6 replies to this topic

[Back2gas]

Hi all just purchased a 2008 Outfitter Caribou 6.5. My first foray down the truck camper path and I'm excited to get it out. Right now it's sitting in my driveway. Looking at the mounting options I see Torque Lift (expensive) and Happijac ( more reasonable) and I'm wondering I the TL's are overkill. Any thoughts?

 

Also, the bottom and sides are basically plywood and from what I can tell unprotected. Since it's not on my truck yet I thought about painting them to protect the wood. Any thoughts on the type of paint?

 

It's not directly exposed to the weather while in my bed and it seems to have held up just fine over the past 10 years. Just thought I'd give it a little extra protection.

 

Just curious are the undersides of your guys campers painted? If so what color? The bed of my truck means that about 10 inches will hang off the back. I was planning to remove the tailgate. Thought about painting it similar to the color of my truck so that it wouldn't stand out as much. Otherwise the camper is white fiberglass.

 

Any recommendations on protecting and bringing back some shine to the fiberglass? It's got stripes and decals which are faded, thought about taking them off but was worried about ghost images left behind. Anyone remove their decals with a good result?

 

One last question. To my knowledge the roof does not leak according to the previous owner BUT as a preventative I thought about getting some 4 inch Eternabond and taping the perimeter edge over the seam and onto the aluminum perimeter strip.

 

Can anyone give a thumbs up on the Eternabond? Seems like it will match aesthetically and Amazon has great reviews.

 

Any other advise please fire away!

 

Thanks and see you on the trails! 

[ardvark]

I use Happijac on the front and TL on the back for our Hallmark and have had no issues. If you want to have to save some coin, they are easy to find used on Craigslist, Fast Guns as well for the turnbuckles. I regard this as personal choice.

 

I used good old barn paint on the bottom of our Hallmark. I know most folks use black, but I found with a bed that is rhinolinered it was much harder to see the contrast between the rail and the side of the camper. Using white just made it easier to load because it was easier for me to see the space between them. Again preference. Maybe when I have time, I'll use diamond plate and cover it, but a pricey option for an old camper. 

 

Eternabond ? Yeah I did it and it looks and works great, but you really have to take your time or it makes a real mess. Just bear in mind when working with it you have to really go slowly and you can not let it touch any place you don't want it to stick because it really does stick. What we found works best is to decide how far down you are going on the metal. We went about half way down. We ran it straight on the metal first pressing down only on the metal all the way across with me pressing it down a little at time and my wife hold it back so it did not touch any place else (this all gives you a way to practice "bad words" ) . Do not tear off all the backer, just enough to press it down. After we got is all the way across, I pressed about half the remaining onto the rubber roof and after that was done, we pressed the remainder down and it came out absolutely ripple and crease free. Start with the front and back before tackling the sides to get some practice in on the shortest runs.

 

The big however, however, is if we had to do again we would never buy a Hallmark before 07 when they went to the one piece fiberglass roof. Again just my opinion.

[Stray Dog]

I used the happijac tiedown mounts front and rear on a 2001 F-250 and a Hallmark Milner for 10 years.  They were secure and adequate but each time I loaded the camper I could see the stress on the rear bumper specifically as I attached the fastguns.    Hallmark told me that new bumpers just weren't what they used to be....Over time, there was some very minor bending of my bumper....

 

I sold the Milner and the 250 this spring....loved them both.

 

Went to a new F-150 and decided, because of the aluminum construction and the generally lighter construction on all new vehicles that I would use Torklift this time.  Yep they are expensive, but like Aardvark said, look for them used if necessary on Craigs list...

 

I installed them myself, saving that charge.  Installation was easy and the instructions excellent.  I used them last week for the first time with a new camper. The camper is 700 pounds lighter than my Milner.  We traveled for 5 days checking out the new unit and the new mounting system...

 

The Torklifts are teriffic.  They are more secure than my Happijacs in my opinion.  They are independent of both my truck's sheetmetal and the bumper.  The frame mount is really the way to secure your load, in my opinion..

 

Good luck whichever route you choose....

[Back2gas]

Thanks guys for all the advice. I can see it making sense to use TL in the rear and Happijac in the front, but I will consider everything. Cost was the big factor but I like the idea of attaching to the frame. I could definitely see doing this if it was a heavier camper. I'll likely error on the side of safety.

 

Ardvark thanks for the advice on the Eternabond. I will take extra care before installing and ensure I have an extra set of hands. A couple questions:

 

Did you prepare the surface before putting on the tape?

Did you use the 4 inch tape or 6 inch?

Did you overlap the corner caps?

Did you just do one strip of tape overlapping the seam and half way down the aluminum all the way around? 

Did you Eternabond any other areas of the roof or just around the perimeter?

 

And another general question: I was inspecting the cabinets and noticed that where the cabinets meet there is like some quarter round and caulking in there. I noticed some separation of the caulking and the quarter round.

 

Because I haven't owned it since new I wasn't sure if this is the way it came? Have you had to address this at all on your campers? I figure it's probably normal from just the movement of the camper going down the road.

 

I figured I'd remove the quarter round, scrape the caulking and reapply, BUT if there's a better solution that might be more flexible I'd try that.

 

I'll likely paint the underside a gun metal grey to try to match my truck a bit. It's going to hang off the back 10 inches so I'm trying not to draw attention to it. I go to Home Depot and get their exterior paint. 

 

Did you prep the plywood surface at all before painting?

 

Do you have any suggestions regarding the fiberglass exterior? It's lost it's shine a bit? Repaint? Wax? Polish? Boat polish? The "Outfitter " decals are sun damaged and the stripes are intact but also sun damaged. Any suggestion regarding removal? Does it leave a ghost image? I'd prefer to take them off but not if it's obvious.

 

It has one battery, toward the rear, furnace, stove, fridge, cold water, but no hot.

 

Any other suggestions regarding these campers in general is appreciated. Things to look out for etc. Especially while it's still not on my truck and everything is highly accessible.

 

Thank guys I appreciate the advice.

 

I'll post some pics this weekend!

[ardvark]

Used four inch. Cleaned the surfaces with Simply Awesome from Dollar Store (I am sure you know not to use anything like paint thinner, etc. on rubber roof). We did not overlap the corners caps. Just cut to them using razor knife at the edge so joint is clean and tight. Used four separate strips. Would not even attempt to run continuous. Cut the strips to length, but about an inch long first so you can trim at the caps, did not try to work off roll. Once you start I think you will immediately see why. We did not use it on anything else on the roof as our roof really looks good and there was no need. I use Dicor self-leveling caulk around vents. 

 

Did not prep plywood. Original owner had painted it black. We later used two coats of white. The surface was solid and looked good. 

 

The stitching around our windows all weeped in the rain. Someone here suggested Aquaseal which is available online, but we found it at Bass Pro Shop. Worked great. 

[Back2gas]

Used four inch. Cleaned the surfaces with Simply Awesome from Dollar Store (I am sure you know not to use anything like paint thinner, etc. on rubber roof). We did not overlap the corners caps. Just cut to them using razor knife at the edge so joint is clean and tight. Used four separate strips. Would not even attempt to run continuous. Cut the strips to length, but about an inch long first so you can trim at the caps, did not try to work off roll. Once you start I think you will immediately see why. We did not use it on anything else on the roof as our roof really looks good and there was no need. I use Dicor self-leveling caulk around vents. 

 

Did not prep plywood. Original owner had painted it black. We later used two coats of white. The surface was solid and looked good. 

 

The stitching around our windows all weeped in the rain. Someone here suggested Aquaseal which is available online, but we found it at Bass Pro Shop. Worked great. 

Thanks for all the advice!

[Back2gas]

Hey guys I have another question regarding turnbuckle mounting point to the jack/leg attachment point. I got the camper in my truck and removed the jacks/legs. I installed Torklift frame mounts at all 4 corners.

 

What method is preferred to attach to the camper? The turnbuckle is too large to fit through the hole on the leg mount. I've been looking at pictures on line but can't quite see other peoples methods for attaching to the jack mount?

 

Thanks