coheed

Hey at the very least a photo shoot would be necessary lol. Digging into the roof more I'm even more puzzled though. Oh I definitely will. Life at the moment is keeping me from traveling a lot, but I'm trying to gear myself up for when that opens up I'll be very prepared to goof off far and wide. So I dug into the camper much deeper last Saturday. Got the canvas fully pulled off so I can remove the bad sections and make templates to recreate them. Got some swatches in to try and color match and surprisingly the natural canvas is the closest color match. I might try to use some RIT dye to match, not sure yet. And I'm still perplexed by the roof. I donned my respirator and started pulling the ceiling off. The whole thing is moldy. It very much seems like the Styrofoam is just glued to the aluminum roof skin. I had to jam my scraper in between the foam and whatever it's glued to rather hard just to get this little bit off. Also, the foam is completely soaked in water. Judging by the surface area and how much water comes out I think it probably adds about 75 lbs to the camper Also pulled the veneers off to get an idea of how the lower "walls" were built. Seems like 1/8" ply with what was advertised as a distressed elm veneer. The outside seems to just be 1/4" ply. Elm is nigh impossible to get in a typical lumber store but I've found a very small husband and wife team that sells specialty veneers for very reasonable prices so I can keep the interior in the red elm it originally came with.

I've been following a guy on Instagram who's swapping a 3UZ into his 3rd gen 4runner using a R150 and 35's. If the older 150 can handle the 3UZ's stock 330 ft/lbs while turning 35s I think you're on the right track.

Yeah I reused the original u-bolt plates so it has the shock mounts. Currently I have some KYB excel-g's that were on my truck before I upgraded to the Bilstein 5100s. Makes it much nicer to pull.

Honestly I'm really tempted to just put some leveling jacks on the back of the frame and leave it on there

Now that's a tough call. Originally my ideal would've been a Wildernest, but obviously finding one that fits a longbed is a needle in a haystack search as you know lol. A Wildernest would definitely cut on weight compared to this, but it's got storage and camp kitchen already built in which is nice. And no fiberglass to worry about. I'm still trying to figure out how the boat rack would've been attached to the roof though

Currently the camper will live here until it gets rebuilt. The old roof basket from my VW makes a semi decent spot to put stuff on the tongue to balance the weight a little better as well.

Well, they are finally making a single cab long bed Ranger again. The US won't see it, but it's a step in the right direction. If enough people actually buy and use a true utility truck there may be hope. That said I'd rather Stellantis not make a new Comanche. What they did with the Gladiator name really didn't inspire any confidence that a new MJ would live up to the cool factor of the old one. Got the camper moved to the trailer and took the truck to the mountains. The transmission or clutch is making a hell of a noise. I'm gonna change the fluid and see if it helps, but I'd rather not throw money at the 2.8/AX5. So unfortunately I may have to postpone my road trip out west til a later date.

Finally got an axle for this thing. #3500 idler with a 62" hub face to hub face spacing. I does have a crazy amount of positive camber now, but I suppose that isn't a horrible thing. It will never see that much weight, but it was the cheapest trailer axle that I could bolt brakes onto later with no extra work. Looking at it now I really want to make a jerry can holder with a tire mount on it for the tongue. My Coleman camper will probably live on this for a while so I can use the truck to get lumber and other materials to rebuild the camper. I also still have 3 good 235/75r15 Falken AT3Ws laying around I'll replace the 31's on it with. The 31's are about twice as old as the Falkens. Now I need to find some more YJ gamblers so both the spares match the truck and trailer

As much as I love this thing and as special as Comanches are to me, it's still a $1500 truck Would be a shame if I didn't do some $1500 truck things with it. Finally got an axle on the trailer, which means the Coleman can go on it while I get the supplies to rebuild it. Definitely going to swap to a bit larger of a shackle. If I'm doing my math right a XJ 2" shackle will get me another 3/4" which will even it out well.

Don't discount used ones. I have an 80s black and decker one I got at a yard sale more than I decade ago. Lived in my work toolbox for a while and has been home use for years. Has probably popped 1000s of rivers.

I've got family planning on being in Oregon but haven't gotten all the details ironed out yet.

With the purchase of the camper I really wanted to upgrade to metric ton springs. I contacted General Spring about 6 times asking about the lifted metric ton springs they had made for a few years, but every single person said they had no idea what I was talking about. So I just pulled the trigger on the metric ton ones they make and have listed on the site as most people report it puts them over stock anyway. Compared to the stock leaves with a full length AAL they have just a hair less free arch but each leave is about 1/16" thicker than the factory spring. With the camper in the back they ride at pretty much the same height as the lift springs that were on it. But being in and out of the camper a lot today I can say the truck moves around WAY less with the new springs. Hopefully they don't sag too much, but I could go with a bit longer of a shackle. I think at some point I'll also put a set of Timbrens on. Before After Compressed onto the overloads, but doesn't lower much more even with 250 lbs me in the back moving around.

Glad I could bring back some fond memories. And yes it smells exactly like that Finally got around to doing some actual work on it. Disassembled essentially everything in the interior except the benches. Bagged and tagged all the hardware so I don't forget what's what. The cabinets were only made of 1"x2" with 1/8" veneer over top of it. Should be very easy to replicate with nicer modern materials. The benches and countertops are cheap 80s particle board cabinet material, so I may even be able to shave a few pounds in the wood department. Also found out that surprisingly most of the roof and walls are just straight up Styrofoam. Not sure what the best way to replace/redo that will be. Presumably foam board. Not so much worried about insulation as the sides are canvas, so if anyone has a better/cheaper suggestion I'm all for it. Would really like to put a 12 volt battery in the bottom pass side cabinet where the optional furnace would've been installed and maybe get a solar panel on the top. Apparently you could get a optional boat rack for the roof so I know weight won't be a concern. Been looking at roof vents and for as much as they are I think I'm going to go to a bigger one that doubles as a skylight. I also bought a Singer sewing machine that'll do canvas. There are some very reputable camper canvas replication companies, but their lead times are near year long lengths and I'm hoping to head out west with it this summer. Plus it'll be way cheaper.

Love a contractors cap on an old truck. Looks great

Last year I realized I inadvertently created a tradition of taking the truck to work on the last day of the year. I took this year as an opportunity to use the crane and swap the new affordable offroad elite brush guard bumper on. It clocks in at around 110 with the brackets, so this was much easier than trying to do it at home. I'm not crazy about the gaps and the fact the rad support hangs lower than the bumper, but I got it on sale for about what I could've bought the raw materials for. I've been stuck enough I can justify a winch at this point, and this seemed like a decently cheap route. I still plan on building a hidden winch at some point though and going back to the stock bumper. And since it was literally just me and the security guards I decided to goof off and do something I've always wanted to do I'd say decently impressive with an 800# camper and a larger sway bar still connected. Overall, a good day. I also have the new Keyparts pans and braces (not pictured) so I'm planning on refreshing my oxyfuel setup in the beginning of the year to put them in with.

Unfortunately, you might be waiting a while lol 1000% He also had a sweet diesel 4x4 Hiace van and some other vintage stuff I got to check out as well.

No lights on the side, but they do provide a little side illumination through the lense. The sides are reflectors.

The canvas has 2 small rips over the pass side bed, which will be an easy patch because they're small. The big ones are the back pass window panel and the panel that connects the canvas to the frame on the back driver's side. I may end up outsourcing the replacement of these as there are some decent pop-up trailer replacement canvas businesses. I may buy a sewing machine and do it myself, who knows. It also has a surprising amount of room inside even with the top all the way down. I'm a little too tall to sleep in the back with the top down, but I'm positive some could. And of course, I had to christen it with something Comancheclub and I felt the Don sticker fit best on the cooler. The truck needs floors before the camper will get major work done on it, but I'd like to get at least the roof done relatively quickly to stop more water pouring in. This one will probably be slow going.

So, one really cool thing about this camper compared to others of the era is they used 7/8" square steel tube for most of the structure, the telescoping legs are stainless, and the frame of the roof is basically 3/16" angle. That means all the rotten wood doesn't really give the camper structure. So, it's fairly easy to lift and move it in and out of the truck. The original wood is MDF like with an elm laminate over top. That said otherwise the camper is literally all original, including the ice box/cooler, the fire extinguisher, the propane tank, and the water jug. He also gave me the original cushions that I haven't taken a picture of yet. The only original accessory I didn't end up with is the table. It's got shore water hookups and a 12v light, but I think I might add a small 12v battery and a removable solar panel down the road. It also has the original 2 burner propane stove, though the gas line may need replaced.

According to the picture of the manufactures tag in a pic from the original owner the camper was built on Oct 12, 1981. It also is supposed to only weigh 806lbs with 5 gallons of water, 10lbs of propane, and 25lbs of ice which is a perfect weight for a Comanche. It's also 85 1/2" long so you have just enough space to close the tailgate with it strapped in place. We communicated a good bit before I made the 1200 mile round trip to come buy the camper, and I think I got it for a decent price. He was very up front about the fact the roof seals had gone bad and there was wood damage, as well as the few spots the canvas needed repaired. In all honesty I had been looking at Alaskan campers, Fourwheel campers, and Skampers of the same era that were all more expensive and much heavier than the Coleman. So the prospect of having to do some work didn't detter me just because this thing was too cool.

So, I saw this Comanche on Instagram one day and decided to ask if I could get any info on the camper. The guy ended up messaging me and said he still had it and would sell if I was interested. When he said he still had it I started doing some research to see what I was getting into. From what I can tell this model was first introduced as the Country Squire in the late 70's, as shown in this sales ad>> 1980.Coleman®CampingTrailersFlyer.pdf Then in 1981 they changed the styling just a tad and renamed the larger version the Wrangler and the smaller one the Maverick. These seem to be in incredibly short supply. I can only find a few Facebook posts, including one guy in Uruguay looking for info on his, 2 sales ads, and a few pictures of the Wrangler versions as well as a parts diagram book. The only pictures I have been able to find of a Maverick are of the model that I currently own, and one on a Ranger. Here it is with the first Comanche it was on, and at the shipping location before it went to the guy I bought it off of.

Love that camper shell. Seems like it'll be a good project.

Right? It needs a good bit of work, but it was way too cool to pass up.

Well camping rig v2 has been abandoned, but for good reason. I got a line on an old flip up/out Coleman slide in camper. Only problem was it was 600 miles away in Indiana. Fortunately, big road trips always motivate me to fix things I've been putting off. My valve covers had been leaking, my parking brake cables were stretched beyond use, my exhaust was in absolutely awful shape, I needed a new brake prop valve rod, I wanted to upgrade the tiny front sway bar, and my speedo had been dancing since I got the truck. I swapped the sway bar uneventfully, and I can say it made a big improvement. It was only the 26mm because I failed to measure it at the junkyard but it was only $20. I managed to score a NOS speedo cable, which unfortunately the bolt that holds it to the frame came loose about 200 miles into the trip and it immediately cooked it on the exhaust manifold . I replaced all my parking brake cables, but up in Indiana the teeth in the pedal decided to give up the ghost. I wanted a quick/cheap fix for the awful tailpipe issue, so I just clamped on a 90 to direct it out from under the truck. And when I was replacing the valve cover gaskets I was greeted with this mess. Glad I didn't spend any real money on this 2.8 . Here's the awful tailpipe in question. And the shiny new 90, parking brake cables, and prop rod. New sway bar Saw some good views on the way up. Ended up staying in a cabin at a lake in south IN that was gorgeous. Wish I had more time there as they had a decent amount of hiking trails that also connected to Jackson-Washington state forest. Met with the guy who had the camper and talked shop for a good while. Some people may recognize his Comanche as the pictures float around a good bit. It's a full pass-through setup built on the frame without the bed. It's currently up in his garage needing work, but I may try and persuade him to come do a build thread on here. Super cool truck in person. After some time and a quick price negotiation I was the proud owner of a Coleman Maverick slide in camper. Dry weight was advertised at 730#, but with camping gear, jacks, extra parts, water jugs etc. I'm guessing that I was hauling around 1100-1200#. Surprisingly the old haggard leaves handled it well. It sagged just a bit with all that weight in the back. And the 2.8 was not horribly disappointing, but that's mostly the 4.10's if I'm honest. It didn't have enough umph to get over 65, but I stayed off the interstate coming back anyway. Probably the best pic I'll ever get of the Manche Got it home and opened it up, cleaned it a bit, and assessed what all it needs. Pretty much all the wood will need replaced, but what's cool is the frame is 1" square steel tube, and all the exterior skin panels are aluminum. So the wood doesn't really give it that much structure aside from the roof. It's got a really cool ingenious cable lift system for the roof, and the sides just fold out and are held up with 3/8" steel cables. And the dry weight is low enough that when it's just the camper it sits just a little lower than it does unloaded. Will be starting a thread on the camper in the "Other Stuff" section soon. The floors are getting seriously bad, so that's next before I start throwing money at the camper. Plan on ordering the new Keyparts pans in the next little bit and I already have their brace set, so should be a fairly straightforward job.

If I'm doing my math right this is right at 1200 pounds. Maybe more since there's jacks and such in the back, and gear up front. It currently sits about three quarters of an inch lower than the front, but my leaves had about 350k on them