I have always been hot and heavy for vintage airstreams and other aluminum bodied campers. I looked at a few but never pulled the trigger. Recently I purchased a 3/4 ton Dodge that I'm quite fond of. Its the V10 (sorry dieselheads) quad cab 4x4 with leather and all options. As I'm going to be doing quite a few short 2-3 day trips in the next few months with a car trailer I thought it would be nice to have a slide in bed camper. I looked a few more modern and boring models, and was about to buy one when I came across a vintage aluminum model.

The interior is past it, and it has a few small soft spots, but overall it was in pretty nice shape. For $200 I figured it was a no brainer, since the scrap aluminum would bring at least that. I loaded it up on the Dodge and it looked beautiful.







Unfortunately the jack system was antiquated and really didn't work well. It would slip out of its slot regularly. I should have been more careful, but I'm glad I at least made some preparation for the likely scenario when I was unloading it. I made it about half way down when one of the jacks gave out. Thankfully I had cinder blocks stacked as I went it so I didn't get crushed, and the damage to the trailer was minimal. One of the first things on the list to buy is new jacks.



Right now I'm brainstorming as to what I should do to rehab the trailer with minimum headaches. I know I'm not going to bother with any gas setup (like the cooktop), and think I'll go 12 volt with an inverter and RV batteries that I can recharge with the truck or a plug in. I think I'll strip and replace the plywood paneling since there's a bit of water damage from a previously leaking roof vent. I'll replace it as far as the beginning of the cabover bed. For the bed I'll tack over the paneling with padded vinyl so I don't bump my head at night. I'll most likely replace the cabinet doors and re-use the original hardware. It would be nice to do it with cedar since it looks and smells so good. I might just have to take down the cabinets and do the sides as well.

My truck has a 12 volt setup for a 5th wheel but I don't think I can use that to charge the batteries. Has anyone had any kind of setup like this before?

 

200 bucks? Yeah, I can see how that would be damn near impossible to resist. Still, doesn't look like its in that bad of shape. Would be worth putting a little money into to make it nice and comfy.

Not sure there is a constant 12v supply off the RV connector.... that would be something to check..... I would be more tempted to run my own wiring though... just to be safe.

 

Awesome camper - good buy. And you're right it looks beautiful on the truck. Looks like all the "parts" are there and the inside needs some cleaning but well worth it!

 

Cool camper. It looks similar to a camper I used to camp in the Sierras with; I could go anywhere with it and still have a roof over my head. I put a 12V RV/Marine battery under the hood and ran wires from the underhood relay to charge it, then fused the output for the lights. The V10 should have a spot for an extra battery under the hood by the coolant overflow. Like the 5th wheel setup, the rv battery has to be isolated from the truck battery or you could need a jump when you are done camping and go to leave. If there is a charge line for the fifth wheel setup, there is probably an isolater that separates the batteries with the key off and energizes with key on to charge. There should also be a running light wire in the 5th wheel plug to light the running lites on the camper. You could also place the rv battery in the camper, but remember that a battery puts of hydrogen gas when charging, so battery placement is important.
Hooking up gas for a hot cup of coffee in the morning would probably not be too hard. If there is no tank mounted anywhere already, a 5 gal LP tank strapped to the bumper and a proper regulator with a pigtail and you would be set. Be careful with the LP gas though, it can be dangerous.
Good luck on the camper!

 

nice camper. i have a similar, but much older one sitting on blocks at my deer camp.

i see the the stove is gas and the refrigerator is either gas, or dual purpose gas/AC. there are likely also gas lights (coleman style mantles) so you can operate all the comforts of home far away from an AC plug.

i'd try to use the gas. its simple, cheap, and reasonably safe.

it would be nice to have an aux battery in there for 12v lights. it might already be wired for such. mine had 3 sets of lights - gas, 12v-DC, and 110v-AC.

if you do run a large gauge charging wire or feed wire to it, as said above use a second battery, and insolator, heavy wire, fuse it properly.