Phoenix pop-up camper for Bigassgas8.1L

[Yukon Jack]

Man that is just amazing - very nice!!!

[jbclassix]

BTW, i saw the Dodge in the springs yesterday... very sweet! Pass on the compliment!

[DirtyLarry]

Originally Posted by jbclassix

BTW, i saw the Dodge in the springs yesterday... very sweet! Pass on the compliment!

That is funny. He ran up to 4Wheel Parts to grab the hawse for my bumper yesterday afternoon. Small world!

[joe231]

That is the coolest camper I have ever seen!!
Do you mind me asking what it cost as built?
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[DirtyLarry]

Originally Posted by joe231

That is the coolest camper I have ever seen!!
Do you mind me asking what it cost as built?
Posted via Mobile Device

Thanks! Custom built aluminum framed campers are not cheap to have built. This one cost about twice what the truck cost new in 1978. That is pretty spendy for a camper on a 33 year old truck but on the other hand a well equipped off-road camp trailer would have cost a few more thousand over this camper. At the end of the day, the truck camper is a much better deal.

Neat feature on my truck in Truck Camper Magazine

[MTCK]

Awesome write up on the truck, Larry. The camper turned out great!

[joe231]

Originally Posted by DirtyLarry

Thanks! Custom built aluminum framed campers are not cheap to have built. This one cost about twice what the truck cost new in 1978. That is pretty spendy for a camper on a 33 year old truck but on the other hand a well equipped off-road camp trailer would have cost a few more thousand over this camper. At the end of the day, the truck camper is a much better deal.

Neat feature on my truck in Truck Camper Magazine

Cool
$5-8K range?
I'm just trying to get an idea of price, thanks
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[DirtyLarry]

Add about $10,000 to that range

[joe231]

Oh, ok
I was way off
Thanks!
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[vectorit]

I love this rig you built!

The camper is awesome, but pretty expensive for me right now.

The rear bumper though, is something the I have been wanting to have fabricated for myself for a long time! Is this something that is built to order, if so I am wondering what the costs would be.

I have been dreaming of building a rig like this for years, and I am probably going to base it off of a 1970 K10 that I have been eyeballing. Your rig has been my inspiration to get off my butt to just build it!

[DirtyLarry]

Originally Posted by vectorit

I love this rig you built!

The camper is awesome, but pretty expensive for me right now.

The rear bumper though, is something the I have been wanting to have fabricated for myself for a long time! Is this something that is built to order, if so I am wondering what the costs would be.

I have been dreaming of building a rig like this for years, and I am probably going to base it off of a 1970 K10 that I have been eyeballing. Your rig has been my inspiration to get off my butt to just build it!

Thanks Vectorit! Glad to be an inspiration to somebody on something!

Ah, long story about the rear bumper….my buddy originally built this bumper 20 years ago in high school for the front of a 70’s Dodge Power Wagon. Then later it went on his Jeep J20 for several years than again it was moved to a ’88 Suburban. About 5 years ago or so he sold the Suburban and we flipped the bumper upside down and fitted it to the rear of my truck.

Then this past summer we cut off the tube caps and welded in a pair of tire carrier swing spindle kits for the double swing. For the most recent remodel to the bumper was about $150 in materials not including a wireless winch remote kit that I added (stupid winch cord wouldn't reach the cab so I had to go wireless)

History of the bumper…

When the bumper was on the front of the Jeep J20. It was a badazz Jeep!


Same bumper on the Suburban after a quick (and unfinished) remodel to fit a 12,000lb Warn and redo the frame mounts.


Reworking the bumper after removing it from the Suburban to fit the back of mine. Sept 2006



About a year later it gained a winch


As it is today…

[HEISEL]

I have that same e-brake. It doubles as my cruise control.
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[DirtyLarry]

Originally Posted by HEISEL

I have that same e-brake. It doubles as my cruise control.
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Ah, the big rock park brake/cruise control multifunction tool, eh?

The nice thing about those tools is they are usually easy to find on the trail

[BOHICA]

Larry, would you mind taking a picture of the latches on your bumper, please?

[DirtyLarry]

Originally Posted by BOHICA

Larry, would you mind taking a picture of the latches on your bumper, please?

Here ya go. I finished the latches up the night before we left for our weeklong Utah backcountry trip and figured I’d have to redo this sometime but it seems to be working great. Nothing has loosened up and my bird dropping weld job seems to be holding as well too. They are very tight making it a PITA to open and close but on the other hand there isn’t a single rattle and most thieves would never figure out how to open it.

The latches are called Pull-action Toggle clamps and can be purchased through McMaster-Carr. $48 a piece. Part number 5071A62 and have a 2000 lb holding capacity each. They also have downloadable engineering layout drawings and CAD models if you are using any engineering CAD software.







If you build something and use struts look out for the struts with the plastic ends. They tend to break easy so I learned! They hold the gates open just fine but you have to hold the gate while it is opening or else the weight in motion will break off the plastic ends. All four ends are Gorilla glued

[BOHICA]

Thanks! Those latches are spendy, but pretty dang cool. A lot more professional looking than just using a cotter pin or something. I assume the tension can be adjusted with the nylon lock nuts, right?

[DirtyLarry]

Originally Posted by BOHICA

I assume the tension can be adjusted with the nylon lock nuts, right?

Yes, sir

[vectorit]

Larry, what are the pivots from? The chrome topped pieces that the tire/can carrier frames swing on.
Are they a part you salvaged from something, or are they something one could buy over the counter?

[MTCK]

They almost look like a trailer axle bearing....

[DirtyLarry]

Originally Posted by vectorit

Larry, what are the pivots from? The chrome topped pieces that the tire/can carrier frames swing on.
Are they a part you salvaged from something, or are they something one could buy over the counter?

Vectorit,

The actual pivots are basically raw trailer spindles that came from AZ Fabrication. The greasable bearing caps are just off the shelf bearing caps from Autozone, etc. You can also find these at marine stores as they are mostly used on boat trailer axles to chase the water out with by pumping fresh grease into them often.

[vectorit]

Perfect, thanks for the link Larry!

[dadamo85]

Hi Larry, i was enchanted by the camper cell of your Blazer, I'm trying to build a similar one for my rc model. It's fantastic! thank you for your inspiration, from Italy!

[bilfman]

Hey Larry, what breed of camper is that? Did you paint it or is that factory? Have any inside pics?

[Zoomad75]

Hi Larry, i was enchanted by the camper cell of your Blazer, I'm trying to build a similar one for my rc model. It's fantastic! thank you for your inspiration, from Italy!

Holy cow that is a killer scale build. Funny side note, Larry's rig gets mistaken more for a Blazer now than it did with the topper on it. Keep us posted on the little project as you progress!

Hey Larry, what breed of camper is that? Did you paint it or is that factory? Have any inside pics?

Larry's pretty busy between Dad duty and work so he don't get on here as much as he used too. So I'll give some help in this area.. The brand of camper is Pheonix. They are based outside of Denver and actually the founder/owner is the son of the guy that started Four Wheel Pop-up Campers, so it runs in the family. Go back a couple of pages and you'll see inside pics. Plus if you want to see more up to date stuff, just click the link at the bottom of any one of his posts for the one marked for his K10. It goes to his flicker page where ALL the pics are stored. Grab a beer or cold beverage and prepare to loose a couple of hours or more if you do. Lots of eye candy of the truck variety there.

[dadamo85]

Holy cow that is a killer scale build. Funny side note, Larry's rig gets mistaken more for a Blazer now than it did with the topper on it. Keep us posted on the little project as you progress!

Thanks so much! I am honored, I will share with you the developments of my mini Blazy!