Travel Queen Specs

[Blue50F-1]

This is my first post, so let me start off by saying I'm at the very beginning stages of any kind of RVing. My wife and kids and I enjoy camping, but have only ever tent camped. Unfortunately, that's pretty much a fair weather activity and we've begun considering options for colder/rainy weather.

I stumbled upon a camper listed online within a couple hours of me. It is a Travel Queen with a fair amount of water damage inside, but the outer shell and appliances appear in good shape. I've done three frame up restores on classic autos; a '49 & a '50 Ford F-1, and a '56 Merc Monterey. I'm not afraid of restoration work...could be a fun project, but...

If I take on this project I'd want to slide it into my '50 and cruise out, but I don't know the dimensions or the weight for these campers. I did some searching on google; found a thread or two here that mentioned them, but not the details I'm looking for.

Since I'm new to the RV scene I may not have all the nomenclature right, but I'm particularly interested in the rise height from camper base to cab over sleeper (to know if it will fit over my '50's cab), hip height from base to shoulder height that slides over bedsides (to know if it will clear my bed's side rails) and base width (to know if it will fit inside the narrow bed of my '50). I don't know how much these dimensions will vary from model to model, but the only dimension I've found discussed is length: 8' or 11'.

Last issue is weight. I've noticed a lot of guys with truck campers hauling them about in dual axle trucks (F250+ and like) and that makes me wonder if my F-1 suspension with F-150 drive train could handle it. (I also have a late model F-150 that might shoulder the camper from time to time.)

I've emailed the seller for dimensions, but thought I might get a better wealth of info here. If the seller doesn't come through with results I'd still like to know if it is worthwhile for me to look for another one. I've also stumbled upon Avion truck campers and have many of the same questions.

Thanks for your time and any info/leads you could share.

Jim

[Blue50F-1]

IF I get it, and that's still quite an if...it's certainly cheap enough, but I will definitely put up a build thread here and probably be asking for a fair amount of advice from the folks here. I've done construction, plumbing, electrical, even a little gas work in addition to auto stuff, but never a camper/trailer.

I did find, wading through Dave Pete's rebuild thread some specs, namely 1500lbs dry weight for his 8' TQ. That's encouraging. I took Blue to the co-op scale last night to calculate payload off of my suspension & axle (which are not factory) and came up with an est 1900lbs payload on a full tank of gas with me in the driver seat...and that's not calculating any benefit from overload springs. So...maybe it would work.

Seems to me the TQ I'm looking at is shorter, so maybe it's lighter? Did they even make a TQ under 8'? I haven't found anything to say they did. Maybe it's just a funky floor plan? Hopefully the seller will get back with me soon, or he might not be BSing me and already have it sold. But now I'm itching to drive the four hours this weekend just to go look at it.

If anybody comes up with dimensions that would still be really helpful. Thanks!

Edit: The seller got back to me with some dimensions, so I thought I'd share them in case anyone else comes googling later on...

Base to overhang is 46"
Base width 48"
Base length 100" (8' 4")
OAL 18'
OAW 7'6"


Jim

[work2much]

Looks like the jacks won't lift it. You will need to figure out how to get it home. Certainly is cheap enough. Hopefully if you get it you will take us along for the resto.

[Blue50F-1]

May as well...
https://omaha.craigslist.org/rvs/6147678007.html

It'll be a project for sure. Plenty of water damage. And if it won't fit in the old blue truck I'll probably go a different route. Trailer most likely. But I like the lines of it outside and think it could look really cool atop my old blue truck.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10210199694535671&set=pb.1438696937.-2207520000.1498624700.&type=3&theater


Thanks,
Jim

[work2much]

Posting a link to the craigslist ad might help folks identify dimensions

[Blue50F-1]

Thanks for the replies guys. I participate in several forums, mostly automotive, and you never know what response, if any, you'll receive. Especially as someone new to a hobby/idea.

Dave Pete's thread is one that I found trying to get info on the campers via google. Unfortunately none of his pictures show in thread and tracing his photobucket account I have a hard time figuring out what pictures go with what posts...and the back button does not work on photobucket. It's a PITA to navigate. I'm wading through though.

The seller got back to me that there are TONS of guys restoring these campers and he's had a BUNCH of inquiries on the camper, but he'll try and get me the measurements. If it were closer I'd just drive out and see it, but at two hours each way that's a good chunk of a day and plenty of gas to find out there's no way it will work. Hopefully he comes through.

I don't know how long the unit is. There's nothing for a frame of reference in the pictures, but it has an odd floor plan that makes me think it is shorter. The dining area is at the entrance, then the kitchen is an odd shape with the standard 3 burner stove against the driver side wall and a sink on an angle up against the front wall, and an un-pictured closet (?) across from it (passenger side). All of the pictures/brochures I've seen have bathroom and storage at the entrance, then a dining area on the passenger side and kitchen along the driver side with the sleeper overhead. This one doesn't fit that mold.

So far as the truck goes I run a 5.0 with a 4spd OD trans backed by a 9" rear. I have overload springs that came with the truck once upon a time. They're not in at the moment, but that's easily remedied if need be. The brakes are also a modern disc/drum, dual sump, power unit. Still a light duty truck by all means, but I don't have any aspirations of trekking the Rockies in the truck with the camper in it. The midwest is relatively flat. (The late model's an '07 Supercab with standard 5.4 power train and equipment)

If anybody knows the weight of these units that would really be helpful. Another thread on here mentioned that these TQs weigh a lot less than their modern counterparts, but I don't know how accurate that is. It certainly isn't a number you can work with.

Thanks again,
Jim

[Rolling_Condo]

DavePete is the man and has well documented his restoration.

[ticki2]

There is member here that did a complete rebuild of a 68 Travel Queen , pages and pages . Do a search for that title . You could PM him for specifics .

[work2much]

Welcome to the forum. The camper may be too heavy for your older ford. There are probably mods you could do to beef things up. You could go look at it and ask to load it on your truck to see fit and sag. It would definitely be a head turning combo!

[Artum_Snowbird]

If you are talking about an 8 foot camper, you might succeed. No bathroom, not even a toilet, it might fit. Much more than that will not work well with the springs and the brakes so don't kid yourself to even consider with a F-1 truck.

Mostly though, you should look at those campers after a driving rain, and try to find a place on their insides that has not suffered water damage. If you do.. know where it is wet and where it is dry.