Redwing

Sounds good, thanks. Excuse my ignorance but is biminis the material?

Hello, I bought a '76 Chinook recently that had its pop top ripped off in a hurricane. As I am fixing the roof, I will need to get the canvas remade since it got torn up during all the chaos. Does anybody have any recommendations on where I can take it to and what material I should use? Thanks in advance!

Thought I'd resurrect this old post as Im in need of doing the subfloor on my 'Rader Looking for the strongest possible solution since I'm having to do it anyways, might as well do it right. Would NidaCore be stronger than Ply? Has anybody ever used it before? Will i need to build out a framing system below for added support/stability? Thanks in advance!

Hey guys, just wanted to give you an update. Sunrader shell is totally gutted and she is sitting perched as she awaits her new home I ended up selling the Hilux it originally sat on (for what I paid for it initially) as it was more of a project than I wanted to take on and ended up buying a '81 Hilux as my daily while I work on this project Soooo, I'm still on the hunt for my donor truck. I'm really leaning towards a Jeep Comanche Long Bed. I've done quite a bit of research and talked to Jeep experts about the project and all that, but I would love to hear your opinions on the idea...

Yeah man, you're definitely right. Cool, well please keep us updated on your project as well!

Also, do you have any photos of this build?

Good to know. Yeah I think thats what I'm leaning towards at least for now, but yeah like WME said these are all conceptual right now but with good research I hope to have a good outcome

Good to know and yes, that crossed my mind as well. Ultimately, the frame of the donor truck I will be putting the truck on will justify which move I make.

Yeah, initially I was thinking of a way to raise the center by cutting out the roof like you mentioned, but the downside there is that the overall height would increase (I'm trying to keep a low center of gravity since I plan on putting the shell on a 4x4 which will increase the height substantially as it is) so my other idea was to drop the floor since I need to make repairs on it anyways. There is a 'step up' at the door that is about 4" so I'm thinking of just making that whole section level and meanwhile achieving more interior height.

Yeah I do have a bit of sagging in the floor but honestly, I was planning on putting in a new subfloor anyways. If I've come this far why skimp out right? Another thing I was thinking that I'd like an opinion on...I cant quite fully stand upright in the sunrader (i'm 6') so I'm considering dropping the subfloor a few inches while I'm at it to achieve more clearance on the interior. Any reason I shouldn't do this? I cant really see any reason why it wouldnt work but thats just me...

This is great info as I also, would prefer not to have a dually on the rear. Thanks WME!!

My rear axle width (with the dually) is 77" so I definitely would like to match that when swapping the Sunrader shell especially since it'll be taller / more top heavy. Probably going to need some modifications but since I'm planning on keeping the stock Hilux as a work truck, I may just swap that rear axle when the time comes. I'll have to weigh out my options with all that.

I'm going to take it over to my buddies shop to install it. Assuming I will need to weld on brackets and such to make it work, I'm expecting to have to put it on then take it off at least once. Plus after as hairball as it was getting it off, I've come to realize that paying to use larger machinery is well worth it so as of right now, I think thats my move.

A couple more updates. I built a dolly system (one at the front and one at the rear) so I could move the Sunrader Shell around my backyard/driveway area while she awaits her new truck. I wanted a low center of gravity so it is sitting about 5" above the ground on a slight slope (of about an inch) so water can run off the top. Works very well and would recommend this for anybody who is trying to do a similar project.

Hmm, good to know, thanks Linda! I considered that but I'm keeping the hilux and turning it into a flatbed work truck once I get the clutch fixed.

Haha thanks! Still kind of a toss up but I kind of have it narrowed down to either a Toyota T100 or a Jeep Comanche Long Bed. I'm sure I'll get some back-lash for this but as of right now I'm leaning more towards the Comanche...but nothing is set in stone I basically am just looking for my best option of a Automatic, 6 cylinder, 4x4 truck. Oh no, they definitely arent light, although you would think so the way it was so easy to move around once it was jacked up. Yeah once that thing was about to / gaining clearance of the rear wheels, shit started getting real hairball real quick. Once we had a 2x8 running across the width of the rear and also at the front it stablized it much better and once we had the ladders there to create a more rigid support structure, I felt a lot better about the whole process. And yes, I love the look and overall use of space with these shells. Chinooks seem to be the more popular swap but the other-cab area is such dead space to me that the sunrader was the way to go for this build. But after the whole ordeal removing the shell I know that when I swap it to another truck I want to keep as low of a center of gravity as possible and probably widen the stance of the truck a bit.

Okay, so, I pulled the Sunrader Shell off the truck the other day. Since I havent seen any photos of anybody doing this I thought I'd include my process in detail. Tools used: 2 Car Jacks, 2x4 'extension pieces', chop saw (to cut the 2x4's as you keep stepping up) cinderblocks, jack stands. I gotta be honest, there is DEFINITELY a better way of doing this. This was my 'limited access to the heavy machinery that would have made it a hell of a lot easier' approach 😂 The higher it got, the sketchier it got. If I had to do this again, I would use more than two people and build out a more substantial framing system. But it worked and nobody died so the projects moves forward! haha. At the beginning...Rear starting to be lifted.Taking our time and stepping it up bit by bit.Gap from underneath Getting ready to add taller postsThe 'balancing act' Getting to a point where it was getting sketchy at this height This is where things started getting pretty hairball so we re-engineered our support system quickly. We used two ladders, two cinderblocks (to achieve the appropriate height) and a 2x8. This was much sturdier and it went from a wobbly nerve wracking ordeal to being back to safe(ish) but holy shit, for a good 45 minutes I was stressing haha. My dad and I pushing out the truck In the end this was an effective way of getting it off. Was it the safest? Not by a long shot. The ladders worked very well due to their A-frame stability. Ultimately, this system worked well but I should have built side supports because once you get above the wheel height the camper could have been knocked off if you breathed on it too hard. Overall, everything came off easily with no damage to the vehicle, the fiberglass shell, and most importantly ourselves. Hope this helps for anybody looking to do something like this.

Yeah I checked all around the frame and didnt see anything like those connections you mentioned AtlantaCamper so i went ahead and did a 'rough lift' using a jack and 2 2x4's I screwed together to create a post in preparation for to remove the shell tomorrow when I have some help. And I did the same in the rear. The shell appears to be coming up okay so it looks like I got everything detached accordingly. Looking forward to getting this thing off and moving forward with the project 😀

I havent noticed those but I'll have to look again now that you mentioned it. Where are those weld points for the floor or those mounts but where are they located on your truck? Also, it looks like yours is a 21'? Mine is about the size of a chinook so I'm moreso referencing removal for chinooks with this removal but definitely want to make sure I cover all bases.

Hey guys, So I've posted to this forum in the past looking for advice on a sunrader and as much as my wallet didnt want me to, I got it for such a low price I just couldn't talk my self out of it Although shes ugly as sin, she'll be pretty again soon enough. With that said, my plan is to pull the camper shell off and put it on a more modern 4x4 truck. (after a lot of research I'm thinking either a T100 or a Jeep Comanche) So I started demo and got it down to basically the fiberglass all around but since this particular model is not the norm I noticed something strange while in the process of trying to free the shell from the cab and I'm kind of stuck... After removing what I think are all the mounting bolts for the shell to the cab Bed Canopy with a molded out cavity around the bed area The old crappy wood that was fiberglassed in at the bed canopy After cutting out the section of wood at the cavity After pulling back the headliner (or lack there of) to show that unlike most other Sunraders, this one has the roof of the Hilux still in place? Not normal based off my research. But for the build I intend this works out much better for me Where the Fiberglassed section meets the cab Sorry for the lengthy post but some people were asking for pictures of the attachments. So now that I have removed all the screws and cut off the 4 carriage bolts should the shell be free at this point? Also, since I'm doing this at home and dont have access to a lift does anybody have any recommendations for getting the shell off safely? My best idea is just to use jacks and posts to elevate the shell then push out the truck. As always, thanks in advance

Yeah its nothing too crazy from what I can tell but I will definitely be documenting the process thoroughly. I'll post some photos later today of what I can see so far if it stops raining here in the good ole 'Sunshine State' 😂

Welp, she showed up today! The cab body has quite a bit of rust but nothing that cant be fixed. The shell is in good shape and spent all day tearing out all the crap trying to get everything down to the mounting bolts holding the shell onto the truck. Its a little bit overwhelming but in an exciting way haha. Hoping to pull the shell in the next week

This was very informative, thanks Derek!

Yeah I just skimmed the manual and it seemed to mostly just go over the appliances. I guess I'll just figure it out when I get it. Any good recommendations for removal? My original plan is just to build a simple support structure out of 2x4's but the actual lifting off the shell portion might be a bit tricky. Any and all tips welcome

Didn't see anything that was too informative unfortunately. Does it show the mounting points in the owners manual?