[86 Sunrader mod.]

When the little old lady driving a 2007 mercedes benz with state of the art ABS braking slams on the brakes infront of you to avoid the squirrel in the road, nobody will laugh at how much you spent to modernize your stopping power!

[oh, the pain.....water damage]

Wow that's a lot of labor! It must feel good to have a fresh new solid core. Any pictures/tips/pitfalls to share?

[1995 3.4L 5sp 4x4 Bajarader (Put the sawzall down)]

So the goal of this rebuild is like a hard wall portable tent???

Sorta, Yes.

I'm sure this seems a bit odd to most touring owners, but there's reason behind this madness. The camper's main purpose is to serve as a shelter for long term dry boondocking camping (basically homesteading) in an environment without access to running water (baja desert). Many others have the same setup and have been doing this for years. The environment just dictates this extreme water conservation. Sinks, toilets, and showers won't work for someone RV'ing in the desert... at least not for very long.

Dishwashing doesn't have to be this primative, but I don't find it inconvenient.

This isn't to say that this is merely a gutted shell. I still have a very spacious livable rig, with cooking, refrigeration, and electricity. It just happens to be missing most everything associated with plumbing.

[Resealing windows?]

very nice details on resealing windows.

As far as roof, if you do re-glass, you'll have to scrape down/grind to "bare glass" (wondered where that smiley would be appropriate!) for a solid bite. Where as a rubber coating may be able to be applied over a semi scraped/ground roof. I definitely would get rid of those silly aluminum rack-bars if you have those - and any other "screwed" down crap. Maybe you can grind away/patch any problem areas with a glass patch and then rubber coat general roof?

Do you have any "pooling"? waterstains?

[Interior Cabinet Lighting]

Hey these are neat! I especially like your switches and the low draw!

One question tho... is the "power supply" needed to reduce the voltage for the lights or is it a converter? And can one use these lights 12v direct?

Also how long do you find yourself wandering around Fry's? I can't seem to get out of that store... lots of great stuff!

[1995 3.4L 5sp 4x4 Bajarader (Put the sawzall down)]

@ Nolan:

You're a madman! I just love all the pics I've seen of your rigs on this site.

Me, I'm just trying to build a cheap comfortable camper with a sensible floor plan less the majority of the manufacturer's suggested "must have" ammenities (water tanks, toilets, sinks, heaters, holding tanks, etc. etc.) with maybe a few body modifications/tricks.

[1995 3.4L 5sp 4x4 Bajarader (Put the sawzall down)]

NEW:

Picture Album added to Flickr.com here

April 2006:

Project started as a 1980 18' 20r 5lug axle 2wd sunrader. I was curious to see how other people have customized their rigs and stumbled across this fun site. So I thought I'd introduce myself and submit my project as well.

Quick background of myself and how it relates to camper:

I’m pretty mellow when it comes to driving and am not looking to build a high performance racer. I’m just looking to go places a 2wd vehicle could prob go, but want to be able to get there with a little more peace of mind. I’m not one to spend money and tend to build things out of normal everyday materials and as many used or recycled goods I can get my hands on. I don’t like getting on the phone or running all over town to find that perfect part. I usually just scrounge around until something jumps up and bites me.

A place to start: (PART 1)

I bought the little beater in SFranscisco sight unseen for $1500. On the outside, the little rader was actually quite decent looking. The interior however was a different story and nothing that I would enjoy camping in. By the next morning the shell was completely gutted. Why waste time? My good humored neighbor laughs, "just put the sawzall down!".

Baja winter 2007 with Cochita#1

After spending most of the summer months getting a new interior & roof together, we finally took it to baja on its maiden voyage. The little 20r carburated camper did fantastic and even got 20+ mpg in some instances. The camper preformed without any troubles, but the chassis was a bit tired and the ground clearance could have been better. It didn't take long before the mind began to wander...

Update Oct 2009, A New plan and finding a suitable wheelbase truck for Cochita II: (PART 2)

Not content with the old truck, I have decided to swap the shell to a newer 4x4 truck and here's where the fun starts. I wanted a newer 89-94 truck for the IFS, newer cab/body design, and EFI. The single cab longbed 4x4 is for the most part non-existent in this generation and so I got around this obstacle by swapping a single cab onto an extra cab frame. The end result is a frame that looks about a foot stretched, but is in fact an unmolested stock frame.

Got the truck done, now what?

With the proper cab to wheel measurements, the camper could be assessed how it would be mounted. Chasing a wild hair, it was decided the sunrader needed shortening by a whopping 2' in hopes to shed a little weight + improve the departure angle.

Why stop here?

The camper has also been built as a portable design and can be detatched from the vehicle. For those that longterm camp, heading into town to resupply means packing up your rig. A removable shell on a flatbed truck offers a lot of freedom.

Here's a photochop mock up plan of how the completed beast would hope to look: If only it was this simple

Misc build notes:

The shell has been completely sealed by fusing the 2 halves, removing every single piece of trim, front windows, as well as the insane motivation to permanently fiberglass all the windows to the shell. There is but one hole in the camper (the solar feed) and that is very well shielded.

The interior has a simple galley with a cooking counter, a rear removable dinette, drawers, bench seats, and some overhead cabinetry. A custom pop-up hatch gains some additional headroom in the bunk area. The entire camper has been insulated with rigid foam including both front and back transition areas as well as the complete bunk area. The main galley has 75" (6'3") of headroom. Total weight of truck and shell fully loaded and camp ready is around 5400#'s (just barely under the legal GVWR requirement).

UPDATE Jan 2012: Cochita III (PART 3)

Chasing another wild hair, I've decided to build another flatbed using a full size 75" width Toyota (1995 3.4L T100 4x4 5speed). This go around features a true flatbed thus alleviating the need for wheel wells on the shell.

.. to be continued.

So that's my project. Others might be in the same boat with a camper thrashed beyond repair and could benefit from just ripping all the old crap out and starting fresh. A lot of ppl don't have or care to spend big bucks on their rigs and I hope my project reaches out to those wanting a simpler more hassle free camper while using everyday materials.