[hgs_notes]

Ever since I bought the truck I pictured it with a big ass camper in it. Being the cheap bastard I am I found one for like $900 a few years ago. Before the truck was ready to haul it. Been working on things, testing stuff, fabricating tie downs, etc. And finally got it together enough for a test drive tonight. I'm pretty proud of the tie down mounts I built. They bolt to the bottom of the frame with a plate that goes above to sandwich the frame rail. Then I put a piece on that fits between the bedside and gas tank with a C channel that fits the cross sill under the bed floor. Once it's connected to the camper tie down it's locked in place. Simple, strong and looks decent.

For the rear tie downs I'm going to make some tabs to bolt onto the bumper ends. Nothing fancy. It needs better turnbuckles and chains though. The light duty crap that's on it now isn't inducing much confidence.

The camper has a couple things to fix but overall it is pretty good. All the gas stuff works except the water heater which was disconnected on the water side. It's not original, been replaced at least once. The tank probably leaks. The water pump works. I think the water tank is good but haven't filled it yet. There's a leak on the toilet valve, $20 part that is on its way. I replaced the light bulbs with LEDs, so a car battery will keep it lit for plenty of time. The rest of the electrical is all working, including the air conditioning. The fridge works on electric and gas. The wife is getting excited to try it out I think. She's making a list of crap to fill it up lol.

The test drive went well. It handled the weight easily. Rode like a dream. I ordered stuff to get the tail lights hooked up and a Y adapter in case I want to tow something also.

On the down side I found a leak on the master cylinder. It's a hydro boost so I'll have to figure out how to fix that. So much to do yet. No matter how much I get done the list doesn't seem to shrink.