fold down camper box..

came across these pics today..possibly another idea for increased floor space for 'box' campers.. looks pretty light duty however but concept is interesting...

Mike W

******

It's a great idea for the first year or so....then the fabic deteriorates and the cost to replace it is out of sight.

Definitely a different concept, though not much different than that of a popup camper. Certainly would give one more room, though I'd be concerned about the durability, especially to weather a storm.

Here is a heavy duty shelter built for the Canadian army. It comes in 10 & 20 foot version. The 10 ft. would be cool on a duece.

trucknut said:

Here is a heavy duty shelter built for the Canadian army. It comes in 10 & 20 foot version. The 10 ft. would be cool on a duece.

Click to expand...

That thing looks awesome, and it's built for more than the Canadian Army! Had to Google it, and found out it's called "MECC" and is made by Weatherhaven. I bet it wouldn't be hard to adapt and create something like that with a little ingenuity and fabrication skills.

O.K. here are two ideas. Number one is a M-35 with a 15' Hi-Lo trailer mounted on the truck. Sits 2 1/2 feet lower than a slide in camper, yet expands to have loads of room. Still a bit of work to do, but is almost done now. Number two is a 900 series with a Trail Manor trailer mounted on. We just put this on about 2 weeks ago. The unit is 25' inside when expanded. Both units have ended up to work really super. Hard to believe, but the 900 series is less than 25% of the work that the M-35 was. Take a peek and see what you think.

Very interesting. I was looking at the hi lo

Quickfarms,

A few snaps of the Hi-Lo inside.

Nice, How are the campers mounted?

I was thinking about getting a 22 foot Hi Lo and mounting it on my truck by removing the axles, adding fork pockets, and adding ISO container fittings to the front and rear of the trailer to secure it to the existing container locks. This way the trailer would be easy to remove from the truck.

here's several vids on both makes..

hi-lo trailmanor campers - YouTube

Mike W

Mikey, was there a reason why you mounted your HiLo with the front section facing the rear? trailer front angle..? What type of 'staircase' do you use for that side door..

and yet another concept.. 3-IN-1 Foldable Shelter Deployment

3-IN-1 Foldable Shelter Deployment - YouTube

Mike W

Tamangel,

Good eye! In regards to mounting the trailer unit on barkwards, there is a reason for the madness. The early trailers had both ends of the unit not vertical, but angled (see pics). In order to get the unit close to the cab I had to cut the trailer end off and rebuild the end to better fit the truck, and to be able to bring the trailer unit as far forward as possible. The front of the trailer was way to hard the redo, also the front round end would better suit the 45 angle fitting to the bed of the truck at the rear. The now near vertical rear end fits nice behind the cab. So.......backwards!

I have made a crew ladder ( sorry no pic ), but there is a pic of a 7' step ladder next to the truck. The ramps that cover the door are really traction ramps to be removed by pulling a pin for sand/ snow/mud whatever. They also serve to secure the door, also the camper unit can not be deployed while they are in place. When they are lowered out to the side it makes a good plateform to get in and out with. I call it my divingboard.

The new rig is looking killer!

The 3-in-one shelter looks like what the Army's CK (Containerized Kitchen) was built on.

Almost looks like that Hi-Lo was made for for mounting on a deuce! Nice job UncleMikey!

Really digging that door guard / entry step.

Thanks Jesusgators,

Here are a few better pics of the ramps, closed and deployed. Hard to see, but at the bottom you can make out the lock pins to remove the setup The larger one ( 6 " above the bed rail ) locks the ramps to the side of the camper and can be padlocked. The lower pin just above the bed rail will allow you to pull the whole thing off to use when needed.

I forgot to metion that the camper unit sits above the truck bed, with access to the bed from a rear door, or from an inside hatchway. Lots of cargo area to have for a camper. The rear door will double as a work table and has a light mounted just inside above the table for night work. Very useful to have in the field. Thought you might get a kick out of it.

I like the under area cargo space alot..Space for all kinds of gear, tools, various tanks, other mechanical needs.. good photo details also..thanks..

did you ever consider starting the build by removing the deuce bed and continuing with a flat-bed or direct frame mount concept?

Mike W

*****

Too much money and too much work. Gimme a S-280 shelter in the back end of a deuce any day.