Has anyone built a big slide-in "truck" camper for a M35 Deuce?

The solution is so simple.........I don'tknow why it hasn't been mentioned,,,,,,,,,,

Just buy a M35A2 and a M109A3 & then you don't need to fab up a big ole stand or buy expensive jack system.

wreckerman893 said:

Hummmmm.......thinking out loud.........why not find an small, older pull behind camper.....take the axle off and set it on a frame that fit just inside of the deuce bed.

Build a frame the same highth as the deuce bed that you could slide the camper off onto.
If you put rollers on the bottom of the camper frame you could easily roll it from frame to frame.

Just my idea.

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It's not very common to put your house back on wheels, in Alabama.

Bob H said:

The solution is so simple.........I don'tknow why it hasn't been mentioned,,,,,,,,,,

Just buy a M35A2 and a M109A3 & then you don't need to fab up a big ole stand or buy expensive jack system.

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That's what I did. I contemplated swapping back and forth, but just having both seemed like the best solution in the long run.

Does this look too redneck?

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Is there such a thing as too redneck?????

It would look better if it were raised up and the front of the camper was over the top of the deuce. It would be more streamlined (not much more considering the deuce has the aerodynamics of a cement block).

Funny you mention cement block (redneck jack stands) because that's about how much more it would have to raise up since I don't have the box on. That would really look good with cement blocks for spacers under the camper

Like WM said, if it was raised up a little and moved forward so the overhang was over the cab, it'd look awesome. Then, the extra frame you had left in the rear could be used for a cargo deck... 4-wheeler, bike, etc.

tie6044 said:

Does this look too redneck?

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Gee, it looks like there's room for 2, maybe 2-1/2 pallets of beer under the overhang. I'm not seeing any downside.....

Lance

S280 shelter

Ziggy in NJ. has S280 shelters in good condition. Perfect fit for a deuce bed.
I was going to go that route for my deuce but I just picked up an M814 from BKUBU that will make an awesome rolling man cave. Bed is 20ft. long and comes with an extended height cargo cover that has 6.5' of headroom. I may still get an S280 shelter to slide into the 814 and still have an 8 ft. front porch. Loading and offloading is easy. Build a loading dock out of railroad ties and use pipes as rollers. One man can move an incredible amount of weight with simple tools like come alongs, prybars and rollers. I am a rigger and do stuff like this all the time. Railroad ties are easy to get and plenty strong for the task. Actionfigure out.

LanceRobson said:

Gee, it looks like there's room for 2, maybe 2-1/2 pallets of beer under the overhang. I'm not seeing any downside.....

Lance

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My first thought was that space could be used for a 4-wheeler...ah...I like the beer idea better

Anyone got suggestions on how much clearance would be necessary between the top of the cab and an overhang from a camper in the bed? I know there will be some chassis flex and I wouldn't want to accidentally put the corner of the Deuce's roof through the bottom of the overhang.

Have you guys not seen this? It's the Camper Apocalyptic and was built by member Unclemikey. Check the Member's Rides section to see more details.

SamM

Anyone got suggestions on how much clearance would be necessary between the top of the cab and an overhang from a camper in the bed?

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I would go at least four inches to be safe. The area behind the camper would be a nice little "back porch".

Wreckerman:

If you really want to get fancy you get you a nice fth wheel like this one and remove the wheels and king pin and you have a real purty over cab slide in camper

SamM said:

Have you guys not seen this? It's the Camper Apocalyptic and was built by member Unclemikey. Check the Member's Rides section to see more details.

SamM

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Yes, it was already linked on the first page of this thread.

greenjeepster said:

Wreckerman:

If you really want to get fancy you get you a nice fth wheel like this one and remove the wheels and king pin and you have a real purty over cab slide in camper

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Depending on the width, that'd look awesome in a deuce bed... with a little OD green on it though.

Just remember max height according to DOT is 13'6" without special permits.

Bighurt said:

Just remember max height according to DOT is 13'6" without special permits.

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that's why the unicat style pop up would be so nice.

if you had a drop side bed then you could remove the sides and rear gate, slide the camper on and bolt it down to the drop side hinge points. The key with my plan is having to make a removable section of the stock bed where the spare tire normally is to facilitate the entry door. If you had access to a strong fork lift then maybe placing fork lift slots at the CG would be the easiest method of removal.

I am working on drawing up plans to make one of the unicate style shells like this:

Loading a sheltor or similar

I was thinking about the problem and I came up with a crazy idea. What if you got two stacks of innertubes which when inflated were the same height as the bed. If you placed them under the shelter inset from the front and another set at the rear. inflate them and then back the truck up to the front stack. deflate the front stack so that the shelter ends up resting on a dolly.
Make sure the rear of the shelter is braced so that you don't just topple the whole thing over.
Then back the truck up until it meets the rear stack. deflate the rear stack, Then either back up against something solid to push it the remaining distance or pull it forward with a come along. Just use a car jack or some such to lift the front of the shelter up to extract the dolly.

If you are doing this on a regular basis, you might want to put the two stakes of tubes in a canvas bag to help protect the tubes from gravel etc. that might cause punctures.

Just an idea, no guarantees.
Bruce

Or you could do what I am doing on my build and use swing down hydraulic outriggers. lock them in the down position, put pressure to em and it lifts the camper clear. drive right out from under it. I am considering making a set of dolly wheels that can be attached over the skid plates to make it easy to move on a hard flat surface.

Bob H said:

The solution is so simple.........I don'tknow why it hasn't been mentioned,,,,,,,,,,

Just buy a M35A2 and a M109A3 & then you don't need to fab up a big ole stand or buy expensive jack system.

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I've been going back and forth about that. On the one hand, I think you're right. It would be easier to just get another deuce. Probably cheaper too, compared to how I was thinking I'd go about making my M109 box removable. But having the ability to convert my motorhome into a truck while I'm on the road would be pretty awesome.

dieselfuelonly said:

Anyone got suggestions on how much clearance would be necessary between the top of the cab and an overhang from a camper in the bed? I know there will be some chassis flex and I wouldn't want to accidentally put the corner of the Deuce's roof through the bottom of the overhang.

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I left about 3" of clearance between top of the softtop frame and the bottom of the cabover rack that I built for Mah Deuce. Seems to clear pretty the cab well so far.

AN/ARC186 said:

Or you could do what I am doing on my build and use swing down hydraulic outriggers. lock them in the down position, put pressure to em and it lifts the camper clear. drive right out from under it. I am considering making a set of dolly wheels that can be attached over the skid plates to make it easy to move on a hard flat surface.

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Would love to hear/see more about this. I've got a transfercase-mounted PTO unit and an LDS power-steering pump, so I've already got the hydraulics onboard...

If I make the box removable, I'll build a very thin flatbed out of something like 1.5" square tubing, and then sandwich that between the frame and my M109 box. That way I'll have a useful bed once I drop my box.