NOPEC
Well-known member
This build is a work in progress and it will take me a couple of posts to catchup to where I am now....
Part 1
Last fall, I took delivery of an 8ft slide in camper shell from CPT in Kelowna, BC. CPT and their sister company (Canadian Commercial Vehicles) are well known in western Canada for building both truck bodies and their very popular composite body MTCs ("Mobile Treatment Centers") which slide into any 8ft pickup truck box.
When I initially contacted them, they advised me that they were in the early stages of designing a line of campers based on their MTC units. We found some common ground and as a result, struck a deal that would ultimately see me be a guinea pig for their first camper, in exchange for my having considerable input into the design of it.
I have been wanting to downsize both our current camper and truck with the intent of reducing the total size in both footprint and weight (plus an excuse for another build..). So we opted for a plain jane GMC 3/4 ton regular cab with a gas engine and the custom CPT camper shell. The previous set up has been just great but it was time to try something different.
Being generally minimalists and never having had a blank shell to start a build with, our planning became as much about what we didn't want as much as what we did want. Like many, we view a truck camper as a place for warm, dry, safe and convenient accommodation but not as a lifestyle, per se. What we do when we “get there” is our lifestyle, the truck and camper mostly just facilitate it, for us anyway.
As far as the initial build of the shell was concerned, it was quite easy to do as the design was simple. The CPT engineering staff was great and we exchanged a multitude of CAD drawing until we both had pretty much exactly what we wanted. Basically, it was designed so that the camper fit to the truck as tightly as it could, within reason, it had an east/west cab over sleeping area (52 inch wide), a windowless door and no windows or hatches, etc. There is a good chance that we will eventually thru bolt the camper to the truck box to make it semi permanent and the CPT units come standard with the necessary floor support for this to easily be done. CPT both make and CNC cut their own composite panels right on site which in itself, was fun to see and be a tiny part of.
I'll get into more detail as I get further into this thread but two of the major areas of design were to first to push as much weight as possible down low and secondly, maintain as much of the thermal benefit of using exterior composite panels as we could, by designing the various systems to minimize the number holes we put in the shell.
Currently, the battery, water (55 liters), the sink gray water container, chest fridge, propane tank, furnace, heavy item storage locker and portable toilet are all situated on the inside floor. All of the plumbing is modular in order to be easily removable so as to do away with winterizing.
Currently, the "hole count" in the shell so far is; (1) 2x 450mmx900mm Arctic Tern windows, placed as far forward and high as the CPT engineer recommended, 2) the windowless door, 3) propane locker floor vent, 4) exhaust and combustion air ports for the Propex furnace. A little later I will get to the sealed shore and DC external connections and a cabin floor fresh air vent. The initial plan is to have no roof vents, instead, we are going to be using a convertible fan to move air as needed, out and in of the single louvre AT windows. The fan will have predetermined "stations" which will have an attachment point for it as well as, a cigarette lighter style of DC power source. Feed of the roof solar wiring will be vial non-ferrous vertical bolts, no glands or other holes for the panels or wiring. PV panel is flexible glue on.
Pickup Day
Drawings are great but my CAD (cardboard assisted design) 3D works best for my brain..... I divided the interior into 9 inter-connected modules and then built a full size "model" just to test drive the whole set up prior to getting down to the actual build. Again for me, it was definitely time well spent as we headed off a few issues and made changes at the beginning instead on the fly.
Old PortiPotty for a model only, we have a much more swish version now (pick your battles...)
I had thought of taking a run at doing all of the inside with composite panelling but for me in the end, being an old dog, I am more comfortable working with wood so I opted to stick with Baltic Birch Plywood. All of the cleats are solid wood. The weight saving would have been nice but we have considerable free board with the 3/4 ton truck and the initial starting weight of 750 pounds for the camper, so it isn't a big deal.
So, the fun began.
I am getting along nicely on the build and am really happy with the way it has progressed. Having done several "moulded" fiberglass shell projects in the past, I have to say that I am loving working on something that is both new and especially, has all of these wonderful flat surfaces and 90 degree angles!!!!
Part 2 will be coming up soon......
Part 1
Last fall, I took delivery of an 8ft slide in camper shell from CPT in Kelowna, BC. CPT and their sister company (Canadian Commercial Vehicles) are well known in western Canada for building both truck bodies and their very popular composite body MTCs ("Mobile Treatment Centers") which slide into any 8ft pickup truck box.
When I initially contacted them, they advised me that they were in the early stages of designing a line of campers based on their MTC units. We found some common ground and as a result, struck a deal that would ultimately see me be a guinea pig for their first camper, in exchange for my having considerable input into the design of it.
I have been wanting to downsize both our current camper and truck with the intent of reducing the total size in both footprint and weight (plus an excuse for another build..). So we opted for a plain jane GMC 3/4 ton regular cab with a gas engine and the custom CPT camper shell. The previous set up has been just great but it was time to try something different.
Being generally minimalists and never having had a blank shell to start a build with, our planning became as much about what we didn't want as much as what we did want. Like many, we view a truck camper as a place for warm, dry, safe and convenient accommodation but not as a lifestyle, per se. What we do when we “get there” is our lifestyle, the truck and camper mostly just facilitate it, for us anyway.
As far as the initial build of the shell was concerned, it was quite easy to do as the design was simple. The CPT engineering staff was great and we exchanged a multitude of CAD drawing until we both had pretty much exactly what we wanted. Basically, it was designed so that the camper fit to the truck as tightly as it could, within reason, it had an east/west cab over sleeping area (52 inch wide), a windowless door and no windows or hatches, etc. There is a good chance that we will eventually thru bolt the camper to the truck box to make it semi permanent and the CPT units come standard with the necessary floor support for this to easily be done. CPT both make and CNC cut their own composite panels right on site which in itself, was fun to see and be a tiny part of.
I'll get into more detail as I get further into this thread but two of the major areas of design were to first to push as much weight as possible down low and secondly, maintain as much of the thermal benefit of using exterior composite panels as we could, by designing the various systems to minimize the number holes we put in the shell.
Currently, the battery, water (55 liters), the sink gray water container, chest fridge, propane tank, furnace, heavy item storage locker and portable toilet are all situated on the inside floor. All of the plumbing is modular in order to be easily removable so as to do away with winterizing.
Currently, the "hole count" in the shell so far is; (1) 2x 450mmx900mm Arctic Tern windows, placed as far forward and high as the CPT engineer recommended, 2) the windowless door, 3) propane locker floor vent, 4) exhaust and combustion air ports for the Propex furnace. A little later I will get to the sealed shore and DC external connections and a cabin floor fresh air vent. The initial plan is to have no roof vents, instead, we are going to be using a convertible fan to move air as needed, out and in of the single louvre AT windows. The fan will have predetermined "stations" which will have an attachment point for it as well as, a cigarette lighter style of DC power source. Feed of the roof solar wiring will be vial non-ferrous vertical bolts, no glands or other holes for the panels or wiring. PV panel is flexible glue on.
Pickup Day
Drawings are great but my CAD (cardboard assisted design) 3D works best for my brain..... I divided the interior into 9 inter-connected modules and then built a full size "model" just to test drive the whole set up prior to getting down to the actual build. Again for me, it was definitely time well spent as we headed off a few issues and made changes at the beginning instead on the fly.
Old PortiPotty for a model only, we have a much more swish version now (pick your battles...)
I had thought of taking a run at doing all of the inside with composite panelling but for me in the end, being an old dog, I am more comfortable working with wood so I opted to stick with Baltic Birch Plywood. All of the cleats are solid wood. The weight saving would have been nice but we have considerable free board with the 3/4 ton truck and the initial starting weight of 750 pounds for the camper, so it isn't a big deal.
So, the fun began.
I am getting along nicely on the build and am really happy with the way it has progressed. Having done several "moulded" fiberglass shell projects in the past, I have to say that I am loving working on something that is both new and especially, has all of these wonderful flat surfaces and 90 degree angles!!!!
Part 2 will be coming up soon......
Last edited:
price on the build so you would have to contact CPT direct as far as current costs go, as I am out of the loop in that regard. cheers