Replacement Crank Mechanism for Skamper Pop Up

Last week my youngest child decided to crank the lifting mechanism backwards while the top was in the down position until the cable snapped at the crank. I thought that if a child can break it then it needed to be replaced. I took a closer look and the whole front area of the trailer needs some work. The cranking mechanism was being held on with one bolt and the handle was welded together and bent. I am not sure if it was original but it needed help. I am not really a welder but I do have a back ground in machining and metal work, so I took a machinist's approach to replacing the crank mechanism.

First things first, all of the old metal brackets needed to be removed. Somehow the previous owner bent the propane and crank brackets. They were welded on so I cut the welds off with my cut off wheel to get them out of the way. I purchased my replacement crank mechanism at Harbor Freight with a 20% off coupon for $17.00. Next I located a piece of 3/8" thick 6061-T6 aluminum bar stock to use as my new bracket. I laid the aluminum on top of the frame and started laying out the position of everything. I got everything "eyeball aligned" so that the crank shaft lined up to the crank clearance hole in the frame. I sharpie marked the locations on the aluminum plate of the new crank and also the angles where it connects to the frame. The angles ended up being 22.5 degrees which was an easy setting on my compound miter saw. Yes you can cut aluminum with your carbide tipped wood blades on your compound miter saw. I only cut aluminum on my compound miter saw or jig saw and never on the table saw. I prefer the miter saw because of the stationary back fence and the fact that the saw blade is turning away from you forcing the metal against the fence. Always cut slow and use cutting fluid (WD40 works). I then transferred hole locations from the crank to the plate and drilled and tapped those holes. I also drilled mounting holes on the outside edges of the plate and then brought everything over to the trailer frame to locate the position. Once I got everything lined up I matched drilled the holes into the frame. Only leave a dimple in your drill holes so you can get everything out of the way so you can do some real drilling without losing location. I only drilled through the top part of the steel channel which was around .125" thick. I tapped those holes too but then followed the screws with Nylok nuts on the bottom for extra strength.

Next was making a new shaft to go from the new crank output shaft to a place outside of the frame. The previous owner rigged a welded tube that got bent. I used a solid piece of 3/4" 1018 steel (cold rolled steel, nothing fancy). I drilled a .450" hole in one end on my drill press and drilled cross holes and tapped them. The other end was also drilled and tapped for a retaining hole for the new handle. This end also needed to be tuned or ground down. I do not have a lathe but I do have a bench grinder that I carefully ground the tip of the OD down to .470". I then had to grind a .330" flat on both sides (.330" being the total distance of the flats). This fit the new keyed end of the crank handle. Everything fit well and it is better than new. Check out the pictures below.

Pop Up Lifting Crank Mechanism Before

Skamper Pop Up Old Ratcheting Crank

New Harbor Freight Crank

New Skamper Pop Up Crank Mechanism

Solid Steel Shaft Connected with Double Screws

New Lifting Crank for my Pop Up

New Canvas from Bear Creek Canvas

Bear Creek Canvas received our canvas late last week and has begun the work to create our replacements. So far my experience with Bear Creek has been great. They have answered all of my questions quickly and professionally. I called them up as well and they have a lot of experience and knowledge for people that are restoring their pop ups. I look forward to asking them more questions and of course receiving our brand new canvas.

New Floors for our Skamper Pop Up

As mentioned in an earlier post, we went all in on our 1989 Skamper Pop Up restoration. Today we removed all of the cabinets so that we could pull up the old vinyl flooring. Nothing was really in that bad of shape, but you could see the 22 years of wear and tear on it. It needs a restoration. Check out the pictures everything is out and almost ready for new floors. We learned a few more things about our pop up. The refrigerator was not a fridge at all but just an icebox. That's OK with us, makes the restoration easier. We also got to see the water system. That wasn't too bad either but we will probably redo the hoses and give the tank a good clean. The water tank is only 16 gallons which is OK for cooking and washing uses.

Skamper pop up without cabinets

Skamper w/o cabinets

Needs 70 sq/ft of new flooring

Complete Restoration has Started on 1989 Skamper 240C Pop Up

We decided to bite the bullet and go all in on the pop up Skamper Camper restoration. Today all of the canvas came down and we will be sending it to Bear Creek Canvas. They have been quick to respond to our request for quote and we have read lots of good things about them. We did find some soft spots in the floor but they do not go all the way through. Should be an easy repair. Next up while were waiting for our new canvas is to pull the cabinets and redo the floor. The materials should be cheap, just need the time to get it done. Stay tuned.

Skamper Pop Up w/o Canvas

Skamper 240C Pop Up minus the Canvas

1989 Skamper 240CPop Up Update

We got working more on the Skamper Camper. It got a good overall cleaning and the cushions pulled and washed. We are now planning to pull cabinets from it and install new flooring. We are also looking into replacing the canvas sides. This will leave us with a great road worthy pop up camper for well under the cost of a new camper.

!989 Skamper Pop Up looking cleaner

Good Side of the Skamper

Clean Versus Dirty Skamper Roof

1989 Skamper 240C Pop Up Camper

We will now be embarking on a new adventure in frugal traveling. We purchased a very affordable 1989 Skamper pop up model #240C. It needs some work but it is definitely a great start for our family to begin camping. Check out the pictures and come back often. We will be showing the work we will be doing to get our new used Skamper camper up to snuff for many more years of camping fun.

1989 Skamper 240C Pop Up

Travel for this Summer

The high cost of airfare will be pushing us to travel by vehicle this year instead of flying east. This is a good thing since we are planning to go to Yellowstone National Park. Everything is still in the planning stages but I look forward to bringing lots of great pictures back.