Converting an old camper into hunting set up. Have a ?

[Eli346]

 Used a big buddy in elk camp for 9 days and deer camp for 9 days for a couple of years now and it has destroyed any bain cills! hehe

[Mudman]

Ya, check stuff out before ya tear it out.  Alot of that stuff you can probably get working again.  Power can come from truck or a battery most likely.

[Smokepole]

My FIL and I used a little buddy heater this last yr in his camper, we cracked a window about 3/4" and cracked a roof vent and went to bed. Did this for a week straight. I also agree that a propane stove is a propane stove, the only difference is one is permanent. Crack windows, youll be fine.

My feelings, exactly.  We used a buddy heater in a camper with a window & vent open 1" or so.  Worked fine.  Same with the stove.  You have to add fresh air.  Never fall asleep with any appliance going.  I always shut everything down at night. 

[swinters]

I wanted an old camper that I didn't need to worry about taking out into the boonies so picked up an old 8.5 ft. Six-Pac.  Everything worked but the center of the roof sagged and it was a leaker, though the rest of the structure was great.  I rolled back the metal of the roof, replaced all of the damaged wood, jacked the roof center back into place and then reinforced it with 2x2 stringers (tapered on the ends) on each side of the original flat 1x4's, glued and screwed in place.  Then I screwed luan plywood down on the whole thing, rolled the metal back on and covered the whole thing with EPDM rubber (the stuff you buy in a can and add a catalyst to).  That's been several years ago and it stays as dry as a bone.  Bit by bit I've improved it as I've had time and money but the first thing was to have a dry place to sleep when I was hunting, fishing or gold panning.  I added a catalytic heater and it's important to have good cross ventilation.  I open a side window about 1/4 inch and the window on the door about the same.  A friend who has a similar setup but with a solid door window opens a side window and a roof vent.  If you use a propane coleman stove it's okay but crack a window with that, too.  Should even do that with a built in since it's burning oxygen and adding moisture inside your camper.  If you're concerned about propane leaks mix up some dish soap and water in a trigger sprayer bottle, turn on the tank, and then go from fitting to fitting and wet it down with the soap/water mixture and watch for bubbles.  You can also use that stuff in the bottles that kids blow bubbles with.  If you need to do roof work and want to see how I did mine let me know.  I took plenty of pictures. 

[toothfangclaw]

This should heat your camper pretty well!


Edit: forgot the link! O.o

 

feature=youtube_gdata_player

[Mudman]

There are heaters/catalytic made for campers that hook up to propane lines.  I have one in mine.  They sip propane and work very well.  I can take pic for you if ya want. I use it more then the furnace.

[400out]

I will be honest I didn't read all the posts, to begin I'm confused about the rutted lines are they not copper  I would go thru and blow all the lines and equipment out real god and then try them you might be surprised 

[deadwoodbuck]

i bought a 78 caveman with the heater, stove and refer...plus a crapper.  i refurbed the heater...took it all apart cleaned and re-sealed it...works great after some tweeking.  the refer just needs to be level to work.  checked all the connections to make sure it was solid and now i have cold beer after the hunt.  the stove is bullet proof...just sprayed the lines to make sure they were sealed.  had some front leakage around the window so did the rip tear and rebuild the inside.  the crapper makes great storage space.  i would make sure the unit is totally gone and cannot be repaired before i rip it out.  even with the cave...cross ventilation is always open...sweaty bodies, clothes and heat mean h2o  they are heavy but solid and need of care.  good luck

[turkeyfeather]

Well now you guys have got me thinking. I don't know for sure about the lines now. I know the feed lines that the propane hooks up to are rubber. I just assumed the lines on the inside were as well. I am going to have to look and see if they are copper now. I think I am going to take your advice and check everything out before removing it. I guess in the end if it all works and is safe it would be nicer and easier. Like I said it was free, so I suppose even if I have to put a little money into it I am still way ahead. I would love to see the pics from those of you who have made repairs and such. And I will post some pics of ours as well.

[deadwoodbuck]

turkeyfeather...i just put my pic on the....lets see your hunting truck thread...a couple down from this one same area.

[Special T]

I've done this with a 1970 prowler trailer i bought for CHEEP! here are some suggestions for your build that i learned from mine.
Check to see what works... If it does keep it if it don't  yard it out!
Older propane fridges are great because they aren't as particular as newer ones. some times a recharge and cleaning are all it takes to revive one... If that don't do it yard it out and buy a Coleman 12 volt cooler. if you put a frozen 2 liter of ice in it and plug it in to your system it will likely last your whole trip...  IF your replace  water lines use PEX or Wirsbo type pipe Don't use PVC to just scab it together you'll be happy you did...  Shark bite fitting are great for PEX and connecting to copper etc. Reinforce any pic points... My buddy made a reinforcement bracket for this camper jack that also supported the portion of the camper over the cab. Cheep easy welding job making the brackets and screwing them in.  I replaced many of the screws on my trailer with the ribber grommet's screws used on metal roofs. They were about the same size and helped seal things up.

[Mudman]

That is some great advice/tips T.  You can get spiders and bees crawled up in the riser tube in back of fridge and it wont work.