LAMBCRUSHER
New Member
- Joined
- Jun 13, 2018
- Messages
- 3
Hey gang!
First time poster, but I have lurked here a bit for a while...I have been searching for a pop up camper for a while for my back- halfed fj55 Landcruiser pick up truck-
YES; I said fj 55 pick up truck!
Well, I landed a 1983 FWC Fleet for $300!!!
It was in great condition for a 35 YO camper, but between needing to redo the floorpan for fitment to the truck, and the slight hint of cigarette smoke lingering in the cloth, I jumped right into stripping the interior and floorpan, and rebuilt a new pan.
At this point I’ve got the new pan built, and primed and painted on the outside, and have gotten to a point in the project where I could really use some community help in deciding what my next steps should be before sticking the shell back onto the pan...
A bit of context... there was damage to the bulkhead frame below the window, and the floor was about 1” too tall for my liking. I do not have aluminum welding tools and have a tight budget, so buying tools is mostly off the table. That meant circumventing the lack of ability to weld issue while effecting the repair. Hmmmm... welll...
The lip on my bed prevented the camper from getting snuggly to the cab of the rig...
The floor is too tall...
Damage at the belly line of the bulkhead...
The aggregate of these led me to cut the legs off the bulkhead, which I repaired by adding a lower bulkhead to the front of the floorpan. It has a cantilever to allow the bulkhead to get close to the cab.
These steps solved the need to repair the aluminum frame at the bulkhead...
The next issue, bed fitment... my truck has an old step side bed with a 40 1/4” inside width, and 16 1/4” tall walls. The Fleets 2 step floorpan was too wide and too deep for my box. The new pan eliminates the middle step, and has 18” wings. The new pan will have about 10” of overhang at the rear, and 1/4” on either side!!!!(yikes)
I remain undecided as to how best to configure the camper, so I’m leaving it a shell for the most part. My immediate NEEDS are for it to have a fridge/ freezer and on demand water- both hot and cold. Those needs both require lpg and ac/dc, so those utilities will be included with provisions for future expansions. The oem location for the fridge does not work with my desired sleeping arrangement, so I want to relocate it to the rear of the camper. The long passenger side window pushes me toward letting the utilities remain on the driver side, but I would rather have had the fridge on the left and the water on the right- both at the rear. I’m still uncertain what to do about that, but wanted to include it in my overall outline, as I said, for context.
My questions to this forum are:
1. What type of flooring is most conducive to keeping spills that happen inside front m damaging the wood? I’m thinking vinyl or linoleum wrapped 2/3 up the sidewalls of the lower box? Is there a better alternative?
2. What type of material is being used for the interior walls? I see the 1/8” ply paneling and the 3/16 Masonite in dark brown or in the white, or unfinished high density fiberboard at the hardware stores, but the mfg websites pics often show a lighter colored and often patterned paneling in their newer production campers... what would I search for to find the options for that type of material? Or should I just use the basic 1/8” ply with a coating or wallpaper?
3. Should I install the interior panels before the floorpan?
4 what should I use to trim the wings? The OEMs often show them covered in some type of carpet. In fact, the oem floorpan had carpet on the wings and part way down the steps... while I think it is not a bad idea for comfort, I’m not certain it is the best for longevity of the structure... again, is there a better suited alternative?
I know this is all worthless without pics, and a dreadfully long introduction, but I know I’m going to get very useful info here, and am really looking forward to continuing progress on this. If someone could also explain to this analog guy how to post pics, I’d be happy to do so!
Thank you, and wander on...
First time poster, but I have lurked here a bit for a while...I have been searching for a pop up camper for a while for my back- halfed fj55 Landcruiser pick up truck-
YES; I said fj 55 pick up truck!
Well, I landed a 1983 FWC Fleet for $300!!!
It was in great condition for a 35 YO camper, but between needing to redo the floorpan for fitment to the truck, and the slight hint of cigarette smoke lingering in the cloth, I jumped right into stripping the interior and floorpan, and rebuilt a new pan.
At this point I’ve got the new pan built, and primed and painted on the outside, and have gotten to a point in the project where I could really use some community help in deciding what my next steps should be before sticking the shell back onto the pan...
A bit of context... there was damage to the bulkhead frame below the window, and the floor was about 1” too tall for my liking. I do not have aluminum welding tools and have a tight budget, so buying tools is mostly off the table. That meant circumventing the lack of ability to weld issue while effecting the repair. Hmmmm... welll...
The lip on my bed prevented the camper from getting snuggly to the cab of the rig...
The floor is too tall...
Damage at the belly line of the bulkhead...
The aggregate of these led me to cut the legs off the bulkhead, which I repaired by adding a lower bulkhead to the front of the floorpan. It has a cantilever to allow the bulkhead to get close to the cab.
These steps solved the need to repair the aluminum frame at the bulkhead...
The next issue, bed fitment... my truck has an old step side bed with a 40 1/4” inside width, and 16 1/4” tall walls. The Fleets 2 step floorpan was too wide and too deep for my box. The new pan eliminates the middle step, and has 18” wings. The new pan will have about 10” of overhang at the rear, and 1/4” on either side!!!!(yikes)
I remain undecided as to how best to configure the camper, so I’m leaving it a shell for the most part. My immediate NEEDS are for it to have a fridge/ freezer and on demand water- both hot and cold. Those needs both require lpg and ac/dc, so those utilities will be included with provisions for future expansions. The oem location for the fridge does not work with my desired sleeping arrangement, so I want to relocate it to the rear of the camper. The long passenger side window pushes me toward letting the utilities remain on the driver side, but I would rather have had the fridge on the left and the water on the right- both at the rear. I’m still uncertain what to do about that, but wanted to include it in my overall outline, as I said, for context.
My questions to this forum are:
1. What type of flooring is most conducive to keeping spills that happen inside front m damaging the wood? I’m thinking vinyl or linoleum wrapped 2/3 up the sidewalls of the lower box? Is there a better alternative?
2. What type of material is being used for the interior walls? I see the 1/8” ply paneling and the 3/16 Masonite in dark brown or in the white, or unfinished high density fiberboard at the hardware stores, but the mfg websites pics often show a lighter colored and often patterned paneling in their newer production campers... what would I search for to find the options for that type of material? Or should I just use the basic 1/8” ply with a coating or wallpaper?
3. Should I install the interior panels before the floorpan?
4 what should I use to trim the wings? The OEMs often show them covered in some type of carpet. In fact, the oem floorpan had carpet on the wings and part way down the steps... while I think it is not a bad idea for comfort, I’m not certain it is the best for longevity of the structure... again, is there a better suited alternative?
I know this is all worthless without pics, and a dreadfully long introduction, but I know I’m going to get very useful info here, and am really looking forward to continuing progress on this. If someone could also explain to this analog guy how to post pics, I’d be happy to do so!
Thank you, and wander on...
