What is all this about? Well, Holly and I visit Chad's Camping Center about once a quarter, to dream and look at their trailers. We usually walk through everything they have, from the smallest popup, to the largest fifth wheel. Not a huge dealer, but they are always friendly, and have come to know us fairly well.
Anyway, we are wanting several families and friends to go camping with us, to at least try it out. However, none really want to tent camp. Of course, that is not for everyone. We were sitting in one of their campers on display, which happened to be in their "lobby". We were discussing what we could do, in the future, with our current camper, should we trade up. We had already decided that we could loan it out. But it frustrated us a little, because that would be over a year from now. At least two of the couples we want to camp probably can't afford to rent one right now.
A family came in, asking what to do with a camper to get rid of it. They had decided that they didn't want to put any more money into it. They had camped in it just a few weeks before, and had used it for three years. I butted in (pretty much) and asked if we could take a look at it. We did, and decided it needs some work, especially the roof lifting system. However, the price was right, and we took it home. It is a 1984 Starcraft Starmaster 21.
I have begun work on the lift system, but am stuck, currently. I want to fix it with stuff I can buy at Lowe's or Home Depot, but I don't think I can fix the above problem. May have to go with original parts on this one.(Update: I did have to go to original cables, but so far, I am still having problems. I am working on replacing the floor for better roof support.) Keep this site bookmarked, as I will post our progress on this page.
ALL PICTURES BELOW ARE AT THE WEBSHOTS LINK ABOVE!
Old cushion fabric Thanks to Stephen Brooks (and his son Daniel), a fellow from church that has become a pretty good friend. He and I have started this project, and intend to do it right, with some great modifications. We tore into the camper early one Saturday morning to see what we could find and fix.
Eventually, we took out the rear cabinetry on both sides of the camper. You can see the road side rear of the camper, without cabinetry (another picture here), and also the curbside rear of the camper, without cabinetry. We had first intended on simply replacing small areas of the floor, simply for strength, since the roof lifters rest on the wood. The floor was rotten completely in the corners, and, ultimately, we decided to replace the whole floor. This would help strengthen the whole camper, and the floor felt spongy anyway. Also we decided to tear out the aluminum flashing under the floor (next to the frame), because it was not allowing the wood to "breathe" and dry out when it did get wet. I even consulted a service department at a Starcraft dealer, who agreed with us on this decision. He said he thought they stopped putting in the aluminum layer in about 1986.
So we tore out the whole floor, from just in front of the axle, all the way to the rear (rear driver side 1, rear driver side 2, rear curbside 1, rear curb side 2). We will eventually tear out the front. It took quite a while just to do this project, because there were several electrical/gas lines to work around that we wanted to keep intact. We also did not want to tear out the walls (at least not yet). Another delay was that, at first, we were trying to tear out the floor without tearing up the previously mentioned aluminum layer; when we tear out the front floor, that won't be a concern, and the project will move much faster. As a side note, it can be a little daunting when you look at a pile of your camper's floor outside of the camper, torn up. But better things are coming.
We also added another "floor joist," although this one will be treated wood, instead of metal. This floor joist will extend from wheel well to wheel well, and is placed in the area where the ShopVac is seen in this picture. We are using joist hangers and self-tapping screws, which work quite well. There were several self-tapping screws in the floors we tore out, and they were just as tight as the day they were put in. We recommend using square-head screws, but we could not find any; thus, we were forced to use Phillips-head screws. Be sure you have a good battery/strong drill for this type of screw. The floor joist we made has a notch cut out for the cables to run to the front lifters. We are also planning to make a service panel or trap door for servicing the winch and cables. I have, unfortunately, discovered how very hard it is to work on the winch and cables with access only from the bottom.
We have only completed the rear floor, but we are very satisfied with the results, thus far. It has been some hard work, but at the end of a long day, we decided it was well worth the effort. The lifters now sit on good wood and good support. Once we finish the front flooring, the lift system should be easily fixable, especially with better access to the winch.
1a Replace front wall. Day 2
We have learned not to say or even think that something will be easy. Things are coming together, but with lots of time and effort, often more time than we had estimated. On the second day, we had planned to have the front floor replaced, and start working on the cables. However, we ran into a very rotten and out of place front wall. This diagram is a “view” from above the camper. You can see how the front wall is displaced, since it is not/was not connected to anything solid, such as the floor.
This diagram is a view from the side of the camper. It shows the displacement of the door and wall, again due to instability and floor rot. The diagram is slightly exaggerated. However, it was severely displaced, because the door was not even close to latching. In some instances, the door wouldn’t even touch its mating wall. We had originally thought that the frame may have sagged some, but we are very happy to have these findings, as a sagging frame would be a nightmare.
We did get the front floor replaced eventually this day, but the front wall took up much of our time. Taking the time to do it right has paid off, however. With a Come-Along and ATV jack, we were able to get everything back to its intended place, at least temporarily. As the walls and cabinetry are replaced, it will become more stable. Remember, in a popup camper of this vintage, the cabinetry/benches are an integral and important part of the walls and structure. We worked for the better part of an hour getting the air conditioner out of the front wall (aftermarket). Eventually, we got it out, and got a rough piece cut for the front wall, using ¾” treated plywood, as we had used for the floor.
Day 3
We got a late start on the day, because a tree had fallen on Stephen’s detached garage. We fixed that roof, and then moved to the camper. We decided to work on the front wall. A rough-in piece had been cut, but we had to jigsaw ¼” off of much of the top. It was too high, not allowing the bed to go in and out smoothly.
After getting the piece satisfactorily fit, we then had to decide how to get the new front wall and the existing “skeleton” of the camper to mate. The skeleton is made up of some 1”x1” pieces, and the front shell of aluminum, we discovered, after deciding to discard the thin piece of decorative wall that had some rot along the bottom. Stephen ultimately decided to glue and air-nail more 1”1” pieces to the existing ones, giving us more surface to screw into. This was fairly easily done, and we had something to put the new wall against.
While Stephen was making the glued/nailed pieces, I had found some wiring to a running light that had been cut, and this would be my last chance to access it. So, I spliced it and got it to the damaged running light. I will replace the running light later.
We finally decided to cut the air conditioner hole at this point in time, which would give us a way to clamp the old and new walls together for screwing them together. This worked well. We just marked the hole from the outside, and cut it with a jigsaw. No trimming was needed on this hole fortunately, as I was tired of lugging that big piece in and out of the camper, and then re-fitting it each time. We got the two walls clamped and screwed together, which made a SIGNIFICANT increase in how the wall felt in stability.
Since the front wall was now stable, we felt that we couldn’t finish the evening without getting the door stabilized and screwed down, so that the door would actually work. We found a metal L-bracket and cut holes in it, and then all the way through the wall of the camper. Eventually, I will replace the temporary bolts with dipped or stainless steel bolts, since they will be exposed. We screwed the L-bracket into the floor and wall, and the front of the camper has a whole new feel to it. I will eventually post pictures of this particular piece, but if you need more information, please email me (email listed on my home page). It felt great to Stephen and I to get the camper this far. With the door and front wall being more stable, we both probably slept better than any of the other days we have worked on it. It was a move forward, for sure.
by brainpause
New fabric to be used on cushions
Outside of camper, canvas out
Front of camper, with air conditioner built in
Supposedly, this camper has been in Europe, brought back by a serviceman. The stickers are from various European countries.
Road side of camper 1
Road side of camper 2
Table in the stored/bed position
Under the table, the portable stove is stored for travel
Large, hard-sided wardrobe, not set up
Roof raised, but cabling not fixed
Another of roof up, front bed partially pulled out
Will need new covers for the cords, as the old plastic had rotted soft and crumbly
Planned stages:
