192 replies to this topic

[Portercassidy]

Damnit, I need to read up on linking URLs to share photos.

Edited by Portercassidy, 16 November 2017 - 04:37 PM.

[LuckyDan]

Welcome fellow vintage FWC owner. Mine is an 89 Grandby. Nice thing about vintage FWC is you'll get the resto/remod experience with less work and cost than a vintage trailer, car or house. Looking at your overhead floorboard, something to consider when you replace it is the d-bulb gasket mod around the front of the camper. Sometimes when driving in the rain/snow, water gets forced up the gap between the top and camper body and finds it's way inside. The new models come that way, and there are a couple threads on here about it and replacing the floorboard.

Welcome and good luck.

[Portercassidy]

Thanks for all the advice everyone. I am sure I will be looking for a lot of places to purchase replacement bulb seal, led light fixtures. It doesn’t have a electrical system, but does have wiring going to a few different light fixtures, so I will have to track those down.

Turns out my suspicions were correct. It is a Fleet model, as per the original partical board over the cab. The overall width is pretty good on my Tundra, but the floor could be deeper and wider. Good thing I do not have a Tig welder, otherwise I might tear it down to the frame, and modify the bottom of the camper to better fit the bed of the truck. I guess I may just have to get creative and utilze that space differently.

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Edited by Portercassidy, 17 November 2017 - 06:57 PM.

[Portercassidy]

I now see how it is super easy to keep on getting sucked into taking off one more layer on these campers. At list point new insulation is just right there.

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Edited by Portercassidy, 17 November 2017 - 08:44 PM.

[Portercassidy]

Good Hell, what did I do. Wondering how hard it is to just replace the Foundation wood. Looks like there are a few layers of plywood now.

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[shellback]

Good Hell, what did I do. Wondering how hard it is to just replace the Foundation wood. Looks like there are a few layers of plywood now.

I assume by foundation wood you mean the plywood floor pack?  With the camper looking pretty well gutted, it shouldn't be much of a project. My brother and I had my floor pack built in less than a day. IIRC, you need to remove the trim pieces and then the screws that hold the floor pack to the aluminum framing. Of course you will have to provide some type of support for upper body and roof once you separate the two. I built mine out of 5/8 plywood, and stapled and glued the joints, same as the original. One of the easier tasks when completely rebuilding a FWC.

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[Portercassidy]

I assume by foundation wood you mean the plywood floor pack?  With the camper looking pretty well gutted, it shouldn't be much of a project. My brother and I had my floor pack built in less than a day. IIRC, you need to remove the trim pieces and then the screws that hold the floor pack to the aluminum framing. Of course you will have to provide some type of support for upper body and roof once you separate the two. I built mine out of 5/8 plywood, and stapled and glued the joints, same as the original. One of the easier tasks when completely rebuilding a FWC.
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Did you build the floor pack separately?

[shellback]

Yes, my build was a complete demo to the aluminum skeleton, then build from the ground up. I only used the aluminum frame, windows, door frame, and the roof. My floor pack was shot, plus I had to narrow the aluminum frame to fit my newer pick up tailgate opening.   I have a table saw, radial arm saw, compressor and 1/4" crown stapler, so the floor pack build went very well.I started my floor pack build on 2x4's ripped to 3 inches running front to back. Reason being, I needed the extra height over the bed sides, plus I most often take the camper  off the truck and lower it to accommodate my handicapped wife. 

 

[Portercassidy]

Thanks for the Info.

It wasn’t my initial plan, but the current plan is to widen up the floor pack to fit the maximum width between the wheel wells. I will also add another 4” to the height of the camper, so that I do not have to shim it up with 4x4’s when I brought it home from Durango.

It also looks like I need to do a little frame work, while I have it apart.

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[shellback]

One thing to consider when widening or increasing height is the siding. I found the cost to duplicate the original siding and have it crated and shipped to be prohibitive. Of course I'm on the east coast, and most suppliers seemed to be in the west.