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- Can the camper be easily modified? - As in, do the inside wall panels, cabinets etc all come off easily so you can access the wiring, plumbing etc? One owner's "easy" is another's "impossible," but a lot of owners find DIY repairs and refurbishing to be quite feasible. Basically these things...

I favor the big silver tarp. It may not be lovely but it goes through some rough storms every winter, and it's easy to replace. And when it's tied down, I know it's secure.

Sorry, have been offline for awhile. Recently did a 9000 mile drive with the Alaskan, 2 months, and used the Wolfbox daily. Night vision performance is quite good. It could be even better, but in general, superior to an old-fashioned rearview mirror. Another item of interest, the Wolfbox has...

Although, more clearance also has problems in the form of weird acoustic effects (howling, rumbling) due to turbulence/resonance. This especially happens in strong sidewinds at highway speeds. Some people put a pool noodle or other soft spacer in there to eliminate resonance.

The early ones didn't have such bins so authenticity suggests not using them. If you want to go ahead, though, they are made mostly of 1/8" plywood or board with an internal frame of 3/4" square Doug fir or pine. At the back and side the frame is screwed through the paneling into the camper's...

I went with the Wolfbox mirror-camera [ https://amzn.to/3W4qynw ] and mounted the camera next to the door, so it's about 2 ft above the top of the tailgate. Clearly not 1963 tech but the Wolfbox mirrors come in several sizes, one is probably close to your stock rearview mirror, and the camera is...

After making sure the slides were correctly aligned, mostly it was a matter of fitting lots of spacer blocks until the top was low enough to engage the slides and bolt up the hydraulic tubes. Then pressurize the system, lower away, and run it up and down a few times to check for smooth...

I also have the electric pump lift and I've noticed it works much harder in cold temperatures, probably because the hydraulic fluid is more viscous. So it's probably drawing substantially more current. You could check that with an ammeter, or, try warming the camper interior with a space heater...

Not really. I always carry a decent tool selection - VOM, jumper wires, screwdrivers, wrenches, sockets, allen wrenches, electrical and other pliers, big Crescent wrench, arborist saw, nitrile gloves. These allow me to troubleshoot and repair just about anything that might go amiss, short of...

I did this mod on my 1990 8-ft CO. There is one hot wire that feeds all the running lights, and they are all grounded to the aluminum skin. Any break in that one wire, and all the lights below it in the series will go dark. Discontinuities are usually associated with corrosion at the...

Had similar issues with my rebuild; removed rails and was able to straighten them to where they were true to a straightedge, which solved the problem. Had they been more severely bent/corroded, would have had to replace or fabricate. Or, maybe current-model Alaskan rails could be retrofit.

If you're on Facebook, there's a group called "Alaskan Camper Club". People regularly post campers for sale, and many are in the PNW. Also lots of related info.

The rear roof rack brackets are bolted through all the way, through the rear plywood bulkhead. Main concern is to fully seal it. Front roof brackets are bolted through the front left and right corner structural wood. Again, sealing, since rot of these members is common in older units. These four...

My 1990 Alaskan has a black spiral cord connecting the upper to the lower shell, as shown in the photo. It also had an external jack due to the rather bizarre system of taking shore power into the lower shell, routing it to a power center in the upper shell, and then back down through 12V in the...

Thanks for the details. I like that gooseneck.

Possibilities include mounting tank under truck bed (if you have space), mounting tank on roof (bad for aerodynamics and smaller tanks, like 2-3 gal, probably better), using the mini 2-lb Coleman tanks and refilling them yourself from a larger tank at home (can store them just about anywhere)...

I'm pretty sure none of these campers came with a wiring diagram, which is too bad. If you want to sever the ground to the aluminum, you'll find it's made with a 10 gauge wire at the base of the upper shell below where the outside cord connection is. Getting to it requires removing the aluminum...

The upper shell skin is grounded because that serves the running lights. The lower shell skin wasn't grounded and still isn't.

Furnaces. The standard issue Alaskan model these days is the smallest model Suburban. It doesn't get great reviews. Most higher-end mini RVs are using the Truma, which is expensive and rather bulky but combines a water heater with a furnace. Personally I want to try the Propex (...

I have a 1990 with the stock Dometic 2-way refrigerator. It's barely adequate. When in electric mode it draws 12 amps. Under any circumstances it is very slow to cool down and can't cope with hot weather - it seems to cool to a maximum of about 60F below ambient temperature. I understand newer...

You're mostly going to have to figure this out yourself, but recalling the original wiring on my 1990 CO 8', shore power came in to the upper shell via the outside 110V outlet and ran directly to the converter. Onboard 12V power went from the lower shell to the upper shell via an external cord...

I've had similar issues. Some points to watch for: - The ground needs to be completely level (within an inch or so). - The jack mounts have to be rigid. On older campers they may develop some flex; mine has a removable steel truss to hold the jack mounts stable. - Due to the "inches of rise"...

Good story, and the new camper looks great. You may yet need to go into the upper shell framing. One drawback to the Alaskan design is that condensation forms inside the aluminum and runs down to the bottom, so they are prone to rot in that area (too bad there are no drains for the...

Difficult. The aft bulkhead is plywood and the brackets can be through-bolted to it in a variety of positions, and will be strong. You just need to pick a location where you can access the bolts, meaning below the inside roofline. Access within the overhead storage bin would hide the bolt heads...

I have a 90 CO. I rewired it this winter, the old wiring had a lot of corrosion. This is what I did: Electrics 1. Move electrical base from the upper shell to the lower shell, greatly simplifying the wiring layout with all high-amperage items except the vent fan kept in the lower shell near...