Wildernest Revamp

Hey all,

Starting a thread here to track my revamp/rebuild/rejuvenation of my Wildernest on my 1st gen. Hopefully this will be something of a resource for other owners and I'm also hoping other owners will chime in with suggestions. Got some pictures from the day I took it home:


I'm told the green tent is "rare" and it's in surprisingly good shape for being in the PNW. The shell has some "spidering" on the fiberglass, and the struts are shot, and the bulb seal needs replacing, but otherwise it looks pretty darn good for being ~20 years old! I clamped it down in Seattle and took it back up North.

Found a spare parts info page on an old forum here: http://forum.expeditionportal.com/archive/index.php/t-4338.html

Planning to order the following in the next week:

National SS Hinges x 5 (looking for cheaper ones): https://www.amazon.com/National-Har...r=1-1-catcorr&keywords=National+V514rc++hinge

Bulb Seal part #PTL-124 from http://www.uni-grip.com. Quoted me $4/ft so again I'm looking for a cheaper option

Snug-Top T-Handle: I'll probably just go through my local canopy shop. The rivets on the old one are shot so I need to come up with a new solution

New Suspa struts (open to alternatives if there are more solid ones out there): https://www.amazon.com/SUSPA-C16-02...9221531&sr=1-1&keywords=suspa+strut+c16-02622

And lastly I painted my truckbed last night and had some extra paint so I taped off the top, roughed it up a bit and rolled on a couple coats of Rustoleum roll-on liner. Planning to spray pain the bottom today or tomorrow and will be interested to see if there's any difference in quality.


I'll keep updating here but it may be a slow process. Finishing up grad school and working means there's not much time for camping and/pr camper restoration. Open to any feedback or suggestions, thanks!










EDIT: X-Posted from 1st gen tacoms. Seems more appropriate here if mods want to delete the original.

 

I'm waiting on a quote from Uni-grip for 100' of the bulb seal and will pull the trigger if three people are interested. Please hold for the price. Also this week has me installing new hinges, latches, and most importantly, a brand new tent from Canvas Replacements!

 

where did you end up getting the bulb seal from? Trying to source one for mine

 

I recently replaced the bulb seal on my Wildernest and found the correct size from McMaster-Carr and ordered 23 feet. $4.44 per foot Came out to $120 with shipping: https://www.mcmaster.com/1120A451/
Water- and Weather-Resistant Rubber Push-on Seal with Bulb on Side, Hollow, for 1/16" Edge, 1" High