Eco-Roamer - F650 based Expedition Vehicle
- Thread starter jayshapiro
- Start date
whatcharterboat
Supporting Sponsor, Overland Certified OC0018
Mick . The word is out down here too. Guys are starting to convert over from Sika to tape. They tell me they can't believe how quick and easy it is. I think we'll be stuck with Sika type adhesives for fixing composite panels to our frames but occasionally we do an alloy skin and we'll definitely be looking at tape in the future.
John
whatcharterboat
Supporting Sponsor, Overland Certified OC0018
Ps
PS. Jay This truck is a credit to you. Well done.
PS. Jay This truck is a credit to you. Well done.
jayshapiro
Adventurer
Sticky Thread...
WOW, I love this thread - it seems to generate a debate or discussion on all kinds of different topics! So far, I think we've covered environmentalism, diesel engines, frame mounts and now adhesives!
The 3M tape sounds cool, and I'll be sure to try it on some (near) future application. In the mean time the degabond seems to have held up very well so far.
We had a good meeting with the guys at Michiana Laminated Products last week. They are building all the cabinetry for inside the unit so I'm very excited to have that part started. Matt Sutter from MLP has been very helpful so far, and I think they're as eager as I am to get started. It's certainly a "different" project for them I think.
Here's roughly what the interior is going to look like now:
There's a lot in there, but almost everything has at least two purposes:
- The bathroom door also seals the cab from the camper.
- One of the pantry doors also creates the "master bedroom"
- The entry stairs contain storage cabinets for shoes. etc.
--------------------
CABINETS
We've settled on Plyboo - a bamboo based board, for all of the 'furniture'. It looks beautiful, is incredibly strong and comes from fast growing / sustainable bamboo wood.
--------------------
COUNTERS
The countertops are going to be black colored Richlite - which is made from paper and 'friendly' resin. - can't wait to see them.
--------------------
TOILET
We've also settled on the Airhead composting toilet. This one I am frankly a little nevous about, but I've done a bunch of research on sailing forums and people seem to be pretty happy with them. The original plan was to use a diesel fired incinerator toilet (like this eberspacher one) but it turns out that they are just too big and in the end didn't seem to be worth the sacrifice.
The Airhead on the otherhand is quite small, and composts all solid waste back into harmless soil compost. Geoffrey Trott (the inventor) has been very helpful in designing our 'special needs' and we're going for a two-container solution with a solar powered vent on the roof to dry out the materials. Hopefully there won't be any odors and the system should work as promised. Stay tuned.
The Airhead Composting Toilet
--------------------
CUSTOM MATTRESS
Finally, we got our three custom mattresses. I had hoped to avoid having to go down the custom route, but in the end the beds needed to be odd-sizes to fit the floor plan. We found Rocky Mountain Mattress that specialize in making odd-size beds for RV's and really tall people I guess. They were also incredibly helpful and rushed out the mattresses to us (for free) in time for us to have them the day before we left on the U.P. Adventure.
The mattresses have a 4" memory foam on top of internal springs, and I've got to say they are more comfortable than the mattress on my bed at home. (I think I should switch!)
It was a bit expensive going the custom route, but a lot cheaper than redesigning our entire frame length to fit around industry-standard mattresses.
--------------------
Over the next couple of weeks, we'll be finalizing the pop-up cabover roof, and the electrical system. Stay tuned!
Cheers,
Jay.
WOW, I love this thread - it seems to generate a debate or discussion on all kinds of different topics! So far, I think we've covered environmentalism, diesel engines, frame mounts and now adhesives!
The 3M tape sounds cool, and I'll be sure to try it on some (near) future application. In the mean time the degabond seems to have held up very well so far.
We had a good meeting with the guys at Michiana Laminated Products last week. They are building all the cabinetry for inside the unit so I'm very excited to have that part started. Matt Sutter from MLP has been very helpful so far, and I think they're as eager as I am to get started. It's certainly a "different" project for them I think.
Here's roughly what the interior is going to look like now:
There's a lot in there, but almost everything has at least two purposes:
- The bathroom door also seals the cab from the camper.
- One of the pantry doors also creates the "master bedroom"
- The entry stairs contain storage cabinets for shoes. etc.
--------------------
CABINETS
We've settled on Plyboo - a bamboo based board, for all of the 'furniture'. It looks beautiful, is incredibly strong and comes from fast growing / sustainable bamboo wood.
--------------------
COUNTERS
The countertops are going to be black colored Richlite - which is made from paper and 'friendly' resin. - can't wait to see them.
--------------------
TOILET
We've also settled on the Airhead composting toilet. This one I am frankly a little nevous about, but I've done a bunch of research on sailing forums and people seem to be pretty happy with them. The original plan was to use a diesel fired incinerator toilet (like this eberspacher one) but it turns out that they are just too big and in the end didn't seem to be worth the sacrifice.
The Airhead on the otherhand is quite small, and composts all solid waste back into harmless soil compost. Geoffrey Trott (the inventor) has been very helpful in designing our 'special needs' and we're going for a two-container solution with a solar powered vent on the roof to dry out the materials. Hopefully there won't be any odors and the system should work as promised. Stay tuned.
The Airhead Composting Toilet
--------------------
CUSTOM MATTRESS
Finally, we got our three custom mattresses. I had hoped to avoid having to go down the custom route, but in the end the beds needed to be odd-sizes to fit the floor plan. We found Rocky Mountain Mattress that specialize in making odd-size beds for RV's and really tall people I guess. They were also incredibly helpful and rushed out the mattresses to us (for free) in time for us to have them the day before we left on the U.P. Adventure.
The mattresses have a 4" memory foam on top of internal springs, and I've got to say they are more comfortable than the mattress on my bed at home. (I think I should switch!)
It was a bit expensive going the custom route, but a lot cheaper than redesigning our entire frame length to fit around industry-standard mattresses.
--------------------
Over the next couple of weeks, we'll be finalizing the pop-up cabover roof, and the electrical system. Stay tuned!
Cheers,
Jay.
Last edited:
Ranger Steve
Adventurer
Willman said:Wow...Great build!
:REExeSquatsHL1:
This is one killer rig!
Can't wait to see some final interior pictures!
x2...amazing work :Wow1:
Fishenough
Creeper
Great build and thread! Loving all 23 pages.
Spent 14 days on a 30 year old, 51' ketch last month through the inside passege with an Airhead toilet, and the only I could have definitely recommended you already choose.
Now you just need your own jatropha plantation as a home based fuel source.
Regards,
Kev
Spent 14 days on a 30 year old, 51' ketch last month through the inside passege with an Airhead toilet, and the only I could have definitely recommended you already choose.
Now you just need your own jatropha plantation as a home based fuel source.
Regards,
Kev
Last edited:
OZTRAY-JOHN
New member
Wow! not nescessarily my cup of tea but an amazing build from start to finish! Really impressive! There was some discussion about the strength of the alucobond? panels. How will they hold up against scraping against branches and whatnot? How are they joined? is it just a butt joint?
John
John
scottymizt
New member
Looks great jay!!! mikey and i were wondering how it was going for you and how everything performed. I still have to send a care package to the boys in stergis with the lil tid bits that are still here.
scotty
Alton co
scotty
Alton co
jayshapiro
Adventurer
Sema Ii
HA HA... Pretty subtle!
Judgling by the custom headlights and the extra doors, I'm guessing that was one of Alton's trucks done by "Scotty & Mikey" (see the posting before yours)
Very slick, but not exactly our style...
Cheers,
Jay.
PS - Wish I was out at SEMA with you guys. Hope you had a great BBQ. Maybe we'll bring the EcoRoamer as a special guest next year.
haven said:
HA HA... Pretty subtle!
Judgling by the custom headlights and the extra doors, I'm guessing that was one of Alton's trucks done by "Scotty & Mikey" (see the posting before yours)
Very slick, but not exactly our style...
Cheers,
Jay.
PS - Wish I was out at SEMA with you guys. Hope you had a great BBQ. Maybe we'll bring the EcoRoamer as a special guest next year.
OutbacKamper
Supporting Sponsor
Jay
I have been enjoying following your build, thanks for sharing so many details. Now I have a question ....
I noticed you have a fold out tent room. Is this a standard RV part that can be purchased and installed as a kit or assembly, or was this custom built ?
Cheers
Mark
on edit: I just found the answer to my question on page 19, man this is a BIG post.
Thanks
I have been enjoying following your build, thanks for sharing so many details. Now I have a question ....
I noticed you have a fold out tent room. Is this a standard RV part that can be purchased and installed as a kit or assembly, or was this custom built ?
Cheers
Mark
on edit: I just found the answer to my question on page 19, man this is a BIG post.
Thanks
