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87’ Starcraft Pop-up build

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Old Sep 9, 2018 | 06:03 AM
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87’ Starcraft Pop-up build

Well I’m building a pop up, it’s kind of an ongoing project but I’m most of the way through. I posted most of it in my truck build but figured I’d put it here too.

This is what I was going for:



But I only wanted to spend 1000 bucks on the trailer so this is what I got. A 1987 Starcraft Meteor, one owner, used once a year since 87. Clean inside with a couple pinholes in the mesh and canvas. Great platform since I wanted to lift it and put bigger axle and tires anyway!



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Old Sep 9, 2018 | 06:11 AM
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A few days after I got it home I started chopping it up. I found a used but never installed 72” 3500 lb leaf spring axle and I had a set of 5 bolt 14s and tires from a work trailer.
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Old Sep 9, 2018 | 08:42 AM
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Painted her shoes black, dont love the brown canvas and body I find it makes it look old but it works for now. My wife loves it!
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Old Sep 9, 2018 | 08:51 AM
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I knew I wanted to weld up some armor for the trailer but I was on a budget. At one of the jobs I maintain they have a big scrap pile so I picked through some light tubing that was pre bent and found what I needed. Plus I had two hoops bent up from my rear bumper on my Toyota that I used to protect the rear.

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Old Sep 9, 2018 | 02:20 PM
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A few more







Converted to pintle too, the ball wouldn’t work for the trails. Did a double bead of weld on each side and drilled for a grade 8 bolt through the top.

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Old Sep 10, 2018 | 02:58 PM
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Does it seem any less stable when you're inside and its all set up?
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Old Sep 10, 2018 | 03:01 PM
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I don’t find it any less stable. I need to get scissor jacks mounted on there instead of the spring type ones that I have because I need to use wood blocks as you can see.
But I chock the wheels and I don’t find it moves at all.
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Old Sep 10, 2018 | 03:19 PM
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I've thought about doing exactly this for a hunting trailer, but was worried my big butt (260lbs) might tip it over if I stand on one side lol
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Old Sep 10, 2018 | 03:25 PM
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I was wondering the same thing, but my wife and I sleep on one side and haven’t had a problem. And this is basically the shortest trailer you can get, 8 feet. Definitely wouldn’t want anything bigger if you’re hauling it through the trails.
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Old Sep 29, 2018 | 04:04 PM
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Trailer on a trailer haha
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Old Feb 13, 2019 | 10:40 AM
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Great looking rig. I have the exact same camper and want to do the same thing. I have a few questions.
  • What size rims/ tires did you end up using?
  • Also, how much lift do you think you added? It is hard to tell from your picture and from the added height from your leaf springs. I am going to fabricate up a block lift so trying to determine how much lift I need.
Great job!
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Old Feb 13, 2019 | 10:59 AM
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Originally Posted by Krueg3
Great looking rig. I have the exact same camper and want to do the same thing. I have a few questions.
  • What size rims/ tires did you end up using?
  • Also, how much lift do you think you added? It is hard to tell from your picture and from the added height from your leaf springs. I am going to fabricate up a block lift so trying to determine how much lift I need.
Great job!
It probably ended up being 10” of lift. The springs I used were just standard 1500lb springs
I did lift it a little bit higher than necessary because I thought eventually I would put in a 6 bolt axle and run some of my 31 inch tires with Toyota wheels. Right now they are 205-65r14 I think.
thanks for the compliments it works well for us right now but I have been thinking about building my own off-road camper with a rooftop tent.
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Old Apr 7, 2019 | 06:21 PM
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New shoes for the old girl.
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