97 Dodge CTD w/ 98 Sun-Lite -- Slow Build - Picture Heavy

[schmugboy]

So after searching/procrastinating for 3 years. Doing tents, and camper shell. I finally found and bought a Pop-up Truck camper. It was listed as a 2000, but according to the sticker built in 1998. There are things I like about it, and things that need fixing or improvements. I'm not a prolific poster and only have 1 weekend day to usually get things done, so this will take me awhile, and I hope to use it and find out what all the fuss is about.
As seen in my signature page, I have a 1997 Dodge 2500 Extended Cab long bed Cummins, now at 90,000 miles, inherited from my father-in-law. I've spent most of my money fixing issues rather than upgrades, but recently I put on a synergy T-steering system and BD-track bar. Was hoping to add a lift, not sure, and I'm not sold on the steering "upgrade" yet.
The camper is a 98 Sun-Lite Eagle WT sportsman listed at 8.5'. I had a hard time finding details on this, so a lot of this will be posting manuals and pictures just in case someone else finds one, or I sell it. On to the pictures.


Picked up in windy Wyoming

According to the scales I was 1534lbs without water in the tank.


Well looks like my photos are to large. Back to the drawing board to shrink some of them. More to come later.

 

[GWolfe]

Looking forward to your build, I have a 2004 Sun-Lite Eagle Window SB.

 

[Regcabguy]

So after searching/procrastinating for 3 years. Doing tents, and camper shell. I finally found and bought a Pop-up Truck camper. It was listed as a 2000, but according to the sticker built in 1998. There are things I like about it, and things that need fixing or improvements. I'm not a prolific poster and only have 1 weekend day to usually get things done, so this will take me awhile, and I hope to use it and find out what all the fuss is about.
As seen in my signature page, I have a 1997 Dodge 2500 Extended Cab long bed Cummins, now at 90,000 miles, inherited from my father-in-law. I've spent most of my money fixing issues rather than upgrades, but recently I put on a synergy T-steering system and BD-track bar. Was hoping to add a lift, not sure, and I'm not sold on the steering "upgrade" yet.
The camper is a 98 Sun-Lite Eagle WT sportsman listed at 8.5'. I had a hard time finding details on this, so a lot of this will be posting manuals and pictures just in case someone else finds one, or I sell it. On to the pictures.

View attachment 565187
Picked up in windy Wyoming
View attachment 565188
According to the scales I was 1534lbs without water in the tank.


Well looks like my photos are to large. Back to the drawing board to shrink some of them. More to come later.

So you scored a 12v? My 2007 was built in late 2006. Concerning steering have someone turn the wheel between 10 and 2 and check with a flashlight for any wear in components including steering gear. Thuren's got some critical specs that he recommendations.

 

[thirdminor]

I'm definitely looking forward to following. I've got same Sunlite. Should've taken pics on upgrades and fixes. Love the camper! Ill find a pic sitting on 03F350CCSB

 

[mutt550]

Gonna join in..... Just bought a sun lite Eagle SE sold as a 02 but figured out later was an 07....score....lol. Running it on my 08 Ram 2500.

 

[Photobug]

So after searching/procrastinating for 3 years. Doing tents, and camper shell. I finally found and bought a Pop-up Truck camper. It was listed as a 2000, but according to the sticker built in 1998. There are things I like about it, and things that need fixing or improvements. I'm not a prolific poster and only have 1 weekend day to usually get things done, so this will take me awhile, and I hope to use it and find out what all the fuss is about.
As seen in my signature page, I have a 1997 Dodge 2500 Extended Cab long bed Cummins, now at 90,000 miles, inherited from my father-in-law. I've spent most of my money fixing issues rather than upgrades, but recently I put on a synergy T-steering system and BD-track bar. Was hoping to add a lift, not sure, and I'm not sold on the steering "upgrade" yet.

That's a bullet proof truck once you fix a few things. I just did my steering upgrade on my 2003 Dodge, although I think it is less of an upgrade than a future proofing of a weak point of 2nd and 3rd gen Dodges.

 

[schmugboy]

Here are some scans of the manual that was in the camper.

 

[schmugboy]

I need to find a better picture app to make these smaller I guess.

 

[schmugboy]

So, with this virus insanity, I've had more time than I thought to fix some things and take pictures. I appreciate the comments I've received so far and hope to address them, and provide a little more explanation. As noted previously my biggest issues to date have been, 1. Time and 2. Sizing the pictures so the forum doesn't choke.
If anyone would like to have the full resolution scans or pictures let me know, and I'll do my best to provide them.
I also have manuals for the associated, furnance and hot water heater. Plus some wiring schematics.

 

[schmugboy]

Well two months since my last post. I did say it would be slow. I a done a few things to the camper (except camp in it). Who would've thought the virus would also shut down most camping spots.
Plus trying to convince my sons to do their schoolwork became a full-time job.
But I did finally figure out how to make some pictures smaller. Here it is setup in my yard.
I have a backlog, so hopefully I can get it posted before the weekend is over.

 

[schmugboy]

Here are some interior pictures. Pardon the mess, the kids and I were trying it out.

 

[schmugboy]

Now for the first item I "fixed". Caveat for all of my "fixes" I'm an electrical guy by degree and most things I build with my hands do not turn out very well, which is why I'm reliant on YouTube and this and many other forums. So laugh along with my mistakes and hopefully learn how NOT to do things.
When I bought the camper, I was not informed of the missing flange at the black waste outlet. I chatted with the seller, he gave me an idea for a "fix". When I returned home in the winter I left it for a few days and went to the local stores to see if anyone carried a flange - no luck. Then I tried online - no luck. So I thought about his idea which was to cut two halves or lexan or plexi and cut out half moons and mate them together. The more I looked at it and noticed how wet inside the compartment (more than just from road slush traveling, I thought it might be leaking). 1st lesson - do not assume the waste tank is completely empty when you open the valve - well as you can imagine when I opened the valve I was met with more than just antifreeze. So after cleaning up from that nasty business. I then proceeded to untwist the outlet pipe and removed it. Now I was faced with 1. How to make a flange and 2. How do I install the pipe without it leaking. Luckily both were covered online. I found some steel I had laying around and measured the pipe just to make sure it was 3" (it was) then proceeded to make a template (my one good idea), because as you can see in the picture the pipe is not centered in the hole.
After finally getting a hole through the steel, I thought hey, doesn't steel and aluminum (camper outer layer) corrode when they come in contact. Unsure, I just went and bought a sheet of AL (wrong size the first time of course), it was much easier to work with.
It came out well (Pict 2) as for selling the threads found some teflon tape and removable pipe thread dope (I think it was called that). Now mistake again. After putting it all together and it looked nice, I asked my wife (since she's more spatially aware), she mentioned maybe if I were to trim the edges and make it more round than square that would look better. Well instead of removing everything (since I used the pipe dope, tape and butyl tape) I just tried to trim around, forgetting it being off center.
Well picture 3 shows the abomination I ended up with. The next mistake was after filling the tank for a leak check I found that while I was no longer leaking at the tank and outlet pipe, I was now leaking at the valve. I first tried cleaning the valve to no avail, so I purchased another valve hoping that would be the fix and I wouldn't have to remove the whole thing. Well luckily it's been leak free.









Now I just need to trim the butyl and then caulk

 

[schmugboy]

Next item was the water and electrical covers. They were both were very brittle. So I had some time and did my best to fix them.


Taking them off was no problem, and I had a chance to look in to see how things were organized. I found lots of dust, wires, and other stuff. I wish there was better access from inside the camper.







Looks like this is not the first time they have been replaced or there are just more holes than expected. I used some butyl tape, added an SAE connector to connect to maybe a solar panel in the future. Now I need to trim and caulk.


Probably the easiest fix so far.

 

[schmugboy]

Next I removed the old CO and Propane sensors as they were original. I bought a combo unit, more expensive, but I had other ideas for the other sensor location. As you will see in the pictures, I was not very good at measuring and even worse at putting it in a good location. I tried to just put it in the original space, but as you see, it was slightly bigger. Oh well, something to fix later.

 

[schmugboy]

The next two modifications/fixes were adding some torklift stairs and a door catch. For the stairs I found some on craigslist for $100, I soon realized they were the 3 step, which works fine unmounted, but I'm afraid it will be a foot short mounted to the truck (from my measurements). Though I had to get them for my wife who was not interested in other option (hitch mounted, step ladder, or jumping up)
The previous door catch was busted, and the door attachment had been pushed into the door. I removed the parts put a piece of the spare aluminum I had over the hole and screwed them on. However, finding the right spot for the catch I bought was difficult because of the angle of the door to the rear of the camper. I managed to get it to work, though not very well.