Anyone remodled a four wheel camper?

[roamingaz]

I had some issues with my camper while at the overland expo, the solar controller quit working and just the general layout of the camper isn't very user friendly, and now I am trying to decide to sell it or redo the inside. Any pics or ideas to help me decide, I am actually thinking of rebuilding the interior simular to the earthroamer jeep.
Also any opinons on interior heat, cooking etc. or do all that outside?

:victory:

 

[chris_the_wrench]

I had some issues with my camper while at the overland expo, the solar controller quit working and just the general layout of the camper isn't very user friendly, and now I am trying to decide to sell it or redo the inside. Any pics or ideas to help me decide, I am actually thinking of rebuilding the interior simular to the earthroamer jeep.
Also any opinons on interior heat, cooking etc. or do all that outside?

:victory:

The layout doesn't work well for you, being one person or a few people? If it's just you using the camper do you really need all that seating around the dining table, that could be valuable real-estate? For heating how about a simple mr. buddy propane securely fastened to the wall. What type of issues are you having with the layout?

I've often thought of buying one of their shell units and fitting it out myself.

-Chris

 

[roamingaz]

The biggest complaint I have is how cluttered the inside feels, I don't bring a lot of stuff and just for a 5 day trip it seemed like I had no room to neatly store stuff, then when my girlfriend came down to the expo with our 2 year old it was extreamly tight on space. I previously had a toyota pickup with a roof top tent and had more space for gear, granted we did everything outside but with a full size 8 foot bed I figured the camper would be more roomy.
I would like to see some pictures of home built interiors to give me some ideas. I am thinking of getting a mountaineer camper made here the Phoenix area or a Canback soft top.

 

[davidshourd]

I had some issues with my camper while at the overland expo, the solar controller quit working and just the general layout of the camper isn't very user friendly, and now I am trying to decide to sell it or redo the inside. Any pics or ideas to help me decide, I am actually thinking of rebuilding the interior simular to the earthroamer jeep.
Also any opinons on interior heat, cooking etc. or do all that outside?

:victory:

check out www.wanderthewest.com lots of people have redone their camper or just mod'ed things to their fit. I have an 08' FWC eagle that I just recently pulled out the water storage tank and added a access hatch on the side to get another couple cubic feet of storage. removed the sink and relaminated the counters with a thin sheet of stainless. for heat I think a little buddy would be your best bet, or you could drop some coin and go for one of the built in ones. check out the web site, tons of great ideas. good luck and keep us posted.

 

[roamingaz]

check out www.wanderthewest.com lots of people have redone their camper or just mod'ed things to their fit. I have an 08' FWC eagle that I just recently pulled out the water storage tank and added a access hatch on the side to get another couple cubic feet of storage. removed the sink and relaminated the counters with a thin sheet of stainless. for heat I think a little buddy would be your best bet, or you could drop some coin and go for one of the built in ones. check out the web site, tons of great ideas. good luck and keep us posted.

I'm thinking of removing the sink as well,and it already has a built in forced air furnace for heat but seem to take up a lot of space. If you could post up or email me a couple pictures of how your counter turned out redone.
roamingaz@yahoo.com

 

[davidshourd]

here is a couple. one of the hatch closed and one with it open. got the hatcvh from pompette (I think thats how you spell it), made by Bomber. the only hatch that I could find that would fit between framing members in the skin of the camper. then one of the counter, got the stainless from onlinemetals.com, ordered to fit. you can sort of see the lip around the edge. that is a 1/2x1/2" aluminum angle that I notched the outleg on to make the radius at the corner. all silconed up. keeps things contained onto the counter. then in the back of the counter you can see the gas line I have coming up. I took out the built in stove and opted for a portable so I can set up kitche in out outside by pulling the little gas line through the groumet and out the new hatch door. I have the gas set up so I can run off of the 1lb bottls of the stock 20lb bottle for those colder weekends. usualy just 2lbs will get me through a weekend with little heating needs and cooking.

 

[davidshourd]

forgot to mention: before I put down the stainless skin I filled up the sink and stove hole with some 3/4" plywood then bondo'ed over the whole thing to make sure it was smooth. I admit I saved money by buying VERY thin stainless sheet. I did not want any seems or dimples showing through over time. after the bondo and sanding it is as smooth as can be.

 

[tanglefoot]

David, are you running the camper propane system off 1lb bottles? I've been wanting to do that. I don't have a heater in mine...just the range and LPG fridge--hopefully I could get some decent lifespan from the 1lb. What kind of fittings/connectors do you use to connect the 1lb bottle? Do you use the same regulator?

Thanks,

Eric

 

[davidshourd]

David, are you running the camper propane system off 1lb bottles? I've been wanting to do that. I don't have a heater in mine...just the range and LPG fridge--hopefully I could get some decent lifespan from the 1lb. What kind of fittings/connectors do you use to connect the 1lb bottle? Do you use the same regulator?

Thanks,

Eric

I purchased a coleman thing at camping world (also saw it at REI the other day) that takes two 1lb bottles connected with a T then has a standard bulk bottle fitting on the other end. I then got another adapter that will allow me to plug the stock camper gas hose in as well as the one for my new gas hose to feed just the stove. that same new fitting will go on a single 1lb bottle as well. the system can now run off the dual 1lb bottle set up, a single 1lb bottle or the 20lb bottle. I ran the heater overnight (on for 5-10minutes every hour) during a 20 degree night a month or so back with just the dual 1lb bottle. they were about 1/3 full each by morning. 1 lbs of Propane ~=22000 Btus, I forget what the fridge or heater are in regards to BTU/hour, but some quick math and you can figure how many hours you can run the stuff off of one # of propane. you can also buy a little adapter to use your 20lb bottle as a charging tank to fill up your 1lb bottles. so you can continue to buy in bulk and not have to pay the up price of the 1lb bottles.

 

[tanglefoot]

Thanks--I have a 1lb bottle fitting coming in the mail. I'll finally get to see if the fridge works! :Wow1:

 

[RR1]

The biggest complaint I have is how cluttered the inside feels, I don't bring a lot of stuff and just for a 5 day trip it seemed like I had no room to neatly store stuff, then when my girlfriend came down to the expo with our 2 year old it was extreamly tight on space. I previously had a toyota pickup with a roof top tent and had more space for gear, granted we did everything outside but with a full size 8 foot bed I figured the camper would be more roomy.
I would like to see some pictures of home built interiors to give me some ideas. I am thinking of getting a mountaineer camper made here the Phoenix area or a Canback soft top.

You should try and find a Wildernest, I saw a guy at a motorcycle race with it on a fullsize Ford 8' bed, it was huge and airy on the inside. The couple slept on top and their two large dogs slept in the bed of the truck. They said they loved it had it for years.

I have been trying to find one for my Ford, the fullsize 6.5 bed are hard to find, that is even if they make for that size bed.