DIY Composite Camper T100 Expedition Vehicle Build

[Traveling 2gether Journal]

Great work on the seal design, that part was the crux on my build. Are you sticking with gas struts, or going to use electric actuators for lift?

Thanks, I'm feeling good about how the seal turned out.

I'm sticking with the gas struts. They have plenty of lift and it just seams like a simpler/cheaper system to me. To be fare though, I haven't looked into electric actuators since I originally designed the build over 2 years ago, so there could be some new, easier, more reliable, products out that I don't know about.

 

[trackhead]

Thanks, I'm feeling good about how the seal turned out.

I'm sticking with the gas struts. They have plenty of lift and it just seams like a simpler/cheaper system to me. To be fare though, I haven't looked into electric actuators since I originally designed the build over 2 years ago, so there could be some new, easier, more reliable, products out that I don't know about.

Agree, a lot of simplicity in gas struts for sure. I tried to do that with my build but couldn't work it out and went electric. Hopefully they remain reliable.

 

[Traveling 2gether Journal]

Agree, a lot of simplicity in gas struts for sure. I tried to do that with my build but couldn't work it out and went electric. Hopefully they remain reliable.

I just read through your build. That came out real nice. The 3D printed pieces are cool.
Sounds like you got your actuators figured out pretty well and had a good design for their tendency to be out of sync.
I read some threads where people just couldn't get them to synch up and they didn't have a design that allowed for the miss alignment during raising or lowering. that was a big reason I opted for the gas struts

 

[trackhead]

^^^yeah I’ve raised-lowered it hundreds of times and no issues. They are out of sync by about 3 seconds but it’s a non issue. Still though, simplicity and speed of gas shocks is a good argument for them.

 

[RJ Howell]

Hey Matt! Good to see the progress!
Question for ya about the gas struts (shocks). I believe you say they are 80lb strength and I figure that's mid point of lift due mainly to angles of strut as it works. Can you confirm what you feel as you lift? Even through-out or strong/light at points.
Other is, have you weighed the roof? 80lbs per is 340lbs total and I know my roof is ~100lbs and think your running ~150 or so.. Curious how you decided on 80lb? Then it goes back to the first question, like does it fly away as you lift and buck ya as it closes?

I lifted mine too many times building, I realized I didn't need any assistance, yet I can lift one end at a time.

Again, nice work Matt!

 

[Traveling 2gether Journal]

Hey Matt! Good to see the progress!
Question for ya about the gas struts (shocks). I believe you say they are 80lb strength and I figure that's mid point of lift due mainly to angles of strut as it works. Can you confirm what you feel as you lift? Even through-out or strong/light at points.
Other is, have you weighed the roof? 80lbs per is 340lbs total and I know my roof is ~100lbs and think your running ~150 or so.. Curious how you decided on 80lb? Then it goes back to the first question, like does it fly away as you lift and buck ya as it closes?

I lifted mine too many times building, I realized I didn't need any assistance, yet I can lift one end at a time.

Again, nice work Matt!

The 2 forward ones are 80 lbs strength and the rear ones are 60 lbs. This is because the forward ones aren't mounted all the way forward, so they have more weight to deal with on that end.

I did not weigh the roof. Based on me trying to move it around I guessed it was over 150 pounds. With the windows in it's probably close to 200 pounds. It was a total guess as to what strength of gas strut to get since I had never worked with them before and their strength is greatly effected by the angle they are mounted at. I started by mounting all the struts as vertical as I could, but the rear ones were a bit too strong, so I remounted them leaned over a couple inches more and it made a very noticeable difference.

I have to give it a little push to get it started lifting, (maybe 15 lbs of force) but then I'm just guiding it up after that. Pulling down takes more effort but I'm still planning on adding solar to the roof, so I think it will end up working out. The last couple inches is tougher to compress as well, but I'm not sure if that's the struts or everything else in the mechanism getting snug.

 

[Traveling 2gether Journal]

UPDATE

I built doors for the camper using the same process as I used for the insulated panels in the camper body. (5mm plywood and Douglas fir frame filled with polyurethane pour foam)
but I wanted to have a wood edge all the way around instead of leaving one edge as exposed foam, so I cut one of the plywood sheets short and cleaned up the excess pour foam so I could glue in a 1x2 piece of framing on the open edge and then a strip of 5mm plywood to level it out.


For the storage compartment doors I used some 1x3s in the framing where I planned on mounting the latches. This created a strong tie from the hinge to the latch and gave me a big enough area of wood core to mount the latches, so I wouldn't have to worry about compressing the foam core within the panel.


The entry door was a little trickier because I wanted to use a standard RV entry door latch. I framed the mounting area in 1x2s and added a 1/2"plywood spacer to the inside of the door since I couldn't find a latch that was designed to be mounted in a door of less than 1.5" thick.


All the doors were completely covered in 6oz fiberglass cloth and epoxy resin.

 

[Traveling 2gether Journal]

UPDATE CONTINUED

The entry door was given an aluminum trim on the non-hinge edges in the form of T-section with countersunk mounting holes about every 6.5 inches. This trim was attached with #6 flat head screws and adhesive sealant.


The large storage area door on the driver side was hung across the top edge with a hurricane hinge. The hinge was cut .25" long and notched to fit. This will reduce water flowing into the storage area when the door is open. The upper part of the hinge is mounted on the camper with adhesive sealant and #8 pan head screws. The lower section is mounted on the door with adhesive sealant and #8 pancake head screws.


A series of .5" aluminum angle pieces were attached to the inside of the storage hatches to provide a surface for the doors to seal against and for the compression latches to pull against. These pieces of aluminum are attached with adhesive sealant and #6 pan head screws.


At this point I decided to paint the camper. I faired out all the exterior surfaces with a mix of epoxy and glass bubbles to smooth out the worst of the imperfections. Then I used Benjamin Moore Fresh Start 04604 primer and Regal Select Exterior Paint. This is definitely not the nicest or best option, but I new I wasn't going to put in the effort to get a really nice finish, so I opted for something cheaper. The main purpose of the paint is just to protect the epoxy resin for UV damage anyway.

 

[Traveling 2gether Journal]

UPDATE CONTINUED

The bottom of the camper and the floor inside the storage compartments got 2 coats of Hurculiner Bedliner with an extra 2 coats in the wheel wells. And I added a brown stripe for fun.


Back to the doors. The storage door on the passenger side and the entry door are mounted on aluminum piano hinges and an EPDM D-seal is applied all the way around to create (so far) watertight seals.


I built a striker plate for the entry door latch using some scrap 1/16" aluminum flat bar and glassed it in place.


Finally, I installed some gas struts to hold open the Driver side storage door. This is a much more common use for gas struts, so I was able to find some equations on line to guide me in choosing the right struts and mounting location, but I did still end up adjusting the mounting location a bit to dial in how they performed.


Overall Im happy with how my doors have turned out. They are all functioning as planned so far.


And here is the YouTube video for those that are still interested

 

[trackhead]

Man that is a great design! Love the big outside storage. Looks great on the truck too.

 

[ITTOG]

It is amazing how a bit of paint completely transforms the look. It looks great. I too like the large exterior storage.

Great work.

Sent from my Pixel 7 Pro using Tapatalk

 

[mangymarmot]

Camper looks amazing! Nice work. It must feel good to finally get the shell done. Can't wait to see what you come up with for the interior.

 

[Traveling 2gether Journal]

The big, accessible storage spaces are something that I feel is missing in every commercially manufactured camper that I'm aware of. And one of the reasons I chose to build my own instead of just cleaning up an old slide in.
In our previous camper we traveled with 5 surfboards, a tandem inflatable kayak, fishing gear, and hiking gear. ALL of it was stowed inside, but not easily accessible. I'm hoping we can use the new storage arrangement to carry all of our toys in a way that makes them more convenient to use.

It does feel good to FINALLY get the shell done. I'm excited to get in to the many little projects on the list that will turn this box into a camper ?

 

[RJ Howell]

You finally at a point of interior! Great step and must feel real good to be there.

I'll have to go back and read again or maybe you could tell (remind me) how you secured down to the truck frame. I'm trying from a eight point secure and think I may end up as a 6 point.. 2 being turn-buckles and 4 being bolted. It's an accessibility thing for me.. Then of course clearance when removing.

Also looking forward to your electrical system. I just bought a 6 circuit fuse box and thought that had 2 extra slots. How many circuits you thinking of?

 

[Traveling 2gether Journal]

You finally at a point of interior! Great step and must feel real good to be there.

I'll have to go back and read again or maybe you could tell (remind me) how you secured down to the truck frame. I'm trying from a eight point secure and think I may end up as a 6 point.. 2 being turn-buckles and 4 being bolted. It's an accessibility thing for me.. Then of course clearance when removing.

Also looking forward to your electrical system. I just bought a 6 circuit fuse box and thought that had 2 extra slots. How many circuits you thinking of?

Yeah, I'm happy to finally have a box. Now I get to start doing all the other things that make it a camper.

I welded mounting points on the camper subframe that bolt to each of the 6 stock bed mounts.

I'm thinking 6 circuits. It's probably more than necessary, but I figure I might as well have fuses instead of just using buses to distribute the power in different areas.