Identify camper special?

[marty21221]

Is there anyway to identify a camper special if there is no badging? My 72 C20 has HD suspension, Dana 60 rear leave springs and a what appears to be a camper electrical connection in the left rear of the bed.

[bluek5]

Hello,
I have a 71 Custom Camper that I plan on parting out. The spid shows it as Z81 special camper. Hope this helps, I am sure others will chime in on the subject.
Paul

[marty21221]

Thank you. It would seem then that although it has similar options it was not a camper special. I am at a loss to explain what appears to be a factory installation electrical port in the bed. Does your truck have a 4 pin electrical port/plug/recepticle in the left rear of the bed?

[MARKDTN]

Could be a dealer installed item?

And a "Camper Special" is a Ford. A "Special Camper" is a Chevy/GMC

[short-t]

CUSTOM CAMPER!!!! Camper Special was Ford....

This is the spid from my 68 Custom camper

[marty21221]

I beg forgiveness on the special thing. My uncle had one of the fords and it was just on my brain at the time.
Given spid's shown here I am pretty sure the truck was just a deluxe and the power recepticle was probably dealer or owner installed.

Thanx to all who responded.

[1972BlueC20]

Here is my 72 Custom Camper C20


Hope this helps!

[davischevy]

My 71 GMC says nothing about Special Camper, but it has UY1 Camper Wiring. The harness appeared to come up between the cab and bed originally and was attached to the bed with clips.

[FirstOwner69]

The Custom Camper nameplate option was available at no cost when a truck was equipped with certain options. Many trucks, such as my 69, qualified but did not carry the nameplate since it wasn't requested. The required 1972 options were:
- Front stabilizer bar.
- 2750# rear coil springs or 500# auxiliary springs. Available leaf spring rear suspension also rated at 2750# also qualified.
- HD rear shocks.
- Minimum of 7.50-16/D tube type tires or 8.75-16.5/D tubeless tires or larger. Tire size normally did not appear on the SPID.

The camper wiring option was not required. The harness was run from the frame through a clip screwed to the back of the cab just above floor level, bundled and placed in the left front stake pocket. It did not have a connector on the end.

[davischevy]

Originally Posted by FirstOwner69

The Custom Camper nameplate option was available at no cost when a truck was equipped with certain options. Many trucks, such as my 69, qualified but did not carry the nameplate since it wasn't requested. The required 1972 options were:
- Front stabilizer bar.
- 2750# rear coil springs or 500# auxiliary springs. Available leaf spring rear suspension also rated at 2750# also qualified.
- HD rear shocks.
- Minimum of 7.50-16/D tube type tires or 8.75-16.5/D tubeless tires or larger. Tire size normally did not appear on the SPID.

The camper wiring option was not required. The harness was run from the frame through a clip screwed to the back of the cab just above floor level, bundled and placed in the left front stake pocket. It did not have a connector on the end.

I should have looked before I mentioned the clip. You are right, the clip on mine is on the cab, below floor level, just above the cab mount. Mine also has a 5/16" hole in the front bed panel about 8" in.

[davischevy]

Originally Posted by FirstOwner69

The Custom Camper nameplate option was available at no cost when a truck was equipped with certain options. Many trucks, such as my 69, qualified but did not carry the nameplate since it wasn't requested. The required 1972 options were:
- Front stabilizer bar.
- 2750# rear coil springs or 500# auxiliary springs. Available leaf spring rear suspension also rated at 2750# also qualified.
- HD rear shocks.
- Minimum of 7.50-16/D tube type tires or 8.75-16.5/D tubeless tires or larger. Tire size normally did not appear on the SPID.

The camper wiring option was not required. The harness was run from the frame through a clip screwed to the back of the cab just above floor level, bundled and placed in the left front stake pocket. It did not have a connector on the end.

I should have looked before I mentioned the clip. You are right, the clip on mine is on the cab, below floor level, just above the cab mount. Mine also has a 5/16" hole in the front bed panel about 8" in.

[marty21221]

As the lack of the UY1 option code indicates on my 72, there is no clip or hole in the cab that would have indicated the factory installation of the camper wiring harness. Still the wiring appears to be factory so IMO, it was probably a dealer or owner installed option. The receptacle in the bed is one I am not familiar with nor have I been able to find a matching plug on the internet but it appears to have been in the vehicle for many years. The plug is almost flush with the interior side of the bed and has four holes in it for the plug terminal connections and apparently the mating plug had a shell around it that kept the pins in the plug from being damaged as well as clocking the plug for proper terminal polarity.

Thanks for all the info.