Help with Shadow Cruiser/Sky Cruiser II

[JCTSMOM]

We were just given a Sky Cruiser II truck camper (ID plate says 1994), which has some pretty awful water damage to the front sleeping end and 1 wall, though I'm sure there is much more than that. Our plan is to completely gut it out and redo the inside to replace all of the damage.

We completely rehabbed our 1994 Coleman Santa Fe and found it to be like an onion.....just one problem after another in layers. She's beautiful and sound now! We removed the galley because we're not comfortable with propane in such a small area and never cook inside. It works out beautifully for us and our kids, but the Sky Cruiser will be for just my husband and I.

Here are my questions:

I'd like to remove the kitchen part (stove, heater, fridge, sink) of this Sky Cruiser as well and was wondering if it would change the weight of the camper in a detrimental way? My concern is that it would be too light, or is there such a thing? From the ID plate, it currently weighs 1300 lbs.

Can we make the upper bed bigger somehow by maybe removing some of the closet/storage cabinets and relocating storage to where the kitchen is currently? Or maybe using the upper part as storage and making a larger bed on the floor part, where the current couch is?

Are the 3 jack stands on it really enough to support it? Should we relocate the single one and get a 4th?

I can find absolutely no information about this camper online.... any idea why?

Is there a good way to go about the gutting process.... maybe an order that makes sense? All of the work will be done outside.

Should we just remove the roof and make a new one? What to use and in which order?

Any links to rehabbed examples online or user manual that you know of?

Any and all help would be appreciated! We're really committed to this and are excited to get started, though we also realize there will be some money involved! Thank you in advance!

[burningman]

Removing weight isn't detrimental.
Forget the weight listed on the plate, you have to actually weigh the camper to have any accurate idea what it weighs.

[sabconsulting]

Hi,

As said above I wouldn't start removing the vertical cabinets which provide bracing for the structure. I have a '91 Sky Cruiser I and it has the big moon roof running about 5 foot along the centre of the camper - that makes a big area that is not structurally supported, so it needs as much rigidity as it can get. The sky cruiser II might be a different design, plus yours is later too.

I have 4 jacks on mine - wouldn't fancy 3. Shouldn't be too much work to change to 4.

I keep chasing rot through my Sky Cruiser and replaced the roof a few years ago - the main structure of the roof was sound, just the top surface of ply was rotten. I put much thicker marine ply on and welded a checker plate aluminum roof on with roof rails and solar.

My weight plate said something like 1400#. I know it weighs a lot more than that, but I probably haven't helped with some of the rebuild work. I weighed my truck and camper last year and subtracting the weight of the truck: the two of us, our gear, the junk we carry in the truck, the camper and its contents, came to nearly DOUBLE that weight :E

Any weight you remove from the back of the camper is good since that hangs out behind the rear axle of the truck, so removing weight there will improve your centre of gravity.

I don't think there is much info out there about Shadow Cruiser. I think they went bust, then got taken over, made some more campers early 2000s, then some trailers. Not sure if the name is still being used on trailers, but it isn't on TCs.

If you can get some pictures I can see how similar your camper is to mine.

Steve.

[JCTSMOM]

I'll try to figure out how to get pics posted here as soon as I can!

[mellow]

Remember that walls/cabinets are structural in these things, I wouldn't remove them unless you have a good plan to support the roof. You can gut the kitchen and attach cabinets to the walls as long as you support them good. What worries me with the front being rotten is how is the support for the bunk? If that main front wall is rotten that supports that cabover part you will have a lot of work on your hands.

[mellow]

I rebuilt the back half of my Shadow Cruiser, see if any of these pics help: http://imgur.com/a/RriBM

[Freep]

Some pictures might be useful.