Cutting the rear section off an SUV to build a camper box

[rayra]

Seems like a more expensive and complicated way to wind up with a pickup with the bed removed.

 

[The Artisan]

Seems like a more expensive and complicated way to wind up with a pickup with the bed removed.

I thought he wanted to make it one unit and be able to access the pod?
Kevin

 

[CampStewart]

I thought he wanted to make it one unit and be able to access the pod?
Kevin

It would still be about 10,000 percent easier to do that with a pickup. In my opinion unless you hugely reinforce the frame to eliminate flex it will tear apart at the seam or something will buckle.

 

[The Artisan]

It would still be about 10,000 percent easier to do that with a pickup. In my opinion unless you hugely reinforce the frame to eliminate flex it will tear apart at the seam or something will buckle.

Oh I agree he did not say how difficult is it to cut an suv?. He could cut everything from the b top beltline back and weld his doors, tubeframe from the beltline up to create his box without ruining the integrity of his main structure.
Kevin

 

[DaveInDenver]

Seems like a more expensive and complicated way to wind up with a pickup with the bed removed.

I think part of it is the wheelbase is right at the sweet spot (~110 inches) and often the suspension is already coils on all 4 corners. So from a four wheeling perspective you don't have as much to do beyond putting on a lift kit to have a really good truck. The bulk of the work is then sheet metal and cosmetic.

It's tougher to find a pickup that's just right. Regular cab, short box trucks are close on wheelbase, maybe just a tad short to accommodate a decent living quarters and they have leaf springs. Extended cabs start to grow wheel base a bit much. I tend to hang up my XtraCab Toyotas in the middle more then 4Runners and Cruiser wagons. When guys build buggies from trucks they usually bob the overhanging bed and frame, 4-link the rear end and bring the wheel base in, essentially making a 1984-1995 XtraCab into a 4Runner.

So I think it's really just a question of what you're after and not an insignificant amount of just because they have angle grinders and welders so they can.

 

[luthj]

A 1-1.5" foam cored composite panel body would be great on a ~100-120" WB SUV. A little work would be needed to marry the box to the front body, and some well designed mounts to the rear frame for stiffness. Total weight would be on par with the steel body probably, especially with lower density core.

Actually I think the best option would be a short wheelbase low roof van (not common with 4x4 though). If swivel seats were available that helps to expand the living space.

 

[DaveInDenver]

A little work would be needed to marry the box to the front body, and some well designed mounts to the rear frame for stiffness.

Seems like if you leave the existing floor of the SUV wagon body and build your custom body up from there then flex is taken care of by the original design. Toyota or whomever already thought about how body-on-frame construction twists so your car doesn't blow out windows and doors don't open themselves.

 

[luthj]

Seems like if you leave the existing floor of the SUV wagon body and build your custom body up from there then flex is taken care of by the original design. Toyota or whomever already thought about how body-on-frame construction twists so your car doesn't blow out windows and doors don't open themselves.

Sure, definitely a good approach. Not as thermally insulating, and it may be more work overall, depending on what you do for overall width, and how the rockers and wheel wells are integrated. A composite box may be a lot stiffer than some bodies, but not likely to cause a problem.

 

[DaveInDenver]

A composite box may be a lot stiffer than some bodies, but not likely to cause a problem.

That's kind of what I mean. An SUV body is full of openings and so it's not particularly rigid yet the twisting doesn't cause issues. We've all seen wagons on the trail where the driver can still open his doors with tires stuffed. My assumption is that was intentional, e.g. why the relatively short wheelbase and rigid frames. On a pickup or cab-and-chassis the OEM knows the cab can flex independent of the box so frame flex isn't something they are concerned about preventing and it only becomes an issue when the cab and box can't flex independently.

 

[rayra]

I think part of it is the wheelbase is right at the sweet spot (~110 inches) and often the suspension is already coils on all 4 corners. So from a four wheeling perspective you don't have as much to do beyond putting on a lift kit to have a really good truck. The bulk of the work is then sheet metal and cosmetic.

It's tougher to find a pickup that's just right. Regular cab, short box trucks are close on wheelbase, maybe just a tad short to accommodate a decent living quarters and they have leaf springs. Extended cabs start to grow wheel base a bit much. I tend to hang up my XtraCab Toyotas in the middle more then 4Runners and Cruiser wagons. When guys build buggies from trucks they usually bob the overhanging bed and frame, 4-link the rear end and bring the wheel base in, essentially making a 1984-1995 XtraCab into a 4Runner.

So I think it's really just a question of what you're after and not an insignificant amount of just because they have angle grinders and welders so they can.

All true. I'd still go for finding a pickup that meets most of the suspension and dimension issues you mention and pull the bed and make a new 'pod' with a flexible joint with the opened back of the pickup cab. Or leave the pod gapped and add some sort of sliding hatch to both it and the back of the pickup cap for pass-thru.

Frankly it would be easier find some sort of Class C camper van and mod its suspension to what you want, than try to hack up the cab and make a pod from scratch. And I'm a guy that likes to make things, but I'd run away from the idea of scratchbuilding a pod to graft on the back 60% of a mid-size SUV. Seems the hardest way to go. ********, jus tgo put a pop-top on a Tahoe or a Suburban, like @boll_rig did

 

[DaveInDenver]

Not sure why it might be the case but it's interesting to enough people and companies like Maltec seems to have identified a commercial market for doing it. Lifting tops and vans make a lot of sense, I don't disagree with those solution at all.

The 80 series ute thing, Slee built one even.

Slee - Vlakvark Build-Up

Specialist in Toyota 80 Series Land Cruisers. Hard to find parts, off-road accessories and custom fabrication

www.sleeoffroad.com

 

[rayra]

That's kind of making a virtue out of a vice. If most of what you have available is series 80s, or the fad-market demands that type, that's what gets used as a design base and drives all the design decisions.
Here in N. America, there's a huge range of vehicle options and if a person is going to fabricate from scratch then there's really not any limit or 'must use' constraints.
Consider @pappawheely 's quest to put a modified cabover U-Haul box on a longbed / crewcab Ford frame, as a living / working space, as a freelance photog at off-road events. He's used to workign with large vehicles and his solution is large.
I recall back in the 80s / 90s, the first 'Turtle' build. That thing was a monster then (still is, really), essentially became an off-roadable Class C.
Personally I really like some of the big E350 4wd van consversions that are showcased here. Do one of those, with a RTT or a pop-top. And even there I dissent, being a proponent of a far more affordable 8-person ground tent and a way to have a 'base camp' that you can drive away from, instead of always having to haul your house around with you, (hence the 'Turtle' name)

Too, there's people all over making their own composite sandwich walls to make micro-campers using low-end Harbor Freight 4'x8' trailers as a base.
Anything is possible. I'm just saying a person should step further back and look over the whole idea and their goals and pick a starting point that makes it easier to accomplish your design goal. Or that doesn't set up a situation that's more difficult to pull off with some style. Anybody can put a doghouse on a pickup bed frame. Aim for something nicer. And make starting point choices that make it easier to accomplish.


eta case in point - https://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/exd-350-earthcruiser-on-flat-bed.191665/

 

[DaveInDenver]

So what you're saying there exists an ideal 4WD camper and therefore no value in an individual's needs or vision.

 

[Todd780]

So what you're saying there exists an ideal 4WD camper and therefore no value in an individual's needs or vision.

Correct. And here it is:

 

[DaveInDenver]

Jeremy Clarkson will not be fully appreciated in his time. Leaning Tower of Citroen, indeed.