Gearing up for Panimint Valley

[Gary]

And a few other places.

I found this sweet little camper last week on craigslist for $225.00. With a few slight mods I fitted it to my Dodge. I gave the guy another $20.00 for the camper mounts and turn buckes and modified them to fit my truck. Spent a few dollars at the hardware store and I'm all in for $325.00 so far. Sure beats buying a new one.

Now I just have to figure out some water storage and build a hitch for the jeep. I'm hoping to get approx 20 mpg with this set up. The camper is maybe 500 lbs. The pickup by itself, no camper, not towing gets 26 to 29 mpg. Should be able to cover some ground without costing to much. .

[Roger]

Post up some photos of the inside! The outside looks great, especially for the price!

[Gary]

Will post some tomorrow night after doing some more work on it and the jeep. Today I mounted the tow bar on the Jeep and took it for a test drive. Worked great, couldn't even feel it behind the truck. The inside is in very good shape for a 1970 camper. The guy who owned it took really good care of it.

I was just about ready to order a new one like this for a couple grand from www.capricamper.com when this deal popped up. Glad I held off.

[Gary]

Here you go Roger. I didn't get near as much done today as I hoped for. Managed to get the marker lights hooked up and and repaired my mud flaps.

I think we need a RV/Tow Rig section here on the forum. Wasn't really sure where to start this thread?

Anyways here's some interior pic's and the truck hooked to the jeep also.

Table down



Table up



Ice Box



Truck hooked to jeep





Tow Bar

[Gary]

I got that tow bar for $10.00 at the corner swap meet/yard sale.

[gp4plyqn]

Great finds Gary

[Zoobi]

I so want your truck. Mine is an 84 Chev. dually 454. If I get a good tail wind, down hill, I get about 12mpg. Add a 11.5 ft Lance camper, jeep on a tow bar, 50 gallons of water, and watch the mileage drop to about 8. Nice looking camper too.

Scott

[OU812]

WoW. You have got it figured out. Nice setup.

[Gary]

Thanks, everyone.

I don't know about having it all figured out :bonk: .

I think this will work as a good weekend desert base camp. If I decide I can't live without the comfort of the toy hauler I can always hook onto it with this 400/500 lb camper on the truck. I'll just call the camper a cheap spare bed room, or rent it out to the tent campers when their tent blows away. :lol:.

The camper with the jeep in tow will allow me to take trips further out without it costing very much or the hassle of dragging the toy hauler behind.

Yeah Scott, I've owned my share of fuel guzzlers, I know what your saying. It can definately make a difference on where to go for the weekend. When your buying fuel for that big block though just think about the $700.00/$800.00 a month payment on a new truck. Should ease the pain at the pump some.

[Gary]

Just had to try it out,

Friday after work we hooked the jeep to the truck and took off for Tuttle Creek. Had to try the little camper out, and test the tow bar also. Jeep pulled great no problems whatsoever.

Saturday morning I drove the jeep around the Alabama Hills (awesome scenery). I even found a few old mines to check out. Then I blazed a trail (dirt road really) up to the base of Mt Whitney and caught the paved road going to Whitney Portal. Went up there and relaxed, and just took in the scenery.

The camper worked great. Bed was a little uncomfortable but i can fix that. Tested the camper ice box out, it stayed between 30 and 40 degrees the entire trip. 3 days on the ice blocks, should last at least 4 days. Much better than the ice chests did, had to keep buying ice for them.


Here's a few pic's from my weekend.

Tuttle Creek Camp Ground, only $5.00 a night, what a deal considering the surrounding camp grounds wanted $16.00/$19.00 a night.



View of the Mountains from Tuttle Creek



A few pic's of the Alabama Hills. The pic's I took of the Alabama Hills don't do this place justice.











Mines in the Alabama Hills,







Pic's from Mount Whitney







When I left Tuttle Creek this morning I decided to take a detour and go around the East side of Owens Lake and go through Panamint Valley. Still a little warm out there but I wanted to put the towbar through it's paces. No problems.


Before you drop down into Panamint Springs heading East. Close to the turn off for the Saline Valley. Wish I would've had more time and another jeep or two with us. I was wanting to explore this area bad.

[Zoobi]

Great pictures.
If you ever need someone to go exploring with. Im in. Ive always loved that area.

Scott

[Gary]

Sounds good Scott will let you know about the next trip.

[Roger]

Okay Gary,

You think cheap like I do. We need to start hangin't out!

That little camper is great. What a great price.

[Gary]

Yeah Roger. The older I get the more of a bargain shopper I become. LOL

I quickly fab'd up a basket on Friday so the water jugs could ride in the tow bar, figure it would be a good spot for them. It made the trip there and back but it was some terrible looking work. I bent it all by hand in a rush, and when I went to weld it together my automatic hood wouldn't work. Fried my eyeballs a little and paid for it that night. Gonna have to redo it.

[Zoobi]

MMMM... fried eyeballs.
Every time I pick up my auto helmet, I think that's gonna happen. Still have the old school on the wall just in case.