Blueboard Pop UP Camper

[makalutoo]

I posted this in a diffrent forum on here but got no feed back, so I am moving it.


Here are my construction ideas for a pop up camper that I am going to build for my Toyota Tacoma. Please feel free to shoot holes or critique them, especially my construction method which I haven’t seen anyone use before.
Currently I have a cab height truck topper on the back of my truck. It is a Extra cab with a 6’ bed. I have been looking at pop up truck campers for a long time but they just don’t come up that often on the used market for my truck and new ones are not an option. While I could probably foot the bill, I am in Alaska and shipping would kill it.

I have considered different types of construction and have decided on building it out of insulated panels with 2” foam board and ¼” plywood skins. I will frame the outside edges of the panels with boards so I can fasten the panels together. I will use 2x6 boards along the top to extend over the cab to build my sleeping compartment on.

I plan on gluing all of this together with sikaflex 252.

What sort of clamping force do I need when I glue the panels together? I read somewhere about using vacuum bagging, which I do not want to do. I was just going to lay the panels on the floor and put weight on it.


Thanks for any input and I will post photos as I go.

 

[eugene]

2x6 is way overkill, my camper is all 1x material, original was 1x2 or less. a 1x6 should be fine.

 

[rdraider]

will the sikaflex melt the foam? This is basically what i'm planing.

 

[makalutoo]

Sika Flex

I haven't called them up to ask about compatablity but from reading I got the impression that it was compatible. I haven't read anywhere that said not to use sika flex with foam.

The reason that I was going to use a 2x6 to extend out over the cab was because the foam is 2 inches thick. The 2x is 1.5" and I was going to put half inch ply on to make up the diffrence. I am going to take mesurments and sketch up some drawings within the next several days.

I am having a hard time envisioning the roof pop up mechanism, but that is further down the road.

chris

 

[rdraider]

Mine will be hard sided, i have considered using a bifold door technique on the front and rear or sides, with flip up panels on the opposite side to lock them in place. I've got no drawings on the computer yet, otherwise i would post it. Normally when i build things, i have the design in my head, and when i go to putting it on paper, i mess things up.

Back on topic, use 2x if you want, but 1x stock will get you by, especially a 1x6. You might consider laminating 2 1x stock so that you can utilize rabbits and dadoes in your construction technique.

Good luck wth the build,

raider

 

[Overland Hadley]

You might consider laminating 2 1x stock so that you can utilize rabbits and dadoes in your construction technique.

Laminating is good for strength, I would stay away from wood that is 2" thick. If you are thinking of using the 2x6 laying flat, I would then use plywood.

 

[Sportsman Matt]

Most camper construction is 1x2 or 2x2 construction being either 3/4" thick or 1 1/2" thick. My old truck camper had 2x2 construction for the walls with fiberglass R7 insulation, and an aluminum skin on the outside, stapled paneling on the inside. The bed area was composed of 1/2" plywood, and the floors, the lower walls in the truck bed, and the overhang over the bedrails of the truck were made of 1/2" plywood with glued on foam outside and paint over that. The aluminum dudn't start until after getting above the bedrails on the sides, and from the floor up on the front and back.

You can build it anyway you want, but I would recommend doing a little more research on it before you commit to it 100%.

I'm building one in the future, it was started last year but put on hold until I get further along on some other things (finishing the house, the 20+ rod repair projects, cleaning out the house of 30+ years of junk, family life....etc)

if you check out my blog back in either 2008 or 2009 you'll see I had pictures of an article in Popular Mechanics about building a truck camper.

[url]http://www.sportsmanmattoutdoors.blogspot.com[url]

Good luck

 

[matt s]

You might consider the stitch and glue method used with fiberglass/plywood boats. There is a shop in Anchorage that sells all the supplies for building a Tolman Skiff. They have the epoxies and the fiberglass, I think they even carry the marine grade ply as well. I don't remember their name but nice people when I stopped by a few years ago. A quick search on Tolmans should locate the shop.

The benefit would be strength and weight, also your seams would already be sealed. I don't know if the epoxy would have issues with the foam, but once cured you could add the foam to your shell.

 

[makalutoo]

I think that I am going to build the roof with a modified stitch and glue method. I am not sure if I will scarf the panels together or not. I will probably wait until I start to build the foam panels until I decide. I think that the panels will be very strong in verticle compression, but I am not as sure in horizontal compression.

I think that I will glue 1x's together instead of using 2x material. Right now I am waiting on my glue before I can do anything.

I am surprised that more people haven't tried this building method. I have not been able to find a single example of home built panels out of blueboard and plywood. Maybe there is a reason for this, but I haven't seen an examples of it yet.

Thanks for the input and ideas.

 

[MTNMARK]

I am surprised that more people haven't tried this building method. I have not been able to find a single example of home built panels out of blueboard and plywood. Maybe there is a reason for this, but I haven't seen an examples of it yet.

Thanks for the input and ideas.

Hey Makalutoo,

I was thinking of undertaking a very similar project- I figured on a very similar construction - I was going to use 1-1.5" board laminated with 1/4" plywood in a vacuum bag, then skinned with aluminum.

Then I saw you are in Valdez and thought - man, we have the same plan (I put on the Tailgate Alaska event and King of the Hill events).

Here are a couple of things to think about - adding up the costs of building one, I came up with a budget around 2k when it was all said and done. After getting some of the big materials out of the way, you will still have to acquire things like Aluminum (or fiberglass) skin - I can tell you where to get that - heater, vents etc.

You may want to also look into having one thrown on a Samson barge as it may still be cheaper - and more complete - following this route. Hit me up with a PM and I will share some pretty cool resources.

Mark

 

[slowtwitch]

Hey Makalutoo,


Hit me up with a PM and I will share some pretty cool resources.

Mark

Throw them resources up here so we can all check em out!

-Mike

 

[makalutoo]

Thanks for the great links. It looks like they contain some great information. The blueboard that I purchased is DOW High Load 60. It is rated for 60psi exposure vs 15psi or so for the regular blueboard. I didn't think about the Sika flex beig too flexible. I was worried about using glue that could crack under all the movement and jostling in the back of the truck.

I guess I have more research and thinking to do before I get going.

-chris

 

[eugene]

The main issue with 2x6 and 2" thick walls is going to be weight. Previous owner of my camper had it on a newer Toyota tundra with air bags and it was still squatting down in the back, it was too heavy for it with 1x construction.
I didn't take enough during pictures of my rear wall rebuild but here is one showing a little bit

Spray glue melted the insulation a little bit.
Problem I'm running into is all the trim is 1" inside, with 1/4" inside covering and 3/4" frame I only have a very thin amount left on the outside for covering based on that the 1/4" ply was sanded down to. The trim is designed around 3/4" frame and 1/8" inside paneling then 1/8" left on the outside for covering.
I'm thinking of rebuilding my whole thing, find 1/8" stuff then skin both sides and glass the outside to keep within the 1" limit.
Anyway my point is 1x (3/4") frame is plenty if done right. The reason old campers fall apart is poor construction. The paneling they use on the inside adds no strength, its like gluing wood to the page of a book all you have to do is rip out that one thin page, thats what their paneling did, thin layer stays glued to the frame and the rest pulls off. Then they just staple the wood together so it can flex and the staple then pivots in the holes and they get bigger and allow more flex, etc. I used a doweling jig and put 1/4" dowels in all my joints using water resistant glue, then used liquid nails to glue the frame to the plywood to make it even stronger.