The TARDIS - A Four Wheel Camper Build

Overland Hadley

on a journey
Trash Can

Not very "ExPo" but I like this for the camper.

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001D8XA50/ref=oss_product"]Trash Can[/ame]


Hey, we all need a place to put the trash.

I like that it can be mounted under the sink, and is sized to use the plastic grocery bags.
 
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Overland Hadley

on a journey
Rear Mounted Jerry Can

Thanks to Ted/Magellan over on WTW for this idea.

gallery_2_113_38123.jpg


Here is the write up on the rear mounted jerry can holder. Link

And the Adventure Trailers aluminum jerry can holder. Link (This thing is great, very impressed with this item.)


261925315_eRxEG-M.jpg
 
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Overland Hadley

on a journey
Water Tank v2

In addition to the Front Runner Footwell Water Tank, I will have two other water tanks.

One tank will be located under the sink, and will be plumbed to the Whale Water Pump. Second tank will be located in the floor area of the passenger seat, inside the truck. (This will of course only work when traveling solo.)

The two water tanks will be Scepter Water Cans. This has changed from Wedco cans for two reasons, 1- the Scepter can are almost half the weight, 2- I have had some problems with rust and the plastic liner in the Wedco water cans. Also the Scepters have a large opening that will allow the pump for the shower to fit inside.
 
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Overland Hadley

on a journey
Shower

"In conditions like this, a shower is not a luxury, it is a necessity."



I have used a couple shower systems, including one with a sprayer head on a Super Syphon. But easier is better, and this Zodi shower is the best solution I have found.

Zodi Hot Tap

One morning I used it in close to freezing temps and at 10,000 feet. The batteries in the pump had a little trouble pumping the water up six feet, probably from the cold. So in the future I will try and not pump the water up as far. The new Scepter cans will allow the pump to be used directly in the jerry can, easier than the dry bag system I used on the last trip.

The pump and battery setup is a bit bulky and hard to store, and I have thought about going back to a gravity fed setup. But with the pump you can recirculate the water for a while and heat it up hotter than one pass through the heater would provide.

I would like to not carry a 1lb tank just for the shower. A bulk tank adapter is available, but the 1lb tank does allow the shower to be used away from the camper. The Stove Top model would be nice, but at this point I do not think I will be showering inside the camper. But, if I.....


edit: I have started considering using a stainless steel sprayer tank heated on the stove top. It would be bulky, but would weigh less than the Zodi Hot Tap when you consider the need to carry 1lb fuel canisters for it. If nothing else it would be a simpler system than the Hot Tap, no pump-batteries-1lb fuel, and with the stove top in the camper it looks like it would be simper to get going.

Here is the best looking tank I have found. Solo 465 Stainless Steel Sprayer
 
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Overland Hadley

on a journey
Lighting, Part II

The campers interior LED lights will have to be used sparingly, as they will be running off the single truck battery. This will work for me, as the weight savings of not having a second battery is impressive.

I have been mulling over options for my main light source. I thought about a LED lantern like the Black Diamond Apollo. (Link) But in the end I hate dragging around small batteries as much as I hate the heavy big ones.

Then I remembered the three candle lanterns I bought for a trip in the pacific north west. There was something warm and comforting about sitting around a couple of candles, especially in the never ending rain. Sure, they can be a bit of a pain, but it's something I do not mind dealing with.

I have the standard UCO Candle Lantern, (Link) customized with some of my stickers.



Edit: See post quoted below.

Well the Candle Lantern was a fail. First night out I knocked over both candles, spilling hot wax all over the Smev glass top and putting a little melt mark on the edge of the polar pack. They got put away and did not come out for the rest of the trip.

Instead I used the pair of Apollo lanterns I had brought as a backup. They worked great, although they ate through the AAA batteries at an alarming rate. Next trip I will have a full set of Eneloop rechargeable batteries, currently I have the USB chargers but no AAA's.

Lesson learned, in a small camper it is better to burn through batteries than burn through the polar pack. :costumed-smiley-007
 
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Overland Hadley

on a journey
I will be ordering the FWC with roof rack tracks, and will be transferring over some of the Thule rack from the topper.

Ideally I will not have much on the rack. But at some point I might need to have a Thule box on top for winter gear. I also want to be able to carry a canoe or a couple of kayaks if needed.

After looking at Northern Explorer's Finch, I decided that some roof lifting springs might be a good idea. Especially when I carry a canoe and other gear up there.



All the following info came from a thread over on WTW, so thanks goes to those guys for figuring out the specific parts.

Suspa part # C16-15952 40lb



Here are the links.

Suspa Gas Springs
Link

Mounting brackets
Link

Thread on WTW about "roof lifting helper shocks thingys"
Link

If anybody is thinking about getting a set of gas springs for their camper, now is the time.
Suspa has raised the price on these to $40 each, but there are some available on ebay for $14 each.

Ebay link
edit: Another lot of the same springs from the same seller. Link

I just ordered a full set of four, plus two spares.

Thanks to UglyScout on WTW for the heads up.
 
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Overland Hadley

on a journey
Camper Jacks

Are Rieco Titan camper jacks the best way to go? Link

I don't want jacks on the camper, so I am looking at some kind of tripod jack.
 
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tnt

Observer
I can't reply about the tripod jacks, but wanted to let you know about my experience with the customer service at Rieco Titan. A couple of months ago I was removing my FWC from our truck when one of my Rieco Titan corner jacks stopped working. I could spin the mechanism, but the leg would not raise or lower. The pin in the gear had sheered. When I called RT, the woman on the phone stated that the cost of those was so far below their minimum order, she would just send me a new pin. A couple of days later an envelope arrived with two pins, one being a spare for any future problems. No cost, no hastle. I have no experience with other manafacturers and am not saying they don't have good customer service, but RT gets my plug for their customer service.
Ted
 

Stan@FourWheel

Explorer
For most customers, their best bet is to go with the 4 corner mechanical camper jacks (2000 lbs. capacity model).

Strong, simple, safe, effective, stable, and removeable.

They are easily removeable, so you DO NOT have to leave them on all the time.

The camper jacks you can buy in sets of 3 are a bit shakey. They do work OK, but not great.

The portable cable (camper) jacks are just too scarry for most customers. The old cable jacks can work well in en emergency though, if they are your only option at the moment.


The jacks you posted a link to are cheaper, and for a few reasons.

"Rieco-Titan Standard Tripod Camper Jack - 3 Pack"

There is nothing wrong with these, the quality is good, they work, but ...

1. You have only 3, so the camper is a bit more shakey when loading / unloading.

2. You have to deal with the aluminum tri-pod feet, where to put them?, what to do with them?, because they are not attached to the jacks.

3. Capacity is a bit less (1500 lbs.) but this is no big deal with the pop-up campers.

4. The mounting brackets might not fit all that well when mounted to a FWC. Our campers are built tight fitting to the truck bed, and the aluminum mounting bracket has a 45 degree brace on the side that might hit the bed rails of your truck. You could mount the brackets farther out (sticking out more) for better clearance, but then the brackets are sticking out pretty far.


Just thought I would let you know.

Spend the extra couple hundred dollars & get the nicer jacks.

:)


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Are Rieco Titan camper jacks the best way to go? Link

I don't want jacks on the camper, so I am looking at some kind of tripod jack.

.


.


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slooowr6

Explorer
Are Rieco Titan camper jacks the best way to go? Link

I don't want jacks on the camper, so I am looking at some kind of tripod jack.

My truck is only lifted 0.75" and combine with 32" tires. I can say from experience with the jack extended to the point it can clear the truck bed. It's pretty scary, for sure I don't want to do it with a portable jack. With the jack remove from the camper there is not much added weight other than the 4 brackets at the 4 corners. Another plus to have the jacket attached is when loading the camper on to the truck. There is not much clearance on each side to slide in the camper. I am really bad at loading the camper so every now and then I bump into the camper lightly when try to align the truck. Not sure what will happen if camper is on a portable tripod jack.
 

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