docdave
Aspiring overlander
I originally posted this on Irv2, brought the saga over here…..here’s a synopsis of what we’ve has so far……
It's been years since traveling and camping in my family’s 9.5' Mitchell camper, but I'm back to a truck camper. In early April, I purchased, sight unseen, via Craig's List, a ‘’93 Hallmark Cuchera pop up truck camper from a older gentleman in southern Colorado. Sunday I take a 10 hour round trip to pick it up and see what I got. Yeah, pretty trusting to buy sight unseen, but I had a good feeling about this guy. I'm pretty excited about the move from a Trailmanor 3124KB, to something I can take off road. I may not be up to true overlanding just yet, but looking forward to getting off the beaten path. We'll see how the family adapts to the idea. ……
Wow, 600 miles round trip in one day. "Met" our '93 Hallmark, got it loaded on the ol' Dodge, got the quick tour and instructions from the previous owner and headed home. The camper looks pretty good; some wear and tear, especially around the back door. This older model has the split door, the top portion folds down prior to dropping the top. The design is a bit problematic, no doubt why they aren't made this way anymore. The top is fiberglass and in great shape, but very heavy. It's going to be a chore to put up and down, no wonder the new ones are mostly electric. The fabric is in remarkable shape for its age, no tears, mold or damage, that's a nice surprise. Some of the screws here and there are stripped out, I'd be curious if anyone has advice other than oversized screws or packing the holes with toothpicks. Next step is to get a wiring harness made up and get a new battery. It'll probably be a few weeks before our first outing. Not much feedback from the family, I didn't get home with it until after dark.......we'll see. ………..
I facebooked hallmark about the heavy top, and got a prompt and helpful response regarding possibly getting a bit more life out of the old torsion system. Thanks guys. Oh, at this point my wife told me "it isn't as ugly as I thought it would be", that's a positive sign. Found out that the Fiberglass top was a Hallmark Cuchera option in '93, a bit of a bonus, less maintenance. My soon to be 7 year old gave her stamp of approval to the camper. Now I just have to get a wiring harness installed and take our first outing. I went through the owner's manual today too, not very informative, but the Hallmark guys have been really good about answering my questions.
Oh by the way.....I discovered despite the fact that the bathroom has a hand held shower hose and a shower curtain over the door......there is no drain! What's up with that? The good news is that this camper doesn't have a tank directly underneath the toilet, but a space instead that allows for the P-trap. My solution... I got a laundry sink drain, a 90 degree elbow and connected it to a flexible washing machine drain hose that will be stored in the compartment under the bathroom, which is accessible from the outside, and can drain the shower into a bucket. Not perfect, but a save none the less. Also found out the wiring harness is no longer being manufactured, so Hallmark is sending a receptacle to change out, and an appropriate plug to connect to the truck's wiring. Nothing is ever easy.
The wiring harness arrived finally from Hallmark last week, began the installation over the weekend, with some help from the future son in law. We got the camper all wired, some issues with the stop ,tail, turn and backup lights to work out though. The truck is a bit more complex. There is a relay to install between the truck system and the camper. This allows the alternator to charge the camper battery, but disconnects the systems when the truck is shut off to prevent drawing down the truck battery and stranding you somewhere. Had to call the guys at Hallmark to find out how to hook that up, but they were very helpful, and all is well. Turns out there is a battery connection, ground and a connection to a switched circuit in the truck fuse box. We used the wiper circuit. Also found a neat connector to slip in to replace a fuse, and add a wire. You end up with 2 fuses in one spot, pretty sweet. Also began installing the floor drain for the shower. That's going to work fine.
It's been a while since my last update.....our oldest daughter got married, so we've been busy. I had some triangular plates fabricated to use for front tiedowns. They attach to the front of the box, bolted through where there are two layers of sheet metal spot welded together. Not exactly happijac, but they seem to work fine.
The shower install is complete as well. A hose is pulled out from an access door at the rear of the camper, so that the water can be collected in a bucket. It's pretty tidy; as long as no one forgets to pull it out before showering.....probably use a sink plug in the drain as insurance
Well FINALLY we got the Cuchara out for an overnight, but had to go on a rainy weekend. Everything checks out except the battery isn't much good. That's going to need to be replaced ASAP. A 7 foot wide popup is quite a bit cozier than one that's 8 or more feet wide, but it's sure easier to see around. The overhead bunk is a little cramped for sit up room too, another compromise for offroadability. I also noticed how heavy the old girl gets when loaded....I'm thinking the next pickup will be a tonner. Not that easy to find a SRW tonner though. My 7 year old daughter had a great time, caught a trout too! Pretty good weekend.