Saturday, May 5, 2007

Photos of Camper Launch


Removed garage door header to get camper out of garage/shop.


Jacking camper up - 4" at a time on concrete blocks.


Backing truck up - underneath camper.


Profile shot of camper on truck.


Another shot of camper on truck.


Front view of camper on truck.


Inside camper - view of A/C unit mounted on ceiling.


Interior - custom-made cushions and table.


Stable-lift jack system - assembly in progress.

Moving Camper out of Garage and onto Truck

Ok, I have now done as much work on the camper that i can do while it is in the garage. I had to tear the Header off the top of the garage door to get it to clear. I bought 15 3/8" wooden dowels, jacked the camper up and started to roll it out. I took 4 of us men to push and guide it while rolling it out. I was happy just getting it outside for the first time. But my neighbors wanted to see it on the truck. I had prepared for this day by buying 40 concrete blocks and 2 more bottle jacks. Well we went to work jacking it up 4" at a time and kept blocking it up till we got it high enought to back the truck under it. We let most of the air out of the back tires and i let all the air out of the air bags over the axles. This lowered the truck another 6". It took us 2 hours but we got it in the bed of the truck. As you can see i just had a Blue tarp on top to cover the holes for the A.C. unit, vent fan, and sat dish. I put the A.C. unit, sat dish, and vent fan in place the next couple of days. I included 3 profile shots of the camper on the truck. Of course i couldn't go anywhere with it on there because i only had 8ply tires and they would not support the weight. I took a photo thru the back door showing the A.C. unit from the inside of the camper, also the fan vent over the bed area, and to the left the sat dish crank. The next photo shows the cushions and small table I built. I didn't want a big table, this one is small and stores under the couch area in the storage bin. I had the cushions built for $400. Note the cut out cushion at the bottom right of the photo. This cushion can be pulled up by itself and then the lid to the thetford toilet can be lifted without having to move the 6' long main couch cushion. Then the last photo shows the Stable lift system mounted on the right side of the truck. In this photo you can see the hand cranks. I have not installed the motors as of yet or wired them in. I will have to post one more blog with photos of the lift system and more profile photos of the truck and camper. I also plan on going thru my notes and give a price break down of all the money spent on this project in case anyone else wants to know the cost. I had planned on building this thing on the cheap, but i got carried away. One thing led to another and before you know it i have spent about $11,000.00, but hey, it's not like your ever going to build one of these things again.