C5500 TopKick 4x4 Crew Cab Build
- Thread starter NeverEnough
- Start date
Mc Taco
American Adventurist
Question. Did the tubing come pre-filled, or did you fill? If you filled, how easy/difficult was it to fill entire tube? Thanks.
NeverEnough
Adventurer
We filled them. It was easy because the shop has a fancy foam gun (depending on the foam you want to shoot, they run $US 5-12K, or more). Simply tip the tube to 30 degrees or more, pull the trigger for 4-5 seconds, let it run down to the end, tape EPS stoppers over both ends, and let the chemistry do its job.
You could probably do it with spray foam cans if you drilled a bunch of holes and did it in sections. I did it more for insulation than for strength, though it does provide additional rigidity. The real strength is the combination of the pultrusion and the lay-up "angles" on either side, which basically created a very strong "hat" channel.
Ford Prefect
Expedition Leader
If only I had my truck already, I could offer it to you to "practice" building the interior! 
It sure looks nice!
It sure looks nice!
Mc Taco
American Adventurist
Thanks. I'm thinking of smaller sized steel tubing both square and round and was looking for added strength for lower weight.
NeverEnough
Adventurer
There are different kinds of strength, but it would take some seriously stiff foam to enhance the strength of steel tubing of any size. Fiberglass pultrusions can be stiffened up a little because they're like noodles compared to steel, but it was the lay-up angles that provided the desired stiffness. The trick to low-weight strength is thinner materials in the right shapes/configuration, which is why I went with composite panels that are mostly air.
Finally got to the spare tire hoist this week. It's an inexpensive, but very strong and effective, hoist assembly mounted between the chassis rails.
It snugs up nice and tight under the rails. The actuator is accessed via a long, removable handle, just like a typical pickup spare, through a hole in the chassis rail inside the wheel well.
The cabover "tilt-up" turned out great and has become a favorite feature. Thanks to Jay Shapiro for the inspiration for adding it to the build!
With all the slideouts fitted, it was possible to scribe the final window cutouts for the galley/dining windows. I wanted to make sure the windows of the nested side slides matched up with main box windows during travel mode.
With the slide "room" extended, the camper becomes downright spacious inside, even without extending the nested slides. And there's plenty of headroom.
Most of the priming/prep work has been finished on the shell as well.
Straight cuts with the plungesaw and corners with the jigsaw, and viola, a perfect window cutout.
I made some final tweeks on cabinet layouts today, and rough plumbing and electrical will start to go in next week.
NeverEnough
Adventurer
Work has been getting in the way of the REAL work these past few weeks. A couple of pics of progress:
All of the appliances and components have been "dry fit" in order to ensure the cabinetry dimensions and outsite wall penetrations are just right before the exterior coating is applied.
Even though I have radiant heat in the floors, I'm installing a propane ducted furnace to 1) provide redundancy, and 2) allow for a "fast" heat-up of the camper, since radiant takes a while to do its job.
Here's a shot of the "curbside" cabinet assemblies: a small pantry attached to the Norcold 1095 refrigerator opening, with a cabinet above for additional storage and one below for the central vac; the skinny electrical closet next to the side door opening with storage above the door and closet, and the cubby assembly (each is 12"x16"x24").
After much debate, I bailed on making the storage assembly a combination staircase for the cabover room. I'll be using a simple, large-tred ladder instead.
All of the cabinetry is glassed in to the shell, becoming part of the structure. It's taken a lot of extra time, but nothing bugs me more than stuff that comes loose. Here's a shot of Lynn the Laminator hard at work.
The toilets for both the trailer and camper are Thetford Tecma Silence units. Yeah, I know they're heavy, and being a macerating toilet, they present potential problems. But few things add that home-like feel than a real geniune toilet! I've ordering a spare motor/pump assembly to keep on board just in case.
The cabover "tilt-up" works great. The two 500lb gas shocks had to be bled off quite a bit to get close to the operating range. We'll do the final adjustments once every last ounce is mounted to the assembly.
My sons help when they can. They did a great job priming and finish coating the insides of the cargo bays. The hippie-looking one decided it was time to get a hair cut after days of trying to get paint splatter out of his hair.
They also ripped all the furring strips for the composite decorative wall paneling. Early on I had tried to eliminate all wood from the build, but we learned early on that the composite alternatives are inferior for holding a screw (I wanted the wall and ceiling paneling to be removable/replacable).
Next the aerogel, then the radiant/reflective insulation.
It stopped raining log enough last week to load up the slide-out components for a quick shuttle over to the paint shop.
Got there just as Tracy finished up spraying Scorpion on the Topkick chassis rails, steps, and fuel tanks.
Still waiting on the distribution panels to arrive so we can get the wiring wrapped up. And half of the door hardware was the wrong color, which had to be sent back and replaced. We're constantly re-arranging the schedule to deal with components being held-up for one reason or another. Even so, there's light at the end of the tunnel.....
All of the appliances and components have been "dry fit" in order to ensure the cabinetry dimensions and outsite wall penetrations are just right before the exterior coating is applied.
Even though I have radiant heat in the floors, I'm installing a propane ducted furnace to 1) provide redundancy, and 2) allow for a "fast" heat-up of the camper, since radiant takes a while to do its job.
Here's a shot of the "curbside" cabinet assemblies: a small pantry attached to the Norcold 1095 refrigerator opening, with a cabinet above for additional storage and one below for the central vac; the skinny electrical closet next to the side door opening with storage above the door and closet, and the cubby assembly (each is 12"x16"x24").
After much debate, I bailed on making the storage assembly a combination staircase for the cabover room. I'll be using a simple, large-tred ladder instead.
All of the cabinetry is glassed in to the shell, becoming part of the structure. It's taken a lot of extra time, but nothing bugs me more than stuff that comes loose. Here's a shot of Lynn the Laminator hard at work.
The toilets for both the trailer and camper are Thetford Tecma Silence units. Yeah, I know they're heavy, and being a macerating toilet, they present potential problems. But few things add that home-like feel than a real geniune toilet! I've ordering a spare motor/pump assembly to keep on board just in case.
The cabover "tilt-up" works great. The two 500lb gas shocks had to be bled off quite a bit to get close to the operating range. We'll do the final adjustments once every last ounce is mounted to the assembly.
My sons help when they can. They did a great job priming and finish coating the insides of the cargo bays. The hippie-looking one decided it was time to get a hair cut after days of trying to get paint splatter out of his hair.
They also ripped all the furring strips for the composite decorative wall paneling. Early on I had tried to eliminate all wood from the build, but we learned early on that the composite alternatives are inferior for holding a screw (I wanted the wall and ceiling paneling to be removable/replacable).
Next the aerogel, then the radiant/reflective insulation.
It stopped raining log enough last week to load up the slide-out components for a quick shuttle over to the paint shop.
Got there just as Tracy finished up spraying Scorpion on the Topkick chassis rails, steps, and fuel tanks.
Still waiting on the distribution panels to arrive so we can get the wiring wrapped up. And half of the door hardware was the wrong color, which had to be sent back and replaced. We're constantly re-arranging the schedule to deal with components being held-up for one reason or another. Even so, there's light at the end of the tunnel.....
D
Deleted member 9101
Guest
Wow!!!!!! Your build is amazing!!!!!
Ford Prefect
Expedition Leader
Very cool stuff, it sure looks nice!
Mind if I ask, how long do you anticipate before completion of the project? It seems as though it has been coming along rather fast!
Mind if I ask, how long do you anticipate before completion of the project? It seems as though it has been coming along rather fast!
NeverEnough
Adventurer
Glad you're liking it. It was supposed to b done in february
I am hoping to have it wrapped up by mid June. That all depends on no additional supplied delays.
NeverEnough
Adventurer
Thanks! I'm fortunate to have some great help.
The interior is moving along. Yesterday was "pour the countertops" day. This is one of those times when I count myself lucky to have a brother with an amazing skill set, including the ability to do custom solid-surface countertops. I wanted the look and funcationality of solid surface, but without the weight of 3/4" - 1" slabs. He's got the skill and techniques to create a strong 1/4" slab, which will be bonded to 3/4" composite honeycomb, giving us the best of both worlds.
First we needed to get the right color/chip blend to match the interior schema by making a bunch of small test pieces.
With the color forumula established, it's time to go "full scale", mixing up enough material for the cubic volume of the intended pour batch. This is a precision job and the potential to waste a lot of expensive material:
There's only a 10-15 minute window to get the catalized material poured into the molds and properly settled.
Next step is to bond the slabs to their honeycomb cores, then route out the sink cutouts. The same approach will be used to make the backspashes, the dining table and the fold-down countertop for the galley.
I'm pretty stoked about how the interior is coming along, but there's also a ton of work still going on with the rest of the build. I picked up the 28 gallon generator/toy fuel tank and checked the fit under the steps.
The steel-lined generator enclosure mounts right next to it. I made the enclosure large enough to accommodate some additional sound insulation, so I'm hopeful, especially with the sound-dampening properties of the PPE honeycomb walls and floor, that the generator will be pretty quiet from both the inside and outside of the camper.
I'll try to keep everyone updated on the progress in the days ahead.
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NeverEnough
Adventurer
Before I decided to have my camper removable from the chassis, I was looking at diesel units, and FP was on the list. Once I decided to have the camper be an independent unit, I opted to use a gasoline genset since I also wanted to have an on-board "toy tank" for the motorcycles. And I only need a 4000W unit. I found a deal on a used Honda 4010, which are no longer available in the US, but had to return it do to a broken stator (more expensive to replace than what it was worth). So I picked up a new Generac QP40, which is a standard RV issue generator. My hope is that the genenerator will not see too much action. As for noise, I think our enclosure and muffler arrangement should do the trick. We'll see.......better yet, hear......
hdemetrious
Adventurer
This build is moving smoothly, I can't wait to see it all done.