Four Wheel Camper Flatbed Conversion

[teleturns]

I am currently gutting my 1985 FWC Grandby to modify the frame to fit onto a flatbed truck. I have been dreaming of this conversion, but never actually thought I would do it. I bought the camper last year in Utah for $500.

Here is a pic from the day we got it.



The main reason I am doing this conversion is to move the camper entry door on to the passanger side of the camper. With the door located on the side I can store bicycles and a spare tire on the rear of the truck out of the way. Currently I have 37" tires on my truck and I have no where to store a spare when the camper is mounted.

Here is the truck the camper goes on.



There is going to be a lot of aluminum welding with this project. I have never welded aluminum before. I have a Miller 211 and I just ordered the Spoolmate 100 to use for this project. I have been told it is difficult to weld thin aluminum with spoolguns. The original aluminum in the camper is 18g. We will see what happens.









I was having issues here with my jack wiggling. Notice how there is no aluminum bar accross the bottom of the propane storage area.

[teleturns]

More pics

[teleturns]

Floor Pack removed





Looks like the previous owner used a .22 pistol to install the hydraulic jacks. This will need to be repaired. I also found two cracked welds around the door frame and one near the rear corner.

[teleturns]

Does anyone know of a good source for RV windows?

[Northern Explorer]

Windows....Don't know anything about them. Just passing on the info.

[scheefdog]

Your project looks great, the extra room you gain by making the camper fit the flatbed will be worth it. I'm close to finishing up a complete teardown and rebuild of an 87 Fleet. I took it all the way down to the frame as well and I'm close to having a brand new camper. I'm surprised to see your camper was missing the frame where the propane tank was, mine was as well. I hope they didn't do that at the factory?

The searched around for windows and there are a couple venders on ebay that seem to be the best deal. Just search for RV window.

Looking forward to following your build.

[teleturns]

Scheefdog

I have been following your thread on WTW. Honestly seeing your thread is what made me commit on my project. Thanks for the info from your thread, I really appreciate it.

[Overland Hadley]

Looking good!

[Jeff Wanamog]

Looks great!
What are you going to use for siding?
Thanks.
Jeff

[teleturns]

Looks great!
What are you going to use for siding?
Thanks.
Jeff

Jeff

That is one thing I have not figured out yet. I ordered a sample of Dibond which is a composite aluminum panel and I am really impressed. I am having a hard time swallowing the $160 per 4x8 sheet price. 3A composites makes what they call an "e-panel" which is a cheaper version of their Dibond panels. In town I found the "e-panels" for $90 per sheet.

Dibond was used for the siding on this F-700 Camper build.

Scheefdog used aluminum sheet metal for his FWC rebuild, so I also have that as an option.

There is also an aluminum siding manufacturer here in Albuquerque and I heard they do make siding for RV applications. So I am going to stop by over there this week and see what they have.

Does anyone know where I can get fiberglass panels like the ones used on the newer FWC and Phoenix campers?

Does anyone have any recommendations for siding?

Thanks