badmix
1/2 ton status
Long story...but Im going to look at a cheap popup trailer and want to make it off road capable. ANyone have any experience with this type of work, etc.
CK5
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Kinda off topic - making a popup camper off road capable
- Thread starter badmix
- Start date
I don't know so much about making it off road capable, but I have an old 1978 Coleman pop-up that I have been thinking about raising 6 inches to make it more easily towable with the Jimmy. That height would allow me to run a larger tire, probably a 13" which would make it easier to tow to some places.
Should be easy enough to do, as it's basically a framed tent on a trailer frame.
Should be easy enough to do, as it's basically a framed tent on a trailer frame.
pauly383
Daddy383
Thanks for reminding me . I got to get mine ready for Moab . I know they are made for handling a bump or two down the road . Mines gone 2 to 3 feet off the ground ....... oooops don't drive to fast down fire roads 
I didn't want to use the words "lift" and "pop-up camper" in the same sentence. Now I did, and it's your fault.
Right now, I need a 16" drop hitch to drag that thing behind the Jimmy, so getting it to sit up higher seems like the best option. Plus it'll help in the event of a flood I suppose.
Right now, I need a 16" drop hitch to drag that thing behind the Jimmy, so getting it to sit up higher seems like the best option. Plus it'll help in the event of a flood I suppose.
LOADBRINGER
Registered Member
My 1973 blazer used to have a FourWheel pop-up camper for over 20 years, I bought it that way in 1988. I took it off last year and am beginning a rebuild project without it. The camper served it's purpose well, however going hunting and off roading was hell on it and the truck because of all of the vibrations and g-forces at different angles while driving on rough roads and such. It also put alot of stress on the bed from all of the weight transfer from rolling side to side around turns. After I took it off, I saw that the stress had actually cracked a tailgate post weld to the bed, so now my talegate rattles quite a bit and I need to get that fixed. The original hard top was a one piece and had to be cut to match up with the camper, and the rubber seal would tend to take a lot of abuse from all of the bouncing and would occasionally work its way out of the top in the middle, which let in the rain when driving on the highway- it may be better with a half top model blazer. Performance-wise, obviously you will burn more fuel with the extra weight and loss of aerodynamic efficiency, but the main thing is that that you have to account for the weight transfer when turning. It gets a little tricky at highway speeds and high winds with the blazer's short wheel base. The wind will naturally want to lift up the camper especially if you have a bed over the cab (which would sometimes work the rubber seal out) and will throw you around a bit, I've had some close calls overcorrecting. You will lose almost all of your visibility, leaving a small slit of rear view if your back door has a window, so I reccomend to get a set of good mirrors. I've almost been in several accidents because I just didn't see people along side of me riding in the huge blind spots. But I will say that I had a lot of fun in it; I always had a place to sleep if I needed. If I had too much to drink, I would just crash out for the night and go home in the morning! I could pack up and go anywhere without having to worry about finding a place to stay. It had quite a bit of storage space and could sleep 3 comfortably (4 was a little tight). I shot my first deer sitting in the back door. Never had to worry about bears or anything like that. I have stock suspension with 30" tires and I didn't have to worry about clearance in parkining garages (it was a little tight). I bought a spare tire carrier for the front that attached to the radiator support and the bumper. It was a good little set-up, especially with a boat. The only thing that I wished I would have done years ago was to have installed humbuckles to secure it to the frame instead of just bolting it to the bed. I believe that it would have mitigated alot of the effects that external forces imposed on it, therefore preserving the structural integrity of the camper and the truck. I also would have treated the bed first because all of the moisture held in by the carpet promoted rust on the bed. I should have installed stiffer rear suspension to handle the load. I had a good experience with the camper, but like anything else it has its drawbacks and requires maintanence.
badmix
1/2 ton status
Loadbringer - you have any pics of what your talking about, I cant picture it, Are you talking about a camper that goes in the bed of a truck or something you pull behind it.
Think of a slide-in, pop-up camper mounted on a K5 after the factory top has been removed. Similar to the Chalet factory camper that was available for a couple of years in the 70's, but with a lower profile when the camper was closed down.
As for lifting a tow-behind, take a look at the suspension on the trailer. It should be pretty easy to either do a spring-over conversion or add some blocks to raise the trailer a few inches, IF the trailer has leaf springs. A torsion spring setup would be more of a challenge.
As for lifting a tow-behind, take a look at the suspension on the trailer. It should be pretty easy to either do a spring-over conversion or add some blocks to raise the trailer a few inches, IF the trailer has leaf springs. A torsion spring setup would be more of a challenge.
LOADBRINGER
Registered Member
Badmix-
I noticed that you wrote that you wanted a cheap camper to pull behind your truck. I totally didn't grasp that the first time, so we are talking about two different things. However, since I brought you down this path I will explain better about the camper that I had.
The brand of the camper is FOUR WHEEL CAMPERS. I've included their link below.
http://www.fourwh.com/index.html
Below is the link to the specs and some photos of a model that looked close to the older model that fit mine. However, there was no barrier between my cab and the camper; it was one entire space- I could literally pull over and immidiately lay down on the couch.
http://www.fourwh.com/Eagle_Model.pdf
I didn't realize how expensive they are (new) until I poked around their website, but like I said, mine took some abuse over the years and it took 20 years to fall apart, plus it was made out of particle board and aluminum, and I'm sure that they have improved their design and materials over the years. They have some competitors, and I have seen used ones in the classifieds before for alot less, if you ever consider going with this style.
Finally, here's my truck with the camper about three years ago, followed by the destruction phase last year and the then rust busting. Notice the spare tire on the front and the partial top.
I noticed that you wrote that you wanted a cheap camper to pull behind your truck. I totally didn't grasp that the first time, so we are talking about two different things. However, since I brought you down this path I will explain better about the camper that I had.
The brand of the camper is FOUR WHEEL CAMPERS. I've included their link below.
http://www.fourwh.com/index.html
Below is the link to the specs and some photos of a model that looked close to the older model that fit mine. However, there was no barrier between my cab and the camper; it was one entire space- I could literally pull over and immidiately lay down on the couch.
http://www.fourwh.com/Eagle_Model.pdf
I didn't realize how expensive they are (new) until I poked around their website, but like I said, mine took some abuse over the years and it took 20 years to fall apart, plus it was made out of particle board and aluminum, and I'm sure that they have improved their design and materials over the years. They have some competitors, and I have seen used ones in the classifieds before for alot less, if you ever consider going with this style.
Finally, here's my truck with the camper about three years ago, followed by the destruction phase last year and the then rust busting. Notice the spare tire on the front and the partial top.
I helped a freind beef up an old coleman for off road use. First off the frames are pretty weak. We added a bunch of braces pretty much everywhere we could. Beefed up all the suspension mounting points in addition to dropping them, thats how we got 4" of the lift. He still had some problems with it.
The best thing to do if you are going to go bouncing out in the back country with one of these is to air the trailer tires down and go slow.
BTW he had 35s on his
The best thing to do if you are going to go bouncing out in the back country with one of these is to air the trailer tires down and go slow.
BTW he had 35s on his
badmix
1/2 ton status
blazinzuk said:
This is exactly what my fear is. I looked under an older popup and it had ladder bar frame, but wasnt that beefy. So, I may jus look for an off road type factory built, etc. Thks all.
