it on the long nights or when we were boondocking.

The Hutch was one of the best if not the best truck camper ever built. I've heard a lot of bragging but an owner of a "Hutch" has something that just isn't available to the general public.

Sleepy