I like the pattern. Should make it feel more homely.
CK5
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'91 K5 Four Wheel Camper
This is the build for my 1991 V1500 Blazer, AKA the K5.3. It started out life being sold to the U.S. Government with a 350 TBI/700r4/241 combo. 4 years with a 5.3/700r4 Combo and now moving to an 8.1L Vortec and NV4500 5-speed.
Less than a month to go for 2018 desert trip. I'll have enough cameras to make a Japanese guy on vacation jealous.
Fify...the camper is homey, I'm homely. LOL..
While visiting family in Denver for mother's day I was able to pick up the custom curtains my sisters made for me yesterday. I got home and had to install them to see how it looks. I'm totally happy on how it turned out.
From the outside.
Rear door.
Side window.
Rear window.
Tied back for driving.
Later I'll get some flannel in the same pattern and recover the lower bench and the mattress cover for the upper bunk. I like the look though.
From the outside.
Rear door.
Side window.
Rear window.
Tied back for driving.
Later I'll get some flannel in the same pattern and recover the lower bench and the mattress cover for the upper bunk. I like the look though.
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Looks great, a small suggestion?.......how about a curtain that hangs behind the front seats that separates the cab area from from the camper?
That is kind of in the plan. It just won't be on a curtain rod. One of the guys on Wander the West that has one of these Blazer campers found that taking a wool blanket tucked under the mattress up top can hang down and close off the cab area for privacy and heat retention. So that's what I'll be doing.
The tire down. The garage floor is a little higher than the ground outside where the truck is parked. It's pretty easy to step into the camper off of the tire and the carrier. We will be adding a step to make it a little easier for my wife rather than balancing on 2" square tube.
Very similar to what I am planning on using. Though mine will have a couple added features. Like a handle sticking up slightly past the tire. And it's going to be a pass-through so I can still use the receiver for extraction.
Nice work.
Actually, we talked about a handle once we got it together. It needs it. Otherwise, you end up getting damn close to the ground to lift the tire up. We didn't plan on making this setup a pass through to still have a hitch as this is temporary. When we do build the bumper this will either be welded right to the bumper, leaving a reciever open for towing or recovery or we go back to my idea of a swingout with a 10B hub assembly for a hinge. Time will tell.
Looking good!
Hey Rob will you be replacing the mattress up top and if so have you done any comparison shopping yet?
I will be eventually. I'm going to run this one for the desert trip, but I'll be carrying a backup Klymit sleeping pad as a backup if the mattress isn't to my liking.
As far as the replacement, I've got a king size 2" memory foam mattress topper that my parents tossed my way when the got a new mattress. I figure I've got a lot of material to work with. When I do cut out the foam I'll make a new mattress cover for it.
Time to review the list of stuff to get done and see what's done and yet to be done. Going back to the list I made back on page 50, here we go.
I can't get much done in the rain today so I figured this would be good to review for myself. I've got a lot done and only a little bit yet. Once the bench is in I can start playing tetris to figure where all the gear goes inside.
I can't get much done in the rain today so I figured this would be good to review for myself. I've got a lot done and only a little bit yet. Once the bench is in I can start playing tetris to figure where all the gear goes inside.
Couldn't do much yesterday due to the rain. But I did get a lot done today. The main thing was getting the bench done. Shane showed up and knocked it out pretty quickly. I thought I might be able to hide my 55qt cooler under the bench but after mocking things up it proved to be problematic.
We went with what fit the existing cushions from the original setup. We went higher than the original setup so it's even with the side over the bedrail. This is about 4-5" higher than the original setup, but it's a more comfortable height to sit on with the top up. Nobody is going to be riding on it when the top is down anyway.
The bench will have a ton of storage within it.
I installed the battery power meter today too. This goes in with a 100amp shunt that allows it to measure the amount of amps being pulled from the aux battery. It goes down to the hundredth of an amp. Plus it calculates the watts and watt/hr being consumed. This was taken with the engine running and all lights/loads off. The 0.05amp pull is just the LED indicators in the 4 usb power outlets that are on as long as it has power. The backlighting for the meter takes 0.01amp if it's on.
The meter should be very helpful in managing our power consumption over the trip. Besides the meter and bench, I was able to replace my leaking quick disconnect for the air hose connection and a couple other little things I've been needing to deal with. I did vacuum it out again, so all I need to do is pull out some of the other construction supplies/tools and start loading. It's getting close for sure.
We went with what fit the existing cushions from the original setup. We went higher than the original setup so it's even with the side over the bedrail. This is about 4-5" higher than the original setup, but it's a more comfortable height to sit on with the top up. Nobody is going to be riding on it when the top is down anyway.
The bench will have a ton of storage within it.
I installed the battery power meter today too. This goes in with a 100amp shunt that allows it to measure the amount of amps being pulled from the aux battery. It goes down to the hundredth of an amp. Plus it calculates the watts and watt/hr being consumed. This was taken with the engine running and all lights/loads off. The 0.05amp pull is just the LED indicators in the 4 usb power outlets that are on as long as it has power. The backlighting for the meter takes 0.01amp if it's on.
The meter should be very helpful in managing our power consumption over the trip. Besides the meter and bench, I was able to replace my leaking quick disconnect for the air hose connection and a couple other little things I've been needing to deal with. I did vacuum it out again, so all I need to do is pull out some of the other construction supplies/tools and start loading. It's getting close for sure.
Good work! That battery power meter looks like the hot setup, I am thinking I am gonna need you to hook me up with where you scored that! I will be spending some big $$ with ORD and Advance Adapters this week but if I can swing a refrigerator purchase before you guys leave on your desert trip you would be welcome to use it so as to not have to use a cooler.
I got the power meter on Amazon. It was under $20. Super simple to setup. Thanks for the offer on the fridge. My buddy Ian just picked up a dual zone 60L Snomaster fridge this weekend. I'm going to take both. The cooler will be for drinks only. It will be full of frozen water bottles, frozen Gatorade and beer. I'll have to take the truck over to Ian's place to do a trial fitting so I can add the tiedown loops to the floor. We don't want the thing flying up front under braking.
Less than a week to go. Spending the long weekend adding tie downs inside the bench and on the floor. I went over to Ian's place and we test fit the Snomaster fridge. HOLY CRAP! It's huge!
I didn't take a pic of it, but this is the one he bought:
It's right at the same height as the bench. It's going to sit behind the console next to the bench. This is a pretty bad ass setup for sure. Plugged it in and on the auto setting it was only pulling 1.5 amps. Amazing stuff.
Tomorrow I go back to my buddy Bill's place to add the step to the tire carrier. I've got other stuff to do over there on mine and I'll be installing a CB into his ride. It's the final push to be ready for the trip. We leave Saturday at 5:30 am.
I didn't take a pic of it, but this is the one he bought:
It's right at the same height as the bench. It's going to sit behind the console next to the bench. This is a pretty bad ass setup for sure. Plugged it in and on the auto setting it was only pulling 1.5 amps. Amazing stuff.
Tomorrow I go back to my buddy Bill's place to add the step to the tire carrier. I've got other stuff to do over there on mine and I'll be installing a CB into his ride. It's the final push to be ready for the trip. We leave Saturday at 5:30 am.
I am looking forward to a full review on the Snomaster after your desert trip. I have been hoping for a Memorial Day sale to pop up on a fridge as my cabinet install is ready for one. Do you know what model it is and /or where he bought it?Less than a week to go. Spending the long weekend adding tie downs inside the bench and on the floor. I went over to Ian's place and we test fit the Snomaster fridge. HOLY CRAP! It's huge!
I didn't take a pic of it, but this is the one he bought:
It's right at the same height as the bench. It's going to sit behind the console next to the bench. This is a pretty bad ass setup for sure. Plugged it in and on the auto setting it was only pulling 1.5 amps. Amazing stuff.
Tomorrow I go back to my buddy Bill's place to add the step to the tire carrier. I've got other stuff to do over there on mine and I'll be installing a CB into his ride. It's the final push to be ready for the trip. We leave Saturday at 5:30 am.
The model is a ex66d expedition series. He bought it right from snomaster and had our buddy Bill pick it up at Overland Expo last weekend. They ran a special for the show.
I think it will be great to run, but i might go with a little smaller unit when I buy one. This one takes a lot of space.
Got a lot of little things done today at Bill's today. We pulled the spare carrier and added the step and a handle. It's a little easier to lift now. The step is nice and wide. Most importantly it holds my big ass when I stand on it.
I made an extension for my CB antenna mount to move it a couple of inches further away from the body. I did pull the spring from it so it can't whip around as easy. Plus I added a tennis ball I stole from my dog to protect the antenna and camper. I know it's not ideal for maximum reception/transmit but the camper blocks a ton of the forward view for it so I'm not going to be getting 10 miles of reach with it.
I got the propane tank tied down in its spot and filled today too. While out getting the propane filled we stopped by a truck stop and picked up an antenna to go on Bill's Tacoma to use with an extra CB I had. So Bill is set up to talk now. Tested both and we could hear each other nice and clear. We also played a little truck Tetris and figured out how to get his national Luna fridge in behind his front seats and still fit his wheelchair. Only had to remove the little jump seat bottoms from both sides and re-orient how he loads the chair in to make it all fit. Tied it down and ran a fused circuit for power and ground all the way to the battery. He was super happy he could take the fridge. He wasn't going to mount it in the bed as its not weathertight so he was ready to run the trip out of a cooler. His truck is ready to load now.
Done at his place I came home and cleaned out the camper of everything and vacuumed for the umpteenth time. Once clean I started my own game of truck Tetris. Making sure stuff I need is quickly accessible and the less used stuff is near the bottom of the bench storage. I need some bins for the cabinet so a trip to Wally World is in my future soon.
I got some pics, but the wife swiped my laptop and I'm using my iPad instead. Not as easy load pics this way.
I made an extension for my CB antenna mount to move it a couple of inches further away from the body. I did pull the spring from it so it can't whip around as easy. Plus I added a tennis ball I stole from my dog to protect the antenna and camper. I know it's not ideal for maximum reception/transmit but the camper blocks a ton of the forward view for it so I'm not going to be getting 10 miles of reach with it.
I got the propane tank tied down in its spot and filled today too. While out getting the propane filled we stopped by a truck stop and picked up an antenna to go on Bill's Tacoma to use with an extra CB I had. So Bill is set up to talk now. Tested both and we could hear each other nice and clear. We also played a little truck Tetris and figured out how to get his national Luna fridge in behind his front seats and still fit his wheelchair. Only had to remove the little jump seat bottoms from both sides and re-orient how he loads the chair in to make it all fit. Tied it down and ran a fused circuit for power and ground all the way to the battery. He was super happy he could take the fridge. He wasn't going to mount it in the bed as its not weathertight so he was ready to run the trip out of a cooler. His truck is ready to load now.
Done at his place I came home and cleaned out the camper of everything and vacuumed for the umpteenth time. Once clean I started my own game of truck Tetris. Making sure stuff I need is quickly accessible and the less used stuff is near the bottom of the bench storage. I need some bins for the cabinet so a trip to Wally World is in my future soon.
I got some pics, but the wife swiped my laptop and I'm using my iPad instead. Not as easy load pics this way.
Here's the updated carrier. The handle is a u-bolt from a Toyota. Just needed a squeeze to fit up to the 2" tube.
To give an idea of the footprint of the fridge, the tiedown loops on the floor in the right of the pic is near the left edge of the unit when it's in. The other loops are attached to the side of the bench. Like I said, it's UUUUGE.
Pardon the mess, but this is the rear section of the bench. Stove its tied down nice.
Had to spice up my cooler since Bill picked up the same one. The cooler is pretty kick ass by itself. Beats a Yeti in Ice retention. Can't wait to give it a hell of a test in the hottest place imaginable!
Just need to pack up cooking gear, food and the last of the camping gear.
To give an idea of the footprint of the fridge, the tiedown loops on the floor in the right of the pic is near the left edge of the unit when it's in. The other loops are attached to the side of the bench. Like I said, it's UUUUGE.
Pardon the mess, but this is the rear section of the bench. Stove its tied down nice.
Had to spice up my cooler since Bill picked up the same one. The cooler is pretty kick ass by itself. Beats a Yeti in Ice retention. Can't wait to give it a hell of a test in the hottest place imaginable!
Just need to pack up cooking gear, food and the last of the camping gear.
