gkirtley
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Re: Western Recreational Vehicles TC
My wife and I visited the plant in Yakima, WA in the early 90s (not sure what year) and got a short tour of the construction line. It was definitely Al framed with solid foam insulation between the Al tubing. They assembled one entire panel (like a side or front piece) at a time. I can't recall exactly how they were joined together but it wasn't welded since the panels were insulated and skinned both inside and out at that point. Hope that helps.263Views0likes0CommentsRe: Mounting & Wire Routing of In-Bed Receptacle?
I didn't mention exactly where the previous owner mounted the receptacle. It is on the inside of the post that frames the tailgate opening. In other words it is in a location where most campers I have looked at have very little clearance. If it was plugged in and the camper moved forward during the loading process it would shear the plug off. :) So I need to relocate it no matter what.384Views0likes0CommentsMounting & Wire Routing of In-Bed Receptacle?
Hi, I am setting up my Dodge Cummins 8' bed for a future slide-in. I would appreciate getting some advice where to mount the in-bed 7-blade receptacle. The previous owner installed a fifth wheel wiring harness so it has a factory receptacle on the bumper and the other one in the bed which is not usable for a slide-in due to its location. I want to relocate it somewhere in front of the left wheel well. I was considering mounting it as far forward as the 9.5' harness would allow but I have read where some people mounted them to be just in front of the wheel well and wondered if there was more cable available would there be any drawback(s) to going further forward? I was concerned that mounting the plug right in front of the wheel well might be in the way of using an inside access door. Also my choices are to route the split wire loom forward along the frame and then over to the mount area or go directly from the back of the bumper to the space between the two bed walls and route it forward between those two walls. I wondered if anybody has any thoughts on the routing choice. Thanks.2.5KViews0likes14CommentsRe: Alaskan TC Owners
I owned an Alaska(n) cabover-style camper for a number of years in the 80s. I had an interesting experience in cold weather. I purchased it in Sioux Falls, S.D. from a pair of Swedish cabinet makers who owned the franchise there. Since I used to live in N. Minnesota I thought I would go up and visit some of my old neighbors while I was close-by (relatively speaking). It was December and the temps were dropping to around -30F at night and around 0F during the day in the Grand Rapids area. I slept in the camper and stayed most of the time in the neighbors house. When I decided to leave after 2 or 3 days I went to lower the camper and it wouldn't budge. The two seals (one is on the bottom of the camper top and the other on the top of the camper bottom) were basically frozen from the cold and and body moisture. We tried pouring some almost boiling water on it with mixed results. It would thaw it out but by the time we got around the perimeter it would refreeze. We got it broken loose but it would not go down evenly. Since it was a cabover model it is basically unbalanced to begin with due to the overhang on one end. We went and borrowed a construction heater and made it like a sauna in there and then it dropped fine at that point. Sometimes I wished I still had that unit but it had some drawbacks including the mosquito intrusion mentioned in another post--that is for real in bad mosquito country. Rain and snow weren't much of an issue because the folding panels cover most of the bed before you put them into place. If the bugs were real bad we would spray a fogger around the outside before set-up. On ours there was no screen on the door(s) either so you had to deal with that as well.503Views0likes0CommentsRe: Wood vs Aluminum/Paper vs. Plastic
I have considered responding to posts like this in the past but have been hesitant to rain on anybodies parade. Background: purchased first TIG welder in 1970s for gunsmithing and general fabrication. I have owned 3 profession grade units including currently a Miller Dynasty 200 inverter-type. Most buy TIG units for aluminum but I have welded mostly steel but also dabbled in AL. Point is I know what a good Al weld should look like. Last summer my wife and I visited a NorthernLite dealer in Bozeman, MT and we noticed one of the ALL Aluminum campers that had been mentioned on this forum. We decided to take a look and the salesman opened the closet in the right rear and proudly pointed out the exposed construction--all Al, frame and skin. First thing I noticed was besides no inside paneling in the closet there was also no insulation--mind you this was in MT where I lived for 10 years and it can be very chilly even during the summer camping season. I next saw the welds on the 1" sq tube and couldn't quite believe my eyes. I have heard poor welds with no apparent fusion described as "wormy" but these would be more accurately described as "worm crap" or worse. It was obviously done with a MIG spool gun (which is an inferior way to weld Al compared to TIG) because of black smoke left all over and the welder had no slightest idea how to set the machine parameters or weld for that matter. I decided right then if I ever saw this brand on the highway I would give it a wide berth since it couldn't be much stronger than if it was stuck together with superglue. Truthfully I think the skin contributed almost all of the strength. Personally if I was interested in an AL frame camper I would prefer one that is riveted or bonded in some other way than welded--especially at the corners. Even good quality Al welds can work harden. I realize this was but one camper but still I shake my head thinking of the the way that structure was built. I have never understood why almost no companies use thin-wall steel tubing like Jfet is using on his project on this forum. It isn't much heavier than AL.669Views0likes0CommentsRe: Our custom true flatbed truck camper build thread
Jfet, I have been following your project and would like to ask you a few questions please. My understanding is that you skinned the camper with "0.062 aluminum sikaflex 252 glued to the steel frame with 1/16" nylon spacers". I don't know the properties of sikaflex but I wondered if an aluminum panel(s) is damaged how do you remove it and/or replace it? With adajacent panels touching on a 1" sq. tube each panel has 1/2" of contact surface on the vertical tube--correct? What did you use for the nylon spacers and what kind of Al panels did you source? I have long been interested in something similar but on a much smaller scale and the skin issue has always been problematic. Thanks George K.357Views0likes0Comments
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Prefer to camp in a travel trailer? You're not alone.Feb 06, 202544,025 Posts
