Well I bought this slide in camper for my T100 pickup. Knew it was gonna be a project and now I’m down the rabbit hole of rv repair. Figure I would keep a thread of my progress. I picked the TC up for 200$ so my budget for repairs is decent enough. I’m looking to build this out for utility and not necessarily looks, and for longevity as I plan to use for hunting and camping the next 5-10 years.
The camper I believe is a 1990 and is pretty ruff. Roof for sure is getting rebuilt and possibly some of the walls depending on what I find in there. Floor appears to be good so if I have to I’ll build if from the floor up. I know for sure the cab over part on the driver side will need attention. The canvas is decent other than a couple of the vinyl windows being destroyed, I plan to get that silver bubble insulation and wrap along inside of canvas while camping anyway. I might try and sew canvas over them and possibly make my own out of old billboard sign with no windows at all. Here’s some photos of some progress and will be hitting it hard this weekend.
Progress update, it’s slow going with my free time being limited. Removed all foam insulation, took off two of the aluminum rails that hold aluminum skin on side boards. Took off frame that’s glued to the roof one at a time and rebuilt them. Left the front of the frame the rest was replaced. I replaced the side and rear side boards and have one left to go. I’m adding a 1x1 down the seam for more support and help seal the seam. I framed out the vent hole as well, there is some skin damage around there and I plan to patch with some aluminum siding and butyl tape then seal with sika 221 or dicor. I have a new vent coming and I have new marker light coming for the roof. Got my vinyl in for canvas and it’s not as thick as I was thinking but I’ll give it a go and keep my original for patterns. I will not be putting any windows in the new vinyl. I’ll be adding in foam board and leaving a gap between to fill in with great stuff to help add rigidity to the roof. Hope to get the roof done this weekend.
Got some more work done on the TC. Got the frame completed on the top. Got my insulation installed and ran light wires. I still have to put my aluminum supports on the top and rivet them in place. I removed the cab over skin and front window. Fixed some rot under the queen bed and stiffened up the lift rail. Put all the tin back on and got the old canvas back on the bottom. I’m just gonna use the old canvas until I can get with a local lady that’s gonna let me use her industrial sewing machine. I’ll use some canvas repair tape for the 2 windows that are shot. Next I’ll be looking into the electrical and finishing the roof up. I also added a support down the seam and spray foamed in between the foam board.
Put in some work this weekend, finished ceiling and all the wiring. Got corners back on and everything prepped to seal on the roof. Roof is back on and I’m gonna add one last metal support to keep the roof from sagging. Added new countertop and top above the fridge, added some insulation while I was in around the fridge. Definitely not gonna be perfect but it won’t leak and it will be functional. Yes I’m a maniac and soldered all my lights in, it was the cheapest but not the fastest way. I went with overkill on the lift system adding in some steel plates for extra strength.
Well here is a wrap up of the roof. I got it back on using blocks and the high jacks. There was still a sag in the roof so I added a metal post to get bow I wanted. I reattached the canvas and adjusted my set screws. I will say getting it lined up to set right took a little time. I also messed up and my side rails were bowed in for some reason so I bent them out a bit. It’s not perfect by any means but I took it out hunting and it worked amazing. Made a propane door out of old aluminum tool box lid and works great. My furnace took a crap immediately so a new motor is in the future. I brought a backup heater for just the occasion. I hit a rain/snow storm on the way up the mountain and no leaks which made me happy. I completely sealed the roof and any new work I did. I’ll be redoing the back of the camper this summer and I’ll reseal the rest then. The sika 221 is some great stuff. I also used a lot of eternal bond tape. I used awning repair tape on all the damaged windows and it worked pretty good but not really a long term solution. I’ll be making a new canvas next summer.
If I were to redo the roof again I would frame the whole roof out a little differently but all in all not a bad job. I spent about a month straight working on it on weekends and after work.
