Bajaroad
Adventurer
Greetings. Just wanted to share an update on my camper project - it's about 80% complete (if complete is possible). I hope to share more detail/pics after completion in the next month or so.
As some of you are aware I lost my wife in a bicycle accident in June '08. This happened in the middle of the camper project, which completely stopped for the next year and a half. My original intent was to completely fabricate the camper myself while my wife pitched in any way she could to help free me up to work. Last fall I decide to re-start the project but I realized I no longer had the wherewithal (practically and emotionally) to do it on my own. With the aluminum subframe finished and nearly all the design work complete, I decided to seek help fabricating the removable camper and get it done before Christmas to go to Baja (yeah right). I focused on fabricating everything below the camper, including the removable bumper/gen-mount, battery mounts, integrated storage boxes, grey-water tank mount, fresh-water tank.
The guys I worked with on fabricated the camper were a good match for me. I am a detailed drawing kind of guy and they are back of a napkin kind of guys, so it was a good balance for making sure it got done fast but accurately. I gave them camper design drawings concerning size, layout, features, and then I left the details of cabinets, cushions, counters, etc to them.
The camper was designed to be removable, with the batteries, propane, generator, water, storage compartments all independent of the camper. I tried to keep as much of the heavy stuff low and mounted directly on the truck frame as possible. The rear angled out portion is where the bed is. Under the bed is a large pass-thru storage compartment. I decided to go all propane because I wanted a generator but didn't want the weight and cost of a diesel gen. I'm converting the Yamaha to propane – it weighs 80lbs full and puts out a steady 2500W. My propane tank holds 20 gal.
The intent of this design was to use the flatbed for other recreational uses and still have water, power and storage. The design came together pretty well.
My original goal was about 11,000lbs. I weighed the rig with half a tank of diesel, 50 gal of water (400lbs), and about 250lbs of tools and stuff. It came in at 11,200lbs – so right on target. Since I started my project there has been some issues raised with some rigs using 3pt designs, so I decided to relocate my air springs to a better location to help support the camper load at the pivot point. I can add more air springs to further distribute the load on the frame, but I don't believe it's necessary. I use large high capacity rubber shock/vibe mounts for my pivot. The camper weighs approximately 3500lbs which is support by the 400lb subframe.
The rear axle supports 60% of the load. The frame sits level with the stock leaf springs.
Ok, now back to work . . . .
As some of you are aware I lost my wife in a bicycle accident in June '08. This happened in the middle of the camper project, which completely stopped for the next year and a half. My original intent was to completely fabricate the camper myself while my wife pitched in any way she could to help free me up to work. Last fall I decide to re-start the project but I realized I no longer had the wherewithal (practically and emotionally) to do it on my own. With the aluminum subframe finished and nearly all the design work complete, I decided to seek help fabricating the removable camper and get it done before Christmas to go to Baja (yeah right). I focused on fabricating everything below the camper, including the removable bumper/gen-mount, battery mounts, integrated storage boxes, grey-water tank mount, fresh-water tank.
The guys I worked with on fabricated the camper were a good match for me. I am a detailed drawing kind of guy and they are back of a napkin kind of guys, so it was a good balance for making sure it got done fast but accurately. I gave them camper design drawings concerning size, layout, features, and then I left the details of cabinets, cushions, counters, etc to them.
The camper was designed to be removable, with the batteries, propane, generator, water, storage compartments all independent of the camper. I tried to keep as much of the heavy stuff low and mounted directly on the truck frame as possible. The rear angled out portion is where the bed is. Under the bed is a large pass-thru storage compartment. I decided to go all propane because I wanted a generator but didn't want the weight and cost of a diesel gen. I'm converting the Yamaha to propane – it weighs 80lbs full and puts out a steady 2500W. My propane tank holds 20 gal.
The intent of this design was to use the flatbed for other recreational uses and still have water, power and storage. The design came together pretty well.
My original goal was about 11,000lbs. I weighed the rig with half a tank of diesel, 50 gal of water (400lbs), and about 250lbs of tools and stuff. It came in at 11,200lbs – so right on target. Since I started my project there has been some issues raised with some rigs using 3pt designs, so I decided to relocate my air springs to a better location to help support the camper load at the pivot point. I can add more air springs to further distribute the load on the frame, but I don't believe it's necessary. I use large high capacity rubber shock/vibe mounts for my pivot. The camper weighs approximately 3500lbs which is support by the 400lb subframe.
The rear axle supports 60% of the load. The frame sits level with the stock leaf springs.
Ok, now back to work . . . .
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