51 replies to this topic

[MarkBC]

Welcome to WTW, Mr. Shap.
Do you live in Oregon?

[Shap]

Nice find! Good to see a few of those still around. On a trip to Spokane I ran across those and thought they were cool.

My understanding is they were made in the Spokane Area custom to fit your vehicle size. I have the name and phone of the guy that used to build them. Apparently it was a small or 1 man shop. I bought it off some older folks that are retired and had it made in 2000 and took trips all over, and even a few trips to Baja with it. It was in pretty close to like new condition when I got it, and less than 1/3 the price of one of the new FWC basic shells (most comparable think to the Roamin Chariot). The Roamin Chariot brochure I found on the this website, when I was actually researching the brand looking at the specific used camper I bought, indicates a welded aluminum frame construction. After drilling a lot of holes to mount the jack brackets, I can confirm this is the case. It is also pretty light, about 600 lbs. The tent material is almost like a whitewater raft but not as heavey duty, it is PVC coated fabric that is pretty burly, which is kind of nice. I do lots of rafting so if it ever does get a hole or rip, I should be able to patch it just like a raft.

[Shap]

Welcome to WTW, Mr. Shap.
Do you live in Oregon?

Yes

[Shap]

That's a great looking sink/stove combo! Thanks for the photos and welcome to WtW.

The stove works very very well. I would highly recommend it. The Panther RV folks in vancouver stock a few of the SMEV stoves. I went for this one:
http://panther-rvproducts.com/SMEV-MO0911-2-Burner-Sink-Combination-MO0911.htm

[Shap]

Welcome to WTW.Interesting camper.The half pop idea seems to give you enough room to sleep.Looks like plenty of room inside.
Congrats and many fun trips.
We both have good taste in Tundra colors.Mine is an 02 pretty much same as yours.
Frank

About 7' tall at the high end when poped up. Enough height to sit up on the bench when top is down. Mine as an 01 Tundra, it may look similar but under the hood and under the frame is super pimped with a bunch of hi performance/off road mods and suspension, custom headers, different running gear, newer toyota factory tranny, tranny cooler, cold air intake, slight lift with major suspension upgrade, limited slip diff, lots and lots of other stuff. Good for going places:

[Jake1eyedsnake]

Nice Chariot! I bought one in Spokane last September, picked it up in January and drove it back north to AK, skiing and camping along the way. I like the SMEV sink stove combo you put in there. Mine didnt come with any sort of cabinetry, so Im working on a chuckbox (removable) with an smev stove drop in for it. Dont mean to hijack your thread but here are a few pics of mine.




Stevens Pass, (first night in the camper)
Snow Load Approved!!

[Shap]

Nice Chariot! I bought one in Spokane last September, picked it up in January and drove it back north to AK, skiing and camping along the way. I like the SMEV sink stove combo you put in there. Mine didnt come with any sort of cabinetry, so Im working on a chuckbox (removable) with an smev stove drop in for it. Dont mean to hijack your thread but here are a few pics of mine.




Stevens Pass, (first night in the camper)
Snow Load Approved!!

Nice!, Did you put the rack on top or did it come that way? Thinking of putting a rack on the top of mine as well.

[Jake1eyedsnake]

I installed the rack. I needed more room for 4 pairs of skis and poles and xc ski boots. I used Thule track mount, but ordered the wrong one so I had to drill through the whole roof to mount it... I hated to do it, but was running out of time and had to head back north. But it has stayed put and hasnt leaked yet (knock on wood). The rocket box is very handy for the ski trips, and the rack will be nice for hauling canoes and kayaks in the summer. Popping the top wasnt too hard with a fully loaded box on there either. If i were to do it again i would get the rivnut or flarenut mounting kit My link for mounting the tracks straight to the sheetmetal and using 3m 5200 to seal it.

[doober831]

Shap, that's a good looking camper.  I've got a Roamin Chariot as well but mine is stripped down (or maybe never had any of the options) and is a bit beat up.  I'm curious how the jacks are working for you.  I'm looking to get some since the cable jacks are sketchy.  I noticed in one of your pictures that you mounted the front jacks straight through the wall to the inside.  Was it not possible to use the normal brackets that would be used or were you just working with what you had?  I'm trying to figure out how to mount the jacks and was hoping the typical brackets that mount to the corners on the outside would work.  I just don't know what sort of structural support is at the corners.  Any insight or info you have would be appreciated.

 

Could you post a picture of the mechanism that holds your pop top up?  After seeing a bit of yours in a photo I'm thinking that the one in mine is a half assed macgyver setup.  I always though it seemed a bit ghetto to be how it came from the factory.

 

I also notice a rope that wraps around the three sides of the vinyl, what is the purpose of that?  Mind doesn't have it but I've noticed remnants of a bungee and the loops at the corners so I've wondered what used to go there.

 

Lastly, did you install that front window yourself?  Where'd you find it? Brand? Cost?

I'm stoked to see some other people out there with these.  When I bought mine I couldn't find anything on the net about em besides the sales brochure.

 

Ok, so maybe the last question wasn't actually the last one but this one should be.

 

Do you have any idea about the wiring in the camper?  I think mine is funky and I haven't been able figure out what's going on.

 

Thanks for any and all input!

[doober831]

ANOTHER question.  Hah!  You mention patching the vinyl.  What would you use to patch holes?  I have a few that I'd love to seal up.