CPT (Composite Panel Technologies) Slide In Camper Shell Build, AKA "Yes, Dear, I think this will definitely be my last one...."

[NOPEC]

Hey Bob, how 'bout an update on your build progress? Pretty please...

Absolutely Dean will do soon. I'll do a non-overlander trip report on our summer paddling expedition and an update on our CPT camper build on this thread. It has been great so far and we are really enjoying the less is more theme!! Here is a before and after from Hay River....

Public Beach in Hay River, NWT just prior to leaving. Camper and the boats look great!


Same public beach 74 days later. Trail Talk knows some of the story which I will elaborate on later here on ExPo but reader's digest is that I had to be medivacked out on day 68 of our planned 80 day kayaking trip around Great Slave Lake. The suspected Stroke and/or TIA assessment turned out to be wrong thankfully. However, where we were plucked off is inaccessible by anything other than a helicopter or a kayak so sadly, the boats and gear was unrecoverable. However, even with no boats on the trailer, the camper still looks great!!

 

[Trail Talk]

Nice looking rig! A blank canvas for graphics?

 

[simple]

Dang! Sounds like a mostly great adventure. Glad your ok.

 

[wilbo2402]

There are a number of builders in BC using different sandwich panels using different types of panels composites. Total composites, off grid customs, and CPT. I'm wondering if you considered the various panels and decided in CPT for a reason.

 

[NOPEC]

Wilbo
I picked CPT because they are only five hours down the road from me, they have a proven industrial manufacturing background and they manufacture their panels and completed shells all in house. When I ordered my shell, they were just starting into the camper end of production so with CAD and their monster CNC capabilities, I was able to work with their engineers to basically design my own camper, within the bounds of the structural limitations and design. I am not sure they would still do that. I looked hard at the other manufacturers shells and would definitely have gone a different route, had this option not been available.

On another note, I see you are from the Island. I just got back to the Kootenays from Cape Scott last night after the weather gong show!! Here is a pic of my rig at the CScott trailhead parking, it wasn't crowded....... Sneaked in a couple great oceanside hikes prior the craziness!

 

[wilbo2402]

Very cool. Would love to get up and do the Cape Scott and North Coast Trail.

Thanks for your thoughts on the panels.

I'd love to know how your unit holds up over the years. Keep posting on this thread about any maintenance it may require.

 

[gator70]

Curious about heating inside a composite camper. Do you find heating is easier, less LPG demanding?

 

[NOPEC]

Curious about heating inside a composite camper. Do you find heating is easier, less LPG demanding?

Curious about heating inside a composite camper. Do you find heating is easier, less LPG demanding?

My camper has been very good so far with LPG consumption. I think the wall/roof envelopes are usually well engineered and built with most of the composite shells available out there, giving good thermal performance. Of course, once a number of holes are cut into the the walls and roof, that changes everything. Other than the narrow factory windowless door and two Arctic Tern windows, my only holes are a floor sump in a sealed LPG interior cabinet and a small cabin vent, also into the floor.

I really like the Arctic Tern windows, this was the second build I used them on, but I think there are more thermally efficient windows available. Because I rely on the windows for ventilation, I need the louver feature so I can keep them open in all types of precipitation. Everything is a compromise.....

 

[gator70]

My camper has been very good so far with LPG consumption. I think the wall/roof envelopes are usually well engineered and built with most of the composite shells available out there, giving good thermal performance. Of course, once a number of holes are cut into the the walls and roof, that changes everything. Other than the narrow factory windowless door and two Arctic Tern windows, my only holes are a floor sump in a sealed LPG interior cabinet and a small cabin vent, also into the floor.

I really like the Arctic Tern windows, this was the second build I used them on, but I think there are more thermally efficient windows available. Because I rely on the windows for ventilation, I need the louver feature so I can keep them open in all types of precipitation. Everything is a compromise.....

My habitat has 55mm composite walls, ceiling and floor. I'm trying to get and idea about heating requirements. Temp insulation over normal construction methods.

 

[rruff]

My habitat has 55mm composite walls, ceiling and floor. I'm trying to get and idea about heating requirements. Temp insulation over normal construction methods.

After 3 days mine was about 13 W/F with no people. Your camper is bigger but also has thicker walls.

 

[simple]

Have you been camping this winter is sub freezing temperatures? Can you confirm whether CPT corner extrusions are exhibiting any thermal bridging condensation or frost?

 

[NOPEC]

Have you been camping this winter is sub freezing temperatures? Can you confirm whether CPT corner extrusions are exhibiting any thermal bridging condensation or frost?

Sorry for the delay in answering. I have not had the CPT camper in any really serious winter conditions yet but in conditions well into the freezing range, all has been fine. I think I mentioned that my camper was basically a prototype and I believe the new ones are much improved. Mine had 1.5 inch walls which have now been replaced with 2 inch. Because of the design of the corners used in CPT campers, there are gaps in the extrustions. Mine had partially been insulated but not completely. As a result, I took all of my corners apart from the inside and completely insulated every corner. So mine is just fine now. By the looks of the cross section profiles on their website, it looks like the joints are now completely full of foam (injected I am guessing) which is a huge improvement. I think with these improvements, the thermal performance will be very good now.

One spot I did have thermal bridging was in the overhead side walls where the aluminium supports are encased in the wall foam. The thickness of the wall minus the thickness of the supports just did not leave enough foam for adequate insulation, thus the bridging. I suspect the thicker walls will also fix this problem.

I made interior walls out of cloroplast (old election lawn signs, my guy lost...) and two layers of light synthetic carpet which is the stuff used for speaker boxes glued on with 3M spray adhesive and attached to the walls with HD 3M sticky velcro. It works really well to insulate the inside wall. Here are a couple of pics.

.

 

[stever1000]

Any updates? Nice camper!

 

[NOPEC]

Any updates? Nice camper!

Hi Stever

Thanks for your interest. Here is a brief update.

Our CPT (now I guess called "Lake Country"..) camper has been just great so far. We have clocked well over 35K kms on it, including 13K kms this summer in northern BC, the Yukon and the NWT. The camper has performed pretty much flawlessly, pretty good considering it was basically a prototype of the newer versions (ours was the first one...) We haven't beaten on it too badly as far as really hard 4wheeling or bush crashing goes but it has had a good workout for those miles which included the south and north Canol roads, The Telegraph Creek road, part of the Dempster, the Nahanni Range road, Keno road and the Liard trail into the Territories, plus a slew of prairie and local FSR trips. Lots of washboard, dust and rocky roads. The super simple, "modest systems" plan (minimal holes in the walls and the roof (no hatches or roof vents), no hot water, no DC electrical connection to the truck, solar charging only, single fuel with inside LPG tank (airtight cabinet with sump) no built in water tanks, no pressurized water lines system, just a porti-potti (PP), etc. etc., has really been great.

We have yet to do a serious cold temp trip and probably will not do anything mid-winter (old bones...) Certainly, -10/15 Celsius has been no issue what so ever. We work hard on our ventilation via our two windows and fan but because we tend to not run our heater at night too much so the resulting cooling inside the camper does create a bit of condensation on the walls but most of that is caused by exhaling moisture .

I just did the "winterizing"... Dumped the two fresh water tanks (the marine immersion pump self drains) and the blue "grey water" tank, drained the PP and moved the 19 lb. Lithium battery to the house basement. Done.

With the regular cab and the light weight of the composite camper, we just continue to enjoy the rig more and more with every outing.

Let me know if you have any specific questions. cheers.