kathleenc
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Post by kathleenc on Jan 29, 2014 14:17:51 GMT -8
Wondering if I can get a ballpark on when this trailer was built. (It's actually a truck bed camper)
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lovnvintage
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Post by lovnvintage on Jan 29, 2014 14:50:55 GMT -8
my vote is mid 60's
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Post by bigbill on Jan 29, 2014 19:45:42 GMT -8
Huntsman built one something like this in the late 60s. A picture of the outside would help.These non cab overs were not a real hot item because they only slept two people and with the kitchen in the front there was not a decent place for a table with out blocking the door. They sold mainly because they were inexpensive, I think they retailed around $750.00 or so new. Most people liked a front dinette and the kitchen in the rear.
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Post by vikx on Jan 29, 2014 22:02:49 GMT -8
The earliest I've seen turquoise appliances is 1963. I believe they continued on into the 70s, but the latest trailer I've had with them was 1969.
Cute little camper.
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kathleenc
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Post by kathleenc on Jan 30, 2014 4:46:14 GMT -8
I wish it were cuter - the outside is baaad. I'm going to go look at it today to see whether or not the windows can be restored. Looks like part of the skin is quilted so it MIGHT be ok looking without that paint job. I'm not sure it's even big enough for the beds to be 6 feet!
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lovnvintage
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Post by lovnvintage on Jan 30, 2014 5:10:48 GMT -8
Looks like the same person painted it that painted my Shasta. Glad my windows weren't painted. Can't tell if windows are boarded or painted.
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Post by bigbill on Jan 30, 2014 7:32:36 GMT -8
Most of them were eight feet log outside and had (I think) about a six foot bed space. I'm six six and they were to short for me. Also they were only about seven feet wide if I recall correctly. The good thing was they could be hauled on a standard half ton pickup with a six cyl engine with no problems. The vast majority of truck campers built in the 60s and early 70s had beds to short for me. That is what first started me designing and building my own units. We built our first truck camper in 1967, it had a 7'2" long 6' wide bed in the cab over for the boss and I with a dinette that made a 7'2" x 48" bed, plus a, sink, hand pump water, lots of storage, gas light, 12 volt and 110 volt lights. We were in hog haven, people looked at it at camp grounds and couldn't believe the space and the bed size. Then as we all know truck campers grew to the point a heavy duty dually just barely hauled them. I almost forgot the most important thing it had, a porti-potti my boss says that was the most important thing to have with small children.
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kathleenc
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Post by kathleenc on Jan 30, 2014 7:42:26 GMT -8
bigbill, how much do you reckon it weighs? I'm only 5'8" so it would work for me just fine. But it just occurred to me that I have no idea what the weight is of a truck with a camper on top, even if it is small.
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Post by bigbill on Jan 30, 2014 7:56:17 GMT -8
Those were light any standard size pickup will haul them but the truck must be 48 inches wide between the wheel wells. I don't remember the weight but I am thinking seven or eight hundred pounds, I know they were light. If you are wanting total weight that would depend on what type of pick up you have. My Silverado weighs 5800 lb. empty but my old Ford weighed 3600 Lb empty. If you are going to haul it on a compact truck I would want to try it for size before I bought it. Also many trucks today only have a four to a six and a half foot bed, which a six foot bed with the tailgate down would be fine a shorter bed would put a lot of over hang unsupported. Back when that unit was built most trucks had an eight foot bed.
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kathleenc
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Post by kathleenc on Jan 30, 2014 7:59:49 GMT -8
Well, I wasn't actually planning on taking this camper off the bed it's currently on. Because I have a midsize truck with only a 6ft bed...also when camping it's nice to be able to leave the camper at the campsite while you drive to get ice cream or something. So I was wondering if there was a way to estimate the weight I'd be pulling, of the camper and truck bed combined.
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Post by bigbill on Jan 30, 2014 8:11:41 GMT -8
My guess would be 1500 to 2200 lb. If your truck would haul it you could buy a set of truck camper jacks and when you get to camp to just unfasten it, crank it up and drive out from under it. Then you can let it down closer to the ground to make it easy to access it. I used to carry a set of folding saw horses that we sat under the camper to help support it. then later we carried two four foot 2x6s with a set of regular camper screw jacks that we let them down on. That way we had the truck to take the boat in and out plus to go places in. One that small would probably be fine on just the jacks unless there was a lot of activity inside as long as the frame and floor are still solid.
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