Builds Another 80 Series Pop Top - My 40th Build (from memory...)

[ab1985]

Summers are hot and soupy in Tennessee. We decided to head north in July to check out the UP. It was a great trip with all four of us (at the time). I had to pack a ground tent to accomodate all of us, but the truck and pop top were still an asset with all the integrated storage, fridge, and cooking ready to go. Michigan did not dissapoint with beautiful scenery and cooler temps. Somehow we escaped the infamous mosquito swarms and came home with freshed picked blueberries and leftover pasties.

 

[ab1985]

More pics from that trip...

 

[ab1985]

Still a few updates I need to post to get everything up to speed, but here is a preview of work going on right now.

 

[ab1985]

The 80 is a pretty tight fit for a family of four, so we decided against any more long distance trips as a group. I didn't do much with the truck for a while. It lived at my brother's place out by his shop for a year or two while I was busy at a new job. In 2019 my older daughter, my dog, and I drove back out to Colorado and picked up my wife and younger daughter in Denver and spent a week in th San Juans.

I had to pull the storage system to make room for all of us plus the dog, so I built a simple splide for the fridge that worked ok for a while. I bought six front runner wolf pack boxes which are nice, but carrying your gear on the roof is a PITA so those have just collected dust in the garage. I also added a 12k lb winch just in case.

 

[ab1985]

My daughters are 16 and 12 now and don't care much for truck camping anymore. But they still think of my 80 as a member of the family and think it's so cool when we get looks and waves driving around town. The whole family loves the truck as much as I do, they just don't want to sleep in it. That's okay. My son is getting bigger so I want to start getting out on more adventures with him.

This picture is from last year and shows two things: 1) Solar Shades I ordered from Australia that do a great job of creating privacy in the cruiser when camping. Bulky but really nice if you have the space. 2) I still had the bed slats that came with the Campteq tops way back in the day vs. the nice lifting bed platform options you see offered today. My son was three and did fine but it was a reminder that the slats are kind of sketchy with kids. So I've decided to address those.

 

[ab1985]

I had a lot of work done before the trip to CO in 2019 including new leather from Mosley Motors. The old seats were pretty rough.

 

[ab1985]

This is the new leather 5.5 years later.

 

[ab1985]

Carrying camping gear on the roof was a huge PITA. I'm not sure why roof boxes are so popular. I can only see using them for gear that you hardly ever need, and I don't carry a lot of that type of gear.

In 2020/2021-ish I had American Truck Box make me a galley box. They were great to deal with. I gave them measurements to maximize the space where I was previously carrying fuel and made sure I could fit gas/water cans on top of I needed. I haven't dedicated the space on top for anything specific, but it's handy when I need it. The inside fits my camping gear, leveling blocks, solar cords, camp chair and more.

 

[ab1985]

More

 

[ab1985]

I've covered many of the big items at this point. I'll summarize a few others then shift to what I'm working on currently.

When I first bought the truck I had the PHH replaced while having oil leaks addressed (don't recall what those were but it was minor). Fast forward and I have been going through oil pretty regularly. For the last couple of years I've had smoke at start up and in late spring the rear main seal started leaking and pooling oil in my driveway which pushed me over the edge. I was also at the end of my rope with the IBS dual battery management system I had been using since the beginning (didn't cover here).

I contacted Cole at OTM Cruisers and ended up sending the truck down to him over the summer.

I received the truck back a month or two ago and couldn't be happier. I won't go through all the details, but to ensure all stones were turned over the engine was pulled to address the rear main seal and went ahead and did the head gasket with full valve job.

While it was there, the truck also got:

- 4.88's and Harrop Lockers. Not mentioned yet but I had the axles rebuilt when the driver wheel bearing went bad after the crazy water crossings I mentioned earlier. At the time I did go ahead and upgrade to Longfields, so I'm feeling good about the axles.
- Replaced IBS dual battery system with National Luna
- Two new AGM batteries
- Mounted a Shadyboy awning where the old Hannibal used to live (will have a dedicated post on this at some point)
- Installed and OEM hand throttle and new driver window motor in had sitting in my parts pile

 

[ab1985]

I'm sitting in my garage right now rain delayed when the forecast for the weekend was beautiful. I planned on sharing finished pictures on Monday, but I'll share a few previews of what I'm working on now instead.

I replaced the Edgestar fridge I was using in my original storage setup with a Dometic on a simple fridge slide in 2019. The Dometic fridge very is nice, but I don't like the height in an area I envisioned having a bench. I picked up an Ironman drawer fridge and have been kicking around ideas there. I also mentioned I needed to address the bed slats up top, so both of those efforts kicked off a few weeks back.

Here's where I am with all of that:

 

[ab1985]

On the last picture - the plan is to build a cabinet around the fridge with a bench extension that drops in up to the second row with room for a couple of storage boxes underneath. I have power from the aux battery ran to the rear cubby and plan to mount a blue sea fuse box there unless there are better options. On the passenger side the plan is to build a cabinet with storage underneath and sink on top for simple things like brushing teeth or filling water bottles. I'll mount a water pump in the driver cubby and have a 14 gallon tank that will go underneath where the spare tire was. I don't know much about electrical and just enough to be dangerous on plumbing so we'll see how that goes...

 

[FJRanger]

Our's doesn't have the bed slats, but 3 pieces of the very nice laminated plywood. However, I'd like to add some aluminum framing similar to what you're doing & include some hinges or struts to increase rigidity.

 

[ab1985]

I used the aluminum framing to support 1/2" ply to keep the weight down. I think it will work well. I ordered and received a two-piece custom mattress this week (more on that later). I have hinges that will keep the two 70/30 pieces anchored, but my roof cutout is not large enough to accommodate struts so I have a different plan to hold them up. I think it will work

 

[FJRanger]

Looking forward to seeing what you've come up with.

 

[ab1985]

I made a little progress last weekend. After putting together the first part of the rear cabinet I decided that I need to build this in two pieces. I had a heck of a time sliding this in after building it on a bench, and the one-piece design will make building the rest of the setup too complicated. So I'm going to pull it out and restart next weekend.

 

[ab1985]

I finally made it out to my brother's cabinet shop today to work on v2 of my interior setup. Working with top of the line tools in a decked out shop with someone who does this for a living was a game changer.

My v1 made out of Home Depot birch plywood laid out on top of a sheet of pre-finished cabinet grade maple getting the base traced out:

 

[ab1985]

Progress pics

 

[ab1985]

Done for the day

 

[KentuckyWildcat84]

I've enjoyed your write-up, thus far. Will be looking forward to the rest. Very nice set up!!