Gladiator Pop-Up Pass Through Camper Build

[Mules]

Looks like it fits. Hope it goes in and out as easily as I planned. Now time to screw it together. The cushions are on order. Still debating whether to stain, paint, or carpet it.

 

[Mules]

 

[1000arms]

Looks like it fits. Hope it goes in and out as easily as I planned. Now time to screw it together. The cushions are on order. Still debating whether to stain, paint, or carpet it.

View attachment 740614

... Something you can leave roller marks in? ...

Maybe a "paint on" bed-liner, or fully-drying rubberized undercoating, for traction/grip?

 

[pith helmet]

that looks great. i would have to do about 3 coats of polycrylic to maintain the lightness of the wood. would keep the interior a little brighter.

 

[dstefan]

If you want to leave a naturalistic finish, I've also had really good results with Minwax wipe on Poly. It soaks in, and with several coats really protects well without a shiny plasticy surface. I've used 5 or 6 coats on a hardwood kitchen table with a final wax coat and it's impervious but let's the wood grain be felt a bit.

 

[Mules]

Still needs hinges, bench leaf slides, and a few other items.

 

[VanIsle_Greg]

That looks amazing. I am a big fan of lighter woods, and clear finishes. I would go with a clear finish as others have mentioned. Lots of luck with the clear water based varnish from Rust Oleum... their diamond cote stuff. Dries quick, sands out nice and after 3 or 4 coats it is a perfect finish.

Outdoor Diamond Wood Finish | Outdoor Finish | Rust-Oleum

Spend less time refinishing and more time outside. Varathane® Diamond Wood Finish provides a crystal clear outdoor finish that

www.rustoleum.ca

I used it for my desktop on my custom standing desk in my home office ( the interior one version ). Dried VERY hard and has stood up to 2 years of WFH with no issues.

Stoked on the modularity factor of this setup.

 

[Mules]

Looks like there’s a lot of votes for stain/clear coat. I’ll have to look into the outdoor Varethane.

I was thinking about paint or bed liner, but the birch does look really nice. The clear coat might even go with the tan tent and tan seats. Maybe…

 

[pigsammy]

Looking great and moving right along!

 

[Mules]

I though this was a cool idea. The entire bench platform slides forward over the cab back seats and the wood backrest folds out or down for an extended downstairs sleeping area. Still need the piano hinge.

 

[Mules]

Screwing it together and putting the sliders on.

 

[Mules]

 

[1000arms]

Looks like there’s a lot of votes for stain/clear coat. I’ll have to look into the outdoor Varethane.

I was thinking about paint or bed liner, but the birch does look really nice. The clear coat might even go with the tan tent and tan seats. Maybe…View attachment 740809

The birch does look nice, and the right stain (plus clearcoat) might look even better. ... The real question is, how much grip do you want the surfaces to have?

 

[Mules]

Well it only takes a few minutes to take it in and out of the truck. And I can still sit four people up front, then convert the back to the camper.

 

[Mules]

The birch does look nice, and the right stain (plus clearcoat) might look even better. ... The real question is, how much grip do you want the surfaces to have?

In this case, I want the bottom of the platform to slide easily against the carpeted truck bed bulkhead, so no bedliner on the bottom of the plywood. I might do a smooth finish, but add a few small velcro tabs to hold the cushions in place. Still deciding. I'm done for now, it's been a busy weekend.