IH Scout Four Wheel Pop Up Project and Questions

[joelweb]

With all the discussion lately about Bronco Four Wheel Pop Up campers on this forum, I thought now would be a good time to introduce a project I am just about ready to dive into. My brother in law recently drug this Scout Four Wheel Camper home and it needs some work, but I’m very close to adopting the camper while he scraps the rusty truck…



I have a 1976 International Scout Terra. As some of you probably know, the Terra (and its full top twin sister the Traveler) is like a Scout II, but has a 118” wheelbase instead of the 100” wheelbase found on the Scout II. All of the additional 18” in length can be found in front of the rear wheels in the bed area and other corresponding parts – all other dimensions are the same between the Scout II and Terra. The Terra also has a pickup top and removable bulkhead instead of the full tops found on the Traveler and Scout II.



Four Wheel Campers made pop up campers for both the 100 inch wheelbase Scout II and the 118” Traveler/Terra models. As great as those campers are, they are a very permanent fixture on a Scout. They take the place of the vehicle’s cab by bolting to the windshield and they don’t have the “slide in” tub like most other pop up campers. They can’t be removed and reinstalled with ease and they must be stored indoors to keep dry when not installed. Simply put, they aren't something you take off and you have to dedicate a vehicle to one. A different option must exist.

Because of the Scout Terra’s additional length compared to a Scout II, there is the potential to turn a Scout II designed pop up camper into a slide in camper model similar to the ones that folks are running on pickups. The Scout II campers stick out about 8 inches past the back of a Scout II. The Terra pickup cab ends about 10 inches behind the read edge of the door, which is the place where front of the Scout II camper ended. That’s about 18 inches – the same length that Terra models are longer than Scout IIs.



Given this information, if the front of the Scout II camper was closed off and if the tub was framed and closed off, the Scout II camper could become a slide in camper that fit a 118” Scout Terra nicely. The camper would need to be raised a couple inches in order for the camper’s overhanging bed area to clear the cab and some additional support may be needed to strengthen that area, but this should work…



However, I need to learn how the slide-in camper tubs were originally built in order to construct my own. I have a few specific questions from you camper experts – any help you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

First, how are the tub portions of slide in campers framed? I know the new four wheel campers have aluminum frames, but there appears to be a lot of wood on the older ones. I want this to be strong and light, but I don’t have a physical example to reference how this has been done at the factory, which has left me scratching my head – any help is appreciated.

Second, along a similar vein, how is the front wall framed? Anything different?



I know these seem like basic questions, but I don’t have anything to reference and a couple photos and some description describing the construction of tubs for slide ins would be extremely helpful.

thanks,

Joel

[Shiryas]

I have no idea on any of your questions, but fortunately Stan from Four Wheel Campers is on this board and should be able to take care of you.

Just wanted to say nice rig and keep us posted.

[beast1210]

generally slide in work better on duellies that dont have to deal with the wheel well. I'm sure you could add some leg stands pretty easy. and the four bolts in the windshield arent that hard to take out. I would come up a quicker way to release the rear portion of the camper, then raise it up with the stilt legs. Personally I would keep it the way it is and just make it work better for you. You've got a whole mess of water storage, pumps,etc to deal with a regular camper. I wish you the best luck. keep up posted

[joelweb]

I would also have to remove or install the pickup top and bulkhead, which are secured by 28 bolts in addition to the four over the windshield. Further, the camper is structurally weak when out of the truck because it currently relies on the bedrails for much of its strength – it really can’t be removed and reinstalled on a regular basis under its current construction.

The water tank and ice box are all raised up above the bed in the drivers side overhang area and will not be an issue. The only item lower than the wheel well is the heater, but it is located behind the wheels…

Sure, I’ll need to make a few adjustments to make this fit, but it isn’t that bad…. A lot of the wood needs replacing anyway… What I really need to learn right now is how the slide in versions were framed by the manufacturer….

Any help is greatly appreciated....

[ntsqd]

The way that I would approach it would be to build a "floor" section that it bolts to just like it was bolting to the Scout. Duplicate all of the mounting surfaces & features with smallish square steel tube (= or < 1") and flat stock, then panel them in and insulate it. I would not use steel for the panels. There are several threads here about what sort of siding is available and their plus' and minus'.
Along the way I'd include the hard points needed to attach it to the Scout. Could build in the rise needed to clear the Scout's roof by either leaving the floor in the same relative location and having storage underneath (my vote), or by having the new floor sit just on top of the Scout's bed-floor and increasing the head room. I would also include inside low doors for access to the volumes ahead of the wheel wells for more storage.

[silverscout]

Great project Joel. Looking forward to your progress.

I don’t have too much experience with campers but I do own a Scout Terra with a FWC on it. Its attached the same way yours is, with the original mounting holes for the top utilized by the camper. The floor has a large piece of heavy plywood to attach the furniture and cabinets, which are also connected to the camper. I'm not too sure how the rear door frame is attached to the truck but there is a simple foam seal along the edges where the seal for the tail gate would be. The bottom of the rear of the FWC is also attached with a foam seal. If I ever get a chance to pull up the flooring and linoleum, Ill snap a photo for ya. Don’t hold your breath though. I hope these photos help.

[joelweb]

Very helpful, Silverscout. Thank you. You have confirmed the way an original and in-tact scout camper was built inside the tub... just as I thought - no walls below the bed rails. I had a foggy memory based on an intact 77 I used to own.

On a different note, I looked over an older Six Pack slide in camper that was for sale locally yesterday to study the way the slide in tub was framed. I was surprised to see that the plywood corners of the tub were simply screwed together. I assumed such construction wouldn't be strong enough and figured there would be some sort of a framing to reinforce the unit and provide rigidity. Is this the same for other folks with slide in campers?

[homemade]

There is nothing complex about FWC design/build as far as I can see. I‘m sure it was just some guy(s) messing around in their garage who came up with it originally and the design was durable and functional so it has persevered over the years with some variations like the SUV based Scout version. I built my own truck based camper several years ago, somewhat like the FWC and I’m surprised actually that forums like this aren’t filled with more complete ground up do-it-yourself builds than tear-down rebuilds of old units.

The plywood tub of the camper I built was the easiest part of the entire build. FWC uses (or at least used to use) 5/8”marine grade plywood overlapping and gluing/stapling the edges, no screws that I could see. I used cheaper ¾” ACX, gorilla type glue and 1 ½” or 2” staples (I don’t recall which). Strips of the plywood used as runners on the bottom help reinforce the bottom corners and it is all very sturdy.

Good luck with your build, I would do the same if I had a FWC frame to work with but if I didn't and wanted a Scout/Bronco/K5 version I would just build my own. Often people seem intimidated the roof lift spring loaded panels because they wouldn’t be easily built or purchased - YOU DON”T NEED THEM - I used gas lifts and it seems FWC has utilized something like what I built as a lift assist as many people find the spring loaded panels insufficient alone anyway.

[joelweb]

Well, thanks to a little time off work combined with help from my brother in-law Mike, my Dad, and friend Aaron, the Scout Four Wheel Pop Up Camper has undergone a good chunk the rebuild.

As I've said previously, the camper was originally designed to fit on a 100 inch wheelbase Scout II and functioned as a permanent structure. I took advantage of the longer wheelbase and pickup cab of the Scout Terra to convert the camper into a slide in unit that could be more easily removed and installed.

Removing the camper from the rustbucket


Fortunately, the camper came with an aluminum frame because the wood in this thing was shot and without the aluminum it wouldn’t have been worth rebuilding. Much of the original wood consisted of particle board, which was rotten, swollen, and soft. Even the plywood was bad.

The plywood was worse than it looks in a photo


In addition to replacing the wood in the camper side overhang areas, we built a slide in tub and front wall to turn this baby into a fully contained unit.

Making it fit the Terra wasn’t too bad. We had to lift the entire unit 2.5 inches to adequately clear the roof and remove some of the overhang that sat below the tailgate in the rear. We used 2.5 aluminum tubing under the bedrails to help raise the unit – we also used the tubing to create a simplified process for unfastening the camper from the truck. We had to cut and reweld a couple sections in the aluminum frame in the rear so we could push the camper all the way forward in the bed.

Aluminum frame


More


After gutting out the appliances, cupboards, and making some changes to the rear frame we measured and built the lower portion of the tub. I chose ¾ ACX plywood on the sides and pressure treated 3/4 inch plywood for the floor.



We removed the camper and set the tub inside the bed and then reinstalled the camper and replaced the horizontal wood panels that support the camper overhangs on each side. Balancing the camper was tricky at that point as it was getting very rickety – being partially deconstructed, the rotten wood panels began to fail. Camper jacks and the aluminum frame saved us at that point.



It was exciting moment when the side panels were firmly fastened to the tub…

We then measured out and cut the front panel – something this camper never had before. It took a little leverage to square up the frame, but when we were done this unit was more solid and square than ever before.

Structure at last!



After that we started putting things back together so I could put the camper into storage until I have a chance to work on it again around Memorial Day. I’ve ordered some aluminum siding for the outside of the front header and to replace a couple small sections in the rear that were damaged. I’m going to order a window to install in the front and pick up linoleum for the floor and carpet for the passenger window area.

After Memorial Day I will be rebuilding and reinforcing the rotten bed area that sits above the cab. The particle board is currently a disaster….

I now need to design a bench/bed area that I will build for the passenger area. I also plan to rebuild the cupboards on the driver’s side so they look new again.

The canvass and top area are going to have to wait a year or so as I will have spent enough on this thing for a while….

She's coming along

[beast1210]

very cool, its coming along great.