1984 Chevrolet K30 Camping/Backroad truck

[elpoffroad]

Here we go. Around 4 months ago I decided to purchase a K30 pickup longbed with one intention in mind, slide in camper. I wanted something bigger than the excursion to sleep in and I figured slide in camper works and fits budget. The K30 i picked up runs amazing. It has a SBC 350 with a np465/205 and the ever famous Dana 60 front and 14 bolt rear with 4.10 gears. I drove it around did little maintenance like taillights,fuel lines, radiator cap and hoses and it was perfect. Its flat black and I have very little motivation to paint it any other color lol


Soon after I bought the truck I found a nice cheap slide in camper that would be perfect for our family. It has a total of 4 beds and has the refrigerator, microwave, stove, heater and A/c. To even make it better it even has a toilet and shower. It did have some wood rot and I am in process of fixing all the rot but it was love at first sight specially for the price.


So this past two weeks I been taking apart all the wood that had to torn apart and replaced. Most is torn out and already ready to replace. Today I went to pick up all the wood and I am looking forward to completing it.
Also earlier this week I decided to go put new tires on my truck since I didn't want to risk the old BFG All terrains so now its rolling on 275/70/18 Corsa All Terrain XL. Up to now im am super happy with them. I do need to reinstall the jacks on it to dismount the camper but im planing on leaving the slide in camper permanently on the truck. We shall see how this summer gets us ready for Camping in this setup :REOutCampFire03:

 

[M35A2]

nice

 

[NevadaLover]

Awesome, it's always good to see another square body being used! that's a stout platform and should last you for a LONG time with a little maintenance, enjoy!!

 

[MTCK]

Sweet rig. That camper looks right at home on it.

 

[Sock Puppet]

I like it. Good call on the bed length camper, too.

 

[elpoffroad]

Thank you guys , yeah the camper almost feels like it was meant for that truck. I need to put on the jacks to slide it back in a but more. The main repair we had to do on the camper was that the sleeper had rotted wood on the driver side so went to home depot bought some lumber and 2 days of work and boom its ready to rock again(maybe a little overkill with 19/21 board but hey stronger is better). Last night my wife and I finished that up and she got to put the first layer of pain on it.


Still need to do a few more coats of paint. We are looking at putting in a 6 in memory foam queen size mattress that is available at Amazon.

Today I am going to mount some tie downs to the truck to be able to secure the camper and make a fold able step for the hitch to get into the truck. We are debating on whether to get a solar panel set up or get a generator that is low in noise.

something like this.
If you guys have any suggestions let me know.:sombrero:

 

[chilliwak]

Welcome to the site Elpo and thanks for posting pics of your fine rig. I am also a big fan of the old school Chevys as I drive a 79. Check out my build thread in my sig for more details. You will find lots of helpfull people here like our GM guru Larry... feel free to sak us questions. We are here to hel. Cheers, Chilli..

 

[rayra]

That small generator looks very similar to the models sold thru Harbor Freight. They aren't quiet but are by no means noisy. Put it on the offside of your vehicle or better yet in a pit and they are quite tolerable.
I've had the original HF version with the blue tank for years. Then they made an E85-tolerant version, red tank for a few years. Now they're on to an OD Green version.
There's a multi year topic on them on a prepper subforum that discusses all their aspects and proper use -
http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_10_18/...pics__56k_noway____update_page_14.html&page=1

There are frequent coupons that bring the price to about $100. They're a good value, especially at that price. Best part is they are small, about a cubic foot. And a little fuel goes a long way. They run about 700W, peak 900W. Call it 6A+ @ 110VAC. I was able to run all my power tools on mine, excepting for my heaviest saws. Part of why I went with a 1000W inverter in my vehicle. And even that's not really 'enough'.
The Honda line is super quiet and cost 10x as much.

 

[elpoffroad]

Yeah I heard about them not being too noisy, is there a way to make them more quiet? I'm going to check out the harbour freight ones minus well use my club membership. Im hoping to get the generator next month or solar panels depends what route I go with. I just bought an ARB awning for my excursion so in done spending for june lol

 

[Wilbah]

Love the truck! Nice score and nice work on the camper. I think a generator makes sense esp a little one like that. You might keep an eye on some of the sites for sales on solar panels as it's a good backup to have so you can be totally quiet. But you can pick your timing and not overspend. Good luck!

 

[elpoffroad]

Traveling the Lincoln National Forest

Well all last week I worked on the camper as much as I could and I can honestly say that all the work payed off. First thing I got to take care of was the camper tie downs. I came up with an unorthodox way of getting the tie downs done but they get the job done and well what can I say I have further plans to what else is going to get added to them.
I did build a hitch step in order to make entry of the camper way easier.

We took of after my wife got out of work on Saturday at 2pm and hit the road and right away ran into a bump on the road by me forgetting to put gas and running out of gas as we were heading to my friends meet up location. After the 2 hr delay while waiting for to fill my gas can(yes they were empty too) we hit the road and didn't
turn back.

It was hot leaving the desert( a good 104 degrees that day).
Once we started ascending towards Cloudcroft the temperature started changing dramatically. It was a beautiful drive, the tunnel was a nice addition and seemed to me a marker point in temperature change from desert climate to cooler temperatures.


We arrived at the campsite, Silver Campground NM, met up with a few of our other friends but it was pretty dark already to take pictures.

We got there and we had to set up camp. One of my friends that tagged along with me needed to set up one of my tents to we got to work while my other buddies cooked dinner and set up everything else. Also got the kids ready to play.
We ate some good burgers and potato salad and cracked open a few beers. The night was nice and cool and the stars were phenomenal.
The morning came fast even though we slept in but the kids were ready to run and play in the forest.

We went exploring the mountains and got to see some horses playing in the prairie and a group of doe's crossing the road.

We got to enjoy another cool mountain weather night and got to cook up some good craft sausages and bratwurst (Delicious! )
Got a few more pictures of the truck right before leaving the campground on the 3rd day.


Overall the experience was great. The trek was a total of 250 miles round trip and the truck didn't hesitate at all. It did super on gas overall. Averaged 9-10 MPG. This was the campers maiden voyage so we got to learn a great amount on things that have to be improved on and things that have to change. One of the many adventures this truck and camper will get to go with us in and enjoy !

 

[Sock Puppet]

Sounds like a great little getaway!

 

[chilliwak]

Thanks for posting up pics Elpo. I wish I had been on that trip. Your pictures tell a tale of a man and his rig having fun. Cheers, Chilli..

 

[elpoffroad]

It was a great little get away. I am hoping to be able to do another get away soon. But first I need to give some love and attention to my excursion. Its currently getting put together for more comfortable solo trips or trips with my boy. Thanks for the good words guys I appreciate it :sombrero:

 

[elpoffroad]

Well trip number two is set for this weekend. We are going to head up to Leasburg NM state park. We are excited for the weekend the main thing I have been working this week on is my excursion so no new modifications for k30 this time.
***had to change it to the lake because of accommodations circumstances