GoinBoardin
Observer
New-ish member here. I picked up an 82' Grandby a few weeks ago to try out this whole truck camper thing. I have one poor quality picture for now..
I've used one truck camper before; it was a monstrosity S&S in an F250, dry weight of 3k lbs. The comfort was nice but I was glad I didn't own it as it was terrifying to drive (I drove ~600 miles in CO with it). I wanted something cheap, light, with comforts (cold beer & a stove out of the wind!) that I could wheel back to my favorite lakes in the Rockies on my F150. After reading ExPo & WtW I realized an old FWC fit the bill.
It's rough and needs work, but I'm not one to be without a project. It will be hauled on my 96' F150 flatbed. The truck has a mildly built 351W engine (last fall's project), 4x4, auto, 33" LT tires, heavier springs all around, front & rear sway bars, and Bilstein 4600 shocks so it handles the Grandby pretty well. I built the flatbed to haul snowmobiles a few years ago (light-ish construction). It is 90" wide and sits above the frame high enough for under deck ramp storage. This isn't ideal for a camper hauler. If I fall in love with the camper, I'll build a camper specific flatbed (lower, lighter, 3 pt mount) and widen the floor pack. For now, I'll bolt the camper down as is and just not wheel too hard.
On to the camper... The camper fridge and stove work great. Sink hand pump works, but the drain needed replaced. Someone tried their hand at narrowing this Grandby for new trucks (terrible work), and removed the heater. I'll use a Buddy Heater as needed for now. The electrical was in shambles when I bought it, but the lights worked when given power. My first project was electrical. I started by wiring a 7 pin plug to charge a 105amp/hr deep cycle battery while driving (30amp breaker added, used 10ga marine wire, and these Ford's have a built in isolator on 30A circuit). Next I wired in a 6 spot fuse panel (50A breaker between panel & battery, 6ga wire used). Next I tied the lights into the panel, added three 12V outlets, and a dual USB port. A 100W solar panel is in the plan before winter. On the first trip, the truck charged up the battery fully on the 100 mile trip there, we discharged it a bit at camp, and it was fully charged when home again, so the charge setup works for now.
The lift panels are gone; and the canvas is shot. This is a budget project, so I'll be replacing the canvas myself and rebuilding lift panels sooner than later.
There was some water intrusion on the drive home in the rain/snow after purchasing. I know some of this is the bad canvas, but I checked over the roof too. It needed a reseal. I wanted to camp in this thing last weekend, so after cleaning out old sealer, I used a roof sealer that was available locally on Friday. I resealed the perimeter trim and each screw. The vent doesn't leak, and looked to have been replaced fairly recently. No leaks sitting in the driveway since doing that (top down).
I have removed ~100 lbs of "extra" wood that a PO (previous owner) seemed to screw down for no apparent reason. The PO was a hack. I'm sure I started with a terribly rough camper, but it'll come around with time. I'm fighting a strong urge to strip this down to the frame, re-skin, new insulation, new interior panels, flatbed floor pack, and build a 3 point flatbed mount, but I've seen how long those builds normally take, and cost, and I want to be mountain biking this summer so a simple refresh/reseal is my current plan.
Anyway, I figured I'd share my progress, maybe a few trip reports, and join your fine community. I should have time this weekend to get some more work done, and I'll take better pictures then.
EDIT: It's actually a Fleet! Built August 1981. It was advertised as a Grandby, and was modified from original Fleet dimensions, so I never questioned it.
I've used one truck camper before; it was a monstrosity S&S in an F250, dry weight of 3k lbs. The comfort was nice but I was glad I didn't own it as it was terrifying to drive (I drove ~600 miles in CO with it). I wanted something cheap, light, with comforts (cold beer & a stove out of the wind!) that I could wheel back to my favorite lakes in the Rockies on my F150. After reading ExPo & WtW I realized an old FWC fit the bill.
It's rough and needs work, but I'm not one to be without a project. It will be hauled on my 96' F150 flatbed. The truck has a mildly built 351W engine (last fall's project), 4x4, auto, 33" LT tires, heavier springs all around, front & rear sway bars, and Bilstein 4600 shocks so it handles the Grandby pretty well. I built the flatbed to haul snowmobiles a few years ago (light-ish construction). It is 90" wide and sits above the frame high enough for under deck ramp storage. This isn't ideal for a camper hauler. If I fall in love with the camper, I'll build a camper specific flatbed (lower, lighter, 3 pt mount) and widen the floor pack. For now, I'll bolt the camper down as is and just not wheel too hard.
On to the camper... The camper fridge and stove work great. Sink hand pump works, but the drain needed replaced. Someone tried their hand at narrowing this Grandby for new trucks (terrible work), and removed the heater. I'll use a Buddy Heater as needed for now. The electrical was in shambles when I bought it, but the lights worked when given power. My first project was electrical. I started by wiring a 7 pin plug to charge a 105amp/hr deep cycle battery while driving (30amp breaker added, used 10ga marine wire, and these Ford's have a built in isolator on 30A circuit). Next I wired in a 6 spot fuse panel (50A breaker between panel & battery, 6ga wire used). Next I tied the lights into the panel, added three 12V outlets, and a dual USB port. A 100W solar panel is in the plan before winter. On the first trip, the truck charged up the battery fully on the 100 mile trip there, we discharged it a bit at camp, and it was fully charged when home again, so the charge setup works for now.
The lift panels are gone; and the canvas is shot. This is a budget project, so I'll be replacing the canvas myself and rebuilding lift panels sooner than later.
There was some water intrusion on the drive home in the rain/snow after purchasing. I know some of this is the bad canvas, but I checked over the roof too. It needed a reseal. I wanted to camp in this thing last weekend, so after cleaning out old sealer, I used a roof sealer that was available locally on Friday. I resealed the perimeter trim and each screw. The vent doesn't leak, and looked to have been replaced fairly recently. No leaks sitting in the driveway since doing that (top down).
I have removed ~100 lbs of "extra" wood that a PO (previous owner) seemed to screw down for no apparent reason. The PO was a hack. I'm sure I started with a terribly rough camper, but it'll come around with time. I'm fighting a strong urge to strip this down to the frame, re-skin, new insulation, new interior panels, flatbed floor pack, and build a 3 point flatbed mount, but I've seen how long those builds normally take, and cost, and I want to be mountain biking this summer so a simple refresh/reseal is my current plan.
Anyway, I figured I'd share my progress, maybe a few trip reports, and join your fine community. I should have time this weekend to get some more work done, and I'll take better pictures then.
EDIT: It's actually a Fleet! Built August 1981. It was advertised as a Grandby, and was modified from original Fleet dimensions, so I never questioned it.
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