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Re-doing my Bed Camper and making a toyhauler

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Old Aug 1, 2009 | 08:43 PM
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Re-doing my Bed Camper and making a toyhauler

Well after using my camper for a few years, it was time to fix the rooted wood areas.

My camper is a 1974 Cascade.
I got this camper for free.. I helped a buddy put an engine in his CJ and he gave me this.. It has worked great so far.. but it has seriously needed some work for a while.. so here goes.

This will be on going for a few weeks until I finish it.

Here are pics of it being used for wheeling trips in the past.





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Old Aug 1, 2009 | 08:45 PM
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The main problem areas are where the jacks were mounted.. over the years water has gotten in and rotted the wood..

pics showing some of root







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Old Aug 1, 2009 | 08:46 PM
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ore pics



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Old Aug 1, 2009 | 08:47 PM
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After I ripped apart both sides I replaced the 1x2 and 1x3 main supports then layed the plywood up in place and braced it.. once that was all done I put all the exterior paneling back on.

and I have been trying to figure out the best way to seal the wood and new stuff.. I contacted Blaze and got some Al's Liner.. ( I got white)..So I taped off the top of camper and sprayed all the new wood and about a 4" strip around the sides.

After that I took some angle iron cut it to lenght, then Drilled holes in it so I could attach it to the new wood. I am trying to make better supports for the jacks and by running the angle iron it will spread the load along the entire camper.. not just the corners.

YOu can see the difference from bedliner vs not








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Old Aug 1, 2009 | 08:48 PM
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next is to get the jacks mounted back up.. then attack the inside.. it is time to update the inside.. needs some paint, some new wood, new floor, etc...





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Old Aug 2, 2009 | 04:36 PM
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Well I found a cheap parts camper on CL.. so I brought it home today and put it in the garage.. soon these two will become one

1976 Starcraft


Camper in garage


roof was destroyed so I took it off


Roof next to the garage
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Old Aug 6, 2009 | 11:00 AM
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well took some measurements last night of pop up slide and then interior of bed camper.. and it will work.. but I need to shorten the slide to fit and keep the bed camper strenght.. so tonight we start cutting and fitting
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Old Aug 6, 2009 | 09:32 PM
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Well Jph0913 came over to give me a hand and make sure the camper did not fall apart on me

we tore apart the pop up and took the slide off, then took a bunch of measurements and cut it up to make it a little smaller







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Old Aug 6, 2009 | 09:34 PM
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next we took out the window that was there and we cut a big hole in the side

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Old Aug 6, 2009 | 09:35 PM
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after that it was time to see how it fits..

so we put it in place to make sure this will actually work and it does









next is to start trimming off the opening with flashing and do some more bracing and finish work.. then comes the hard part.. getting the canvas to work correct and figuring out how to seal this hole
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Old Aug 9, 2009 | 04:20 PM
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Well My dad helped me last night get the edge framed in then we put plastic vinyl siding over the edges to help seal them.

Still lots more to do

here is the bed slid all the way in


slid all the way out.. the tilt looks worse then it is.. plus the supports that go under it are not there.




From inside with bed slid out..
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Old Aug 9, 2009 | 08:11 PM
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Looks like a really cool low-buck project so far!
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Old Aug 16, 2009 | 04:03 PM
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well I had to modify the support bar, then I washed the old canvas(still needs more washing) and then got it up and tested it to see how it will fit..
It is not perfect but to me it is not worth the money to have it cut down to fit perfect.. maybe down the road if it works out good in the long run.

Here it is looking from front to the back


Looking form the back


Do not mind the dark area that was still wet from me washing it.


another angle to show space from inside.


next is to work on door that will cover the hole when slide is pushed in
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Old Aug 16, 2009 | 08:08 PM
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That really looks good. You sure are putting a lot of work into your camper. I really want to buy one, but I don't know what kind or anything.
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Old Aug 24, 2009 | 09:23 PM
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well now I am really in trouble.. brought home a 38' trailer to put camper on

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