1 Bored Clerk's DIY Camper

[1 Bored Clerk]

I'd like to open this up for discussion: body mounts used as camper mounts.

I'm considering using body mounts to mount my camper. One in each corner. They will give a little as the truck flexes but they'll fit in the very tight confines that I have available for mounts and should be fairly easy to install once the camper is in place. As I don't plan to take the camper on and off, I don't care about how fast the process is.

Am I crazy? Not enough movement? Too weak?


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[IdaSHO]

Until I know where you are going with this, I dont know. Im still not seeing WHAT you are building.

Progress and construction looks great, regardless of what you are building

 

[1 Bored Clerk]

Right...more info needed. I'll see about getting that done


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[1 Bored Clerk]

I am, essentially, building this:

Obviously some very different features but the overall shape and concept are very close.


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[1 Bored Clerk]

Started laying in fillets! Epoxy resin thickened with colloidal silica. Peanut butter consistency. I was dreading this as it seemed much like caulking which I dislike very much. I actually found this to be a bit of a zen process. It's nice that you can just smear all your extra goo all over the place to thin it out and make it "go away". Haha.

In my mind, this is out of step for the process but it fit so I did it. I thought I would get all of the woodwork done before doing any fillets but my brain was in the mood for this today. Gotta ride the wave of enthusiasm and motivation when it rolls in! Besides, it doesn't really matter when it's done as long as you don't put a fillet where it doesn't belong.


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[guidolyons]

I like where this is going. Have you seen IdaSHO's camper build? Pretty slick, marine grade plywood + epoxy.

 

[1 Bored Clerk]

I like where this is going. Have you seen IdaSHO's camper build? Pretty slick, marine grade plywood + epoxy.

Yeah, I went through his build. Pretty impressive! The scale of my build is so much smaller that it makes it seem silly when I feel like I'm in over my head. Haha.


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[1 Bored Clerk]

Gettin' after it.

Giant hole saw, tape measure, straight edge, pencil, courage.

Drawer openings cut and sanded smooth! This was a hurdle as I was worried about screwing it up but the holes are there now! No going back!


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[1 Bored Clerk]

Big milestone: Test fit the box in the bed of the truck!

This is where I would find out if I made any big errors. It looks like it's all going really well.

It fits as planned. I took some measurements so I can finish the plywood lip around the top edge then pulled the camper from the bed and put it back on its sawhorses.

I'm pretty sure I'm going to use body mounts to hold this thing in the bed. I need to get on designing and building those as it's much easier to test fit everything now before I add the rest of the camper to the base box that I have now. I'm not sure how body mounts are going to work but it's experimental anyway!!


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[b dkw1]

Very nice!

 

[1 Bored Clerk]

Very nice!

Thanks!


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[KE7JFF]

Mr Plywood is my local favorite; back when I worked in inventory, we had them as a client; I met Mrs/Miss Plywood (I can't remember if she was the wife or the daughter ha) who told me if you don't see what you are looking for, the can call up any lumber company to find it.

There's also a few recycled lumber shops in town too that are a good deal too; if I just need a small section, they usually have what I need.

 

[java]

Looking really clean!

 

[guidolyons]

Does it slide in or drop in? It looks like your rear bumper swing outs are/would block the camper/jacks from sliding in? Or is that just the angle of the pic? Once mounted will it be mounted long term or do you plan to take it on and off as needed?

 

[1 Bored Clerk]

Does it slide in or drop in? It looks like your rear bumper swing outs are/would block the camper/jacks from sliding in? Or is that just the angle of the pic? Once mounted will it be mounted long term or do you plan to take it on and off as needed?

All good questions. It slides in but I would need to unbolt my swingouts to slide it in...which is what I'll do when I mount it up for good. It's easy so I'm not concerned about it. I don't plan to take the camper out ever...you know, unless it needs repair from poor design/build or crashing it into something. I have reservations about locking my truck down to camp duty only but I'm willing to give it a shot. This is a winding road I'm on with a lot of blind corners. I just take one at a time. I have an old military trailer that I'm rebuilding that's languishing in the garage. I'll finish that up as soon as the camper is done which should take care of any reasonable hauling needs.


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