Kmehr
Adventurer
Been a long time since I've been on or posted anything. I had a thread for my 84 Dodge crew cab cummins swap that I have finished and since sold. I got rid of it to jump on an opportunity to buy a 2005 Crew Cab cummins quad cab short bed, with NV5600 trans and only 123k on it from a friend who bought it new. The whole idea behind it was to eventually get a slide in camper, and the dream finally came true! We were looking at used, someday we'll be able to spring for a new 4wheel. Anyways, this last weekend, my wife and I got a 1983 Jayco Sportster 7. It's in decent shape, everything works, the canvas appears almost new, and we only paid $1,000 for it. If you have ever tried to buy a pop top camper in the middle of the summer in Colorado, you know what the market is like! Its got an ice box, 20 gallon water tank, gas furnace, sink with hand pump, and gas stovetop.
Anyways, wanted to start this thread to post up the rebuild and get some advice. When we got it home and started cleaning it out, I found a good bit of water damage in the front 12inches of the cab over, so project #1 will be replacing the wood up there and re-sealing it.
Eventual plans are:
I'm a little overwhelmed on figuring out what my solar needs are. Ideally I'd like everything to run only on 12 volt DC power, as we will rarely camp in a campground where there is power to plug into. My thinking is I can use the truck to help charge while driving, solar while sitting, and use my car battery charger to charge the batteries if we're in a place with 120V power and the solar isn't cutting it. Does this make sense to do?
I'm also looking at electric wall furnaces, to run with an inverter- like https://www.homedepot.com/p/Cadet-C...l-Electric-Heater-in-White-CSC101TW/100078620 is this a bad idea for a camper?
Suggestions on around a 3 cubic foot DC fridge are welcome as well. Will post pics up next.
Anyways, wanted to start this thread to post up the rebuild and get some advice. When we got it home and started cleaning it out, I found a good bit of water damage in the front 12inches of the cab over, so project #1 will be replacing the wood up there and re-sealing it.
Eventual plans are:
- redo the counters and cabinets,
- replace ice box with fridge,
- remove gas stove top (we plan on cooking outside most of the time on a Coleman stove, and can set it on the counter if the weather is nasty)
- solar setup
- install fantastic fan where vent is
- replace lights with LED bulbs
- add fourth jack for stability (has the original 3 jack setup that is scary wobbly getting into my tall truck!)
I'm a little overwhelmed on figuring out what my solar needs are. Ideally I'd like everything to run only on 12 volt DC power, as we will rarely camp in a campground where there is power to plug into. My thinking is I can use the truck to help charge while driving, solar while sitting, and use my car battery charger to charge the batteries if we're in a place with 120V power and the solar isn't cutting it. Does this make sense to do?
I'm also looking at electric wall furnaces, to run with an inverter- like https://www.homedepot.com/p/Cadet-C...l-Electric-Heater-in-White-CSC101TW/100078620 is this a bad idea for a camper?
Suggestions on around a 3 cubic foot DC fridge are welcome as well. Will post pics up next.
