This old Granby build

wvtradbow

Advanced Member
Joined
Oct 8, 2014
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A little history behind this old FWC,I drove to Denver 20+ years ago to get this camper,I was hunting out there and A friend I was with had one and him and his buddies worked part time for FWC.I thought these were so neat,I had to have one.I kept it all this time an about 5 yrs ago with it just sitting since I had long sold the truck to haul it with,i gave it to another friend,he never used it and said he was trashing it if I didn't want it back.I ran across this site and got a renewed interest in it,BUT by now it was in such bad shape,it needed a total redo.i started this project about a year ago realizing I still needed a full size truck to put it on,so this winter I put the camper on hold until I could redo an old truck for it.Now back to the camper.Here's what I started with.
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I really didn't know where to start so I just started taking the front and rear aluminum panels off and the rotted floor pac.To much dismay when I took the front off all the aluminum support frame fell out.[URL=http://s49.photobucket.com/user/wvtradbow/media/IMGP1305_zps0tb0cawf.jpg.html]

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Luckly I was able to take it to my work and get a lower frame welded,the original was too thin to weld so I had to buy some alum.square.Then I started on the floor pac
 
The floor was a little easier than I expected,just measure cut and stain
At this point I just wanted to get it all closed in again,so I went to a local scrap yard to find some aluminum for the damaged front and lower half of the rear,I was able to get a 4x8 sheet of 1/16 aluminum,It was a little thicker than original but that was fine
 
I hated to stop for a while but I found A truck that I did bed off restore.
Now back to the camper,(these two projects consumed my life besides working 50 hrs a week,wifey hasn't seen me much.)with it basically closed in I insulated some of it and found that if I sanded the cheaper 1/4 plywood that had some kind of coating and used a water base poly it actually turned into a pretty neat panelling
 
i skipped a step!! I got 11yds of 18 oz Vinyl coated polyester off ebay (great price) and cut it 24" and tacked it around the camper to see where to put the windows

I guess I made a mistake cutting the windows in,the guy I tried to get to sew the screen and velcro,covers in wouldn't do it cause he said it was too hard that way "I should've pinned everything together first and cut the vinyl last.I had to sew it myself with my home machine(and i'm not that good) but I think it turned out Okay but I used regular thread and sure hope it holds up.I tried everywhere around here to get it sewn and either they were too busy or just don't mess with campers.
 
I wanted to paint the camper before I put the liner on(hopefully this weekend) but I did have to make the flip panels and I did that this week and its causing me a great deal of stress cause the roof doesn't seem to want to line up even though I basically put them back in the same holes. Marty says that once I get the front mattress in it should let the back down.I sure hope so..

 
Amazing. I've done a lot of work on my camper but this is a step or two more than I tackled. Looking good and to think you were the original owner! That's cool.
 
It would be a good idea to put a spacer under the front panel to make it level before you go any further. Just to make certain it works. We use small cardboard boxes sitting on the bed board. You will also want to make sure the camper is square from the front corner on the driver side to the rear corner on the passenger side on the top of the body frame. Then from the front passenger side to the rear driver side.
 
Thanks Marty i think that's my problem,the camper is not sitting level,I'll probably have to either figure a way to level it on the trailer or try to get it in the garage and level it that way.i live in West Virginia there is no place level here ha
 
I was also trying to figure out if there's a more "efficient lifting system" than those dang panels,With the roof being so light and so many different pop up campers with different lift systems,maybe something will work better.but i would guess if there was something better ATC or FWC would've found it..
 
I had to feel like I'm getting something done,so I (think) finished one side the front and back although I still have some wiring of outside lights

 
Nice project, excellent work. A vintage camper on a vintage truck, bonus points that your camper went through another "customer" before coming back home. Thanks for posting.
 
Awe A pucker,I moved it to the garage today to get the liner and roof in place and I got a pucker.My home made liner that seemed to fit so well before I cut and sewed the windows now a has pucker.If I could just sew this probably would have never happened.The sides look Okay

Not sure what to do but I did find out one thing,I should've had it in the garage the whole time,once I got it level things like door now stick,don't know about the roof yet but I'm anticipating problems.As far as the pucker goes I may put it like FWC had it with the liner over the roof instead of pulling the staples and bending the alum and putting it under so when I save some money I'll buy one from Marty and do it right.I really wanted to get this in traveling shape by the third week of July..
 
I would divide the pucker into either two, three or four puckers and position them over a larger area.
I would also move the puckers away from the corners.

The pucker should be oriented so that it sheds air and water to the rear of the camper to achieve a shingle affect. The pucker in the posted picture is oriented incorrectly.

This is how I would do it:
Determine the size of the pucker.
Mark the leading edge of the pucker.
Mark the Side Curtain where the leading edge contacts it.
Remove the Side Curtain.
Open up the pucker and measure between the two marks. This is the width of the pucker.
Divide this measurement by 2, 3, and 4.
These measurements will be referred to as Width 2, Width 3 and Width 4.
Using 3x5 cards to practice making a pucker and determine the best number of puckers to use.
Along the 5" side mark Width 2.
Fold the two marks to each other to form a pucker half as wide as the original pucker.
Repeat using Width 3 and Width 4 measurements.

Assuming there is a center back seam:
Fold the Curtain in half along the Center Back seam, inside to inside.
On the outside:
Mark Center Front.
Fold Center Front to Center Back.
Mark Center Left.
Mark Center Right.

On the camper:
Determine the perimeter.
Mark Center Front.
Mark Center Back.
Mark Center Right.
Mark Center Left.
Attach Side Curtain to camper only at Center Front and Center Rear.
Double sided tape works well for this.

Locating The Puckers:
From the picture posted it looks like the pucker is not very wide and dividing it into two puckers would be satisfactory. If not use three or four.
I would not locate the puckers on the camper front leading edge.
If locating on the right side, left side or rear side avoid the corners and windows.

Right and Left Side Puckers:
Mark Width 2 on Right Side Curtain at Curtain Right Center.
Fold curtain to form pucker and align Curtain Center Right and Camper Center Right.
Double sided tape works well for this.
Mark Width 2 on Left Side Curtain at Curtain Left Center.
Fold curtain to form pucker and align Curtain Center Left and Camper Center Left.

Rear Puckers:
On camper Rear Side mark an equal distance to the right and left of Center Rear to establish Right Rear Pucker location and Left Rear Pucker location.
On Side Curtain mark the same equal distance to the right and left of Center Rear to establish Curtain Right Rear Pucker location and Curtain Left Rear Pucker location.
Mark Width 2 at above pucker locations.
Fold curtain to form pucker and align Camper and Curtain Right Rear Pucker and Left Rear Pucker marks.

Another Way To Do It:
Remove the pucker at the Side Curtain Center Back Seam.

You said that you can't sew, but I know that you can.
Sewing is one of the first and most basic of all human activities.
A little seven year old Bagladeshi girl could do this.
Purchase a stitching awl with the hole at the point of the needle.
Read and follow the directions, practice sewing 3x5 cards together.

How To Do It:
Divide the Pucker Width in half.
Mark a line parallel to the Curtain Center Back Seam equal to this quotient. This new Center Back Seam will increase the width of the seam allowance.
If the Curtain Center Back seam allowance is stitched down, it will need to be unstitched.
Stitch new Center Back Seam.
Simple.
You can do it.
 
Just read the thread from the beginning and see that you did a great job of sewing it. I was right!
It would be a good idea to restitch it with a #69 or #92 bonded polyester with uv inhibitors.
Probably not what you want to hear. But the regular home sewing thread is not up to the task.
These size threads are too big for a home machine so it would have to done with a needle and awl.
With the curtain already assembled it would be a lot easier than if it wasn't.
It could be hung vertically and stitched while standing or sitting.
SailRite has the thread and stitching awl.
 
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