Before I continue, my only drive with the 'Rader way the roughly 150 mile drive from Duluth to Minneapolis. There is one hill leaving Duluth that really does simulate mountain driving, minus the thin air, and the 'Rader had to go really slow. Once we hit the flatter sections, 65mph was a reasonable cruising speed. On to the good stuff.
There will not be tons of detail here because the tear-down has actually been really easy. As I write this, the camper is nearly ready to be jacked off the chassis after about 10 hours of solo work.
So far there have only been minor hiccups. Two, maybe three special tools have been needed, beyond a full socket set.
Special items you might want:
- Square drive screw driver (aka Robertson Type), not sure of the size. There are hundreds of these screws all over the 'Rader, mainly where the camper connects to the chassis.
- Filet knife for cutting the butyl rubber and sealant between the chassis and cab. The long flexible blade works perfectly.
- Nut splitter. In many cases (propane tank, blackwater tank, etc.) there are nuts on bolts that you need to take off. The trouble is you can't secure the bolt by the head, so when you turn the nut the bolt turns too. The head is sandwiched between the top of the chassis and the camper floor. I suggest lubing the bolt and hoping the nut turns without spinning the bolt. If the bolt spins you can use a nut splitter to split the nut and it falls off. These are hard to use sometimes when you are upside down, but they get the job done. A breaker bar or pipe fitted over a ratchet, to add torque, can be of help.
- Headlamp...it is dark under the camper and a headlamp makes everything easier. The underside of my 'Rader is rusty and covered in crud, so clear safety glasses have been nice too, keep the crap out of my eyes.
- Cut-off wheel. If you are going to remove the blackwater tank you will need to cut the interior perimeter of the flange that the toilet bolts to. This is the part under the wax ring. I used the one below, Dremel item 543, worked great. It is not rated for metal, one that is might be nice for stubborn nuts and bolts. Here is a free lesson: Only use the bit in the clockwise direction. If you don't the screw comes undone and the screw and wheel fall (possibly into a blackwater tank, yuck).
So far I removed the toilet and blackwater tank (switching to a composting toilet and this will make the chassis lift off easier), the propane tank (rusted to oblivion, easier chassis lift off), the screws and sealant between cab and chassis, disconnected one of the two gas filler necks, the airbag fill ports, the electrical connections, a few drain tubes, 3 of the large lag bolts that go through the floor to the chassis, the single seat mounted behind the passenger seat (concealed a lag bolt), the screws connecting the 'Rader body to the running boards, and the outer dually wheels.
Removing the outer dually wheels should make it easier to roll the chassis out. I will have jacks along the perimeter.
Here are a few pictures. As I said before, it has been easy sailing to this point, so nothing really critical to point out in the pictures.
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