back to a truck camper

[docdave]

It's been years since traveling and camping in my families 9.5' Mitchell camper, but I'm back to a truck camper. Just purchased, sight unseen, via Craig's List, a Hallmark Cuchera pop up truck camper from a older gentleman in southern Colorado. Sunday I take a 10 hour round trip to pick it up and see what I got. Yeah, pretty trusting to buy sight unseen, but I had a good feeling about this guy. I'm pretty excited about the move from a Trailmanor 3124KB, to something I can take off road. I may not be up to true overlanding just yet, but looking forward to getting off the beaten path. We'll see how the family adapts to the idea......more to come.

[Bob/Becky D - VA]

Welcome from Virginia. Look forward to hearing about your adventures.

Bob

[docdave]

Wow, 600 miles round trip in one day. "Met" our '93 Hallmark, got it loaded on the ol' Dodge, got the quick tour and instructions from the previous owner and headed home. The camper looks pretty good, some wear and tear, especially around the back door. This older model has the split door, the top portion folds down prior to dropping the top. The design is a bit problematic, no doubt why they aren't made this way anymore. The top is fiberglass and in great shape, but very heavy. It's going to be a chore to put up and down, no wonder the new ones are mostly electric. The fabric is in remakable shape for it's age, no tears, mold or damage, that's a nice suprise. Some of the screws here and there are stripped out, I'd be curious if anyone has advice other than oversized screws or packing the holes with toothpicks. Next step is to get a wiring harness made up and get a new battery. It'll probably be a few weeks before our first outing. Not much feedback from the family, I didn't get home with it until after dark.......we'll see.

[docdave]

I facebooked hallmark about the heavy top, and got a prompt and helpful response regarding possibly getting a bit more life out of the old torsion system. Thanks guys. A bit of confusion though....the top is fiberglass, I thought these older units had metal or rubber......still looking in to that, maybe a previous owner had it replaced. Oh, my wife told me today "it isn't as ugly as I thought it would be", that's a positive sign.

[Pogo]

Fill the wood screw holes with golf tees, not toothpicks and you have good wood again.

[docdave]

Found out that the Fiberglass top was an Hallmark Cuchera option in '93, a bit of a bonus, less maintenance. My soon to be 7 year old gave her stamp of approval to the camper today, wife looked it over too, and was a bit less enthusiastic, but still positive. Now I just have to get a wiring harness installed and take our first outing. I went through the owner's manual today too, not very informative, but the Hallmark guys have been really good about answering my questions.

[docdave]

Update on the Cuchara.....I discovered despite the fact that the bathroom has a hand held shower hose and a shower curtain over the door......there is no drain! What's up with that? The good news is that this camper doesn't have a tank directly underneath the toilet, but a space instead that allows for the P-trap. My solution... I got a laundry sink drain, a 90 degree elbow and connected it to a flexable washing machine drain hose that will be stored in the compartment under the bathroom, which is accessable from the outside, and can drain the shower into a bucket. Not perfect, but a save none the less. Also found out the the wiring harness is no longer being manufactured, so Hallmark is sending a recepticle to change out, and an appropriate plug to connect to the truck's wiring. Nothing is ever easy.

[docdave]

Here's a photo of the shower drain and hose I came up with.

[FATMANAR]

Congrats DocDave...I went and picked up my first in a long time TC this past monday. I live fulltime in a A, but wanted something I could get around in some of the tighter spots. They sure have changed alot in 30 years. I bought a 2000 Tracker and am getting my truck set up for the haul. Airbags,Rancho Shocks, and a bed plug. Good luck with your find and Happy Trails..

[docdave]

Still no wiring harness from Hallmark, called them yesterday, supposed to have shipped out that day.....hope to have it soon. Weather is crappy here anyway, not likely to do much work on it anyway......

[mikron]

Congrads, you are a better man thenI am. Couldn't live in less then our 35' A.

[whem2fish]

i started out with a old holiday rambler lots of memories now i have a class a and a artic fox pull behind with 2 slides but i want a nother pu camper for ease of fishing looks like you got a deal

[docdave]

I'm pretty excited to get the Cuchara outfitted and on the road. I'd like to visit some of the Jeep trails in Colorado that I took with my CJ several years back, and camp on some of those spots. I remember a beautiful spot on Aspen mountian that would be really great. There's even a couple of places here in western Nebraska that I could get to, that the travel trailer couldn't visit. So many places, so little time.

[docdave]

The wiring harness arrived finally from Hallmark last week, began the installation over the weekend, with some help from the future son in law. We got the camper all wired, some issues with the stop,tail,turn and backup lights to work out though. The truck is a bit more complex. There is a relay to install between the truck system and the camper. This allows the alternator to charge the camper battery, but disconects the systems when the truck is shut off to prevent drawing down the truck battery and stranding you somewhere. Had to call the guys at Hallmark to find out how to hook that up, but they were very helpful, and all is well. Turns out there is a battery connection, ground and a connection to a switched circut in the truck fuse box. We used the wiper circut. Also found a neat connector to slip in to replace a fuse, and add a wire. You end up with 2 fuses in one spot, pretty sweet. Also began installing the floor drain for the shower. That's going to work fine.