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RE: What do you use for rear door awning?? Pics??
We LOVED having a rear awning - we addded a CareFree awning after the fact, but of course this is a hard-side TC (my old rig). We didn't open it all the time but when it was hot and sunny and we didn't happen to be in the woods, it was nice. We would also spin our flatbed trailer around and use it as a deck, and for a smaller step down for the dogs to get in and out:
http://i50.tinypic.com/35bh552.jpg
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btggraphix
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05/24/12 09:36am |
Truck Campers
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RE: Can I put a reveiver on the campers bumper
I'd bet that the camper bumper hitch was used for a back porch or bike rack.
That'd be my guess too. Hey PSDSD - are those jacks still working OK for you?
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btggraphix
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05/24/12 08:11am |
Truck Campers
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RE: Death Valley ~ A whole different Dimension-Part 1, 2 & 3
Wow - great TR Bryan. I heard rumor that there was such an epic new report here that it brought the RV.net world down to it's bumpstops and nearly broke its rear-axle.....sure enough it was yours.
I haven't been on the forum since before my somewhat crazy spring - it's funny how a simple excuse like getting behind on the reading can be enough to stop the RV.net addiction cold turkey (I was out of the country for the better part of a month) but I maybe all it takes is a simple excuse (I HAD to go check out your Death Valley thread) to get back to reading again. Thanks for the kick in the pants and sharing all the adventures you had on your stay in DV. You really have a gift for sharing your experience with photography & narrative & reference for more.
As I read through parts one and two I was worried about having to complain about the post since I didn't see hide nor hair of a TC but you finally came through on post 3 with some around the campground (though none of your rig?) So Brad doesn't have to remove it... :B
I know you must like to hear feedback about your photos, so for what it is worth after reading through once only and pretty much start to finish the photos that now come back to my mind on their own first, are the weathervane, the shadowed sand pattern, (I stared at both of those for a long time) and (being the geologist) the suite (sweet?) of photos of the channels and tunnels and canyons in the cemented alluvium. Some of those wouldn fit right in on the cover of a Geology journal, or the park brochure.
Very well done Bryan, thanks!
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btggraphix
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05/24/12 12:01am |
Truck Campers
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RE: Livin Lite Aluminum Camper's?
Not a problem BTGGRAPHIX what do you think of this interior?
The others have pretty much stated opinions. The mixture of sterile and functional and utilitarian and solid all sort of came to mind. It's one of those 'in the eye of the beholder' things. I LIKE functional.....it would be nice to hose out that camper after a week in the sands in Moab.....so I was OK with it. My wife didn't like it so much; it isn't that warm and cozy - but we were both impressed and thought for the right person, this is a perfect camper.
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btggraphix
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02/10/12 01:38pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Hauling a Truck Camper on a Kodiak/Monroe Conversion
I owned a 06 crew cab 4x4 flatbed and an 05 regular cab 2x4 flatbed. Both had the Duramax/ Allison combo. I hated both of them. They both were extremely problematic. More problematic than my crew cab duallies with the same engine and transmision configuration. Go figure? Not to mention they were horribly under powered.
If you want to make a Kodiak have power like the consumer-focused HP war trucks, you can certainly do it. I've watched some pretty funny videos where a Kodiak owner is blowing away other pickups at the drag strip. If you want the hp, you can do anything you want to make it be more like the pickups. The Kodiak isn't meant to be a plush powerful pickup.....it's meant to do a job for a long time, and that is carry or pull a lot of weight safely. I'm not sure what problems you had with your first one, but my first thought was 'why'd you buy another one?' if it wasn't what you thought it was or wasn't what you wanted.
Like I said before, it's almost funny watching a first-time Kodiak owner joing the MDT forum and their first post is "I bought this beast of a truck thinking how cool it looks and it's so much bigger than a pickup it must be a better version of the pickup. But I bought it and it's a dog at stoplights, and rides like a tank? What gives?" Some of those people come around and realize why it is like that and once their expectations change end up loving the trucks and/or making the changes to make it more like what they wanted. Others sell it like a hot-potato and go back to an empty LDT that impresses people at stoplights, keeps their coffee from spilling over bumps and passes people going 85.
Either way, nothing wrong with your comments and like I said I'm not sure what problems you had. One problem I have read about with Kodiaks was the PTO option on the tranny - apparantly in really heavy oil field work, the PTO on the Allison 1000 is just not up to that task.....I've heard of people blowing them up and I believe in later years of their run they took the PTO away as an option.
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btggraphix
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02/10/12 01:31pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Denver RV show - TC's are back
The Sportsman's Expo is not at the stock show complex. It is at the Denver Convention Center downtown and it is in January.
The show at the National Western Complex is in early March. It is called the RV, Boat, Sport and Travel Show. This show usually has the most pickup campers.
I always seem to get the names of those two mixed up. You are absolutely right CM, the one at the stockshow grounds is the best one at this point for TC's.
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btggraphix
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02/02/12 11:15am |
Truck Campers
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RE: Livin Lite Aluminum Camper's?
Sorry I didn't catch request that barndogg. The interior shots I have were all that stuff you see in my picture - a silvery sort of color.
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btggraphix
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02/02/12 10:59am |
Truck Campers
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RE: Hauling a Truck Camper on a Kodiak/Monroe Conversion
Hi NRALIFER,
Sorry I haven't sent the next E-mail with some additional comments - I never got around to talking much about your SO's questions about ride quality.
srl520's got you covered on a lot of that - nothing he has said I'd disagree with based on my experience.
I also had a "near-miss" on buying my rig to begin with; I had given up on that coming through (somebody's else's offer came in the same day I called to make an offer to purchase.) I briefly worked on the former owner (Brad) to fly out to Maryland and just look his over before the guy came and picked it up, but it was near Christmas and he was too busy but he promised to give my info to the new owner when he got it. We started looking at other used and new Kodiaks out there since Brad convinced me that it works, works well, and the height really wasn't that big an issue (heck, if he could drive it through central america and south america on backroads and third world countries, how hard could USFS or small town roads be?)
Anyway, we starting looking at Kodiaks, and went to a couple of dealers and found one that was a possibility and took it for a test drive. It had no bed at all, and no load, so you can imagine the ride. Pretty harsh to say the least. But we did some U'eys and were amazed by the turning radius. The vision from the cab was amazing. But we figured that this was the very worst the ride could ever be, fully unloaded and decided we could probably live with the fully loaded ride. But there was no way to test drive our rig when we bought it, so it was still a crap-shoot.
I'm glad to hear from srl520 that the Monroe air-ride doesn't have any sway issues.....after we got ours, we decided that we really wanted to soften up the suspension (despite being over the 17,500 weight rating for the springs!) and started looking into air-ride options. I spoke at length with the guys from "LINK" suspensions. Mooney has one of their setups for the F550, and loves it. But I found that the fancy 4-link (and no leaf spring) kit for the Ford doesn't exist for the Kodiak in the same form; all they have is the two-bag system that is designed for highways. It interferes with clearance more than I'd like, and they were worried that it would sway a lot with a tall camper, and steered me away from their kit. So I turned to kelderman, which offers a sort of "in between" system. It doesn't replace the springs, rather, it mounts the spring shackle to the air-bag plate. In effect, this makes it like a two stage sort of suspension....the air bag is always there and takes the minor bumps, but the bigger the hit, the more the spring comes into play. It also had pretty good ground clearance and the bags are relatively protected. They DO have a Kelderman 4-bag system that replaces the leaf spring as well, but I didn't go that route.
http://i40.tinypic.com/2j2i0yp.jpg
http://i44.tinypic.com/j67gbt.jpg
Normally my rear boxes cover the sides of the bags very effectively but they are off in this picture.
I won't bore you with the details of the whole installation chaos with a local company here, and Kelderman who shipped the parts. I'll say it is probably not wise to start something like that within a month of leaving on our longest trip yet, from Colorado to Vancouver Island. ;) But the short version is we got it in, through a lot of cutting/welding/changing the way it interacted with the hitch, the frame etc. It nearly works VERY well, but there are a couple of issues for me to still work out. Primarily because of that damn slipper spring end, I have a range of pressures that work that is a little narrower than I'd like. Too high and the spring end can contact that plate; too low and the bag kind of collapses and sits the spring down to the bump stop. My range is about 90PSI to about 120PSI.
However, it had made a tremendous difference in the ride for the rear end. The front is still very harsh. A good example is on that trip to BC, when we would come to a bridge edge (on logging roads) we'd hit the lip with the front BAM! And then the rear would hit 'bam'. Way less harsh on the back now. I had been concerned about the long-term effects of the fairly harsh ride on my camper - and I think it helped that a lot. I would like to replace the actual rear springs (very harsh from factory) with some aftermarket ones from Deaver Springs in SoCal. Of course, they only make them with the eye......so someday I want to order those springs (probably $1500 or so) and then take it to Iowa to have Kelderman change the shackle to the one that goes with a spring eye and mount the new springs (and probably shocks.) I'd also like to arrange for some kind of stop that would allow the rig to be driven without major effort, if a bag were ever to rupture but not sure if that will work. I'd be getting spring rated for the 5500 weight range too....the springs are the only difference between the 4x4 4500 versus the 4x4 5500 (not necessarily true in 4x2.)
So, big progress on the rear, but the front is still very harsh.
Now, the front springs are something that most all Kodiak owners hate. The factory shocks are thought to be very cheap as well. So most people that are looking to soften up the front all focus on changing out the springs, again commonly with a Deaver front leaf spring plus really good aftermarkter shocks. The springs raise the front up about 2" more off of the bump stops, and are apparwently way softer and smoother than the stock ones. People rave about them.....I had a Craig's List near miss with a guy buying a used set. Someday I'll get some. The Deaver spring pack is something like 5-7 leafs, whereas the stock Kodiak is basically a two leaf pack.
Here's the rub, the front springs probably have a lot more direct effect on the riders' comfort in the cab, than the rear. So our ride is certainly still pretty harsh - but we love the way it drives, and even rides at least on the highways. There is plenmty of room for improvement and I know the parts I need to make it happen. It's just lower on my list of things I'd like to do if I had the time and money.
Air-ride other stuff - seats: it sounds like you now have these figured out, as far as what is what. The factory shipped with a big variety of air-ride seat options. Having some form is probably a requirement, not an option. What our truck came with was the most basic version.....air only for the seat support. No lumbar, sides etc. Some of them came with these options, but regardless, the versions GMC shipped are only so-so. It is a big help, but could be improved a lot with aftermarket seats. They also basically don't recline much at all. Aftermarket ones come in all flavors, but can be very very nice. The Monroe conversion probably uses aftermarket BETTER seats (possibly from National) but I'd want to know what exact seats they used, and what options are on them if I were buying a Kodiak. Seems like they are $1000-$2000 depending.
Air ride cab: I have read a number of reports of people that added on the cab air later, and were dissapointed at how little difference it made. Sure it helps, but perhaps not as much as they hoped. I was more worried about my camper than my own comfort in the cab, so I have no plans for an air-ride cab at this point. I'd rather soften up the suspension.
Your 1121 has a side door, right? srl520 has a rear door, which is really why he needs that porch. Rear door campers are way higher entry point than a side door. With the 1191, it is way easier to get in than my old S&S witht e rear door on my old truck. We often put down a plastic step stool, but it is by no means required. No more climbing monkeys to get in the door over a trailer tongue, or stepping onto the bumper first etc.
The 4x2 definitely sits lower than the 4x4. Not sure how much.
BTW, the place where you should go read about the trucks themselves, is The diesel place meduim duty forum You can learn all sorts of stuff there, all specific to Kodiaks.
I'd still stick by my comments that 06 or 07 is probably the ideal year. Pre-emmisions (actually, I'd be happy to have the ULSD emmisions standard because on a 0 degree morning with the camper on, you really end up with a black cloud around the camper while the truck warms up....the same thing on an 08 and there is hardly anything) but with the next newer Duramax than mine. Depending on when in late or 5 or early 06 it was built, you actually get a 6-speed Allison, where the 6th gear is unavailable (in other words, the computer and electronics disabled it) so you can actually get the 6th gear enabled cheaply, which would really help the fuel mileage on highways. On my 05 it can't be done. I started a thread over there on the topic, and bowed out after finding for mine it wasn't an option really, but the thread went 18 pages and they got it all figured out. A lot of people found out they had an extra gear they could use. Nice! Anyway....an 07 is probably what I would target. By then I think they got the 6th gear from the factory.
srl520 needed 9" above his bed for camper clearance. On a standard flatbed, you need about 4". Personally, I would be looking for one with a flatbed; for one thing, the pickup bed is a pricey option (like $5K or something) and I'd rather have a flatbed anyway. Of course you could buy it, and then remove and sell the bed.
Camper jacks. Pretty much no matter what, you will be raisers of some sort. I use giant blocks...two of them usually, that total about 16" or so. The 10" or so blocks are tall enough, just barely, on totally flat ground. I prefer to put more, to not be at the end of the extension for the jacks...making them more solid and secure. But it is a bit of a scare having the giant camper that high - but in practice so far, haven't had any real issues and I have gotten used to it. You'll need a place to put those big blocks if that is the way you go. I never take it off any more at campsites, but could if I wanted to.
Cab to camper clearance. slr520 may be right that 2" is the minimum. I'd actually guess that you'd probably need more than that. The former owner of mine used a forklift to twist the frame (picking up one wheel) and then measured the deflection, and kept adding plywood sheets until he felt it was "right". There is probably 4" of clearance on mine, and it does seem like that is more than necessary, but 2 seems a little tight. I may take out one sheet of plywood and keep an eye on it, but haven't yet.
As I said in an E-mail to you, with a 4x2 the options choices are almost limitless. A huge range in GVWR, R&P ratios etc. etc. A 4x4 model the choices are much more fixed. GVWR's of 17,500 (4500)or 19,500 (5500), R&P of 5.13, no spring choices, one fuel tank choice (rear 40 gallon) etc. It made it easier for me. Secondly, the best resource I had was actually a sales guy at a local dealer. He could look up the VIN of the rig I was looking at, and tell exactly what was on it from the factory. That may still be an option for you, but you might have to go to a GMC dealer that has a Medium Duty or Heavy Duty service department, since they don't make the truck anymore. If you tell them you are thinking of buying one, and you will bring them your service work if you do, they may help you out with that.
The comment about costly repairs is to some degree true as well. I think in general, the beefiness of the truck itself helps carry our load properly and makes it work better than a pickup. I can slam on the brakes with a load of 18,500 pounds and I am 99% sure I stop faster than in my old pickup weighing in at about 10K. But yes, when I changed out my brakes (new rotors, 1 new caliper, pads, emergency brake shoes etc.) it was over $2k....on a pickup it would have been half that. But I'd rather have the effectiveness of those giant brakes.....and in the long run, the upkeep costs might not be that much different than a pickup if you were overloading the pickup all the time. But do figure on sticker shock for some service stuff if you have to do it.
I'm going to leave this one go for now. Keep asking questions here - we'll do our best to answer. Go check out The Diesel Place and do some reading in there. There are some great comments from people that went out and bought a Kodiak and are surprised it won't drag race pickups at the stoplights....and find out that they are a different breed. A tuned DOWN version of the engine for durability, and a transmission is perpetual tow/haul mode. By default, a medium duty like ride. But then those same posters telling the newbies how it is, will also be full of the information about why the truck is so much more than a pickup too and help you get a feel for what it really is.
Oh and by the way - one thing that might make your wife willing to have a rougher ride, is riding around in the passenger seat looking down at all the little cars and trucks around you, and looking over and just a little up to the semi drivers. It's a wonderful place to be when driving around with your camper.
We love it and have no plans for changing out to a pickup. Good luck!
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btggraphix
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02/02/12 10:53am |
Truck Campers
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RE: super singles
Might find this article interesting. Granted it comes from the trucking industry, but they are saying that early generation super singles did cause more wear to the highways and they claim in the new models the difference is negligible.
Article
I think I read the study referred to in this article (by the University of Illinois) when somebody linked it on the forum quite awhile back.
PS: Here's a nice looking Kodiak on super singles. I think these guys sell the adaptors to convert to a different bolt pattern:
http://chrome.yestechtoday.com/KODIAK-4X42.jpg
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btggraphix
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02/01/12 12:07pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Denver RV show - TC's are back
That is too funny! I kind of waited a little while to see if you guys would get out of my photo ;) but gave up and took it. It crossed my mind "I wonder if whoever it is would mind if their photo went onto rv.net" but never thought they'd see it.
Hoepfully you didn't mind!
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btggraphix
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02/01/12 11:39am |
Truck Campers
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RE: first trip with 19.5's and front mount rack
nice looking rig...enjoy the weekend..
Ditto - that is really nice! The tire might even help block/break branches that might hit the AC and other stuff on the roof. Maybe cables of some sort might take that abuse better than nylon if it happened much.
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btggraphix
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01/27/12 08:06pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: first trip with 19.5's and front mount rack
oops - double post
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btggraphix
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01/27/12 08:04pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: super singles
I've seen them in commercial use predominately with fuel haulers around here. Sauvie Island is near the big terminals where the fuel tankers come in and gets distributed to the local stations. It's about 30% of the trucks I've seen have been converted to super singles, but only on the main pulling rig for the most part, though I do see the occasional trailer.
It may vary by region quite a bit too.....here in the Denver area it seems generally more common to see super singles on the trailers-only (at least for me) as opposed to the trucks-only.....and seeing singles at all is still fairly rare.
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btggraphix
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01/27/12 07:58pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: super singles
For the OTR trucks, the study I read concluded it was cheaper for the trucking companies overall, but caused more wear to the roads. No wonder the industry wants to go to them! But I still don't see too many.....
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btggraphix
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01/27/12 06:34pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Posting Photos
I for one would love to see the sig pics SLIGHTLY increased in size. 150x640? It takes a big pic to show a 42 foot toyhauler behind a 20 foot long truck!!
I'd have to agree with this one too. The main thing for the sigs is not having them be so tall taking up space or being wider than 640 since that is the width all these pages are meant to display on, and the main reason for the limitation in regular pictures.
So I awlays thought the sig's should be allowed to be a full 640 wide since that is the width of the text part of a sig or pictures in posts. I would have one of my three little images include the trailer we often tow but like boatycall says, a long rig doesn't fit very well in the photo size limitation.
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btggraphix
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01/27/12 11:18am |
Truck Campers
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RE: Posting Photos
I think it is also the display/screen size issue for readers. People reading on smaller displays have trouble with the larger pictures. I like larger pictures for sure for seeing some small details, but I have to admit in general 640x480 is generally 'big enough' for most situations.
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btggraphix
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01/27/12 08:32am |
Truck Campers
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RE: Keeping batteries alive during the off season
FWIW, we have the same LA batteries (Sears Deep Cycle) the former owner bought right before we bought the batteries. The old ones were probably still fine but a dealer installed a new battery isolator backwards so only THOUGHT the old ones were bad. But we have had the camper 4 years, 300 nights (and over draining them a number of times.) It has been hooked up to 110v AC 24/7 when back at the house.
While I think they are getting towards the end of their life from me overdraining them enough times, I think it helps proove the point that the three-stage charger that came in my LanceMax does the job pretty well. Nice to be able to just plug it in when we are home and not worry about maintenance. Next set will be large Lifeline AGM's.
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btggraphix
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01/27/12 08:23am |
Truck Campers
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RE: Denver RV show - TC's are back
It really used to be a lot better. I remember the first time I did a write-up on it in maybe 2005, there were about a dozen different manufacturers represented there, maybe more. It's really tapered off and most people here would say the Sportsmans Expo at the stock show grounds is better and lately that has been the case. But, two years ago there wasn't a single TC at this show, so being back to two fairly large attendees, and 5 brands is a step in the right direction! I'd hate to have to skip the show and just go to Bayou Bob's.... :)
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btggraphix
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01/24/12 10:37pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Denver RV show - TC's are back
the big camper show in houston is coming within the next month or so i believe, even tho i have made my purchase, i am definitely going to go spend the day looking at all the new toys!
i will say one thing... if i was still in the market for a truck bed topper, i would be all about the camp-lite. i LOVE the way those things look inside and out! thats my style right there
It's really nice when you go to the shows and say to yourself "I buoght the right camper for us" and be happy with what you have. And then there is the seeing what the various brands do looking for enhancements you can make to your own camper. I had never even thought about moving the HWH up front but I think Lance did a smart thing with that change. You can steal ideas from the giant 5'ers or any other kind of camper.
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btggraphix
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01/24/12 04:54pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Denver RV show - TC's are back
It was a fun day at the show….and then went and had Fried Pickles, Blackened Catfish smothered with Crawfish Ettouffee, Red Beans and Rice for a side, and a couple of Abita Ambers and a Blackened VooDoo Lager. Yum Yum. Liked it so much we went again this last weekend after going to the Denver Stock Show.
Yum- I'd go just for the food!
Yeah, I do really like that place. Our friends are from Luisiana so I know it's good and authentic. On the other hand, we cook similar stuff (Gumbo, Ettouffee, Jambalaya) when we are off camping, so I'd always rather be eating it around a campfire....
I'm a truckcamper by philosophy though it's been a long time since I've owned one....
I guess that explains why I'm shocked at the $40,000 price tag on the Lance. I had no idea!
No wonder so many folks have to settle for a Class A motorhome, right? http://www.irv2.com/forums/images/smilies/wink.gif
Is the Camplite pictured one of the all aluminum campers?
What did you think of it, and did you notice the (gulp) price?
Thanks!
See the other thread running on the Camp-lites, but yes, it is the all aluminum and composite construction. Definitly utilitarian looking, but also very durable, simple, and relatively cheap.
The 10.0TC model was listed at 22,426 "show price", the 8.5TC model was $18,918.
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btggraphix
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01/24/12 04:52pm |
Truck Campers
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