New camper shell and roof rack

[donnyh]

Hi all, after Callen failed to build me a shell (story here:http://expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=252570#post252570), I went with a BelAir.

I walked into their shop at noon on Labour Day Sunday, and was able to work out a deal in less than an hour and left with a promised delivery date of 21 days.

I dealt with the new guy (been there 16 years) Jeff, he called his fabricator about the rack, who answered the call on a Sunday, so we could get a price on that too.

Here are my custom specs: 44" sidewall, 24"overhang, entry door to the right side, 1 extra roof vent with both vents installed to the left (leaving room up top for a wide kayak without interfering with venting).

These are standard: wood frame, aluminum skin, front slider window, tinted side sliding windows, interior&running lights, rear cargo door and the rack has a movable center bar.

Shell $1560, rack $760, install $150, OTD was just over $2600.

They finished the work a couple of days early, install took a couple of hours, here is the finished product:

http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l105/donnyh/duplicates%20in%20small%20size%20for%20hotlinking/1frontSmall.jpg

I'm pretty happy with the shell, fit & finish are not of Prevost quality, but for 1600 bucks I like it. I didn't really want the cargo door but they only build them that way, so it is what it is.

I don't like the hardware for the cargo door, there is a certaim flimsiness at the bottom of the whole door, if I pull on it I can flex it quite a bit.

The installer suggested through bolting it if I don't want to use the cargo door, so I plan on doing just that.
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l105/donnyh/duplicates%20in%20small%20size%20for%20hotlinking/11rearSmall.jpg

http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l105/donnyh/duplicates%20in%20small%20size%20for%20hotlinking/1rightsideSmall.jpg

http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l105/donnyh/duplicates%20in%20small%20size%20for%20hotlinking/1leftSmall.jpg

The rack is beefy. I like it a lot. The base is 5/16ths plate steel that runs between the legs, so the weight is support by the entire 8' bed length, instead of just the corners (like Cargomaster racks are), and the rack and shell are both bolted to the bed railes, 4 per side.
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l105/donnyh/duplicates%20in%20small%20size%20for%20hotlinking/1rackSmall.jpg

http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l105/donnyh/duplicates%20in%20small%20size%20for%20hotlinking/11leftSmall.jpg

This shows the vents to the left, the dome lighting is tied into the running lights, BelAir will only do it that way (liabilty reasons), I will change it when I add coach batteries.
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l105/donnyh/duplicates%20in%20small%20size%20for%20hotlinking/1roof.jpg

The hardware for the slider can only be reached from the truck side which is kind of odd, I'd rather have access from the shell, but it looks like the hardware can be flipped to the other side for an easy fix.
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l105/donnyh/duplicates%20in%20small%20size%20for%20hotlinking/1slider.jpg

Theres a lot of space for storage in that overhang.
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l105/donnyh/duplicates%20in%20small%20size%20for%20hotlinking/1overhang.jpg

All in all, I'm a happy camper, even though my milage dropped from the 16s (19s if babied, 15s driving it like a demon, average 16s) to the 13s, I don't know if it's the extra 800lbs or wind drag, some of both I suspect.



Next: I need to build a rear bumper, with a ladder tying the bumper to the rack. Bumper will have tow points, gas can holder or two, flip out step for shell access, and maybe some lighting, but I may put the lighting on the rack instead of the bumper (my budget likes the idea of using cheap tractor lights, flood beams, all around the rack, 2 per side. 8 tractor lights cost about as much as one PIAA).

Future projects for the shell:
Flip up bed.
Gun safe.
Water tank.
Two coach batteries, solar panels, charge controller, Engel type fridge/freezer.
Backup camera.

Future projects for truck:
5" exhaust.
Front winch bumper, I'm looking at a Buckstop model.
Roof rack over the cab.
Alternator upgrade (Leece-Neville), another battery under the hood.
On board air.

Wish list:
Air lockers.
Engine brake.

[mtnbike28]

That looks like some comfortable camping. Glad you got the camper solved.

[spencyg]

I'd be careful about tying the bumper and the rack together with a ladder. They will (at times) want to move independently due to the load in the bed and the terrain which you are traversing. That ladder will want to keep them moving together and we all know who is going to win! I'd suggest tying the ladder to the bottom side of the camper and to the rack and leave the bumper out of the equation....

Just my $0.02

Nice camper though...I'd be curious how they actually constructed it. Is it a wood frame? Aluminum? The sheathing looks like the standard camper aluminum skin. Gata love the truck you mounted it on to. 12V Cummins is the way to go any day of the week. I wish my rig had the same engine...


Spence

[donnyh]

I'd be careful about tying the bumper and the rack together with a ladder. They will (at times) want to move independently due to the load in the bed and the terrain which you are traversing.

I've been thinking about how to deal with that movement, my latest idea is to build hinges into the ladder, so it can flex along with the bed and bumper.


Nice camper though...I'd be curious how they actually constructed it. Is it a wood frame? Aluminum? The sheathing looks like the standard camper aluminum skin.

It is wood framed with standard aluminum skin.


12V Cummins is the way to go any day of the week.

Thanks, I do love this old deisel pickup. I wanted one for years, but they are hard to find in nice shape, I went to Oregon and Arizona to look at other Cummins 4x4s, I finally found and bought this one in Iowa.

[theMec]

Glad to see you decided on a camper. Looks like a great setup with lot's of space inside! Please let us know how you set up the interior. Also does it really weight 800# ?

[donnyh]

Also does it really weight 800# ?

Yep, I hit the CAT scales before and after, I'm also surprised it weighs that much.

I suspect the rack weighs more than the shell.

[mrblond]

nice set up, where were those pics taken? Reminds me of iron age rd.

[donnyh]

where were those pics taken?

Nipton Road along I-15 very close to the Cal-Nev state line, one of the pics shows Primm Nevada in the distance.

[scenic]

cool set up. your car likes a moving house.:arabia:

[Lynn]

Nice setup!

I saw a similar setup several years ago that had a design feature that I thougth a good idea, and wanted to pass along for your consideration...

Instead of mounting the rack uprights on tabs that stuck out from between the bed and the camper, the guy used a piece of steel treadplate that ran the full length (upright to upright). That way he had a little 3" shelf to walk on while loading/unloading the rack. It would also serve as a sort of a rub rail.

Just a thought.

[beer belly boy]

Hi Donnyh,
Sweet looking truck! What year is it? 20 years ago I had an 87 Ram Charger and loved it!
I bought a FWC shell and did my own interior. I had a lot of fun planing and building it. Now I'm getting ready to rebuild it and I'm looking for another truck, maybe start another thread.
Your truck says alot for having a nice older truck.
John

[dodecagon2000]

Small piece of advice.....watch that camper closely....i almost bought a bel-air but went with a callen because it has a steel frame and i have herd horror stories about the bel-airs disintegrating on dirt roads due to the vibration....when i went to go buy a camper....the man at the show saw my rig and told me that if i did any type of offroading this camper wouldn't take the abuse.

[donnyh]

I saw a similar setup several years ago that had a design feature that I thougth a good idea, and wanted to pass along for your consideration....

I've seen that catwalk idea also, it's neat, if I built from scratch I would consider it, maybe even have it fold out to 6" wide while parked to use as a shelf.


Hi Donnyh,
Sweet looking truck! What year is it? .

Hi, and thanks, it's a 1992, 93 was the last year of the 1st gen Cummins Dodge, and the turbocooler wasn't intercooled through 91, so 92/3 are the years to get (there are also some 91.5 that have intercoolers).



Small piece of advice.....watch that camper closely....i almost bought a bel-air but went with a callen because it has a steel frame and i have herd horror stories about the bel-airs disintegrating on dirt roads due to the vibration...

Yeah, any stitch-n-glue constructed camper has a chance of flexing itself to death over time, even staying on paved roads, so time will tell on this one, it's a pretty low stakes game for the price point of the unit...

As for buying a Callen, I tried to do that for two long years, it didn't work out so good...
http://expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=17491

[araven]

How’s your BelAir holding up? I’m thinking about buying one. I live on the east coast and been searching the web for an over the cab camper shells and haven’t been able to find anyone who builds them in the south east.
Does anyone know of any companies that build custom shells around Georgia?
Thanks Al,

[Regcabguy]

Callen's being run by Jim again(father),so hopefully he'll right the ship before it goes under.