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Camper Restoration

Cars, bikes, and other things you work on in the garage.
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Tommy_Hawk
Posts: 15544
Joined: Fri Sep 08, 2017 4:14 pm

Camper Restoration

Post by Tommy_Hawk »

Well Frubes..I bought an old 1984 Coleman pop-up camper for $200.

The floor and ceiling is in good shape. New tires. Propane tank and Interstate battery included. Electrical outlet works, as does the AC chord for electric sites. The water pump for the sink is not functional, but I dont really care about that.

The canvas is ratty and needs to be replaced. I found Bear Creek Canvas out of Wisconsin has a sterling reputation and specializes in canvas replacement. I have not made a call to them yet, but I'm going to buy a custom replacement canvas (that's reportedly better than the factory canvas ever was) for the entire camper for $925. That leaves me at about $1,125 for a retro pop-up weighing around 900 lbs without other gear I store in it.

My one area of non-expertise is the wiring. I bought an adapter for my pick-up and the lights dont work. I borrowed my old mans pickup who has the same plug-in as the camper and the lights still dont work. From this, I deduce that the problem is on the camper's end. The wiring is simple: left blinker, right blinker, brakes, and ground.

Would it be wise and economical to hire a electrician under the table to rewire/figure out the problem, or is this something a layman like myself can handle?
Trees Make Great Neighbors

Sir Cort Godfrey of the Nessie Alliance summoned the help of Scotland's local wizards to cast a protective spell over the lake for the peaceful existence of our underwater ally.
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Cobey
Trouble
Posts: 28300
Joined: Thu Sep 21, 2017 12:15 pm

Re: Camper Restoration

Post by Cobey »

Tommy_Hawk wrote: Wed Jul 24, 2019 10:49 pm Well Frubes..I bought an old 1984 Coleman pop-up camper for $200.

The floor and ceiling is in good shape. New tires. Propane tank and Interstate battery included. Electrical outlet works, as does the AC chord for electric sites. The water pump for the sink is not functional, but I dont really care about that.

The canvas is ratty and needs to be replaced. I found Bear Creek Canvas out of Wisconsin has a sterling reputation and specializes in canvas replacement. I have not made a call to them yet, but I'm going to buy a custom replacement canvas (that's reportedly better than the factory canvas ever was) for the entire camper for $925. That leaves me at about $1,125 for a retro pop-up weighing around 900 lbs without other gear I store in it.

My one area of non-expertise is the wiring. I bought an adapter for my pick-up and the lights dont work. I borrowed my old mans pickup who has the same plug-in as the camper and the lights still dont work. From this, I deduce that the problem is on the camper's end. The wiring is simple: left blinker, right blinker, brakes, and ground.

Would it be wise and economical to hire a electrician under the table to rewire/figure out the problem, or is this something a layman like myself can handle?
Do you have electrical inside the camper as well? Or just the exterior running lights?

If you're relatively patient and handy, it can be done DIY. I'd start with the plug and bulbs and go from there. Thankfully the parts themselves typically aren't that expensive, so throwing parts at it isn't the worst thing in the world.
User avatar
Tommy_Hawk
Posts: 15544
Joined: Fri Sep 08, 2017 4:14 pm

Re: Camper Restoration

Post by Tommy_Hawk »

Cobey wrote: Thu Jul 25, 2019 10:18 am
Tommy_Hawk wrote: Wed Jul 24, 2019 10:49 pm Well Frubes..I bought an old 1984 Coleman pop-up camper for $200.

The floor and ceiling is in good shape. New tires. Propane tank and Interstate battery included. Electrical outlet works, as does the AC chord for electric sites. The water pump for the sink is not functional, but I dont really care about that.

The canvas is ratty and needs to be replaced. I found Bear Creek Canvas out of Wisconsin has a sterling reputation and specializes in canvas replacement. I have not made a call to them yet, but I'm going to buy a custom replacement canvas (that's reportedly better than the factory canvas ever was) for the entire camper for $925. That leaves me at about $1,125 for a retro pop-up weighing around 900 lbs without other gear I store in it.

My one area of non-expertise is the wiring. I bought an adapter for my pick-up and the lights dont work. I borrowed my old mans pickup who has the same plug-in as the camper and the lights still dont work. From this, I deduce that the problem is on the camper's end. The wiring is simple: left blinker, right blinker, brakes, and ground.

Would it be wise and economical to hire a electrician under the table to rewire/figure out the problem, or is this something a layman like myself can handle?
Do you have electrical inside the camper as well? Or just the exterior running lights?

If you're relatively patient and handy, it can be done DIY. I'd start with the plug and bulbs and go from there. Thankfully the parts themselves typically aren't that expensive, so throwing parts at it isn't the worst thing in the world.
Theres two lights along the interior and one on the exterior. I looked and the wire harness leads inside and must run along the inside of cubby to the rear end.

I think DIY is the most likely route, but thought maybe this project would take a person who knows what they are doing like 15 minutes.
Trees Make Great Neighbors

Sir Cort Godfrey of the Nessie Alliance summoned the help of Scotland's local wizards to cast a protective spell over the lake for the peaceful existence of our underwater ally.
User avatar
Cobey
Trouble
Posts: 28300
Joined: Thu Sep 21, 2017 12:15 pm

Re: Camper Restoration

Post by Cobey »

Tommy_Hawk wrote: Thu Jul 25, 2019 10:23 am
Cobey wrote: Thu Jul 25, 2019 10:18 am
Tommy_Hawk wrote: Wed Jul 24, 2019 10:49 pm Well Frubes..I bought an old 1984 Coleman pop-up camper for $200.

The floor and ceiling is in good shape. New tires. Propane tank and Interstate battery included. Electrical outlet works, as does the AC chord for electric sites. The water pump for the sink is not functional, but I dont really care about that.

The canvas is ratty and needs to be replaced. I found Bear Creek Canvas out of Wisconsin has a sterling reputation and specializes in canvas replacement. I have not made a call to them yet, but I'm going to buy a custom replacement canvas (that's reportedly better than the factory canvas ever was) for the entire camper for $925. That leaves me at about $1,125 for a retro pop-up weighing around 900 lbs without other gear I store in it.

My one area of non-expertise is the wiring. I bought an adapter for my pick-up and the lights dont work. I borrowed my old mans pickup who has the same plug-in as the camper and the lights still dont work. From this, I deduce that the problem is on the camper's end. The wiring is simple: left blinker, right blinker, brakes, and ground.

Would it be wise and economical to hire a electrician under the table to rewire/figure out the problem, or is this something a layman like myself can handle?
Do you have electrical inside the camper as well? Or just the exterior running lights?

If you're relatively patient and handy, it can be done DIY. I'd start with the plug and bulbs and go from there. Thankfully the parts themselves typically aren't that expensive, so throwing parts at it isn't the worst thing in the world.
Theres two lights along the interior and one on the exterior. I looked and the wire harness leads inside and must run along the inside of cubby to the rear end.

I think DIY is the most likely route, but thought maybe this project would take a person who knows what they are doing like 15 minutes.
It probably would, but I doubt it would take a relatively handy person much more than 2-3 hours and 3-4 beers.

I asked about inside the camper because if there are lights or whatever else within the camper, you might want to have it looked at since the canvas was shot previously.
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