CountryRoamer (DIY Hard-Side Truck Camper) Build Thread

[1000arms]

Indeed! My attraction to diesel was less about low-end torque and more for the increased MPG rating and ability to potentially tie into it for a heater, etc.

At $10k more, plus dramatically higher gas prices, plus DEF and potential maintenance issues (from what I read), a gasser seems like a better choice ATM, though.

The 2017+ F-550 has a 397 amp (total) (dual) alternator option. Use a 200 amp Battery-to-Battery-unit for charging camper house-batteries, and if the house-batteries are charged, powering a heater in the camper. Although, if you could push enough air through a pass-through, the engine heat pushed in to the cab might be enough to also keep your camper warm while driving in snow country.

 

[1000arms]

Absolutely! I'm thinking we need at least two (one for the main floor and another for the cabover). We will still need AC, though, since we sometimes camp in hot humid climates (ex. Florida).

In case you are unaware, there are some many ventilation devices made and sold for boats that might be useful to you. Just watch out for sticker shock for some of the stuff.

 

[1000arms]

We're all relatively slight people. I've seen trucks that have a power rear window that slides down, but I don't think that's an option on an F-550, which means I'm likely looking at an aftermarket thing.

As you noted, I'd like it to still be drivable as a normal truck when the camper is off.

I have no idea of the quality, but, you might want to look at Breezer Windows:

Breezer Windows™ | Truck Drop Down Window | Pickup Truck Back Window

We manufacture the world's only aftermarket truck drop down window that can be fully and completely opened. Breezer Windows™ is a removable truck rear window that offers a huge opening compared to a standard slider window.

breezerwindows.com

 

[ReluctantTraveler]

The 2017+ F-550 has a 397 amp (total) (dual) alternator option. Use a 200 amp Battery-to-Battery-unit for charging camper house-batteries, and if the house-batteries are charged, powering a heater in the camper. Although, if you could push enough air through a pass-through, the engine heat pushed in to the cab might be enough to also keep your camper warm while driving in snow country.

We have "charge while driving" with our travel trailer currently, so that's something I'd like to do with this build as well. I also hope to add a bunch of panels and Lithium Ion batteries.

Which is to say, I'd been wondering if electric heat might actually be a viable option for us.

 

[1000arms]

We have "charge while driving" with our travel trailer currently, so that's something I'd like to do with this build as well. I also hope to add a bunch of panels and Lithium Ion batteries.

Which is to say, I'd been wondering if electric heat might actually be a viable option for us.

I doubt your trailer wiring allows for the type of current that heavy-duty alternator(s) combined with a robust Battery-to-Battery charger and the proper cables would.

Electric heat from batteries would probably be very heavy and/or very expensive. Especially with wet/sweaty cold weather clothes being dried out in a camper with enough airflow to avoid smelling liking a locker room.

 

[ReluctantTraveler]

Today I’m thinking about entry doors, and whether to just grab an aftermarket solution or build my own like IdaSHO did.

 

[1000arms]

Today I’m thinking about entry doors, and whether to just grab an aftermarket solution or build my own like IdaSHO did.

Can you fit a commercial entry door in to your camper design? You might be able to, and, if the price is low enough, it might save you some time and effort. The insulation value might also be appealing.

 

[ReluctantTraveler]

Can you fit a commercial entry door in to your camper design? You might be able to, and, if the price is low enough, it might save you some time and effort. The insulation value might also be appealing.

I can indeed! I read something that implied that they're not well insulated, which is what made me consider building my own. I'd been planning on a commercial entry door from the start.

 

[billiebob]

A hallway that can accommodate 2 people side-by-side

lol...... you need a transit bus,,,, this is a pipe dream or... just buy an Earth Roamer.

Seriously, yout needs are incredibly expensive but buying something like an Earth Roamer is likely cheaper than building it... Plus buy a used Earth Roamer and you can be camping, skiiing tomorrow,.

Best point in the thead..... yes look at GAS.... Diesel gets less attractive every day.

 

[billiebob]

I'd like it to still be drivable as a normal truck when the camper is off.

An F550 ????? is not a normal truck..... The ONLY reason to use it minus the camper is you need the F550 capability to haul/tow a trailer for work...
PLEASE involve your wife in this decision.

 

[1000arms]

Today I’m thinking about entry doors, and whether to just grab an aftermarket solution or build my own like IdaSHO did.

Can you fit a commercial entry door in to your camper design? You might be able to, and, if the price is low enough, it might save you some time and effort. The insulation value might also be appealing.

I can indeed! I read something that implied that they're not well insulated, which is what made me consider building my own. I'd been planning on a commercial entry door from the start.

DIY campers are a series of choices that hopefully work well for the people they are built for. Sleeping under a truck cap and cooking on the tailgate might work quite well for a person, a couple, and perhaps even a person/couple plus a dog or two, but, won't work for four people and a dog unless the humans are short enough to sleep across the inside of the truck bed.

In your case, you are four people and a small dog that would like, among other things, to be able to camp in snow country without setting up tents or otherwise spending a lot of time on setup and tear-down. Makes sense to me!

In addition, you would like to be able to keep your camper tanks (and any unfrozen food that could freeze) from freezing while the camper is being driven down the road, while the camper is parked and empty of living creatures, and while the camper is full of 4 humans and a dog.

The empty of living creatures times could also be times of minimal airflow in and out of the camper, UNLESS that is also a time for drying out wet clothes and boots.

I think you will want lots of controlled airflow during occupied times (and drying times).

An low-enough-cost commercial (NOT residential) insulated steel door might work quite well for you. Your insulated floor/walls/roof won't be that thick, but should be very well sealed, in a very small volume, so DON'T compare your camper to what is needed for a house of 2000/3000/4000... square feet.

Also, please see the post:

Four-Season Rig

I'm in the process of planning out a DIY truck camper build, and I'd like to make it as close to a four-season camper as possible (for snowboarding near the mountains and such). I'm not planning to camp in extreme sub-zero cold (Fahrenheit), but would like to enter below freezing temps and be...

expeditionportal.com

 

[1000arms]

... Some specific goals based on what we learned from our travel trailer include...
A hallway that can accommodate 2 people side-by-side. Having to literally climb over someone to get from one end to the other is a pressure cooker on longer trips. We need more hall space than our travel trailer allows. ...

I've attached the current working floor plan. Some specifics worth noting:
The open space is 4 feet wide, enough for my wife and I to stand side-by-side or walk past each other without the other needing to move out of the way. ...

lol...... you need a transit bus,,,, this is a pipe dream or... just buy an Earth Roamer.

Seriously, yout needs are incredibly expensive but buying something like an Earth Roamer is likely cheaper than building it... Plus buy a used Earth Roamer and you can be camping, skiiing tomorrow,.

Best point in the thead..... yes look at GAS.... Diesel gets less attractive every day.

Seems like @ReluctantTraveler has already figured out how to make his hallway, but, let me see, 8' wide (96"), with 2 walls at say 3" thick, so subtract 6" for the walls and subtract 48" for the hallway, which leaves 42". 42" divided in 2 is 21", so maximum of 21" deep cabinets/counters on the sides of the hallway in the kitchen.

...I'm thinking a crewcab 4x4 F-550 84" CA chassis cab, plus flatbed, plus a DIY plywood, rigid-foam-insulation, and epoxy camper would be a heck of a lot cheaper than buying even a used Earthroamer. ...

 

[ReluctantTraveler]

lol...... you need a transit bus,,,, this is a pipe dream or... just buy an Earth Roamer.

Seriously, yout needs are incredibly expensive but buying something like an Earth Roamer is likely cheaper than building it... Plus buy a used Earth Roamer and you can be camping, skiiing tomorrow,

the layout I have designed has 3.5-4 feet of hall space near the dinette and kitchen, will likely be 7-10x cheaper than an EarthRoamer, and can accommodate a family of 4 more comfortably.

I LOVE EarthRoamer, but the LTI is really designed for two people, used ones are incredibly hard to find, and they do come up for sale, I’ve never seen one for less than $250k.

 

[ReluctantTraveler]

An F550 ????? is not a normal truck..... The ONLY reason to use it minus the camper is you need the F550 capability to haul/tow a trailer for work...
PLEASE involve your wife in this decision.

i’m not talking about a daily driver here. What I mean is, if we’re camping somewhere for more than a day or two, and I’d like to leave the camper behind while I go to make a grocery run or some thing, it would be nice to have the option.

i’ve gotten so many helpful responses from so many people in this community, your dismissive and aggressive responses are pretty disappointing. I would’ve expected better from a “well-known member”

 

[ReluctantTraveler]

@1000arms You mentioned 3" thick walls above. I had been thinking 2" thick walls: 1.5" thick rigid foam board sandwiched between 1/4" thick marine-grade plywood. Probably thicker for the floor.

At a minimum, that seems like it would be far better insulated than our commercial travel trailer. No?