Overland Hadley
on a journey
That is great that you are driving around with the frame on the truck.
Keep the updates coming.
Keep the updates coming.
Roninjiro aluminum Nissan D40 camper
- Thread starter roninjiro
- Start date
roninjiro
Explorer
My original seal idea didn't work the way I needed it to. I had welded my mechanical seal in and ended up cutting it back out. I lost a night of fab time and made up for it today by finishing the door/door frame. I also finished the aluminum portion of the bed supports, and welded the remainder of the main cable support. I managed to weld up all the mistake holes I drilled from the nitro strut mounts and original tent frame mounts.
4xdog
Explorer
But the skin will be structurally bonded to the frame, though, won't it? The structure is intended to be frame + stressed skin, right? That might change stress distribution. You may have to go through some of this twice...
roninjiro
Explorer
It will be via 3M VHB Tape. I am just afraid if any weak point were to show it's evil head after skinning.. repairing it would be horrible. I have never built anything from scratch on this scale that will incur unpredictable road conditions. I have followed and seen what others have done with aluminum framed campers but you never see or really hear about cracking after years of use. I would imagine because no one ever takes them apart again.
I guess I am just being extra cautious and really do not want to go through this twice. I guess after the skinning I need to hold off on insulation until I log miles on it to verify integrity. Honestly, it is really nerve wrecking at this point.
I guess I am just being extra cautious and really do not want to go through this twice. I guess after the skinning I need to hold off on insulation until I log miles on it to verify integrity. Honestly, it is really nerve wrecking at this point.
lx450landcruiser
Explorer
VHB Tape is great stuff and perfect for your application. However VHB tape also allows for flex and movement. I would guess that your correct in trying to nail down a bomb proof "cage" then attach the skin. The skin will add some rigidity but not as much as many might think.
mtnbike28
Expedition Leader
You should tell folks you are from the zoo and it's the tiger transport truck, then look in the back, curse, run back to the cab and drive away with your flashers on.... Real question, doesn't the skin help the structure an prevent some of the stress on the frame? (opps never mind, I see lx450 answered it.)
4xdog
Explorer
Your careful approach will pay off, I'm sure. VHB tape is a good choice -- fershure it lives up to its "very high bond" name. With long lengths of your skin bonded to the framing there likely won't be much flex.
One thing to look for in the design are stress risers. Those can be significant changes in cross sectional area, as in where something thins down or narrows down, and especially where sharp corners meet. I'd try to have a radius on just about everything stressed. Your welds look like the have some fillet to them, and this will be good to manage cross section changes. Don't cut any sharp notches in anything -- make sure they're all rounded. VHB tape saves a lot of holes from say, blind rivets, and that will help with stress risers too.
Aluminum is sensitive to fatigue, the catastrophic failure at stress-strain levels well below the ultimate strength of the material due to the accumulated damage of many thousands of lower stress-strain cycles. That'll never show up in the realistic amount of testing you'll be able to do, so it's best thought through like you're doing. Look especially where the stress will go on things like your cantilevered section. Your corner piece there now will certainly help. That point could need reinforcement with a separate plate or similar.
Great work, and a truly interesting project to follow along. Thanks for the updates and all the pix.
roninjiro
Explorer
I am glad you have shared that information. I was originally undecided on the things covered in that post. But now the answer is clear. I will have to ultimately radius more joints and add additional bracing for my higher stress areas. I did however neglect the smaller stress risers like sharp cut holes like the door latch holes.
Thank you 4x!
I feel you there. Hard not to over think/second guess stuff. But you built it and you'll be able to fix it/improve it later even if a PITA.
Flagster
Expedition Leader
lol...you should load up a bunch of the neighbor kids, put a sign on the front of the truck "bad kids ride for free"...and drive around for a while
roninjiro
Explorer
Well started bracing today and pretty upset. Went from my normal 4043 filler to 5356 filler and it was a horrible mess (didn't help it was the wrong size rod). I only did this because I ran out of 4043. Not only that, There was a Stainless 308 in the batch and boy that made a huge mess of things. So tomorrow I have to go to the welding supply and pick up a refill tank, and some more 4043. I will not post pictures of the mess.... just too embarrassing and lots of work to correct it. End day!
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DesertDrifter
Observer
Great build and great documentation, thanks for posting. I'm in the final stages of design on my flatbed pop up camper and still torn between alum. construction and composite panels.
Quick question: What alloy alum are you using for the frame? 6061? Or something more ductile? Also curious on size looks like 1" or 1.25" 120 wall, that right?
Great build keep the updates coming!
Tim
Quick question: What alloy alum are you using for the frame? 6061? Or something more ductile? Also curious on size looks like 1" or 1.25" 120 wall, that right?
Great build keep the updates coming!
Tim