building the Bullet XV

[sarconcepts]

Whoa.. Bob
I think anybody on this forum would love to,
It seems like every time Bethany & I go hiking, I daydream about starting a business building offroad campers & gear vests, but by the time we get back to civilization, I realize I have no experience (I only built one).
To be frank, the construction industry here in Oregon's pretty slow, so I've got time & need to be challenged,
P.M. me & we'll talk further.
Steve

 

[bahndo]

Steve-
I was wondering if you could give some details about the cab-->camper boot and how it is working out for you. Any pics?

 

[sarconcepts]

Sure bahndo,
This was made by 'Stan's Upholstery' here in Eugene, but he had a clear understanding of what I wanted & how to make it work.
First off, I made the holes in the truck & the camper the exact same size & location, it's not essential, but it helps. (I used the window hole in the truck without any changes, as it was the perfect height & width for the dog beds)
Next, put a caulk bead around the holes on the opposing faces, just below the holes, then attach the outer material which is a mesh impregnated vinyl (trucker's tarp) then push down into the caulk
then a layer of foam, then the inner layer of vinyl.
look close at your edges to figure out how to attach on both sides.
The foam is simply to fill up the extra material, as you have to cut it bigger to allow for some movement between the two components. the foam fills out the body of the boot otherwise the material would just hang there.
of course you probably want to pre-make the boot into a big doughnut before installing it

the pictures aren't great, but they may help
this one's pre-boot

this one shows the mesh impregnated vinyl outer material

I don't know why this one's so small, but it shows the interior vinyl


make sure you get a good bead of caulk around the outer layer, so absolutely no wind or rain can get in

 

[Saiyan66]

Steve, your rig is absolutely amazing. The detail on the interior and your design ideas are top notch. I can only imagine what your home looks like. Well done.

 

[bahndo]

Steve-
Thanks for the pic's and the description of the pass through boot, that helps a ton. What type of foam did you use in the boot? Was it cut to fit the contours of the opening or just flexible and bent?
Another question that came to mind was what did the camper end up weighing in at? If you are ever up in the Columbia river Gorge area please let me know know so I can check out your master piece in person.
-Ryan

 

[sarconcepts]

bahndo
The specific foam used I'm not sure of, as the upholsterers chose it, I don't know if it's important though, just a good quality mid-density foam,
it is however an upholstery foam, like a cushion, not a rigid foam like insulation. It needs to flex with the vehicle & keep the boot 'inflated'
but yes, you do want to cut it's width to follow the differing distances between the two components (mine varied from 1 3/4" across the bottom to 3 1/2" at the top based on the curvature of the rear of the truck. Thickness was the same throughout.

The final weight of the camper fully loaded, 62 gallons of diesel, 30 gallons of water, 10 gallons of propane, food, clothing, full tools & gear, firewood, 2 dogs & 2 humans, weighed in at 14,500 lbs (max GVWR is 19,500 lbs)
so far averaging 14 mpg.

Bethany & I will be camping all around the northwest for years to come, but nothing planned up the Gorge yet. We will be going up to the scablands early this summer, then cutting across the panhandle of Idaho & into Montana then looping down to Wyoming, Utah, Nevada & back into Oregon through our favorite camping spot & natural hot spring - just a small loop!

still tinkering with things, (it'll never end, this is what I enjoy)
installed a greywater tank & electric drain valve


& just installed this past weekend, another stainless railing behind the sink,to match the others, to hold in place the dish soap & brushes

not earth shattering, but progress none the less

I've done alot of non picture-worthy things, (just keeping myself busy lately)
& last will be to redo the door holder, as on the trip last year, hurricane Irene blew the door open once in Maine, with such force, it slammed the rubber stop right through the fiberglass door panel

so I'm using a whole new system which should work much better (I never liked the old holder anyhow)

 

[sarconcepts]

A question for all of you smarter than I
I'm re-working the door holder/catch system as seen in the picture in the post above.
I'll be mounting an aluminum plate over the hole in the door to spread out impact forces from the rubber bumper
this will be screwed & sealed permanently to the fiberglass door skin, the interior of the door is just styrofoam (crushed styrofoam now)
before I mount this plate over the hole, I want to fill the hole with something solid so the forces of the bumper door stop aren't just spread around the perimeter of this hole.
What should I fill it up with? I've thought about Bondo, epoxy, resin - but I have no experience with resin,
what would you all recommend for a solid hard filler to help spread out the impact forces behind this new plate, but not eat the styrofoam?

Thanks for any input
steve

 

[westyss]

Hey Steve, I wish I could help but I can only suggest spray in foam, I use a type that is made to seal window casings, so it does not expand and push out yet fills in gaps well and when dry is very solid as far as impact or compression goes.

 

[bahndo]

Steve-
I think your best bet is thickened epoxy. You will want either cab-o-sil or micro balloons to thicken the resin to the consistency of peanut butter. Wear a respirator because you do not want this stuff in your lungs, thicken after you mix the resin and hardener and apply like you are frosting a cake. If the hole is deep (greater then 1") I would do it in two steps, a thinner first coat and then a filling second coat. The reason for this is that the resin exo therms when it cures and when surrounded by insulating foam the heat can really build up and can melt the foam. Once it's all cured you can sand off any high/rough spots. Hope this helps,
-Bahndo

 

[Overland Hadley]

I will second the thought of using some expanding foam, and I like the idea of the low expansion foam. The foam is fairly solid (the low expansion is more solid than regular expansion) when it has hardened, but I am not sure how it compares to the foam in your door. You can cover the hole while the foam cures so it does not flow out, or you can give it a little trim afterward.

Let us know how it all works out.

 

[Entropy]

Why not cut out the crushed styrofoam and glue in some more styrofoam or another rigid foam?

 

[sarconcepts]

I do plan on chewing out the crushed foam first,
new foam will certainly fill the hole, but i'm also looking for something to spread the compression force of the door-stop impact over more area, & hopefully
're-skin' the area at the same time, making it all monolithic again.
I guess a thickened epoxy might just be my ticket, I assume it will bond to the fiberglass skin?

 

[Entropy]

To make it monolithic, I'd simply replace the foam, the top that with a fiberglass patch and then put your metal plate on top of that. The plate is what will spread most of any future impact. Really though, I wouldn't sweat it too much. I think any of the suggestions would work out just fine.

 

[bahndo]

Steve-
The thickened epoxy route might not be the best solution for your situation. I think that it will act to transmit any load directly to the inner surface of the door. If you want to spread the load I think cutting out the foam and replacing it with new foam is a good start, maybe go a few inches larger then the broken out area. Then you could apply a few layers of fiberglass (with epoxy not poly/vinyl ester resin) and once dry, sanded and painted your latch plate could go on top of that. This would be really bomber and with your skills and attention to detail would not be noticeable. Just a thought..

 

[pods8]

I don't see the need to cutout the old foam unless it's a large area to fill, otherwise a mirco ballon thickened slurry (with a little cabosil to help hold it vertically) sounds like the ticket to me. Epoxy and fiberglass will bond over the FRP panels you have just fine assuming you sand them.

Respirator: Really depends on the product you're using and area you're using it in. I've been using a TON of uscomposites 635 on my build and it's very low odor, with my garage door open a bit and side door open keeping a breeze moving through there really isn't any smell and thus I don't wear a respirator (for better or worse). Its not till the garage is closed up and the stuff is still wet that a bit of smell builds but its still not that strong. If I end up doing epoxy work in enclosed spaces such as interior cabinets or such I'll mask up then though. As mentioned before it depends on the product, some 5min epoxies smell to high hell.