I would try an automotive glass shop. Camper windows are quite expensive for the whole unit. They should be able to fit tempered smoked or clear glass.

You should look at some of the service caps. They are typically fibreglass, inuslated with a reardoor that replaces the tailgate. Paste this URL into your browser.

http://www.google.ca/imgres?q=contractor+c...,r:10,s:0,i:101

I am not clear on what you are trying to accomplish. IE most DVD players will also play CD's so you don't need both. If you mean LCD TV and DVD player, then I purchased a 22 inch LCD TV\DVD combo unit. I bolted it to a cabined and added a brace from one of the back panel screws to keep it steady.

How many passengers would you be taking. My Regular Cab 1/2 ton Silverado is rated for 1250 lbs of cargo (1,800 payload). Ext cab likely rated closer to 1000 lbs. Cargo. This means if you also have 1800 lb payload, you need to subtract gas 200lbs + 500 lbs passengers + options if you have electric windows etc.

A small 7 foot popup might work for you. They are rare though. I had one on a Dodge Dakota with just one extra leaf spring. No issues.

Everyone has a different opinion. You should add, what you plan to use them for. Nitto Grapler comes in many tread styles so no use steering you towards a street tire if you want off-road traction.

http://www.nittotire.com/Tire/terragrappler#size

Here is a spec chart from Nitto for reference.

on a side note, my camper had a 7 ft box on a 6.5 foot box Dakota so did not extend past the rear bumper. An 8 ft box camper could be an issue depending on your bed length. You need to locate (on internet) the Centre of gravity on the camper and note where it lines up on your truck. At or behind the rear axle will cause handling issues and overload rear axle. IE 100 lbs overload on front and rear axle might not be a big issue, but 500 lbs over on rear and 200 lbs under on front would be an issue. Good Luck

Campers built for the Ford Ranger (Mazda B4000) have a 36 inch box. Sounds like you have a 44 inch camper designed for the Dodge Dakota. I had a 7ft jayco on my dodge dakota. I did add an extra leaf spring and belly bar. Truck sat level and never looked overloaded with the small pop up. I may have been overloaded with the 1,400 lb payload. One year we put 6000 miles on travelling across Canada and through the mountains, two kids, wife and I. No issues. In the context of how others overload their trucks, 200 lbs is not much. For sure, loose the plow frame, keep the belly bar. You will need to have a good look at the lift mechanism, wiring, propane gas lines etc before cutting.

Note that Short bed campers typical for a 3/4 ton are a lot longer then 6.5 ft and replace not only the tail gate, but the rear tail lights as well. If you are really talking about buying a tiny 6.5 ft box camper then it will fit. Most newer campers have steps which you would not be able to use if you left the tailgate on. Going with such a small camper on a 3/4 ton, I give you kudos for observing the weight limits so with that theme you could save even more by leaving the tailgate at home. You will need to protect the tailgate with a rubber matt as they can get slippery if your plan is to use it as a porch?

The USA has some good consumer protection laws but I know that the Catalytic heater I have, while approved in the USA for indoor use, is not approved in Canada. If cost is an issue, go with the catalytic one. Otherwise I would go with a built in one. The issue is whether you are burning inside or outside air and would you trust your life that the low oxygen shut off works on the catalytic heater
?

I use my catalytic heater as its infra red and will warm me up even outside. I would never go to sleep with it on in an enclosed camper.

I once had a folding camper with hard side walls. each end wall had two gas struts that did most of the lifting. Gas struts like the ones that lift the liftgates on Mini Vans were similar. If you have them they may be worn out.

Everything you ever wanted to know about tires on this site

http://www.goodyear.com/truck/pdf/edb_loads.pdf

I run my load range E tires (LT265 70R-17) at 40 PSI (Door says 36 lbs) which gives me an approximate rating equal to my GAWR on my 1/2 ton Silverado. If I was to be carrying a heavy load at hyway speeds, I might bump them up to 50 lbs.

If your tires are rated at max for 7000 lbs on the pair and you have 5,000 lbs on your Rear axle, you could get away with a lower pressure. From the charts, I estimate you loose 300 lbs capacity on a pair of tires for every 5 lb drop.

The problems come more from Speed. If you are driving constant 70mph, I would leave them at 80 PSI. Running at 60 mph or less and you could probably run them at 70 PSI with camper and much lower without the camper.

For example, in the past I owned Suzuki Samurai's, these 2500 lb trucks came with 15 inch tires and the door post said 20 PSI.

Soo much more comfortable not running at 80 PSI when unloaded.

I had a front blow out once with an 88Chev C2500. It happened almost exactly 10,000 km after hitting a pot hole that broke the window in the cabover section of the TC. Unknown at the time, it was a ticking time bomb. When it blew, only the two beads kept the tire on the rim. It took two lanes (thank god for a divided hwy with two lanes in each direction.) to regain control. My camper was only an 8 footer and well under GVWR. Whats great about my (too much talk about Dodge and Ford) 2011 Silverado is that it comes with tire monitors so it will tell you if a tire is getting low which would cause heat build up and possible failure.

Age of tires is also important. Check the sidewall. A number like 2208 circled means the tire was made the 22 week of 2008. If your tires are more then 6 years old, I would be weary to run them at full weight rating.

From my experience, the roof will probably leak and cave in before the Tent Fabric goes. My last pop up TC was 15 years old and I had no issues with the tent material. I had to replace the wood on the rear end of the roof, suspect leaking from the clearance lights rotted the wood?

When looking for ideas for a homebuilt I found that Rona and other bigbox hardware stores sold 4x8 sheets of plastic, lexan and fibreglass panels. I was looking at the fibreglass for my build. Thin, strong and repairable.

Also be aware that many states require marker lights for units over 80 inches wide. These are in the form of 5 lamps, three closely grouped in the centre and one at each corner. Yellow on the front, red on the rear.

Up here in Canada, I believe you will need the five clearance lights on the rear if you are over 80 Inches wide. My new 2011 camper has them.

By bumpers bottoming out, you probably mean Bump-Stops between the axle and frame are bottoming out. You can probably upgrade the bumpstops as well .

1755 dry camper
100 water (1/2 tank)
100 cloths
50 food
50 drinks
200 gasoline
300 2 passengers
60 aux battery


Already at 2,500 lbs. Add a bike rack and a couple of bikes, a generator etc etc and you can see why a bigger truck is needed. Even if airbags will keep a truck level, they won't compensate for axle, brake and chassis loading. Just look at the difference between the frame of a 3/4 ton and a 1/2 ton pickup.

On the other hand many people do what you are doing and are happy with their setup.

Nope, nothing lightweight in a hardside. Sounds like you need a 4Wheel Camper. They are pop-up though you can get an insulating skirt for the canvass to cover off cold weather. Very low profile so you will save on fuel.

Most of all you will get to your baja destination relaxed instead of white knuckling a top heavy camper over poor roads.

Usually the process to light a fridge is to hold down a red button which bypasses the bymetal propane cut off until the air is purged and the bimetal safty switch is activated by the pilot light. Sounds old so not sure if it has a Pezio igniter or requires a match. Since you have gas to the appliance it should not take long to purge and get a pilot light. Might be worth it, with 12V setting to bypass the thermostat or relay and get 12V to the fridge element for a few hours. If the vertical chimney gets warm and the fridge does not start to cool, the ammonia system is crystalized and further efforts may become a money pit.

Most modern campers with aluminum roofs have one piece roofs so I don't think leaking is a big issue. My older TC had a tin roof with seams, so I treated it annually. Does get hard to talk during a rain storm. I am looking forward to seeing what my new camper sounds like with its EDPM rubber roof. (Snow does not make much noise

Payload excludes passengers, options and fuel. Cargo Carrying includes full fuel and passengers. If its a 4 door pickup, they will expect you will carry more passengers. Case in point, my 2011 Silverado 1/2 ton has a cargo rating of 1200 lbs and a payload of 1800 lbs. They account for my 34 US gallons (128litres) fuel and two passengers in my Reg Cab and about 50lbs in accessorys on my stripped WT model. (Duramax Diesel reduces cargo carrying by some 500 lbs)

If you have a bunch of options like power seats, doors etc it all adds up. My step father had a Silverado 2500 HD Diesel with 9200 lb GVWR. We weight it with one passenger and full fuel and it was 7,200 lbs. That means he could only carry 2000 lbs. Needless to say he traded it in on a 3500 dually to carry the 5th wheels 3,000lb pin weight.

Typically a 9.5 ft camper will widen to its full width and contain brake lights etc. If it was built for a 8 ft box, you are probably looking at a funky gap between the bed and the camper.

Not a lot of info out there on this truck camper but perhaps looking at some of their trailers might provide the info you are looking for. I have owned a similar camper before. Had trouble with and replaced a regulator on the furnace. I believe I even took off the access door into the furnace burner and vacuumed out all the rust, inspect it. Also remember going on the tin roof and sealing all the seams. Personnally I would go out and purchase a Propane leak detector, Carbon Monoxide and smoke detector. Keep the Propane tank painted white.

Mine also had only three jacks so buy some 2x4's and make a base for it. Only use the Jacks for removal and stability while camping.

Ditto to what the others said, I never had any stability issues with either the pop up on a Dodge Dakota or hardside on a 3/4 ton. I added a leaf spring to the dodge and did nothing to the Chevy. In fact I have memories of driving the hardside in some very serious weather an was amazed at the stability as I dodged debris on the hwy from downed trees.