trailrunner
Observer
Bump!
C5500 TopKick 4x4 Crew Cab Build
- Thread starter NeverEnough
- Start date
NeverEnough
Adventurer
Change of venue!
Well, just when I thought the tempo was picking back up, we ended up having to move the rig out of my brother's shop so he could bring on some other work. So we packed up several trailer loads of tools, materials, and components, stuck the camper on the Topkick, and set up shop in some extra space at my building near downtown SLC. I've got a 15x45 storage unit rented a few blocks away so we can keep it out of the weather when needed. But at this point, it's no big deal to have it outside. We burned up a week making the move, and I've had zero time to pitch in, so Girard is going solo at this point.
Here's what she looks like in full-deployment mode:
Sorry about all the foreground clutter. Fortunately, we've got great security round the clock, so at don't have to worry about unwanted helpers pitching in.
The doors still have to be coated, but they're a huge improvement from the doors we built for the trailer. Overall I'm happy about PPE honeycomb, but the material needed some extra skin stiffness to handle the stresses and strains of automotive-style door components. We bonded .060 aluminum to the exterior PP skin, as well as an .125" aluminu plate on the inside to mount the interior and exterior handsets.
The finished doors work great, with smooth, clean action.
The inside of the doors will be skinned with a .25" pre-laminated cherry panel with aluminum trim to match the interior scheme.
Here's shot from the back door looking forward towards the galley.
We've still got plastic and cardboard over everything to protect it while working. The move suspended all the interior finish work, but we should be able to get back on it next week.
The table is mounted on two Springfield Marine 3-stage pedestals. I still have to build a floor plate to join the two pedestals together. The plate will also have feet to lock it into position during travel (in the big slide). Once we get to camp and move out the slide, I can just pick up the table and move it into the main galley/dining area.
The table drops down to serve as a bed platform, in conjuction with the fold-down bench (not built yet) in the galley.\
More later.....
Well, just when I thought the tempo was picking back up, we ended up having to move the rig out of my brother's shop so he could bring on some other work. So we packed up several trailer loads of tools, materials, and components, stuck the camper on the Topkick, and set up shop in some extra space at my building near downtown SLC. I've got a 15x45 storage unit rented a few blocks away so we can keep it out of the weather when needed. But at this point, it's no big deal to have it outside. We burned up a week making the move, and I've had zero time to pitch in, so Girard is going solo at this point.
Here's what she looks like in full-deployment mode:
Sorry about all the foreground clutter. Fortunately, we've got great security round the clock, so at don't have to worry about unwanted helpers pitching in.
The doors still have to be coated, but they're a huge improvement from the doors we built for the trailer. Overall I'm happy about PPE honeycomb, but the material needed some extra skin stiffness to handle the stresses and strains of automotive-style door components. We bonded .060 aluminum to the exterior PP skin, as well as an .125" aluminu plate on the inside to mount the interior and exterior handsets.
The finished doors work great, with smooth, clean action.
The inside of the doors will be skinned with a .25" pre-laminated cherry panel with aluminum trim to match the interior scheme.
Here's shot from the back door looking forward towards the galley.
We've still got plastic and cardboard over everything to protect it while working. The move suspended all the interior finish work, but we should be able to get back on it next week.
The table is mounted on two Springfield Marine 3-stage pedestals. I still have to build a floor plate to join the two pedestals together. The plate will also have feet to lock it into position during travel (in the big slide). Once we get to camp and move out the slide, I can just pick up the table and move it into the main galley/dining area.
The table drops down to serve as a bed platform, in conjuction with the fold-down bench (not built yet) in the galley.\
More later.....
trailrunner
Observer
Thank's for the update, I was starting to get worried ;p
hdemetrious
Adventurer
Looking sharp!
Ford Prefect
Expedition Leader
Wow that looks SO very nice. I am super impressed with your wonderful build. I will look forward to a write up in about a year or so to see how it is holding together once you have had it on some serious trips etc. That is, seeing as you said there is a lot that is experiemental and one off just for your rig. I am sure hopeful because I would like to someday use many of your ideas for the slides and perhaps even the double directional slide. (I want one that goes up for a second story, and then side slides to pop out on either side!)
Super stuff, and thanks for the update!
Brian
Super stuff, and thanks for the update!
Brian
NeverEnough
Adventurer
And I thought I was ambitious! If there's one thing I've learned on this project it's that slides are not for the faint of heart- tricky, tricky, tricky.
Speaking of sliding, the cargo "drawers" are all mounted and fit nicely. Now we just need to pretty them up, install the exterior aluminum skins, latches, lighting, and pressure switches. I debated long and hard about drawers, which added moving parts, weight, and reduces cubic storage area. However, from past experience, I found that a smaller space with better access and organization is preferred to a simple catch bin that has to be dug through. I've also got some ideas on how to use the vertical side space inside each drawer for additional storage of many items I always keep on board.
The drawers are made of 1" and 3/4" PPE honeycomb with bonded and glassed joints- very, very light, very strong, and impervious to moisture. All the slides are 22" Accuride 9301's, rated for 300lbs. I also used the Accuride drawer mounting brackets for mounting the slides to the cargo bay and the drawers to the slides.
The two rear cargo compartments are "pass-through" from side to side, allowing storage for long items such as shovels, tables, etc. That required a drop-hinge door to allow access to the pass-through storage space.
Closed. The overlapping aluminum skins have already been fab'd up, but we won't bond them on until we've finished testing all the other working parts.
Open with doors dropped. The cutout accommodates the latch/locking mechanism, electric actuator, and plunger connecting rods. Once installed, we'll screw on an FRP skin to cover the panel.
The fronts up and locked. The honeycomb gets finished with an anodized u-channel as seen in the closest drawer, but we won't glue those on until we apply the coating to body of the drawers.
Two of the doors are wide-swing aluminum continuous hinge: holding tanks hinged on top and the genset door hinged on the bottom. All of the doors have a two-point catch with Trimark latches and electic actuators linked to the keyless entry system (keypad and fobs). I'll install a retention cable on the genset door so it can be used as a platform for the detachable fuel pump that will quick-connect to the 33 gallon tank under the entrance steps.
I spent 8 hours chasing down a ground fault on one of the radiant heat circuits last week, finally traced it to a manufacturer's flaw when they cut the material, but got it fixed. We've had some very cold nights in the past week, and it's working AWESOME!!!!! It's a nicely insulated camper, and it just feels great to walk on a warm floor. Next cold stretch I hope to do a little measuring of the amp draw so I can predict battery life when the radiant is on. The Atwood ducted propane furnace is also very effective, so between the two, I'm sure we'll be able to handle sub-20F night temps with the cabin at 72F easily.
trailrunner
Observer
I'm getting excited!
NeverEnough
Adventurer
Me too, but I'm seriously short on time to get this thing wrapped up right now. Progress is being made: cargo and personnel doors are just about ready for final install. The skins got coated yesterday and the first coat of paint went on the drawers today. Still waiting on some of the push-on trim seals, but hope they get here next week.
Now that the rig is at travel weight, it's finally time to get serious about improving the suspension. The cab already has a Link airbag system, but for both comfort of the passengers and protection of the rig, I'd like to take some of the bite out of the ride. I'm clueless about suspension and I've cruised the boards for relevant posts. A few things seem to be of interest. On the air suspension side, there's several made for the C5500s. Anybody with some real world experience would be doing me a favor by chiming in.
Candidates so far are:
Link, Hoffman, and Kelderman
Ford Prefect
Expedition Leader
My only thought is to learn from the mistakes of others.
Be sure that you have all of the shocks you need to keep the body of the truck stable in rough terrain. That body roll can cause you some trouble. I have seen big trucks like that in off road situations, and the worst is when you see the rear of the truck take a 1.5 foot hop to one side or the other owing to the body roll just moving that truck over. Scared me to see that. I have seen a lot of these things off road as well, some are very stable, some are so rigid you know the people inside are rattling themselves to death in there.
If you use air, will the bags be connected (side to side that is)? IE if one deflates will that force the air from it into the other? This would contribute to body roll, and it seems to me that I recall reading that some systems function that way.
Last thing I will add is that I have no personal experience with any of these systems other than what I have read here, and seen in person following the rigs, or riding in the rigs off road. I have never helped with the install, nor do I have experience with how it is done/piped/ etc. Perhaps I am just nuts, or full of crap, because I really do not know, just sharing my layman's observations.
Regards,
Be sure that you have all of the shocks you need to keep the body of the truck stable in rough terrain. That body roll can cause you some trouble. I have seen big trucks like that in off road situations, and the worst is when you see the rear of the truck take a 1.5 foot hop to one side or the other owing to the body roll just moving that truck over. Scared me to see that. I have seen a lot of these things off road as well, some are very stable, some are so rigid you know the people inside are rattling themselves to death in there.
If you use air, will the bags be connected (side to side that is)? IE if one deflates will that force the air from it into the other? This would contribute to body roll, and it seems to me that I recall reading that some systems function that way.
Last thing I will add is that I have no personal experience with any of these systems other than what I have read here, and seen in person following the rigs, or riding in the rigs off road. I have never helped with the install, nor do I have experience with how it is done/piped/ etc. Perhaps I am just nuts, or full of crap, because I really do not know, just sharing my layman's observations.
Regards,
trailrunner
Observer
How's things progressing?
NeverEnough
Adventurer
Getting very close. Progress is getting made every day, but I've been so buried at work that I've not had time to post. All the compartment and personnel doors are on and gasketed. Girard is pounding through the interior punch list, finishing up all the little details. I'm dying to get it out on the road for a shake-down, but this year is WAY different than last year. I'm glad I got this project going when I did. If I had attempted it this year, I just would've bagged it. I'll post some pics later in the week. On the bright side, I did take one pic this past weekend:
After racking up 110,000 miles on my 95 GS, I decided it was time to modernize, so the boys down at BMW Motorcycles of Las Vegas set me up. Sweet ride! The plan is to have a hoist on the back of the rig to carry this and my wife's 650 when we're traveling without the boys and don't want to haul the trailer.
Ford Prefect
Expedition Leader
Now you are just gloating! :drool: :roost:
Trying to find a nice K1200LT for myself right now. The GS is a great bike.
Are you going to make the rack/hoist set up removable? My reason for asking is that it would seem to considerably elongate your truck, and I am wondering about it getting in the way when the trailer is in tow.
Trying to find a nice K1200LT for myself right now. The GS is a great bike.
Are you going to make the rack/hoist set up removable? My reason for asking is that it would seem to considerably elongate your truck, and I am wondering about it getting in the way when the trailer is in tow.
TravelerJohn
New member
Outstanding build to be sure! I just spent the better part of 3 days reading the entire thread, from post 1 to current. During this time I took many side trips to investigate many of the links posted here about ideas, products and other rigs. This thread (And the build) are truly epic and completely deserving of being pinned in place so that years from now it remains at the top for those that wish to follow in your footsteps to be able to easily find. Thank you for not only posting about the build but taking the time to be as informative and descriptive as you have been. The information will be invaluable to those that follow. And just as useful will be the "Bloopers" that you mentioned you would tell us about. Listing and describing the mistakes made along the way is every bit as helpful as everything else you have posted. I for one and looking forward to that and a final recap/report when it is competed and again after 12 months or so of use. (And don't forget plenty of pictures of the rig And trailer) in use!!)
I understand your busy with "Real life" but it has been over a month since an update, sooooo, I just have to ask... "Any updates available?"
I think we are still waiting for more details/pictures of the final design of the back wall of the pop-up section, pictures of the completed interior and of the completed exterior. Also what have you decided about suspension modifications?
Unless I missed it your not installing air conditioning, is that correct? Those of us who live in the south east USA (Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi) pretty much consider A/C mandatory. I know where you live it usually does not get as hot or humid as it does for us. I really like your idea of barely using the generator, mostly relying on the solar to keep your house batteries charged. I'm not sure that we could do that here in the south east. The energy draw of even a single A/C unit would probably require so much battery bank (To run all night) that it would be impracticable, and so many square inches of solar panels it would not be possible because you would need more sq/in than the total of your roof. I do remember seeing a link in a thread recently, (Might have been this one) where somebody was asking about a unit intended for RV use that is roof mounted and looks similar to a "Normal" RV A/C unit but is actually an evaporation or "Swamp cooler". They use far less electricity than a compressor driven "Normal" A/C system but with the high humidity in our region, they are all but useless for decreasing the air temperature so where we really need it, they are not a viable option.
The only real question/suggestion I have had during the process is why did you not put a rear mounted self recovery winch? It looks like you have plenty of room to install one just above the receiver hitch unless the spare tire does not allow for the depth needed. In which case I would be very tempted to mount one "externally" on that plate in the same place and trim/dress/reinforce as needed to install a roller fairlead and make it look good.
I bring this up because many people do not understand the value of a rear mounted self recovery winch. Personally, if I could have only 1 winch it would be on the rear rather than the front. The argument for this? Consider this; Your driving along the trail for the day and become stuck. With only a front winch your choice is basically limited to winching further into the mess that currently has you stuck. Depending on the situation this may not be totally bad, but on the other hand.... Now consider that 5 feet ago you were not stuck. If you could simply winch backwards 5 or 10 feet your rig would be in a location that you were driving and did not need a winch. From that point you could choose to pick a new line to try to proceed, go around, or abandon the current plan and find a completely different way rather than winch further into the mess that currently has you stuck. Just a thought..
Oh, and now that it is way to late, my vote for color is; Tan, Desert sand or whatever you want to call it. Even leaving the cab white with everything else tan would be acceptable if needed for financial reasons.
The color issue reminded me, I wanted to ask; The Scorpion material you used for the exterior, how is it different from, or similar to, "Pick up truck bed liner"?
In closing, You may have posted it already and I missed it, but your job obviously both pays relatively well and allows you enough time off to justify the time and expense of building a rig like this, (And one would assume the time to use it once done) so I am curious. What line of work are you in?
I understand your busy with "Real life" but it has been over a month since an update, sooooo, I just have to ask... "Any updates available?"
I think we are still waiting for more details/pictures of the final design of the back wall of the pop-up section, pictures of the completed interior and of the completed exterior. Also what have you decided about suspension modifications?
Unless I missed it your not installing air conditioning, is that correct? Those of us who live in the south east USA (Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi) pretty much consider A/C mandatory. I know where you live it usually does not get as hot or humid as it does for us. I really like your idea of barely using the generator, mostly relying on the solar to keep your house batteries charged. I'm not sure that we could do that here in the south east. The energy draw of even a single A/C unit would probably require so much battery bank (To run all night) that it would be impracticable, and so many square inches of solar panels it would not be possible because you would need more sq/in than the total of your roof. I do remember seeing a link in a thread recently, (Might have been this one) where somebody was asking about a unit intended for RV use that is roof mounted and looks similar to a "Normal" RV A/C unit but is actually an evaporation or "Swamp cooler". They use far less electricity than a compressor driven "Normal" A/C system but with the high humidity in our region, they are all but useless for decreasing the air temperature so where we really need it, they are not a viable option.
The only real question/suggestion I have had during the process is why did you not put a rear mounted self recovery winch? It looks like you have plenty of room to install one just above the receiver hitch unless the spare tire does not allow for the depth needed. In which case I would be very tempted to mount one "externally" on that plate in the same place and trim/dress/reinforce as needed to install a roller fairlead and make it look good.
I bring this up because many people do not understand the value of a rear mounted self recovery winch. Personally, if I could have only 1 winch it would be on the rear rather than the front. The argument for this? Consider this; Your driving along the trail for the day and become stuck. With only a front winch your choice is basically limited to winching further into the mess that currently has you stuck. Depending on the situation this may not be totally bad, but on the other hand.... Now consider that 5 feet ago you were not stuck. If you could simply winch backwards 5 or 10 feet your rig would be in a location that you were driving and did not need a winch. From that point you could choose to pick a new line to try to proceed, go around, or abandon the current plan and find a completely different way rather than winch further into the mess that currently has you stuck. Just a thought..
Oh, and now that it is way to late, my vote for color is; Tan, Desert sand or whatever you want to call it. Even leaving the cab white with everything else tan would be acceptable if needed for financial reasons.
The color issue reminded me, I wanted to ask; The Scorpion material you used for the exterior, how is it different from, or similar to, "Pick up truck bed liner"?
In closing, You may have posted it already and I missed it, but your job obviously both pays relatively well and allows you enough time off to justify the time and expense of building a rig like this, (And one would assume the time to use it once done) so I am curious. What line of work are you in?
NeverEnough
Adventurer
Yes. My thinking is to have a simple 48" wide platform that will be lifted from an electric hoist mounted to a cross-bar between the slide rams. The cross bar will be able to telescope 36" or so out of the rams to allow for different lifting configurations. The platform will have wheels that will roll up the vertical aluminum channels on the back wall. I still have to fab up some retention angles to keep the wheels against the wall. The idea is to get the platform high enough off the ground to clear the bow of our boat, if needed. But I'd never carry more than 500lbs. at that height. The GS' would be carried much lower, just above the hitch. Also, the trailer has an extendable tongue, in case I need to set her back a bit. Anyway, here's shot of the back so you can kind of see how it could work.
A/C has always been part of the plan, it just took me a long time to decide which direction to go. I looked at all the the DC options, but in the end, went with a "commercial grade" 110AC RV unit, which simply a beefed up standard rooftop unit that costs a few bucks more. It's ducted to the main room, bathroom, and cabover. This shows the interior mount and return/distribution chamber.
It's amazing how manufacturers ship components without instructions. I hand to scrounge around online to find a wiring diagram for the Dometic analog thermostat and control unit I'm using. It's also the last piece of wall that hasn't been paneled.
I also ended up removing the unit from one of my 4 ALS circuits (Automatic Load Shed). The compressor exceeds the 1.5HP limitation. Luckily I had another 20amp branch circuit available so it can have its own.
You can see the rootop shroud in this photo that also shows the cabover fold-down wall. I still haven't finished the door, but everything else works great.
There are dual brush seals on both sides of the wall and rubber gaskets on the top an bottom. Here's what it looks like folded-up against the cabover ceiling.
I'm going to have a screen wall sewn up to snap into place for warm evenings. It's one of the reasons I went with this design. From the inside, two DeStaco clamps grab rings bonded into the side walls to lock the wall into place when deployed. It also applies pressure to the seals. I still need to fit the wall's bottom seal and the corner seals.
Brush seals follow all of the gaps between the articulating upper shell and the cabover main body.
I might send the gas shocks back to the factory to up the pressure a smidge. We thought we'd need to bleed off more pressure from the original "rough" bleed, but the friction of the brush seals has created more resistance than expected. It still takes very little effort to lift it up, but I wanted it to be a little easier.
This shows how the cabover is secured for travel from the inside, using two heavy-duty DeStaco clamps. The wall is folded flat against the ceiling.
While traveling, the wall is flat against the ceiling.
All the compartment and personnel doors turned out great, but were a ton of work. All use a dual gasket seal: inner bulb seal and outer "D" seal. Final step is to hook up the electric lock actuators and the pressure switches for the compartment lights. I'm also going to install a rub rail with a drip rail along the length on each side above the doors.
Most of them are drawers, which took some serious effort before setting the placement, but glad I did it.
The interior is very, very close. I added some last minute wiring stuff, which slowed things down, again, and work, work, work..... Sorry about the slow posting. More next week. And again, thanks for all the kind words and support. Can't wait to get this thing out on a trip.
NeverEnough
Adventurer
The rear buck plate is going to get tweeked a bit, including a recovery setup. Just not at the top of the list. I'll probably never use it to get myself out of anything, but will probably help my buddies drag their trucks and boat trailers out of the lake from time to time.
Scorpion is a brand of truck bed liner. Great characteristics, except color. The white has already faded more than I want, so I'll be painting the whole thing with an overcoat soon. Doing some testing now. I'll probably stick with the white so I don't have to repaint the truck, but still on the fence a bit. Tan is calling my name.