Potential Alaskan 10' Buyer

[longhorn1]

Hello,

I have been researching pop-up campers for the past year. I've looked closely at the softsides from Hallmark & Outfitter, and want to learn about the hardside Alaskan. The hardside appeals to me and we are looking at the 10' with the extended bed. I'm interested in hearing from people that have had Alaskans for years, owners of multiple Alaskans, and new owners. It is my intent to visit Denver and Washington to see the manufacturering process of all 3 during the next year. Some draw backs are the lack of an inside shower and North/South bed in the Alaskan, but would probably over look those items if the feed back about the quality of the camper is considered to be very high. There wasn't much on accessories, and would want at least an outside shower, solar, cassette toilet, air conditioning. Is the hydraulic lift reliable. I notice some forum comments where they cracked and had to be soldered. Maybe those were on older units. Any information you can provide on your Alaskan Camper experience, positive or negative would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Rusty]

Mine is 43 years old and it's been in the family the entire time. I, personally, have had this in our end of the family for 23 years. all the upgrades you mentioned are available and many more...call Bryan at the factory in Chehalis Washington and discuss what he can do for you. I would highly recommend a new one or a very old one...the 80's seem to have used vinyl covered flakeboard for interior finishes which does not hold up well...ie; peels and comes apart.

the split hydraulics you spoke of is unusual. He's in Alaska....which does get a bit colder, although I don't know the cause of the split...the newer rams are larger and carry the load much more evenly, although the older rams work well...you just have to get to know them.

the only way I would sell mine...even after all these years....would be to buy a new one...with many of the upgrades you have spoken of...and a cab over.

they're handy, low profile and alot of fun....I've had mine all over the west and typically get 17-19 mpg on a 7.3 liter Ford diesel...you will need at least a 3/4 ton truck to carry it...air bags suggested to assist in keeping things level during serious cruising

 

[Spike38]

Hello,
We have a 2005 10’ front dinette we purchased from a couple in Fort Collins Co. Camper is on a 1995 Dodge 2500 with many modification for power and our 4 wheel drive needs. We have had a Halmark and have had a S&S , Lance, and several types of trailers. The reason for our choice of the Alaskan was we snowmobile, boat and enjoy camping in Colorado year round.
The full size hard sided campers are very difficult to drive in cross winds along with a 20’ enclosed trailer. The Halmark we found to be ok for 3 seasons but even with insulation we used a lot of propane to heat.
The Alaskan works well. We do not have A.C., but find it rare we need it. The Alaskan is well made and has giving us a good package to modify to our liking. We have reinsulated ours and did some modification on the weather striping to keep out any drafts in windy conditions. We do not have a water heater and find we do not miss it as much as you might think. The cassette toilet work good for our needs and has not given us any problems. WE use a portable hot water heater in the summer for showers.
The faults we have found is as follows. The refrigerator being located as it is in this design needs a small fan to remove the heat from the top coil area and vented thru the ventilation grating on the side of the camper. This is a simple modification and is used only on warmer days. I have built a support on the back side of the camper to give the lower box section the needed rigidity it need as the door cut out takes a lot of strength away from the lower section. The camper tie downs also tend to pull on the lower section as well. This brace mounts to bottom and follows the contour of the back of the camper to the camper tie downs. This has greatly increased the rigidity and my door opening gap remains constant. I have also made my access step a part of this brace so they are still removable for traveling but slide in place around the trailer hitch.
Only other mods have been to make the closet suit our needs better . We also installed a small flat screen that mount behind the dinette seat so we can watch a movie. The lift system has been good , but me being me I made the system so I can control each of the 4 jacks to allow very even lowering and raising. All in All we love the camper. I just wish my truck had a utility bed for more storage.

 

[Rusty]

I'd like to see those mods Spike....interesting...especially the jack system control and the structural mod for stabilizing the rear door opening...

Welcome aboard

 

[Manfred65]

Hello,
i like to introduce myself in this thread.

I am from germany, 48 years, Coach-Driver, and looking for truckcampers for half a year now. Now i am nearly 100% on the way to an Alaskan.
Our choice leans towards a 8 or 8.5 ft AlaskanCO to fit on a ExtCabSB 3/4 or 1-ton-Truck.
Shortbed because our roads and cities are much more narrow than in the USA. I hope a Chevy2500 or Ford F-250 will work well with
these campers. May be i will need a roadmaster-Kit or Airbags ?

@Spike38: i am also interested in the changes you made. Esp. the structural mods in the rear. Do you have sketches or photographs you are able to post or send via Mail ?

Regards
Manfred

 

[Spike38]

I would take pictures but the camper is off the truck right now and tucked in the corner of my shop.
The rear structure is as follows. I will explain the best I can
Along the bottom of the camper i have a piece of 1 1/2" x 2 x 3/32" thick square tubing that runs under the bottom of the camper and extends 6" past the right and left lower sidewall this piece is bolted thru the floor at the outer edges. Then 2 uprights or vertical pieces one on each side with the same tubing going up to the horizontal edge with a horizontal piece of the same tubing going to the jack-tie down brackets. Each of these pieces are welded at a 90 deg angle and fit to the dimensions of the camper with triangle gussets welded inside of each corner . These two pieces one right and one left are connected to the lower rail I described earlier with a heavy hinge welded to the base square tubing and also welded to the two uprights, I then took and made two adjustable jack screws 1/2 x 13 thread with pin connection top and bottom and attached them on the lower outside edge of the bottom tubing and they tie in just below the 90 deg weld on the vertical tubing gussets. The reasons for the jack bolts instead of welding it all together is I wanted to be able to adjust each side so I can get the door gap perfect. It also allows things to flex a bit. Bolting into the jack and camper tie down mounts allows the brace to take some of the load of the tie downs. I used stainless tubing as it was available, the stainless is overkill and a little thick for the task but it was free. Steel that is powder coated or painted would be fine.
I have had this in place for over a year and even when I take the camper off and on the 4 jacks the door gap did not change. Brace may have added 30 to 40 lbs I am guessing on the heavy side of its weight as it also has a step mount I built on latter.
Only drawback is I must have my camper sitting on 6- 2x6 boards laying in the bed. I was doing this anyway for some cab clearance.

As for the 4 jacks I have installed a flow control valve for each jack. This allows very good control of each jack.

 

[Manfred65]

Hi Spike 38,

tanks for sharing your changes. I hope you can add photos later. I think i understood what you have done. But to get the last clearance ( my english isn´t the best) photos may help a lot.

Manfred

 

[Rusty]

NOW....I really want to see a picture....my machinist/draftsman's brain is working overtime....I think I've got it...and it sounds great

Free Stainless.....wow.....what a score!

3/16" flow control valves?....where the heck did you get those....are you using brass ball valves with compression connections?....or did you install them on the bottom of the risers?

this is where pictures and thousands of words intersect

Manfred....your English is great....my compliments....

 

[Manfred65]

@Rusty. Thanks a lot for your compliment Some years at school 30 years ago, 20 years coach driving all over europe, then add
"google-Translator and a little brain on fine-tuning. Thats it!

I agree with you: Picture say more than 1000 words!

 

[Spike38]

Hello,

I will post pictures when I mount the camper back on my truck. Just can not get pictures where it is stored. Sorry you are working your brain overtime. Yes pictures would be great.
As for the valves they are Parker 1/4" F400B. plumbed to each cylinder line controls flow up to 8gpm and 2000psi. Very similar to the two control valve my camper came with.
Manfred The last clearance I spoke of is so I have some clearance between my overhead section of the camper and my cab roof. .

 

[Spike38]

I was able to upload a rough drawing in the JPG below. Black lines are of brace. The drawing is of just the drivers side. Passenger side is the same. I had to draw with paint so it is not the best.
Spike

 

[Rusty]

brains are meant to be challenged...it gets more important the older you get

I've not worked with flow control valves before....every day...something new

 

[Spike38]

Rusty my brain is challenged daily and age makes the challenge interesting to say the least.
See my above post for a rough drawing of the support

Spike

 

[gbail]

Just FYI..........Saw an affordable older 10 footer for sale this weekend in a SoCal CL posting. Think it was LA or San Diego

 

[Kilroy]

I was able to upload a rough drawing in the JPG below. Black lines are of brace. The drawing is of just the drivers side. Passenger side is the same. I had to draw with paint so it is not the best.
Spike

I'm sorry I'm missing something in your description. Getting older and dumber I guess. Your bracket description and drawing are very helpful. Except from what I gather, I don't understand where you have to raise the camper to use the bracket. On my 10', back is almost 2 ft beyond flatbed.

 

[fish slapper]

I bought a 2006 Alaskan 10 ft cab over brand new (had it built) in January of 06 and I LOVE it...if something happened to it I will call and order another one immediately!... previous to this I owned a : 4 wheel pop up Grandby model, Palamino for a small truck, StarCraft 8 ft I bought new in 2001(it was the best made of soft sides in my opinion)

Call Alaskan and see what they can make for you, they are great guys to work with!

 

[BluesideUp]

Hello Spike,

I am new to camping and purchased a 2010 11' front dinette that I have mounted on a flat bed which I am modifying.

I would have rather had an 8.5 but the 11 was closer to me but with all that wood hanging our of the rear I wanted some metal between the wood and my backup skills / rear end accident. Thus the mods.

I studied every type and style of camper and truck combo for 2 years and settled on Alaskan because its hard sided, all wood and seemed best suitable off road and there are just so many still in use like I mean 40-50 years old. try to find any other manufacturer that has units half that still on the road

My Truck is a 2013 3500 chevy HD 4 x 4 Gas

I got a lot of inspiration from articles on this forum and Truck Camper Magazine Articles below

Carl Isner

1. Off the Grid Gear Report. http://www.truckcampermagazine.com/off-road-expeditions/carl-isner-off-grid-gear-report

2. An Ultimate Camper Rig. http://www.truckcampermagazine.com/off-road-expeditions/carl-isner-an-ultimate-alaskan-camper-rig

Bill Caid

1. Mog Out. http://www.truckcampermagazine.com/off-road-expeditions/bill-caid-mog-out

If I were going to build it would be a flat bed non cabover, just more storage than a slide in. With side racks your could still use a flat bed off season

I have not been too impressed with the quality of some of the items in the Alaskan, like both Comfort Fans out and no longer made, stove leaking and model discontinued and cannot find all the parts needed. This unit was new 3 years ago.

The wood work is great and the layout functional for me. Hope this is helpful

 

[Freebird]

Spike,
Where you have built a brace to compress the rear lower section of camper slightly, the factory places a 1/4" high shim (support) piece on top of the wood under the camper near to the outer edge (rear only) of the bottom part of the camper to achieve the same results.
It essentially lifts the outside edge, which reduces the width slightly at the top of the (lower) door opening.
Brace is a good idea that does the same job.....
IF I'm understanding your modification...