Does anyone have an off road pop up?

jonesw3

jonesw3

Adventurist
I recently purchased a 1996 palomino colt pop up. I have redone the inside and just about have it how I want it. My next step is to put a small lift and bigger tires on it. Nothing extreme, I just want to be able to take it down forrest service roads for some back county camping. Does anyone have any experience with lifting a pop up?
 
I am in the process of lifting a Fleetwood Neon now, but the Neon has wheels outside the body rather than beneath, so I'm not certain my approach will work for you.

I did the SOA conversion that lifted it about 5" but the axle was really unsuited for the larger wheels and tires I have planned (currently a stock 10" wheel). The problem with the SOA on these is that the axles have a curve to provide additional camber, so I'm told flipping it isn't the best solution. Check yours if you're considering an SOA mod for the lift.

I have ordered a custom axle that will allow me to run the LR245/70-17's with a 5x5 bolt pattern that match my Grand Cherokees. Here is the writeup if you're interested or it gives you any ideas:

http://www.inlandcrossing.com/neon-update-spring-over-axle-mod/

Kos
 
I previously owned a 2004 Jayco Baja that we enjoyed, but the wife wanted something we could tow with our TJ. We sold it and bought a 2009 Starcraft 1701 in stock form. Shortly after I did a spring over and mounted longer springs which gave a smoother ride. I cut everything off from the frame down and mounted all new shackles. This turned out to be a good idea as the factory welds were pretty sorry. For my model this was not too hard...but I did have access to a lift. My camper allowed for a 235/75/15 with very minimal cutting, nothing being structural. Below are some pics. I still have a few mods I plan to make in the next few weeks before out next trip.
 
Watching Jeff's project I can say the departure angle really saw the benefit.
The area where we camp has a bunch of whoop-dee-do's and they'll beat the life out of a trailer that doesn't have that clearance in the backyard.
Plus it looks cooler now...

(is that an actual driveshaft I see on the front of the White Unicorn?)
 
Hilldweller said:
Watching Jeff's project I can say the departure angle really saw the benefit.
The area where we camp has a bunch of whoop-dee-do's and they'll beat the life out of a trailer that doesn't have that clearance in the backyard.
Plus it looks cooler now...

(is that an actual driveshaft I see on the front of the White Unicorn?)
Click to expand...
Yes, it has a driveshaft now. The custom shifters are the only thing holding me back now. And Bill hit the nail on the head. I have no plans to rock crawl this thing. We needed the smallest lightest thing we could find, and an 8' PUP was the only thing in our budget. The problem with them is that they have tiny 12" wheels and the camper had NO ground clearance. I just needed the height to get back to some of the places we like to camp around here...Jones Creek being a prime example. It doesn't hurt that the camper tows level behind the TJ now without needing a 18" drop hitch either. This just fits our needs, was fun to build, and with a DIY approach can be had for around a $5000 budget, camper included.
 
Nice! Any pics of it opened up? I have a 2009 Jayco Baja (my wife's toy) that I am considering shortening the frame on (has that gear deck for ATV's etc that we dont need) to save weight especially at the tongue.
 
Dave said:
Nice! Any pics of it opened up? I have a 2009 Jayco Baja (my wife's toy) that I am considering shortening the frame on (has that gear deck for ATV's etc that we dont need) to save weight especially at the tongue.
Click to expand...
Not yet unfortunately. The inside is pretty stock but I have a few things I want to do. I will try to get some pics posted up when I get back in town after next week. Got a week of HazMat Technician training coming up.
 
Is your bed the same size on both ends when open or is one a queen and one a full?
 
One is a queenish/full, and the other is a twin. In an eight foot box this is usually the configuration. So far that is the ONLY thing we miss about our ten foot box model. Our family fits great but those few times we want to leave the kid and take another couple with us are in the past. This is a two adult, two kid model. Should last us a long time as we have one three year old and one in the planning stages.:D
 
I've got a shot of Jeff's rig from CFW....

Popup.jpg


-Andy
 
We took our 1984 coleman sun valley popup to the 2012 Desert Rendevouz. Only mod was 12" tires instead of the stock 8"/10" ones. It did amazingly well offroad much better than I thought it would.
IMG_1091.jpg
 
jismay said:
We took our 1984 coleman sun valley popup to the 2012 Desert Rendevouz. Only mod was 12" tires instead of the stock 8"/10" ones. It did amazingly well offroad much better than I thought it would.
View attachment 3465
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Did you get wheels to bolt to the factory axle? Ive got an '87 Williamsburg with the very small wheels. They use 4 lug bolts to hold them onto the axle (like a VW). It does have brakes. I want to eventually lift it on longer springs and add shocks, but for now, just putting larger wheels on would be nice. How much did they set you back?

Mine is also getting new canvas, as its torn above the kitchen area window and there is some dry rot from storage. Parents bought it brand new, Ive wanted to fix it up and use it again.
 
Super04duty said:
Did you get wheels to bolt to the factory axle? Ive got an '87 Williamsburg with the very small wheels. They use 4 lug bolts to hold them onto the axle (like a VW). It does have brakes. I want to eventually lift it on longer springs and add shocks, but for now, just putting larger wheels on would be nice. How much did they set you back?

Mine is also getting new canvas, as its torn above the kitchen area window and there is some dry rot from storage. Parents bought it brand new, Ive wanted to fix it up and use it again.
Click to expand...

I just went to etrailer.com and looked at the wheel/tire combos they had available in the 4on4 inch bolt patter to fit my trailer. I'm not sure off the top of my head which one I went with, but one of these (http://www.etrailer.com/dept-pg-Tires_and_Wheels-sf-Tire_with_Wheel-sz-4_on_4_Inch-pc-12_Inch.aspx).

I know some people do SOA conversions on the coleman trailers to gain another few inches of clearance. For the way we have used the trailer that hasn't been needed, but as I upgrade our Jeep I may have to go that way in the future in order to keep the heights reasonable between the trailer and the truck.
 
Thanks.
Thats what Ill be looking into at first, along with the new canvas, just to get out and use it. Its still at my parents house, and my mother (who's wanted to sell it for years now) has just recently decided that she wouldn't mind trying camping again with my dad. So, I won't get to use it much if thats the case, but thats ok. My dad will be towing it with a leveled F150, and Ive towed it before with my 4" lifted F350. Its just waaay too low for these trucks. Especially mine. Was fine in '87 behind my moms ford LTD station wagon, but no so much with these newer and bigger trucks.

From the looks of it, it'll be getting used similar to yours, no *real* off-roading... Maybe Ill see what it'll do before a SOA or longer leafs first. Do you have any more pics of your set up?
 
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