1986 GMC S-15

[Andrew_S]

So... A diesel heater on a diesel means you just use fuel out of the tank, which is convenient. A diesel heater on a gas truck means you need a separate fuel tank for stinky fuel. Can we expect a diesel conversion before or after SAS??

Thanks for sharing all the pics of your adventures!!! We are getting really impatient to have our house built so we can get back to doing fun stuff too!!!

I would absolutely love to take on a cummins repower swap and have genuinely looked at the cost of doing it. The reality is that's a 15k crate engine (CAD) then I would still need a trans, transfer case, exhaust, engine mounts, fab plumbing for a intercooler, etc etc etc. The price of some of the trans adapters are like $1000 to start. The crate engine only costs 15, but with everything else I would be 30k. That one certainly wouldn't fly with the wife.

Good luck finishing up the rest of your build!

Yep. One of the best threads here.

Did you build a ladder or something to get into the bed once the camper is raised?
How do you attach the base of the camper to the truck? Maybe I missed it.

I really appreciate that.
The camper just sits on the bed rails like a truck canopy would, then it's fastened with 6 canopy clamps. I actually just built a single step to get in and out today. Usually the cooler is in the truck bed, and it's tall enough to get in and out of bed comfortably.

Awesome! I agree with everyone, best thread ever! It’s so cool to see the new camper out and about and your guys’ paddling, fishing, hiking and hunting photos are flat out beautiful!

Awesome find on the SAS components. The Dana 30/Ford 8.8 are a great combo. I take it you’re going coils up front judging by the truss? I imagine you’ll be going for a lower SAS setup to keep the CG low?

Keep up the great work Andrew!

Thanks for the good words!
Yup pretty much nailed it. Current plan is coils up front, with a long arm kit. I may remove that truss though and just sleeve the axle. I'm afraid with the truss I may run into clearance issues with the oil pan. Yeah you hit the nail on the head. As low as possible and squeeze 33-35's on the truck. I'm not looking to do off road trails and wheel it hard. Just want a touch more clearance, lockers and tall skinny tires.



We got a little bit of a cold snap here this week and that was a good enough kick in the ass to get going on this heater.

Heater pedestal tacked into place.

Welded up, this thing is strong. Way overkill for this little heater.

Next up was the fuel tank. Started by cutting down the supplied brackets.

Made up 2 mounts,

Top done,

Bottom done too,

Spaced it 1/4" off the wall and fully insulated the mounts with 1/16" rubber sheet.

Figuring out how to do this and not go through the floor of the truck bed was a challenge. I wanted to keep the camper completely self contained. By that I mean taking it on and off is just the 6 clamps and everything else goes with the camper. If I went through the bed floor with the exhaust and intake that would mean more stuff to unbolt and monkey around with.

The other complication is if the intake and exhaust went through the camper wall, it couldn't actually protrude out as the top box needs to slide on a smooth surface and not catch anything. So I decided to use these flush mount sailboat style exhaust fittings.

These fittings require an egg shaped hole which made for a nice challenge.

Intake and exhaust complete

This made for a super short and simple exhaust run.

Until we decide on a battery I'll be using this one in the interim. Picked up some clamps for it this aft and some heavy duty 800lb capacity snap hooks.

Made 4 of these up for better hangers off the roof

Makes loading/unloading even simpler.

Last project of the day was a step to get in and out of bed

Really productive day. Just need to shorten the fuel pump and main power harness for the Planar and the diesel heater is done.

 

[tyler.armijo]

What’s the plan for the smell of diesel fuel inside the camper from the fuel tank?


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[AeroNautiCal]

To have designed and constructed an off road capable, aluminium, hard sided, load bearing pop top roof, insulated camper that weighs less than 400 pounds is utterly remarkable!

You have not only created a capable, attractive, lightweight pop top, you've redefined the term 'lightweight' in this category of campers!

As someone commented earlier on, you've put the commercial manufacturers to shame with their campers which weigh at least twice as much and are hugely expensive!

You've also inspired people to build their own campers.

Thank you for sharing your fantastic build which is outstanding in every way!

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

I would absolutely love to take on a cummins repower swap and have genuinely looked at the cost of doing it. The reality is that's a 15k crate engine (CAD) then I would still need a trans, transfer case, exhaust, engine mounts, fab plumbing for a intercooler, etc etc etc. The price of some of the trans adapters are like $1000 to start. The crate engine only costs 15, but with everything else I would be 30k. That one certainly wouldn't fly with the wife.

I have a friend that has a surplus humvee engine in his truck. Loud, smokey and slow but has about the same footprint as a SBC, uses a normal gm drivetrain and runs on about anything flammable that pours.

 

[Andrew_S]

What’s the plan for the smell of diesel fuel inside the camper from the fuel tank?


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Originally I was planning on venting the tank to the exterior. However after having the tank filled for a week now and no trace of diesel smell at all, I'm not sure If I'm going to do anything just yet.

To have designed and constructed an off road capable, aluminium, hard sided, load bearing pop top roof, insulated camper that weighs less than 400 pounds is utterly remarkable!

You have not only created a capable, attractive, lightweight pop top, you've redefined the term 'lightweight' in this category of campers!

As someone commented earlier on, you've put the commercial manufacturers to shame with their campers which weigh at least twice as much and are hugely expensive!

You've also inspired people to build their own campers.

Thank you for sharing your fantastic build which is outstanding in every way!

Wow I really appreciate the great words. To be fair the commercial guys are offering a fully finished interior, where ours is just a shell to sleep in currently. Also with the heater, tank and a few other misc things we've definitely tipped just over 400lbs now. I do really appreciate what you're saying. I would love to see a larger manufacturer adopt a simple design similar to this. I would hate to have to build another one of these.

I have a friend that has a surplus humvee engine in his truck. Loud, smokey and slow but has about the same footprint as a SBC, uses a normal gm drivetrain and runs on about anything flammable that pours.

Man those 6.2 and 6.5's are absolute dogs lol. Years ago I used to drive one of the n/a ones in a 2500 van. Could almost get out and run faster then it haha. I would also hate to stack that much weight on the noise of the truck (750+lbs)


I spent the last 3 nights buttoning up a ton of loose ends.

The Planar is in, wired and plumbed and making some great heat.

Finally took the time to build a new harness for the lights and fish everything through the frame.

I've got some P clips on order to hang all the wiring nicely. Aside from that everything is cut/extended to length and loomed.

Got both the Thru hull fittings sealed and fully bolted up now.

Funny enough out of all the latest improvements the step is my favourite. After hunting season I plan on building a proper battery box and work on finishing out the interior.

Couple bonus hunting pics,

Tomorrow is Oct 1st and the official start of our hunting season. We plan to spend 20 nights in the camper in the next 30 days.

 

[TwinDuro]

Just Awesome! Also, to all potential engine swaps, nice ideas all around folks, but I get the feeling our author is a GM 60 degree V6 guy... Just a feeling. ?

Have a great start to the season!

 

[Andrew_S]

^ I definitely have a soft spot in my heart for the old 60v6, but I would trade up to a cummins repower in a heartbeat if money wasn't a problem. Those make something like 350+ lb ft. That would be the cats ass imo.

Well we packed everything up Thursday leaving for a 4 day trip.
Out of the house by 2, then back in the garage with this great boar hanging by 4:30.
Sometimes you just get lucky.

He actually had a completely broken/rehealed paw. Must have been attacked or fell and broke it. It wouldn't move from this position at all and he was walking on his knuckle. Tough bear.

Between the rendered bear lard, steaks, hamburger, roasts, etc etc this is guy is going to be some of the best table fare.

So our 4 day trip turned into a 3 day trip. We started out with this beauty grouse.

This weekend was all about exploring and trying to find where the moose were hanging out. Checked out tons of swamps/lakes like these.

Can almost read by the moonlight right now.

Originally I was going to pattern the aluminum on the camper. The Alders and pines have been doing a pretty good job on it.

This morning,

Well no bull moose this trip. We did manage to bring home 7 beautiful grouse though.

I'm not a huge fan of plucking birds.

Fresh grouse heart and liver for breakfast.

The patterning on these birds is unreal.

After getting the bed full of mud, blood and dust. A quick hose down and it's good as new again.
Also got our first real world test on the diesel heater this am. Woke up this morning to 0*c or 32F, turned the heater on, 15 mins later we were sitting at a nice warm 19*C or 66F. I'm so happy with this heater. Can't wait to try it out at -30*C or colder. We are absolutely in love with the quick set up and break down of the camper. It takes us longer to throw our clothes on in the morning then it does to drop the walls and close the top.

Heading out again on Tuesday night.

 

[zgfiredude]

Read through this from the beginning, and all I can say is, wow!

Questions/Comments:
1. How is Nicole feeling, I may have missed it.
2. Please use a CO monitor in the camper.
3. Don't ask me how I know, but remember when the canoe is up top BEFORE entering the garage!
4. With the SAS conversion and tires mentioned, is there a concern with clearance getting in and out of the garage?
5. Curious as to why the heater is mounted where it is vs. say more at the rear?

Great read, thanks for the journey it was a blast!!

 

[Andrew_S]

Read through this from the beginning, and all I can say is, wow!

Questions/Comments:
1. How is Nicole feeling, I may have missed it.
2. Please use a CO monitor in the camper.
3. Don't ask me how I know, but remember when the canoe is up top BEFORE entering the garage!
4. With the SAS conversion and tires mentioned, is there a concern with clearance getting in and out of the garage?
5. Curious as to why the heater is mounted where it is vs. say more at the rear?

Great read, thanks for the journey it was a blast!!

Nicole is feeling better, more or less coping with symptoms now and adjusting.
Thanks for the advice on the CO detector. I just installed one last week.
Man no kidding on the canoe/garage tip lol. I usually make a habit of hiding the garage door opener in the truck when the canoe is on the roof.
Yes the truck will become an outside truck once the SAS is complete, at least when the camper is on.
The heater location was more to do with the exhaust outlet location. Planar has some specific requirements for the intake/exhaust location. It was either cut through the bed floor (not ideal imo) or out one of the sidewalls. I wanted a very short exhaust run to minimize the chance of something touching the exhaust. There are a couple other reasons but thats the just of it.
Thanks for the good words.


We just got back from another trip, 5 days, 4 nights and got a real good test of the camper.

Before I start with that I finally got a coat of wax on this thing. Shines up pretty nice.

I finalized the exhaust on the heater. Picked up some better quality exhaust clamps and sealed everything with cement.

I also have some titanium header wrap to cover the muffler. It's really not necessary though as I've run it for 4 hours straight without issue now.

1 hour before leaving I decided to insulate the two rear gates. Seemed like a nice easy job. After cutting and fitting the insulation I proceeded to close the 1st gate without reinstalling the rods for the 2 point latches. Immediately regretted that decision. Imagine closing a door and then not being able to turn the handle to reopen it, and it's latched on both sides!!! I tried pulling the rear bumper and unbolting the tailgate from below to no avail. Ended up having to drill out the rivets on the flap handle and reach in with a long pick and pull the slam locks open one at a time. Quick easy 1 hour job eh...

All back together and packed and ready to go,

Sitting and calling for moose,

Grouse were out in droves this trip,

These 2 must have known we were looking for moose and not them.

A gem in the forest

Found this old trappers cabin in the woods. These really are a sign of the times. They are few and far between and always dilapidated.

Limited out on grouse on day 2, made for some good eats during the trip.

Camped on this plateau for 2 nights,

 

[Andrew_S]

Our routine when we are hunting is something like this;

Wake up for first light and spend 3 hours hiking/driving to new locations
Then around 9 stop, start a fire and have a coffee and breakfast
Hike a bunch more until last light
After dark, start a big fire and have dinner

This turned out to be a pretty good way to enjoy ourselves.

The fall mushrooms are starting to pop up. A group of inky caps and a large amanita splitting two rocks.

Found lots of rubs and prints and ********, but never connected this day.

Sitting in this cut at last light, freezing cold. I was thinking how nice it would be to get a little snow to make tracking easier.

Well on the short drive back to camp I got my wish.

Venison smokies, grouse legs and lamb for dinner

Well I got my wish for snow. Woke up to 8" the next morning.

 

[Andrew_S]

more snow pics,

Absolutely stunning morning,

Made our way down to this little Bouleau lake and had breakfast.

Good thing these actuators are capable of lifting much more then the camper, there was 100lbs+ of wet snow on the roof.

 

[Andrew_S]

Inspired by the winter wonderland we decided to extend our trip to one more night.

First light and first tracks!

Winter is by far my favourite time of year.

Grouse on a spit for thanksgiving.

Some creative time killing.

All in all it was a great trip. It was great to test the camper in winter like conditions. We learned a couple of things thats for sure.

The aluminum definitely sweats when the heater is running and it's cold outside. I've been doing a little reading and I think I may try covering the ribs with a neoprene tape to alleviate the issue.
The actuators are almost perfectly synced when the temps are above freezing. However below freezing that completely changes. We definitely need to get a feedback sensor for each one and synchronize them.

Hope everyone had, or if you're American has a happy thanksgiving.

 

[Todd n Natalie]

Winter is by far my favourite time of year.

Well, you definitely live in the right country... No snow here.....yet....

 

[ITTOG]

Loved the snow pics.

When you mentioned Thanksgiving I was thinking slow down man, the year is almost over as it is. But then remembered you are Canadian.

 

[Andrew_S]

Well it took 14 days but we finally found him last night. More pics to come later.