Flatbed Camper for Mobile Laboratory and Fishkill Response Truck. Suggestions Appreciated.

[Cadmus]

I work for a fish and wildlife management agency. My workers and I conduct research surrounding water quality of lakes and rivers in Colorado and we provide novel analytical chemistry services for fish conservation efforts. We also respond to fish kills and hazmat spills. For over a decade now we have been using a popup camper as our mobile lab and base camp for field work. (see photos posted here or below)

I thought I had figured out the perfect camper to replace my disintegrating mobile laboratory/camper. Although I still greatly appreciate that prospective company’s craftsmanship (all aluminum, no frills, solid) they cannot make one as big as I needed.

PLEASE recommend campers that will make good use of a 9 ft long flatbed that is by 80 inches wide on a F-350. Headache rack is square and sits 41” above the flatbed.

The camper is used during fish kill events or hazmat spills, used as analytical chemistry lab during field sampling or cutthroat trout habitat reclamation projects, used to spawn fish in winter (warmer and faster than a tent) and is used as my bedroom on long field projects or on-site ecotox field experiments (most the summer and fall). So most the frills of a camper need to be excluded and it needs to handle a beating, terrible roads and be hosed out.

The ideal camper lab would:
-be aluminum (best) or composite (maybe) or some other material that can handle off road travel and be hosed out. It can have a floor but the flatbed floor is fine.
-Have a roof that can withstand years of hail and snow.
-have no plywood, particleboard or other panels as these cannot get wet. Limited or no seams or deadspace that could harbor dirt, fish guts, chemical stink, etc. I have to hose out the lab numerous times a year.
-have no toilet, no galley, no TV, no wired lights, no stereo, no frills
-accept jacks to take the camper off
- have a large over cab bed such that I (6’2” tall) can sleep laying width wise to the truck (current one is a queen size I think and that is helpful).
-Must have full barn doors in aft or large doors such that the back can accept full sheets of plywood, pipes, lumber, and large instruments/equipment. The little human sized side doors on many campers and mobile labs are not going to work.
-I like popup because of windage and narrow wooded roads here in Colorado, but I would consider non-popup.
-I use it in winter so insulation is helpful but I find insulation is rarely compatible with being able to hose out the interior unless the insulation is removable.

I greatly appreciate any suggestions. Pete

 

[SDDiver5]

Price range?

 

[Cadmus]

No $ range that i can claim at this time. It serves a crucial function for my lab and many functions for state and regional cooperators. The Pheonix camper in the photos paid for itself quite quickly and repeatedly in cost savings. So a decent budget. Also I can write grants. So please do not limit you ideas. That said i can think of numerous companies that make rather high end stuff that would not be considered simply because they are excessive or would not clean up well after muddy waders and fish guts.

 

[Cadmus]

Dude.... my bad. sorry my truck is so dirty in those photos. It is road salt season.

 

[Blowby]

Have you chatted with Total Composites as if I was in the market for a hard sided camper they would be first choice!

 

[casioqv]

This is possibly the first vehicle for an actual expedition on this forum! What about a lightweight pop-top truck camper with a pop-up tent on the top? You might need to reinstall a regular truck bed, but it would be easy to hose out, have full standing height, and a bed that stays isolated from the other activities.

What kind of analytical chemistry are you doing? In most cases, I would be concerned about doing that in a place without a proper hood, or anywhere near where food is stored or people sleep.

 

[Cadmus]

What kind of analytical chemistry are you doing? In most cases, I would be concerned about doing that in a place without a proper hood, or anywhere near where food is stored or people sleep.

Yeah.... (sheepish face) i sometimes wear sandles too.
hehehe

Your comment deserves a good answer and I will surely write one when i am fresh. for now, you are right i should not sleep with acids or solvents or the smell of gasoline. First off 9/10 times i am just going out an collecting the samples to bring back to the lab or sampling fish, insect and algae. And most the time the bed (sleeping bed) is not in the camper because we are ready for fish kill response and it might get covered in gassoline or diesel or who knows. I admit sometimes we are running HPLC in the camper and there are solvents, but minimal. (or AA and then acids and fumes but again, minimal relative to prep work) We do all prep work outside under awnings or a series of EZup tents if working with acids or solvents. I may or may not opt to sleep in the bed or in a tent when stinky stuff is in the camper. I have been in proper mobile truck labs like the CSI law enforcement looking ones. I do not think they have better ventilation than my camper with the door and windows open. Maybe if they are running a generator all the time and have proper HVAC. I do not want that. Either way we had a normal truck topper before the popup camper. Ran instrument in a trailer. But lots of the locations we go to a trailer is not possible or if it is it will be a dangerous(bumpy) ride for the instrument. I find the pop up camper to be very flexible for my needs be that avoiding hotels, simple ecology work(no chemicals), chemical analysis, whatever.

I will consider your idea with the top tent, maybe for my personal truck, but the pop up camper has worked well for our team. I just need something easier to wash out and more bump worthy. We hoped that the bigger sized flatbed on this new truck offers more space and storage.

 

[Cadmus]

Have you chatted with Total Composites as if I was in the market for a hard sided camper they would be first choice!

I have not. I did bookmark them and was confused by the numerous "build partners" page. I will note your suggestion. What about the product/design makes them your first choice?

It is well insulated for sure. If they can do a full 9' and barn doors i could deal with the high (non-popup) height.

 

[casioqv]

I'm not sure if what I said was clear, but the Topo Topper is the type of camper I was suggesting, not a roof tent:

There are lots of brands that make these. When built to size for a full sized truck like yours, it has as much room as the camper you already have, and full standing height inside, but you can fold the floor panels and mattress down to make a large bed inside. You could have tables and chairs in the bed of the truck for your labwork, while still having the regular truck bed metal floor that can be hosed out without damage.

 

[Cadmus]

I'm not sure if what I said was clear, but the Topo Topper is the type of camper I was suggesting, not a roof tent:

OK EGG ON MY FACE. Sorry for not catching that as a brand. I will investigate your suggestion for sure. Thanks.

Away from internet Friday but looking forward to reading about these saturday morning.

 

[Fergie]

Give Jay a call at OVRLND Campers here in Flagstaff. They build all aluminum shell pop-ups and could likely figure out a solution for you.

As an aside, solid work you do for our fisheries! I'm headed to NM this weekend for some Gilas, and hope to work w some TU people later in the summer on searching out any remnant populations of the Alvord....gives me an excuse to explore and fish.

Seriously though, call Jay at OVRLND on monday(their shop is closed fridays) and see what he says.

 

[SDDiver5]

Why not just buy a box truck and throw the box on the flatbed? I guess that would be the cheapest.

But I'd also suggest what Fergie said...from what I least heard your build time will be pretty excessive.

 

[joepittsburgh]

I would call Drew at Bison Overland. No doubt they can supply what you need and I’m thinking they might be more flexible than some.

 

[Pacific Northwest yetti]

OEV makes a really nice product, they won’t traditionally do custom though. But have a partial shell, that would make a great lab. All composite, built with commercial quality.

If the right dealer reached out, for something like a comercial use gov't market, they may....never hurts to ask.

But they have some products that would probably work for you. And one of their dealers in Reno, could design an electrical system to support your needs. As well as box's for the sides, front. The owners rig has a big slide out tray in front of his, not exactly what you are looking for, but an idea.





It’s probably worth reaching out, I have seen his work. And use my truck and camper for remote medical work. Zero Dec does good work. They book out a few months though I think.

Zero Declination

www.zerodeclination.com

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edit* No full size barn doors though. Have you reached out to Phoenix to see if they would do something custom for you?

For visibility, Zero Dec, is my brothers company. He has a good relationship with OEV.

 

[NOPEC]

I work for a fish and wildlife management agency. My workers and I conduct research surrounding water quality of lakes and rivers in Colorado and we provide novel analytical chemistry services for fish conservation efforts. We also respond to fish kills and hazmat spills. For over a decade now we have been using a popup camper as our mobile lab and base camp for field work. (see photos posted here or below)

I thought I had figured out the perfect camper to replace my disintegrating mobile laboratory/camper. Although I still greatly appreciate that prospective company’s craftsmanship (all aluminum, no frills, solid) they cannot make one as big as I needed.

PLEASE recommend campers that will make good use of a 9 ft long flatbed that is by 80 inches wide on a F-350. Headache rack is square and sits 41” above the flatbed.

The camper is used during fish kill events or hazmat spills, used as analytical chemistry lab during field sampling or cutthroat trout habitat reclamation projects, used to spawn fish in winter (warmer and faster than a tent) and is used as my bedroom on long field projects or on-site ecotox field experiments (most the summer and fall). So most the frills of a camper need to be excluded and it needs to handle a beating, terrible roads and be hosed out.

The ideal camper lab would:
-be aluminum (best) or composite (maybe) or some other material that can handle off road travel and be hosed out. It can have a floor but the flatbed floor is fine.
-Have a roof that can withstand years of hail and snow.
-have no plywood, particleboard or other panels as these cannot get wet. Limited or no seams or deadspace that could harbor dirt, fish guts, chemical stink, etc. I have to hose out the lab numerous times a year.
-have no toilet, no galley, no TV, no wired lights, no stereo, no frills
-accept jacks to take the camper off
- have a large over cab bed such that I (6’2” tall) can sleep laying width wise to the truck (current one is a queen size I think and that is helpful).
-Must have full barn doors in aft or large doors such that the back can accept full sheets of plywood, pipes, lumber, and large instruments/equipment. The little human sized side doors on many campers and mobile labs are not going to work.
-I like popup because of windage and narrow wooded roads here in Colorado, but I would consider non-popup.
-I use it in winter so insulation is helpful but I find insulation is rarely compatible with being able to hose out the interior unless the insulation is removable.

I greatly appreciate any suggestions. Pete

View attachment 768937View attachment 768938View attachment 768939

Have you considered buying a product from a company that makes truck based professional labs already designed specifically for use in the type of terrain you will be using yours in? I have a personal bias towards companies whose products have a proven track record in a day to day industrial setting.

In Canada, we have a company called Armorlite (www.armorlitetech.com/) in Edmonton, Alberta that makes truck mounted dedicated labs for a variety of purposes, mostly around the oil and gas exploration/production industry. They also make a beautiful turnkey, albeit very expensive, slide in truck camper based on their composite panel lab shells. Their expertise around interior laboratory-centric buildouts I think would ensure that you would drive away from their facility with a completely finished product, ready to go to work, made by folks who are in the bizz. Their CNC cut PVC custom cabinetry is just beautiful.



Only issue is that these guys only offer a strictly hardshell design. There might also be companies in the United States that also would provide a similar product. Just a thought.