20 replies to this topic

[rodt]

I believe this may be my first post.  At least it is, having anything relevant to say/ask.

 

I have watched for several years as I saved my pennies.  My dollars go towards our son's college tuition at least for another year.  Well the stars aligned a few weeks ago and I came home with a 2002? Sun-Lite camper.

 

I drove it with ratchet straps for a few weeks as the weather just would not cooperate.  I now have camper tie downs so it is secured to the truck bed.  I still need to reposition it a bit.  I have a spacer in the front that really does not work as intended and the camper needs to move forward about 4 inches.  Hopefully, I will get that complete this weekend.

 

Here is the obligatory picture.  I am pretty excited and have some questions and adventures to come.

 

rod in Nebraska; Wandering the Midwest...

 

 

 

[ski3pin]

Rod, congrats on your new camper and welcome to Wander the West!

[rtpvibes]

Congrats and enjoy it

[Vic]

Welcome Rod - our first camper was a 2000 Sunlite and we loved it for 15 years.  Would still have it but the family outgrew it.  Good quality camper.  BTW ours was prewired for a fantastic fan should you get the inclination to add one.  

[rodt]

Ok.  Now that my first post is out of the way...

 

I should probably mention a least a bit about my truck.  It is a 2002 Ford F-150 V6 4X4 manual.  Meaning it did not have a lot of power to begin with and the camper does not help 1 bit.  However it only has 45K, and I am rather fond of it.  It needs bucket seats, and cruise control added to make it a real driver, but baby steps - right.

 

I would like to remove the AC and install a fantastic fan.  I think that at some point I may need to add a small window AC, but that is someday and today that big box really irritates me.  Its too tall, too heavy, and needs to go.  I believe I have a fiberglass top which best I can tell means I should use butyl tape as the primary sealant with self leveling caulk / adhesive.  Does that sound right?

 

The camper came with the sofa option which is nice and seems much better than a dinette.  It is actually pretty darn comfortable.  The previous owner installed (if you can call it that) a dorm fridge which I removed.  Eventually I would like to get a 12V fridge, but for this season it is cooler all the way.

 

Next issue is the furnace.   I have no idea it is works, or if I really even want it to work.  I am thinking about removing it and just using a Little Buddy heater.  That would save some weight and some complexity.  Same goes for the stove.  I have a Coleman that I love.  It is one of those pump up white gas stoves.  I doubt I need 2 stoves.  Again weight and complexity.

 

Finally, the mattress is some discount store item that needs to go.  I am thinking about a real nice air / foam mattress?

 

I am planning on upgrading the cabinetry to Cherry veneer and shaker doors at some point.  I like to build things and have some experience building kitchens.

 

Ok enough blabbering.  Here are a few interior pics just for perspective.

 

rod in Nebraska; Wandering the Midwest...

 

[rodt]

Just for perspective.  When I am done the kitchen area will look something like this.  Of course at scale for the truck camper.

 

 

[Old Crow]

Welcome, Rod....

 

My brother has an 89-or-so Sun-Lite Eagle RK.  I like that camper a lot and was looking for a similar one when I ran onto the FWC Hawk shell I have now.

 

My plan at the time was very similar-- buy a Sun-Lite or similar and lighten and simplify. 

 

My brother's Sun-Lite doesn't have a furnace.  We mostly use it when day-time temps are in the 50s and 60s and night-time temps get into the 30s and 40s.   We use a Portable Buddy (the single-panel model using 1# bottles) for heat.   We only use it for a few hours in the evening and sometimes for 10-20 minutes in the morning.    That works fine for our week-long trips.  If, on the other hand,  we were often camping in daytime temps below 40 and night-time temps below 20, I'd think twice about removing the already-existing furnace you have in your camper.  The furnace does require more battery management (i.e., being sure you can fully charge it the next day) but in colder weather is so very, very nice to have if you're going to be sitting in the camper for any length of time.

 

Removal of the rooftop air conditioner seems like a no-brainer - at least in concept.  I wonder if there's 12V wiring up there on yours.  I imagine the rooftop unit was a factory option and might need additional bracing.  Would the factory include 12V pre-wire on a roof they're building specifically for a 110v air conditioner?  If not, you might be able to tap into wiring for the lights.... not sure.

 

Also -  I've not seen anything before on a fiberglass roof option for a Sun-Lite.  The units I've seen have all had an aluminum skin over wood.  The photo of yours appears to show the classic corner-caps of the aluminum-over-wood roof design and I wouldn't think them necessary on a fiberglass roof but who knows.  I'll be interested to learn more on this as you proceed with your plans.

 

I'm also with you on having a stove I can take outside and keeping that counter space open for multiple uses in the meantime.  It requires more setup time but I only use a stove at the end of the day so that's not an issue.

 

Good luck with your mods! Post pics!

 

-OC 

[rodt]

First off, Aluminum roof.  I am just not that smart.  Ordered the fantastic fan and sealer.  Will take pics of the installation next weekend.

 

Right now I am kinda (ok really) struggling to get the camper electrified.

 

The Sun-Lite has a 4 prong connector (round) with a black, white, and green wire.  I took it apart and only 3 wires are installed.  My truck has a 4 prong flat connector which has a brown, white, green, and yellow wire.  Some online research shows me that the truck trailer wires are:

 

Brown:  tail lights

Green:  Right turn

Yellow:  Left turn

White:  Ground

 

On the Sun-Lite I am assuming that black is power, white is ground and green is marker lights????  Is black power when the truck is on?  And green power when the lights are on?

 

These really do not seem compatible?  I have an typical truck camper charger, 12v regulator, inverter and want to charge the truck camper battery off this connection.  

 

I am thinking that I should be able to charge the camper battery via my truck with this connection, or is it really the WRONG connection and I need to run new wires to the camper?

 

Somewhat confused as you can probably tell.

 

rod

 

 

 

[rodt]

doing some research on the camper I have found the following:

 

White is ground, green is running lights, and black is constant power to everything inside the camper. I used a lead wire and a buddy to help me figure it out. Actually, my buddy figured it out before he was done with his first beer. I just handed him beer.

 

To me this means that my trucks 4 pin is crap and not going to work to connect the camper.  It would seem like I need to run a new connection from the battery.  I have the parts to do this following the $50 second battery post from Expedition Portal.  I will install the constant duty solenoid and fuses.  That will get me to power and ground.  But I have no idea how to get marking lights other than to steel the brown wire from the trucks trailer connection.  Does this seem right???

 

I would really like to get this up and working before the first shake down trip scheduled in a couple of weeks.

 

rod

[Vic Harder]

Rod,

 

Have you got a multimeter?  Measure the output of that plug and confirm when power is on where.  

 

Edit - I see you did figure it out... good.  You CAN charge the battery over that wiring, with limitations.  You will need to fuse both ends, you can only put a relatively small amount of current (amps) over those wires without melting them.  And you should use a battery separator to avoid discharging both batteries and being unable to start your truck.

 

Ask more questions, and/or buy a few cases of beer for your buddy

Edited by Vic Harder, 23 April 2017 - 11:24 PM.