I have my grandpa’s old 1984 Ford F-250 pickup truck with a camper on the back. The camper is beyond repair, but the truck is in really good condition. It has only been used for camping trips and only has about 30,000 miles on it. However, it’s been sitting for years without running. It needs a new battery and new tires at least. I’m not particularly car-savvy, so I’ll need to get it to my mechanic to get it in running shape again. My question is how would you recommend I remove the camper to get it to the dump with the truck not yet running? Will I need to tow both to the dump, drop the camper, and then tow the truck to my mechanic? Does anyone have experience with removing campers? I don’t have a photo of the actual truck and camper handy, but I’ve attached a Google image to show the kind of camper at least.
a truck sitting that long will need new fuel… gas or diesel. That old fuel is crappy and will do nothing to run it…don’t try right now.
I say tow the truck to your mechanic so as to rejuvinate it before doing further damage.
Rubber and plastic parts don’t age well either and your mechanic can see what it needs.
Most campers like that have legs ( usually three ) folded up on the sides…look to see if yours does.
As well as being camping stability & leveling jacks, those legs are meant to un-install the camper in such a manner as to be able to re-install it.
BUT that means driving the truck out from under it as it sits on those legs. ( On a level surface…you don’t want it leaning )
never mind the camper for now…lets get the truck running first.
But I suppose you could ROLL the truck out from under it if it has those legs. I’ve seen some people stack railroad ties up on each side for the same purpose too.
A real picture of yours would help us advise you …plus the rest of the truck info …like engine size / type.
As far as getting rid of the junk camper…
Check with automotive wrecking yards and new camper/trailer sales lots ( people ‘‘trade in’’ stuff all the time ) to see if they’ll take your old one…
and maybe give you a few bucks for it.
It may not be as junk as you think
Lift the camper on the legs, roll the truck out from under it, restore the truck, then reinstall the camper and drive to the dump. Or sell the camper private sale.
@GeorgeSanJose, those jacks would be great to take the camper off the bed. I think the camper should be lowered onto a base of some sort to keep the camper from toppling. Since the jacks won’t raise the camper very far, the more substantial stand it sits on would have to be about as tall as the truck bed.
