Tramper 080S refurbish

[Paul Kemp]

Look what finally showed up- a month and several phone calls later! I guess that's what you get buying from some mom and pop shop off of the internet. The natives at the Amazon tribe have spoiled me. Now I think any of my hearts desires should be fulfilled and brought to my door within five days. I will never stray from my mistress Amazon again...



On a more positive note, this water tank will give me an additional five gallons over the factory tank for a total of 21 gallons. Plus, this one doesn't have weird life forms living in it which is always a bonus...

 

[djmase]

So I was tinkering with the Tramp yesterday and I noticed that the furnace likes to squeal- but only occasionally so maybe it's salvageable. I pulled the furnace out and got to the squirrel cage within about a dozen screws.
View attachment 251648
Being that this furnace is exposed to fire I had to think about the appropriate lube since most propellants are flammable (ie- WD40). I had some liquid graphite that seemed like a good choice but I was still worried about it being flammable. Better experiment.
View attachment 251651
I poured some out on my weld table and hit it with a cigarette lighter. Nothing. I grabbed a torch and with some effort I got it to catch fire. I finally settled on graphite being my best bet.
View attachment 251649
I used some liquid graphite and used it pretty liberally. I spun the squirrel cage by hand but I wasn't able to get the graphite drawn into the bearing well enough and the furnace would still squeal. I lubed it up again and this time used compressed air to spin the fan. When it started to levitate off of the workbench I thought that was as good as it's gonna get. I hooked it up and the furnace was whisper quiet.
I don't want to jinx myself but I have a sneaking suspicion this will need further attention. Anyone have success with this issue? Have a better lubricant that won't burn the camper up? Thanks!

You have a furnace.

Shoot.....

:elkgrin:

 

[djmase]

Look what finally showed up- a month and several phone calls later! I guess that's what you get buying from some mom and pop shop off of the internet. The natives at the Amazon tribe have spoiled me. Now I think any of my hearts desires should be fulfilled and brought to my door within five days. I will never stray from my mistress Amazon again...

View attachment 251652

On a more positive note, this water tank will give me an additional five gallons over the factory tank for a total of 21 gallons. Plus, this one doesn't have weird life forms living in it which is always a bonus...

Does your tank live up under the step/seat that goes to the upper bunk? Also, are you doing an electric or pump sink for that rig?

 

[Paul Kemp]

Djmase-
Yeah, the water tank will go back in the factory "step" location. I feel that area has some wasted space but I kept it as-is (for now). The new tank will be longer, taller, but much thinner that what was there before. I'm hoping I can take advantage of the tank being thinner and wedge some items in there (pie irons, griddle, maybe even a stovetop). We'll see.
While tearing the plumbing apart I decided to buy a new hand pump faucet. I think it's the same faucet I saw in your build so hopefully it being a mass produced item says something about the quality of the unit.
One thing that I will do is make the drain easily accessible. The PO apparently never used the drain and that's how the water tank turned into a petri dish. I'm going to make the drain valve be by the back door. Easy access, obvious so I don't forget to use it, and it can double as an outdoor sink. The bulk of the water I use while camping is filling my dogs dish so this chore will be easily accomplished.

 

[djmase]

Djmase-
Yeah, the water tank will go back in the factory "step" location. I feel that area has some wasted space but I kept it as-is (for now). The new tank will be longer, taller, but much thinner that what was there before. I'm hoping I can take advantage of the tank being thinner and wedge some items in there (pie irons, griddle, maybe even a stovetop). We'll see.
While tearing the plumbing apart I decided to buy a new hand pump faucet. I think it's the same faucet I saw in your build so hopefully it being a mass produced item says something about the quality of the unit.
One thing that I will do is make the drain easily accessible. The PO apparently never used the drain and that's how the water tank turned into a petri dish. I'm going to make the drain valve be by the back door. Easy access, obvious so I don't forget to use it, and it can double as an outdoor sink. The bulk of the water I use while camping is filling my dogs dish so this chore will be easily accomplished.

View attachment 251689

Solid. I have a ton of room in mine as well. My camper is a bit smaller and running the factory tank which is 10 gallons.
You can see size and spout in these shots. The drain has the handle and is attached to a long small rubber line that plumbs through the floor then sits in one of the channels in my bed liner until it dumps out by the rear gate.



Loads of storage down there. I can slide my double burner camp stove in between the wall and the tank when needed for outside cooking.

If you have the old tank, you should bleach water that thing and save it for an outdoor shower. Or if you don't want to do that, I may take it off your hands to set it up in mine. :ylsmoke:

Also, my camper is equipped with some serious gravity issues, apparently.

 

[Paul Kemp]

Very cool. I'd love to mail the tank off to you but- embarrassing story to follow:
So I was working one evening to remove the existing tank and clean it. The tank was too large to remove without popping some of the "step". I had some leftover plywood from an earlier project so I figured I'd just cut out the step and then rebuild it back after I cleaned the tank. Like I said, it was pretty dark in the trailer and I swear I was sober (which is probably even more pathetic). Well, the tank got in the way of my saw blade and...People in the next town over could hear my screams. Pretty embarrassing...
It was a $80 mistake but I got more water capacity and storage went up. Plus this just adds to the list of stories to fuel my self-deprecating sense of humor...

 

[djmase]

Very cool. I'd love to mail the tank off to you but- embarrassing story to follow:
So I was working one evening to remove the existing tank and clean it. The tank was too large to remove without popping some of the "step". I had some leftover plywood from an earlier project so I figured I'd just cut out the step and then rebuild it back after I cleaned the tank. Like I said, it was pretty dark in the trailer and I swear I was sober (which is probably even more pathetic). Well, the tank got in the way of my saw blade and...People in the next town over could hear my screams. Pretty embarrassing...
It was a $80 mistake but I got more water capacity and storage went up. Plus this just adds to the list of stories to fuel my self-deprecating sense of humor...

RIP...tank.

 

[Paul Kemp]

RIP is right but at least the water tank has plenty of company in the landfill. The carpet, ice box, various casework, and roof are all neighbors!
Slow couple of days. Stupid job is interfering with my leisure. But it paid for a shopping trip. Toiletries, some pans, and a coffee press now reside in the tramp.. I had to hit two plumbing supply houses and a specialty shop to find the barb fittings to go into my water tank. What a debacle. These are huge, commercial supply houses too, not Home Depot. Not frustrated with the monies but really surprised in the wild goose chase. Solution was found though and I'll do the install when I get back from camping. T-36 hrs!

 

[Paul Kemp]

Really amazing how great and innovative Apple is but my ipad seems to really dislike this site. Sorry for crazy pic orientation and multiple pic post...

 

[Paul Kemp]

The maiden voyage went pretty well. I didn't have time to get the water tank in or complete the wiring but everything went okay. I did a quick wire job on the furnace and it worked great. It was only about 45 degrees at night so I probably didn't even need the furnace but I wanted to test it out. I sat the thermostat at 60 and quickly realized that the thermostat isn't a finely calibrated instrument. 60 degrees will make the Tramper feel like the surface of the sun. That will be very handy this winter but I definitely adjusted the thermostat on the second night.
The bed turned out to be an excellent purchase and it worked better than I had hoped.
The weather cooperated and we got about 20 miles on the ATV's. I didn't even smash my shin on the step! Overall a great time!

 

[Paul Kemp]

Oddly enough, one of the best pieces of camping gear I used this weekend was my cup. I was at a local brew pub several weeks ago and saw that they were selling silicone pint cups. They were unbreakable and supposedly good quality. They can withstand a lot of heat (website shows people using them over flame) and they are good insulators. They were $11/each but I figured I'd try it out. I used them each morning to hold my coffee and the coffee stayed hot and didn't transfer any heat to my hand. I didn't have to worry about carefully packing them up when I was done either. Kinda neat...

http://www.silipint.com/shop-silipint-drinking-glasses

 

[eblau]

On your Ford are you using the 7 pin truck wiring for your 12v+? I have a 92 F350 and would like to run the furnace/ lights this weekend but I just realized I have to have the ignition switched on if I want 12V+ juice from the truck to my 7 pin but my glow plug relay robs most of the power from my camper when the ignition is in the on position.

Nice work on the roof repair too!

 

[Paul Kemp]

Eblau-
I deliberately kept my truck separate from the camper. I think using the 7 pin like you mention would work since there is one wire dedicated to constant power. However, I would be cautious because:
1. Your truck has starting batteries, not deep cycle. During my research phase I learned a bunch about the differences. Tons of articles on this forum to reference. That being said, I have a camp buddy that uses old batteries out of his Powerstroke and says that he ran his camper the entire week hunting without bad results...he even has mismatched batteries which is another thing everyone warns against...
2. If you run the batteries down you could be stranded in a remote area. You have the IDI version whereas I have the Powerstroke but they're very similar. 444 cubic inches of engine at approximately 19:1 compression takes a ton of cranking amps to start it. Mine was spec'd to have two batteries at 750 CCA each. Pretty much only another diesel would be able to jump you. We also weigh so much that most vehicles (Jeep, Ranger, etc) would struggle pull starting you or towing you back to civilization.
All of that being said, I went with two golf cart batteries for peace of mind but your approach should work. I would just know the risks. Good luck!

 

[eblau]

Eblau-
I deliberately kept my truck separate from the camper. I think using the 7 pin like you mention would work since there is one wire dedicated to constant power. However, I would be cautious because:
1. Your truck has starting batteries, not deep cycle. During my research phase I learned a bunch about the differences. Tons of articles on this forum to reference. That being said, I have a camp buddy that uses old batteries out of his Powerstroke and says that he ran his camper the entire week hunting without bad results...he even has mismatched batteries which is another thing everyone warns against...
2. If you run the batteries down you could be stranded in a remote area. You have the IDI version whereas I have the Powerstroke but they're very similar. 444 cubic inches of engine at approximately 19:1 compression takes a ton of cranking amps to start it. Mine was spec'd to have two batteries at 750 CCA each. Pretty much only another diesel would be able to jump you. We also weigh so much that most vehicles (Jeep, Ranger, etc) would struggle pull starting you or towing you back to civilization.
All of that being said, I went with two golf cart batteries for peace of mind but your approach should work. I would just know the risks. Good luck!

Thanks for the info! I went back and saw you have dedicated batteries for the camper, makes more sense to just go that route now that I think about it. Jumping an IDI or like you said pop starting one is out of the question!

 

[Paul Kemp]

Hey Paul, about your roof corners. It looks like the same corners that Northstar uses, may want to give them a call. (319) 233-3461.

I got the cab corner from Northstar. It's cast aluminum versus the fiberglass/ plastic that the Tramper originally had but it fits. It was something like $18 plus shipping. Now that I know it fits I'll buy another! Thanks for the recommendation!