Budget Skamper Fix/Build

[JohnnySkamp]

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[ToolBox Guy]

Yea, I agree, were pretty spoiled out here in CA. Not much cold weather to deal with. The ole' heater project was more for the ladies than I though. haha Keep me posted on the parts. Thanks!

Alright Guys... NEED SOME INPUT/OPINIONS.

I've been itching to do a little fab work lately. My welder has some dust collecting on it and that is a BAD sign! haha I'm debating a swing out Spare tire rack and 5gallon jerry can holder for the rear bumper. What do you guys thing? Yes? NO? Maybe some good threads on ideas? I've been looking at the stokc bumper and am thinking about just beefing it up a bit and adding the swing out. Its just much less work than building a new bumper from scratch. Saturday projects are much more doable now-a-days than multiple weekend projects. I would then paint everything black afterwards.
Your input is appreciated!
Paul

I havebeen debating this myself for quite a while.
I keep asking myself, do I use a spare tire enough to justify the engineering and labor invested in building a bumper/tire carrier, not so much for me. Thats why the tire stays in the stock location.

Now you have an advantage, your camper doesn't stick out past the bumper, mine does by 13 inches making it an engineering nightmare.
If I were you, I would build an entire bumper carrier, or do a tire carrier that is hitch mount so it can be removed and stored.

[SLO_F-250]

if you use your stock bumper you will need to support underneath it were the hinge rests. espesially if you go all the way across with your arm. fabbing rear bumpers isn't too badd. you can reuse your stock bumper brackets, to make it easier, and you can make your new bumper much more usefull than a stock one could be.

i saw a tire fuel can swing out with a fold down table on the back side on here somewhere always thought that would be a good idea.

Yea, I was going to reinforce it the stock one going for the K.I.S.S. method. haha Im not against building a new bumper all together, but just add's more to the project. I would consider myself fairly versed in fabrication as I built my own prerunner in college and have all the welders, benders, notchers in my shop, but am just not trying to open a can of worms. I go back and forth though..... Thanks for the input.

I havebeen debating this myself for quite a while.
I keep asking myself, do I use a spare tire enough to justify the engineering and labor invested in building a bumper/tire carrier, not so much for me. Thats why the tire stays in the stock location.

Now you have an advantage, your camper doesn't stick out past the bumper, mine does by 13 inches making it an engineering nightmare.
If I were you, I would build an entire bumper carrier, or do a tire carrier that is hitch mount so it can be removed and stored.

Yea, the 13in makes a difference. The entire new bumper would be sweet, but to make it look good I would want to shape it a bit rather than just a 6x8 tube capped. Thats me, which is why I figured trussing the stock one and adding the swing out. Since I come from a desert racing background and have the tools, I have also debated a tube style bumper but concluded its not for the superduty. I plan on stopping by my old welding shop next week too see what material they have in the scrap bin. I might score something.

The hitch mounted swing out also crossed my mind. There was a truck by my work with one. Its pretty slick. Ill post some pictures soon. Cool part was the way they fabbed it, it still had the hitch which would work for a bike rack, step, etc...

Crew,

I've been eavesdropping on your forum for a month now but I have hit a wall in my skamper project so I'm calling out for help.

Furnace ain't working. Jumpered the thermostat and put 12 volts right to her, nothing. inside the heat exchanger there's a sensor and on either side of the sensor a wire comes out. Those two wires connect
together and are joined by a connector I have never seen before in my whole life. Looks like a wing nut with a hollow center . To top everything off they Are not connected to anything else !! Please assist ! Thanks

Jonny,
Welcome to the forum. Honestly, I am not sure what the heck that is in your photos. I had something similar, but it wasn't connected to wires. Just a smaller piece of solid copper wire. I figured it was to ground the copper propane line for sparks or something if that even makes sense.... Maybe not haha

You thermostat only controls the fan on the heater. So if the fan isn't turning on, there are a few "fuses/heatsinks" to check. Some burn out and are one time use. Chase the current around with a multi meter. Thats your best bet. Also picts help. Good Luck!! xdbx (Dan) helped me out a lot with my heater. Chime in Dan if you got input.

[xdbx]

Jonny,

The "wing nut" you have pictured is the overheat sensor. Its the ceramic "one time burn" fuse that I warned Paul about. The two sides of plug are 2 different wires, and should have continuity across them if the filament is not burned. It goes between the thermocouple and the top of the gas valve, and serves as an inline fuse. This thing should not affect pilot light operation.

If you can make sense of the wiring diagram, a signal should be passed through the gas valve, out to the thermocouple, which is heated by the pilot light. This current returns down that long copper tube you have pictured, and where it threads back into the gas valve, there's a notch where this plastic "wingnut" slip fits into. The wing nut can be removed and the thermocouple threaded back in and bottomed out so as to bypass the area where this would reside, which leads me to believe someone's been mucking about in there, and perhaps replaced the thermocouple in your skamp.

Do you have a clear wiring diagram to read on the sticker on the back of the furnace grill cover?

[ToolBox Guy]

Yea, I was going to reinforce it the stock one going for the K.I.S.S. method. haha Im not against building a new bumper all together, but just add's more to the project. I would consider myself fairly versed in fabrication as I built my own prerunner in college and have all the welders, benders, notchers in my shop, but am just not trying to open a can of worms. I go back and forth though..... Thanks for the input.



Yea, the 13in makes a difference. The entire new bumper would be sweet, but to make it look good I would want to shape it a bit rather than just a 6x8 tube capped. Thats me, which is why I figured trussing the stock one and adding the swing out. Since I come from a desert racing background and have the tools, I have also debated a tube style bumper but concluded its not for the superduty. I plan on stopping by my old welding shop next week too see what material they have in the scrap bin. I might score something.

The hitch mounted swing out also crossed my mind. There was a truck by my work with one. Its pretty slick. Ill post some pictures soon. Cool part was the way they fabbed it, it still had the hitch which would work for a bike rack, step, etc...




Jonny,
Welcome to the forum. Honestly, I am not sure what the heck that is in your photos. I had something similar, but it wasn't connected to wires. Just a smaller piece of solid copper wire. I figured it was to ground the copper propane line for sparks or something if that even makes sense.... Maybe not haha

You thermostat only controls the fan on the heater. So if the fan isn't turning on, there are a few "fuses/heatsinks" to check. Some burn out and are one time use. Chase the current around with a multi meter. Thats your best bet. Also picts help. Good Luck!! xdbx (Dan) helped me out a lot with my heater. Chime in Dan if you got input.

safari77.jpg

[xdbx]

Ooo.... I've never seen a swb prerunner. Is that for short track type events or is it more stable than I imagine?

[ToolBox Guy]

Ooo.... I've never seen a swb prerunner. Is that for short track type events or is it more stable than I imagine?

Back country exploring truck......here is the build thread.


http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=934332


I just dig the rear bumper, so I posted it up.

[JohnnySkamp]

Thank you for the quick response and even more so for describing the "wingnut" so well. The wiring diagram on the back of the cover is shot, no longer legible the 100s skamper is a 1989. I will let you know if I am successful fixing the problem, if it explodes than you probably wont hear from me again. (terrible joke).

Thanks again,
John

[SLO_F-250]

safari77.jpg

Oh man sweet truck!!! I just read through that build. I love that rear suspension setup. Lets you keep utilize the bed. I had a bedcage etc so it wasnt much a truck anymore. It also says in there the guy is throwing a pop-top camper. Maybe flip pack? If so that is going to be one AWESOME baja machine! Im going to have to keep an eye on that build Amazing plate work, welds, etc. That bumper is great! Thanks for posting! Do you happen to know where he got those pin latches?

My prerunner was a white 91 chevy. So fun!!! That tire rack is really cool, I havent seen one like it. Most desert trucks lose the tailgate all together. I stacked two 35's out the back on my old truck. Im still debating on what I want to do, but that one does get me thinking. Thanks for the pict!

Good Luck on the heater fix Jonny! Keep us posted!

Paul

[eugene]

I was able to find the wiring diagram for the furnace in my 1982 by searching for the furnace brand and model.