1 Bored Clerk's DIY Camper

[1 Bored Clerk]

Started adding the wings around the perimeter of the camper box. Other than door surrounds, this is likely as high as the wood will go. These wings will extend past the bed lip and will become steps in the final product. I want to be able to reach all parts of the camper roof to aid in strapping stuff down and cleaning/inspecting the roof.

Lots of clamping! Having thick wall angle aluminum and square steel tubing has been awesome for clamping things down and keeping them relatively square and flat.

I will add a second layer to the steps to ensure they are nice and strong. They will also be the lifting point for the camper. The foam part of the camper will reach pretty far out on those wings so they won't be hanging out in thin air. They'll be supported pretty well, I think, in the end.


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[Gunner207]

Your build is awesome. I am a boat designer and builder and cold mold with thin plywood and epoxy quite often. A 26 foot center console hull finished with no inboard mounted only weighed 1600 lbs. You can also slot panels together like an egg crate or old fashioned aluminum ice tray.

Great build, the kind of thing is average guys can build to get out there, which I think is sometimes lost on the giant high tech rigs.

 

[1 Bored Clerk]

Your build is awesome. I am a boat designer and builder and cold mold with thin plywood and epoxy quite often. A 26 foot center console hull finished with no inboard mounted only weighed 1600 lbs. You can also slot panels together like an egg crate or old fashioned aluminum ice tray.

Great build, the kind of thing is average guys can build to get out there, which I think is sometimes lost on the giant high tech rigs.

Thanks! And, yeah, I think a relatively average person could pull this off with pretty modest tools and experience. Heck, I'm going way overboard for what this is. I think full plywood construction with a nice fiberglass skin on the outside and epoxy paint on the inside would last quite a while. Maybe even longer than my multi-media build!!

Also, keep an eye on me and reign me in if I start going off the rails! Haha




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[Pixie]

Following. I really like to see what you are doing!

 

[el_topu]

:lurk:

 

[1 Bored Clerk]

So, I got the body mounts in the mail.

While I think these would nicely support the camper in the bed, I'm really worried that they won't have enough travel/give.

I'm just really not sure how much give I need. I have a lot of things on the truck that have stiffened up the frame quite a bit: sliders, skidplates (tie into the frame behind the transfer case), wrap around rear bumper. And I'm adding a rear crossmember where the spare tire used to reside that will hold my compressor. So, I'm not sure how much flex I'm really going to need in the camper mounts. Some, for sure as the camper box will likely be quite stiff. How much is what's got me concerned. I don't want to screw this up and crack my camper right off the bat.


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[dman93]

It would seem if the frame and shell are stiff, then you don't need as much compliance in the mounts. But another approach would be three-point mounting. Perhaps two at the back, and one at the front, in the center. As long as the camper floor is stiff in lateral bending across the front, and the mount attaches to a stiff location, perhaps with a doubler/stiffener under the bed, a single mount in front could be enough for the weight of the camper and contents. Or, two mounts closely spaced, to provide sufficient vertical support, but still allow independent torsional flex of frame and camper.

 

[1 Bored Clerk]

Okay. I like this. I hadn't thought of using a 3 point system because of space inside the bed. But, I don't mind drilling/cutting the bed if need be. In that scenario, I think the two body mounts in the front (for some compliance) and a pivot or pair of mounts centrally located and passing through the bed floor may work. I'm planning to put another crossmember under the truck in that general area for my compressor anyway. Wouldn't be too hard to design in a pivot/center mount.

Thanks for the discussion. It all helps because I don't really have anyone else to talk this stuff through with!


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[dman93]

I have no experience with mounting campers in truck beds. But look at how heavy duty truck cabs are mounted to the frame. Typically two mounts in front, at the outer corners by the firewall (the hood is independent) and a single or two adjacent mounts centered in the rear. This allows the long and torsionally weak frame to twist, while the cab is supported in the vertical plane and not stressed by the frame flex. Many modern trucks actually use a suspended rear mount (spring plus dampers) but the 3 point principle is the same. The suspension is just there for driver comfort. In your case, the truck frame may actually be stiffer, and the camper less stiff, or at least less strong, but again, isolating the two by allowing independent movement torsionally, and still have some vertical compliance, may work out.
EDIT: Take a look at any Peterbilt, Kenworth, Freightliner conventional on the highway or at a truck stop for ideas. Same principle of a boxed, stiff enclosure attached to a truck chassis. A pickup bed can get away with 4 point mounting because it's open and can flex with the frame and not get over-stressed.

 

[1 Bored Clerk]

I could, pretty easily, use the body mounts for the front two corners of the camper then use Torklift Fastguns on the rear corners. Drill large holes in the bed for the fast guns to pass through and have a mount on the frame. It would tie in right where the bumper mounts. That's a very reinforced area on my truck. The short fast guns should work there and have some travel and a heavy spring in them. Might be the easiest way.


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[ajmaudio]

I'm planning to start cutting plywood tonight! I took a little time off from projects (a week or so) and now it's time to get back into it!

I've been kicking around the power needs. I don't have a fully set amount of power draws at this time except for my Engel MT 35 refrigerator. I only expect a small amount of LED lighting and phone charging beyond that. I plan to have an onboard charger with a shore power hookup so I can plug in when I'm at home and in certain locations on the road - to keep the battery/batteries happy. I don't really want to do solar as it seems like overkill for our camper. Let's talk batteries:

Group 31 Marine: odyssey batteries in this class require really high current (14+) to properly charge which makes them a bit of a hassle to take care of properly. Especially since they don't offer or endorse a charger for that battery at this point. Other marine group 31 batteries are an option possibly.

Lifeline 4D battery: This one is intriguing to me. It's about the same cost and amp hour rating (200ah) as two group 31 batteries but in a slightly better package size for my particular camper. It doesn't appear that they are as finicky about charging in that any good 3 stage charger will work. Their charge needs are within the rating of my alternator too, which is a huge bonus over the odyssey group 31.

We'll likely start the truck and drive around every day as we're wanderers, however, I'd like to be able to stay maybe two days in one spot without starting the truck at all while still running the fridge and some lighting and charging phones.

I'm not an electrical engineer or even pretend to understand, fully, what I read about this subject so I'm open to any and all discussion on my evolving plans. I know there are tons of threads on batteries and I've worked on reading up about this stuff but there is SO much info and everyone has an opinion supported by what seems like sound data. I'm likely to just go with my gut, keep it really simple, and see how it goes.

And, some notes on solar and our current leaning toward not having any:

1. We have surfboards and SUPs that we will carry on the roof on a decent amount of our journeys. They will block the panels completely for most of the trips those toys are taken on.

2. We live in the PNW so it's not overly sunny here most of the year. Plus, we have a lot of trees which make it hard to keep panels fully in the sun.

3. I don't shy away from narrow and overgrown trails. Panels are another thing to get damaged. I know this 'excuse' is thin as many people do what I do with panels onboard with no issues, but it is still a concern.

With a properly sized battery bank that I can properly charge with the alternator on the truck and shore power when I'm CGs or at home, I think going without solar will be okay. I can always add a suitcase system later if necessary, anyway. My camper isn't complex so reworking the wiring/electrical system won't be too daunting.

Something to think about, charging from your tow vehicle is not as simple as connecting it and could easily cost as much as a good starter solar system to make work well enough to be useful. You may be aware but your post implied perhaps you were planning as such. A simple suitcase may be a good option though I dont like the controllers that come packaged with them generally. Also, there are plenty of group 31 deep cycle batteries that will work with small chargers, u.s. battery and crown both come to mind. I use a u.s. battery group 31 on my popup with solar and it works great.

 

[1 Bored Clerk]

Something to think about, charging from your tow vehicle is not as simple as connecting it and could easily cost as much as a good starter solar system to make work well enough to be useful. You may be aware but your post implied perhaps you were planning as such. A simple suitcase may be a good option though I dont like the controllers that come packaged with them generally. Also, there are plenty of group 31 deep cycle batteries that will work with small chargers, u.s. battery and crown both come to mind. I use a u.s. battery group 31 on my popup with solar and it works great.

Thanks for the reply! All of the electrical stuff is still up in the air. I now have an envelope in the camper where everything must fit so that's something. Haha. I have read a lot on the subject but it seems so subjective and everyone has an opinion...it's hard to see through it all without some actual base level of knowledge that I'm yet to possess.

I was planning on running the house battery like a second battery in a dual battery system. The onboard charger would be for times when 110-120v was available (at home or in campgrounds). I did notice those chargers are expensive but there is a good level of convenience to me to have it all onboard and usable on the road. I haven't looked much more into than that at this point.

I'm still not sold on solar for our uses but I'm open to the idea. It feels like one more thing in the system with even more opinions to sift through. We'll see what happens...


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[1 Bored Clerk]

Did some work I somewhat understand (no electrical!) today:

I got the wings doubled up. There are two layers of plywood in this area. They are already very stout. This makes me happy as they will be both steps and the camper lift points.

I used the ol router to clean up the edges of the laminated plywood. I did what I could to make them fit exactly but perfect was never going to happen.

Zip-zap and...

Nice edges! Here you can see the full thicketude of this area. Maybe overkill but I don't really get another shot at this.

I also cut and epoxied some spacers for two of the internal drawer slides (you'll see why these are needed later). I'll unclamp those and trim them up for use. I'll also start the process of creating watertight embedded fasteners for the slides. I've read about the process and it seems reasonably straightforward so I'll try it and muck it up royally for all to see!

Stay tuned...


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[Gunner207]

Think about battery charging as the storage of excess energy, it doesn't matter if that excess available energy comes from the sun, an alternator, or a 110 outlet. It is all about convenience and efficiency.

The sun comes up everyday, though sometimes it is obscured. You run the truck almost every day. When at home or in a campground electric outlets are generally available.

For the relatively low cost of an onboard charger that can keep ahead of your amperage load it would be almost foolish not to install one. A Noco Gen1 10 amp single bank charger can be found for around 100 bucks online.

The next system, that you have control over is vehicle charging. The right way to tap into you vehicle's charging capacity requires proper isolation as well. This generally requires an automatic charge relay. Check out Blue Seas Systems. A fairly expensive solution when done properly and you must consider total alternator output and use a big enough capaçity charge relay. Much more reliable and controllable than the sun. If you plan to be off grid for extended periods of time and run the truck daily this is probably the best option.

Solar panels come down to a simple formula: more money in equals more charging capacity. Just make sure you buy quality panels and the right charge controller.

The other method is to increase the overall battery capacity of the truck and install a lvd (low voltage disconnect) to ensure you always maintain enough battery to start vehicle. If I were to do this I would also want to invest in the redundancy of having a jump pack available. There are some great li-on units out that are tiny
Lvds are also available from Blue Seas.

Finally, consider batteries carefully. Deep discharge cycles and vibration as well as temperature extremes are tough on batteries. A fully sealed unit is very important in a vehicle that could unfortunately end up on its side someday. Sealed units are also important in my opinion when they are installed in a living space. Size is sometimes not as important as energy density and resistance to abuse. Making a mistake and regularly drawing a battery down too far and you severely limit the total number of cycles over the battery's life. Take a look at Northstar TPPL batteries. I have had great experiences on customers boats with high load requirements. They are available from national retailers such as West Marine. 25℅ greater number of cycles to a deeper level of discharge as well as the ability to accept very high charge current.

Also Northstar makes a 4d equivalent that is three independent batteries in a special "rack".

Just some random thoughts. Remember that simple systems and redundancy are almost always best.

Don

 

[1 Bored Clerk]

Thanks, Don! Great info. I'm heavily leaning toward isolated dual battery charging off of alternator when running and on board charger when a plug is available. I don't plan to camp with this rig for anything more than a night or two without driving it somewhere so solar isn't a critical element at this point. It seems like it would be a relatively easy add later should I deem it necessary.


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