1986 GMC S-15

[Andrew_S]

Well as they say, the best laid plans of mice and men...

Yesterday was an extremely frustrating day.
We tried to put both the side windows in and proceeded to mess up the placement of not one, but both of them...
So they wouldn't lay perfectly flat. Glazing tape isn't the most forgiving stuff. So back out they came...

Then I spent 3 hours running around getting some more weather stripping that was defective and all of my grand plans for the day fizzled away.



We did test fit the entire unit on the truck again. I definitely have to use a slightly different gasket around the cab over section. The 1" gasket in the 1/2" gap creates way to much friction. The gasket itself has a ton of crush being hollow but it makes it very difficult to slide the camper up.

Here are some pics of that.

99% sure the lights are going on the camper moving forward. Nicole is a very visual person and wanted to test it out again.

and this is where I'm at now. Hoping to actually make some progress today.

 

[Deleted member 374434BT]

Looks good, the more holes ya put in it, the greater chance for water intrusion. I'm sure the radiator would enjoy the airflow though.

 

[Andrew_S]

Looks good, the more holes ya put in it, the greater chance for water intrusion. I'm sure the radiator would enjoy the airflow though.

I mounted a plate to the very front to support the cab over portion of the camper better, and potentially for gas springs as well. The intent is to bolt the lights to it, not through the sheeting. I shared the same concern about putting them up front and the 3.4 running hot but I never noticed a difference on the temp gauge even during the hottest days. I had the plate cut big so that I could trim it down once I've situated everything.

Little more progress. I annealed and bent up a section of 3" flat bar for my tailgate lock.

Second gate coming together,

Last little bit of sheeting,

That's a wrap! All of the sheeting is done!!!

The list is getting shorter. Contemplating how to make the gas springs work properly.

Got some weights figured out today. We are going to be slightly over 350lbs, if I were to guess 375lbs by the time we add the struts and insulation.

 

[Andrew_S]

Figured out our gas spring forces using this crude method. Gets me in the ballpark.

Camper is officially lockable now.

Took a break to check for leaks.

The wifey inside watching for drips. Test went awesome, nothing leaking at all on the top box.

Back to insulating.

Just a couple more and the bottom will be complete.

Placing an order for some really key pieces tomorrow. Hope they and some other things already in transit show up this week.

 

[Andrew_S]

Real quick one here,

couple packages arrived, we went back and fourth on what to do for a mattress. Ended up settling on this.

I was pretty skeptical for the price but this is pretty nice. It's a 4" milliard foam mattress.
It's pretty comfy to lay on, no bottoming out. It's an absolutely perfect fit too. For less then $200 theres not much else on the market that comes close to this.

This was a turn of events but I think for the better.

From day one I intended on using gas springs for the lift assist, up until like 3 days ago. I completely wrote off linear actuators thinking they would be far to expensive. These actually came in at a lower price point and are a way better system. The actual unit fits the space way better then a gas strut would. Super stoked on going this route.

 

[TwinDuro]

Just awesome! I’ve enjoyed the heck out of watching your camper build @Andrew_S ! Seeing the thought, engineering and build quality that you and your wife have put into this camper has been so cool!

I can totally understand the switch to linear actuators. It makes all sorts of sense. What’s the weight rating and extension length on each of those puppies? ?

 

[Andrew_S]

^Thank you.

They are rated for 150lb each, w/30" stroke. Honestly sometimes you just get lucky and these are an absolute perfect fit. I designed the pop top for a 30" lift. Total stroke of luck. The way they fit in the camper is unreal, honestly couldn't have come up with a better solution.
Fergelli makes a 30 or 35lb actuator and they would have been sufficient with just the top but with the canoe they would be underpowered. Total time to lift the top will be like 1 min 40 seconds. Hopefully get them mounted in soon.

 

[Andrew_S]

Been a minute,

Hit a hard drainage ditch the other day and the steering wheel was slightly crooked afterwards.
This steering set up just eats up idler arms. Can't wait to sas this thing.

Quick canoe fitting, had to figure out some stuff for my hdpe sliders.

Due to the slightly higher height and added length over the cab I couldn't quite bridge the canoe from one strip at the front to the back when loading. So I came up with this little pad on the roof to slide it forward.

Playing around with some pinstriping to break up the straight aluminum look.
This is one of the last things on the list but one day this thing will see some sort of design, whether it be a full wrap or something simple.

Lights in their new home. I've got to make up some 1" spacers to raise them up slightly and a security cup system for the nuts on the bottom.

Mattress fits perfect.

We had a little trial nap it in the other day. I couldn't be happier. It's so comfortable and tons of room.
That's a legit queen size mattress in a 1/4 ton truck camper.

Going to get started on mounting up the actuators this afternoon.

 

[Canlib]

I feel like this may be the luckiest day of my life. Just found your post as I'm planning an aluminum pop up for my Chevy Colorado. Oh, and I live in Kelowna.
I'd love to get together for a socially distanced visit and see your camper and pick your brain. I'll bring the beer! Not sure how to pm on expedition portal.

 

[ZMagic97]

Checking in again and still not disappointed. I love these projects you're doing.

 

[Andrew_S]

I feel like this may be the luckiest day of my life. Just found your post as I'm planning an aluminum pop up for my Chevy Colorado. Oh, and I live in Kelowna.
I'd love to get together for a socially distanced visit and see your camper and pick your brain. I'll bring the beer! Not sure how to pm on expedition portal.

Right on, I'l send you a pm with my phone #. Would definitely be down to shoot the ******** and give you the lowdown on all of the things I would do differently next time.

Checking in again and still not disappointed. I love these projects you're doing.

Thanks, I really appreciate it.

Did a moose scouting trip on Saturday. Put a good 200km's of bush roads on the truck and found a lot of great areas.

Also found some choice mushrooms

Made up some mounts for the actuator brackets. Heavy 1/4" wall, 1.5" tubing,

Nicole getting the actuators bolted up

Temp wired them up and this thing moves!!!

 

[ITTOG]

It is coming along nicely. I bet it was exciting to see the actuators work. They look very nice.

 

[Deleted member 374434BT]

I think this qualifies for

Best Project Thread Update of 2020.

 

[Andrew_S]

It is coming along nicely. I bet it was exciting to see the actuators work. They look very nice.

Yeah that was definitely a super rewarding moment. To see it move up and down and everything work together was pretty awesome.

I think this qualifies for

Best Project Thread Update of 2020.

Thanks man, I really appreciate that. Honesty the actuators have been probably the easiest part.

Got the gas springs from a local company Gemini gas springs. The gentleman there (hank) is an absolute wicked guy to deal. Brought the camper to him, he took some measurements, made some suggestions and these thing work perfect. 4 custom made springs and brackets, calculation sheets and mounting instructions for $150. Once I started going through the calcs and figuring out the size and force required at all positions of opening and the progression, well yeah there is a bit more to it. I would highly recommend using gemini.

Took more then a minute to find the tie downs I wanted but the Canoe now has tie-downs

The actuators pump this thing up and down effortlessly.

Also got started on my control panel.

Bought a couple of new tools as well. Looking forward to having this stubby and power ratchet.

 

[Andrew_S]

Spent 20 mins or so this evening dialing in the gas struts. These things are set up almost perfectly now. The 1st door is set up for 5* over horizontal and the 2nd is set level to use as a table for cooking on.
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