DIY Composite Flatbed Camper Build

[Terra Ops]

Thanks for the reply! I've been working with a couple alibaba vendors on windows as well Do you remember which you went with? I found lamilux 1000 locally finally for 2.75 sqft so might go that route. I looked at having a box made in China via Alibaba but was just a bit too gunshy for that

Congrats on the lamilux. I almost had my box made in China, just not through Alibaba. Turned out to be a bait and switch. Fortunately I was able to get my money back for their CAD.
It's been very satisfying building my own.
Vendors: https://czxuhe.en.alibaba.com/?spm=a2700.8443308.0.0.21oI1w
https://meygood.en.alibaba.com/?spm=a2700.8443308.0.0.21oI1w

My first order was with Changzhou Xuhe Vehicle Equipment. Price was around 60 per window. When I received the windows I realized I had ordered too small. The window is smaller on the inside than the outside due to the screen and blind slides. I still used them for the bathroom, overhead cab, and above the counter. For the rear dinette I definitely wanted larger. I tried re ordering but response time was not satisfactory after the sale. Second order was from Anhui Maygood for the 3 windows surrounding the dinette. Cost was 130 per window, still a lot less than found here. Although it was more, I liked the quality and easier install than the first order. Customer service was excellent too.

 

[TernOverland]

confusion

Just so there is no confusion, neither of these windows are the units that we carry. The Xuhe windows are a lower cost and quality window designed for the Chinese domestic vehicle industry. Xuhe is not a window manufacture, they build vehicles. The windows they are selling are probably overstock that they are trying to dump. All of the components are chinese made, including the latches and the acrylic. The Maygood windows are also lower quality, made for the same market. The Maygood windows also use Chinese acrylic and latches. Both use a lower grade screen/blind assembly too.

Our windows source European acrylic and latch assemblies because they meet ECE standards for impact and durability. The Chinese products meet no standards, and are more brittle. Our windows are also clearer and more UV resistant. The polymer used in our latch assemblies (from Germany) are incredibly tough. Some things the Chinese do very well, and those components are all sourced in China. The assembly of our windows and other items are in China. The components are sourced from the best in the world. The latches in our MD doors for instance are genuine TriMark latches (USA), not one of the many clones.

You can pretty well forget any kind of warranty on these Alibaba components, and there will be no parts. Real manufacturers do not sell product by the window. They sell by the container. Don't be fooled. There are many people in China right now posing as manufacturers, when they are either some other business with overstock to sell, or some guy buying and reselling out of his bedroom. If an issue ever arises, their line just goes dead. If you end up with a torn screen or a broken latch, you will need a new window, assuming you can even find it again. Once you cut a hole in your wall, you are pretty much stuck unless there is room to enlarge to the next size up from us. Believe me we get these calls!! We have chatted with people faced with boarding up the hole because they have no room to enlarge, and the windows they had cannot be sourced. This problem has also come up with Dometic (Seitz) products. Zero customer support. If you need warranty service from us, or a part, it will be in the mail the next day. Lose your keys? We have you covered. No orphan products, today or tomorrow. Unfortunately our parts do not interchange with these Alibaba products.

Understand that I'm not dissing anyone for looking for a good deal! I look for deals too! I just want to get the facts out there, so that people understand what THEY are getting in the deal, and getting for their money. Comparing an Acura to a Civic on the basis of price doesn't make much sense. There are reasons why an Acura costs more, and those reasons either matter to you or they don't. I'll be going to China in a few days to personally tour the factory and processes used to build these products. If there is an issue, I can call the owner of the company personally. He is a great guy by the way! We have specific quality standards written into our contract to ensure that everything from powdercoating to packaging is top shelf. These are the reasons why our products are priced as they are. I do not want genuine Arctic Tern products confused with lower grade clones. By the way, you will be seeing our products as standard equipment on many top shelf US made overland campers and trailers in 2018, because they are committed to quality as well.

Thanks for listening. and my apologies to the OP for the momentary hijack. I now return you to your regularly scheduled programming :ylsmoke:

David

 

[rruff]

Thanks for the reply! I've been working with a couple alibaba vendors on windows as well

Just letting you know, I bought these for mine: http://www.teardroptrailerparts.com/18x15_Crank_Out_Window.html

For $54 plus shipping, they seem alright. I wanted tilt out, no tint, and screens. They are made to be screwed on from the outside, but I plan to bond them in.

 

[downhill]

Just letting you know, I bought these for mine: http://www.teardroptrailerparts.com/18x15_Crank_Out_Window.html

For $54 plus shipping, they seem alright. I wanted tilt out, no tint, and screens. They are made to be screwed on from the outside, but I plan to bond them in.

Are you installing them in composite? Nice window for the price, but I wouldn't want a square hole because of cracking at the corners. Since there is no interior trim piece, you will have to build one right?

 

[Terra Ops]

Just so there is no confusion, neither of these windows are the units that we carry. The Xuhe windows are a lower cost and quality window designed for the Chinese domestic vehicle industry. Xuhe is not a window manufacture, they build vehicles. The windows they are selling are probably overstock that they are trying to dump. All of the components are chinese made, including the latches and the acrylic. The Maygood windows are also lower quality, made for the same market. The Maygood windows also use Chinese acrylic and latches. Both use a lower grade screen/blind assembly too.

Our windows source European acrylic and latch assemblies because they meet ECE standards for impact and durability. The Chinese products meet no standards, and are more brittle. Our windows are also clearer and more UV resistant. The polymer used in our latch assemblies (from Germany) are incredibly tough. Some things the Chinese do very well, and those components are all sourced in China. The assembly of our windows and other items are in China. The components are sourced from the best in the world. The latches in our MD doors for instance are genuine TriMark latches (USA), not one of the many clones.

You can pretty well forget any kind of warranty on these Alibaba components, and there will be no parts. Real manufacturers do not sell product by the window. They sell by the container. Don't be fooled. There are many people in China right now posing as manufacturers, when they are either some other business with overstock to sell, or some guy buying and reselling out of his bedroom. If an issue ever arises, their line just goes dead. If you end up with a torn screen or a broken latch, you will need a new window, assuming you can even find it again. Once you cut a hole in your wall, you are pretty much stuck unless there is room to enlarge to the next size up from us. Believe me we get these calls!! We have chatted with people faced with boarding up the hole because they have no room to enlarge, and the windows they had cannot be sourced. This problem has also come up with Dometic (Seitz) products. Zero customer support. If you need warranty service from us, or a part, it will be in the mail the next day. Lose your keys? We have you covered. No orphan products, today or tomorrow. Unfortunately our parts do not interchange with these Alibaba products.

Understand that I'm not dissing anyone for looking for a good deal! I look for deals too! I just want to get the facts out there, so that people understand what THEY are getting in the deal, and getting for their money. Comparing an Acura to a Civic on the basis of price doesn't make much sense. There are reasons why an Acura costs more, and those reasons either matter to you or they don't. I'll be going to China in a few days to personally tour the factory and processes used to build these products. If there is an issue, I can call the owner of the company personally. He is a great guy by the way! We have specific quality standards written into our contract to ensure that everything from powdercoating to packaging is top shelf. These are the reasons why our products are priced as they are. I do not want genuine Arctic Tern products confused with lower grade clones. By the way, you will be seeing our products as standard equipment on many top shelf US made overland campers and trailers in 2018, because they are committed to quality as well.

Thanks for listening. and my apologies to the OP for the momentary hijack. I now return you to your regularly scheduled programming :ylsmoke:

David

Hi David at Tern. Yeah you did kinda hijack the thread, not cool. I don't know you and was not referring to your business, but from the looks of it you sell Eurovision. Your quick response to the post about the windows makes me suspicious that your associate prompted you to do so. Yes he is great until he's not.

This post is about building an affordable camper with your own hands. While Eurovision may be everything you say, I don't want or need to pay a crazy amount. There are other threads in this forum referencing the same links I did. I'm very satisfied with my purchase. As for warranties and service. These windows are not that complicated. As a DIY er, I could probably fix or replace it easily, especially at the price point. A warranty is basically an expected time frame until failure. Service is all about human decency. Should be a standard but sadly its not. Service is also dependent on whether or not the business stays in business. Building something yourself is ultimately about freedom and a sense of satisfaction. The buck stops with me.
Hope I didn't ruffle any feathers. Your website looks interesting. You did however step in with your sales pitch

 

[rruff]

Are you installing them in composite? Nice window for the price, but I wouldn't want a square hole because of cracking at the corners. Since there is no interior trim piece, you will have to build one right?

Fiberglass skins/foam core with wood core in the opening. Don't need a trim piece, unless the look bothers you. I'm making some insulating covers to go inside.

Cracking? Never experienced that with the other campers I've built and thrashed.

 

[TernOverland]

Hi David at Tern. Yeah you did kinda hijack the thread, not cool. I don't know you and was not referring to your business, but from the looks of it you sell Eurovision. Your quick response to the post about the windows makes me suspicious that your associate prompted you to do so. Yes he is great until he's not.

This post is about building an affordable camper with your own hands. While Eurovision may be everything you say, I don't want or need to pay a crazy amount. There are other threads in this forum referencing the same links I did. I'm very satisfied with my purchase. As for warranties and service. These windows are not that complicated. As a DIY er, I could probably fix or replace it easily, especially at the price point. A warranty is basically an expected time frame until failure. Service is all about human decency. Should be a standard but sadly its not. Service is also dependent on whether or not the business stays in business. Building something yourself is ultimately about freedom and a sense of satisfaction. The buck stops with me.
Hope I didn't ruffle any feathers. Your website looks interesting. You did however step in with your sales pitch

Well,
Since we are the only importer of this type of window, I assumed this statement was a direct reference to us: "Cost was 130 per window, still a lot less than found here". "here" is us. You also made an earlier reference to EuroVision, who builds our windows. This was what brought my response. In China you can buy a Rolex for $150. It says "Rolex" right on the case. You need to know your sources there to know what you are getting. My post was meant to fully inform, nothing more. I thought people reading this thread would appreciate the insight that I can offer. If we carried these same windows, the price would be comparable, adjusted for import costs. Nothing magic. As for service, parts and warranty, no, it doesn't mean much till you need it. Some parts can be jury rigged, but forming a double pane acrylic glaze in your garage is beyond the reach of most DIYers. I'm not making any judgement about your choice. I'm glad you are happy with them, and I hope they serve you well for a long time. I mean that. If you run into trouble, give me a call. I'll do what I can for you.

Best
David

 

[downhill]

Fiberglass skins/foam core with wood core in the opening. Don't need a trim piece, unless the look bothers you. I'm making some insulating covers to go inside.

Cracking? Never experienced that with the other campers I've built and thrashed.

I don't have personal experience with it either, but I have heard of it happening. I'm sure it is circumstantial. The size of the cut out, the placement, and the way the cabin is used, probably all factor in. You may never see it, but I thought I would mention it.

 

[rruff]

Have you heard of it happening in reality, or only talked about as a possibility? I know that it is cited as the reason for rounded windows, but I don't see it happening if the opening is reinforced. My door is rectangular also, and that is a very big hole.

 

[downhill]

I have heard of it actually happening, but it was somewhere on a forum. It was not anything that I actually saw and touched. I have seen regular fiberglass crack like this though, on body panels on my own vehicles. If there is room to at least create a smooth round hole at the corners, that would help for sure.

 

[lostih]

Thanks!

Thanks TerraOps for the great posts! I love DIY and am excited about building my family expocamper and this thread is super helpful. I agree about making things with your own hands. Here's my garage built double pane acrylic window . It was great fun for my kids and I to make in out oven . Not saying I'll do a whole camper but I wanted to know just how hard it was.

 

[Terra Ops]

Thanks TerraOps for the great posts! I love DIY and am excited about building my family expocamper and this thread is super helpful. I agree about making things with your own hands. Here's my garage built double pane acrylic window . It was great fun for my kids and I to make in out oven . Not saying I'll do a whole camper but I wanted to know just how hard it was. View attachment 428478

Wow, that's impressive! You should do a thread on building windows
People reference "German Made", "Chinese Made", etc., But you gotta love HOMEMADE the best.

 

[Terra Ops]

Saturday afternoon progress; drainage was not satisfactory so reworked for better flow,
wired water pump switch, and attached cabinet face.

 

[CoyoteThistle]

Such a cool build! Thanks for sharing.

Makes me wish I had used more wood on the interior, looks amazing.

matt

 

[Terra Ops]

Such a cool build! Thanks for sharing.

Makes me wish I had used more wood on the interior, looks amazing.

matt

Thanks! Enjoyed your build as well.
I too am looking at lithium. Do you have the ability to charge from shore power with your configuration? If so, how do you protect the battery?
I would think there has to be a simple answer as these batteries probably need tending during storage? I'm clueless Perhaps all the magic happens in the BMS.
Thanks again.