Inexpensive camper/utiliy box for m35a2

[mobileauto2000]

Today i trimmed the sides to fit in the bed and slid the camper forward. I stopped 13" from the front of bed so i can put a 12" deep fuel tank in front. I had to lift the camper up to clear the cab. i used 4x6 and 4x4s to build a frame under the camper. next to the wiring. I think i will just put 24 volt bulbs in the clearance lights and remove the tail lights as they are not needed. I am on the fence on how to do the 12volt stuff. Should i just tap off one battery. get a converter or go all the way and install a second alternator. I realy dont want to go the 2 alt route as i have enough to do as it is. I'm leaning to tapping off one battery with a isolator to charge the house battery. most places we go will have hookups and i intend to install a generator. I would really like input to the 12 volt stuff.
Thanks john

 

[unclemikey]

Hey, your starting to look good there! I like your camper, the square box cabover will look much better than mine does when done. Consider extending your exhaust up just a bit and out about 6" or so. You won't believe the effect, you will think you had put on a muffler. You may have to go a little higher on yours due to the square cabover, no big deal, that is later when you are testing it on the road. The setback of the camper in the bed really is the way to go, great place for a #2 Fuel tank or what ever. But the out come of the front of the cabover matching the windshield is what really works. The 12 volt is a issue. I have two 12 volt batteries for that system. I do have a generator, but I have keep them up by solar panels inside the camper windows, it has worked much better than I ever thought it would have. I don't use all that much 12 volt, but more is being added on all the time. I don't care much for the battery tap, can see problems going there. I have decided to go the second alternator. The guys here on SS have every little bit of information you could ever want to help you out. Thanks for the update and the pics....... You Looking Good There! Unclemikey

 

[mobileauto2000]

Thanks for the advise Unclemikey. I think i will try the solar panels. we tend to sit outside at night with a fire so our 12 volt use is not much ether. I have one concern and that is my height. I must be close to 13' at the tallest vent. What is your height and has it been a problem anywhere?

 

[nk14zp]

Looks good.

 

[4x4 Forever]

Looking good mobileauto, keep up the good work!

 

[unclemikey]

John,
Even though the the solar panels work quite well for me, remember that by the time you get them in and working good, your cost will be near that of a 12 volt alternator. The alternator is far more dependable. Just thinking out loud .

As you have found out, having a camper in a Deuce will give you a real High. Mine is about 12'6". They sure will never be in a Low Rider magazine. Where I live it is not much of a problem, short of some trees, mostly if I am driving through some town. Just have to keep my eyes open. My C.B. antennas at the front of the camper also are feelers for height, if they clear so does the camper. Hope this helps some. Keep up the good work my friend. Unclemikey

 

[13thArmy]

Nice work on that camper, MobileAuto. I built a camper for my old 78 Chev pick-up which is heavy on the bottom and light on top. It has aluminum covered sides to keep the weight down and make it maintenance free. Here is the link to the build.
Building your own canopy/camper. - Expedition Portal Forum
I hope it is ok to link to the build and that I am not breaking any rules here.
The camper is super aerodynamic and does well both on and off road. The cost of building it was less that a used camper. Let me know what everyone thinks....

 

[mobileauto2000]

Been very busy this week at work so i havent done much. repainted the camper lisense plate and camo painted the rear of the camper. picked up a 60amp battery equlizer to charge the house battery. I also installed my spin on fuel filters. I did find some time one afternoon to just sit inside the camper and think of how i was to tired to climb out and go home.

 

[Bighurt]

WOW!!!!

That looks awesome! How about some side shots?

 

[13thArmy]

Looks good Mobile with the camo paint. Just remember that you can alway build something like this.....

To keep your wind resistance to a minimum......

 

[Wolfen]

Looks good Mobile with the camo paint. Just remember that you can alway build something like this.....

To keep your wind resistance to a minimum......

I get a Error Message saying the Photo can't be found when I Click on the Link.

 

[tm america]

Looks nice.I likethe extra space at the back of the bed ..Gives you enough room to put a quad back there with the tailgate down... I would add a 12 volt alt and a couple more batteries so you can run off of 12 volts all weekend when you are camping and still have the truck start like it should.. Whatever you do don't just tap off of one battery it will kill the batteries rather quickly

 

[mobileauto2000]

Did a little more work today. Pulled some cushions so my wife could put new covers on them. Not very exciting but makes her happy. I did cut some plywood and fill in the front corners under the camper and sprayed a little olive paint. also trimmed where i had to cut the camper to go over the bed sides. Tomarrow I am going to replace my hydraulic head. i have 3 injectors that are only getting low pressure fuel. And yes it does run on 3 cylinders but take a good 2 minutes to get up to 35 mph. Needless to say I ain't driving it.

 

[gimpyrobb]

You guys suck! Between this build and Gleeser making a shorty deuce, I will have projects I want to do for a long time.

 

[mobileauto2000]

Don't blame me, it's unclemikeys fault. If he had not built his truck the way he did i would not even own this truck!

 

[tm america]

I think it would be really cool if you had a pass thru between the cab and slide in.. Maybe you could mod a hard top to use with it and box in the area between the front of the slide in and cab......

 

[13thArmy]

I get a Error Message saying the Photo can't be found when I Click on the Link.

Thats weird Wolf, my browser goes directly to the pic when I click the link. There are more pics and info on the build thread that I posted on the previous page. Perhaps I am doing something wrong when I post the pics. Anyone who has hints, now is the time to chime in...

 

[13thArmy]

Ok, I think I finally have got this under control.... Here is the file I wanted to post..
As you can see the canopy follows the winsheild angle to give less wind resistance.

 

[oldMan99]

More like 2ft x 6inch x 12ft. I have that section of my bed cut out for use. I was going to try and get a fuel tank made for it, but found a good size one cheap. Now I am designing some kind of slide out storage unit for it.

This is probably far to late to be of any use here but, for the next person thinking about making a custom tank to go under the bed between the rails in that dead space (Same space is available on the M109 too)

According to the formula on this page: Tank Capacity Calculators a space of 2ft x 6inch x 12ft will give you 89.766 gallons. Remember that if you get serious about making a tank to fit there your going to need to leave enough room to slide the tank into place (Unless you pull the bed to drop the tank in). Your also going to want a few baffles to break up the 12' span. Even if it is only 2" tall you would still get a decent surge from 40 gallons of fuel surging toward the front in a stop which will of course only increase your stopping distance.

Hope this helps some...

 

[treessw]

WOW!!!!

That looks awesome! How about some side shots?

Great job !!! Looking good!