Hodaka"Pops" Scout YOHO Camper Thread

[Hodakaguy]

Continued from above....

The metal on the ratchet mechanism/frame is substantially thicker on the 2" than 1" unit.

Out with the old and in with the new.

Next up....Backup camera.

The back up camera on the Tacoma is built into the tailgate so once you remove the tailgate your left without a backup camera. We could remove the unit from the tailgate and make a mount for it but it's a pain to swap back and forth. To fix this we ordered an aftermarket plug and play camera that we will mount onto the camper, this setup will make installing/removing the camper quick and easy as we just have to unplug/plug each camera in.

The new camera arrived with a license plate mount.

The license plate is right below the entrance to the camper and it would just be a matter of time before a miss placed foot takes out the camera. After looking over the camper a bit I decided to modify the existing bracket and mount the camera directly to the camper itself.

Here I'm bending one side of the mount, I added an offset into the mount to clear the edge of the corner piece on the camper.

With the bracket bend into shape I cut off the opposite side of the mount and painted the bare metal edge.

Applying 3M VHB tape to the mount.

Continued Below....

 

[Hodakaguy]

Continued from above...

We are mounting the camera off center and under the lip of the camper, just to the right of the propane storage locker.

i ran the wiring through some braided protective loom then used snap ties to secure the wiring to the camper.

The wide angle camera works great, the camera is slightly off center so the guidance lines may be off a bit.

An the camper is now secure with stronger straps and stronger tie downs. We now have a much better warm fuzzy feeling hauling the camper around.

Hodakaguy

 

[Antwon412]

I am very surprised that ratchet straps are used and not solid metal turnbuckles.
I understand they have the working load and static requirements, but it just seems like a turnbuckle would offer a little more peace of mind.

 

[simple]

Nice job on your writeups they are top quality.

 

[VanIsle_Greg]

Looks like a very clean unit... roof buble notwithstanding. Glad it worked out with the roof fan/vent location. Also, top notch install too. I like the fact that these ship with the Dickenson LBG fireplaces, great little units and in a well insulated space like that it will be very nice.

Dad looks pretty happy about all of this.

 

[Hodakaguy]

I am very surprised that ratchet straps are used and not solid metal turnbuckles.
I understand they have the working load and static requirements, but it just seems like a turnbuckle would offer a little more peace of mind.

Our FWC used turn buckles. I'll see how these units do and swap out if they don't give me a warm fuzzy feeling.

Hodakaguy

 

[Hodakaguy]

Nice job on your writeups they are top quality.

Thanks Mate!

Hodakaguy

 

[Hodakaguy]

Looks like a very clean unit... roof buble notwithstanding. Glad it worked out with the roof fan/vent location. Also, top notch install too. I like the fact that these ship with the Dickenson LBG fireplaces, great little units and in a well insulated space like that it will be very nice.

Dad looks pretty happy about all of this.

Thanks mate, he's really enjoying the camper so far. Our first big trip will tell us more on how it will work out.

Hodakaguy

 

[Hodakaguy]

Time for a mattress upgrade!

The 3" mattress that came in the YOHO is waaaaaay to firm for our liking, making for an uncomfortable sleep. We ordered up a 5" Gel/Memory Foam mattress in Medium Firm and set to work installing it.

Supplies used:

Note: Some of the links below are my Amazon Affiliate links, I make a small portion each time someone purchases from Amazon using one of my links, at no extra cost to the buyer. I only provide links to items that I personally like and use myself. i use the money to put back into my builds and support making videos/posts. If you prefer not to use my links you can search for the same items directly off Amazon. Thank you for the support!

FDW 5" Mattress: CLICK HERE
3M 90 Glue: CLICK HERE
Electric Bread Knife: CLICK HERE


The stock YOHO Mattress.

Removing the original mattress from the cover. The cover is well built and we will modify/re-use this cover with the new mattress.

New vs Old. You can see that the fire blanket on the OEM mattress is coming unglued. I'm betting they are ordering mattresses, removing the fire blanket, cutting the foam to fit and re-gluing the fire blanket back into place.

Here I'm doing the same process I just described, I've cut open the fire blanket so I can remove it to cut the foam to size. The fire blanket will be re-installed and the seams glued back in place with a bit of 3M 90 after the foam is cut to size.

Using the old mattress as a template I traced the outline onto the new mattress.

An electric bread knife works great for cutting foam and leaves a nice clean cut.

Our cat kept wanting to attack the knife blades lol, had to keep her out of the way.

The new mattress is 1.75" thicker than the old unit.

With the mattress cut to size and the fire blanket re-installed it's time to get out the sewing machine and modify the cover. The cover is made to fit the stock 3" mattress and needs to have some material added to it to accept the new 5" mattress. We could have just put the new mattress in a new zip up RV mattress cover but the stock cover is very nice and matches the interior so we decided to modify/reuse it.

The bottom of the cover is vinyl, we will rip out the stitches and add the new material between the vinyl bottom and the upper cover.

Separated.

Cutting some filler material out of outdoor grey duck fabric. The solid grey should work well in this application.

I used seam tape to secure the new material to the vinyl bottom, this holds it in place and you sew right through the tape. Works sooooo nice!

Continued Below.....

 

[Hodakaguy]

Continued from above....

And sewing it all back together.

And the cover back on the new mattress.

Unfortunately I started and ended on the front side of the mattress instead of the rear and ended up with a couple spots that bunched. Is what it is....Dang! Still new to this sewing stuff but it's fun learning. Luckily it will be covered with the sheets.

The new mattress is a LOT more comfortable than the original unit, well worth the upgrade!

Hodakaguy

 

[workerdrone]

Every one of your threads is an inspiration towards doing things the right way, not cutting any corners (unless they're sharp and ugly and might cut or abrade something), and awesome documentation of process

Basically the other end of the spectrum from my too usual, "yep, probably good enough, let's go camping but bring some tools in case any of these cheesy workarounds fails"

The rest of the forum I'm sure wishes you had a little shop down the street from us where we could stop by for inspiration and upgrades haha

 

[Hodakaguy]

Every one of your threads is an inspiration towards doing things the right way, not cutting any corners (unless they're sharp and ugly and might cut or abrade something), and awesome documentation of process

Basically the other end of the spectrum from my too usual, "yep, probably good enough, let's go camping but bring some tools in case any of these cheesy workarounds fails"

The rest of the forum I'm sure wishes you had a little shop down the street from us where we could stop by for inspiration and upgrades haha

Thanks Mate, I appreciate it. I always hope people can use my posts to help them perform their own work. I love sharing info and being as helpful as I can, sharing info and ideas is what makes these forums great!

Hodakaguy

 

[Hodakaguy]

Scout YOHO Fridge Hold Open Mod.

When opening the lid on the fridge the bed cushion keeps the lid from being able to stay open on its own, resulting in having to hold the lid open with one hand while loading the fridge with the other...not the most convenient setup. Time for a fix!

Supplies used:

Note: Some of the links below are my Amazon Affiliate links, I make a small portion each time someone purchases from Amazon using one of my links, at no extra cost to the buyer. I only provide links to items that I personally like and use myself. i use the money to put back into my builds and support making videos/posts. If you prefer not to use my links you can search for the same items directly off Amazon. Thank you for the support!

Door Stop: CLICK HERE
Adhesive Felt: CLICK HERE

Here's a photo of the stock setup. The cushion is close to the fridge, a limitation of maximizing space in such a small camper.

I'll be using this metal door stopper as the fridge door catch. The arm is 4" and the unit is nice and sturdy, it has indents that keep the arm in the up or out position....perfect!

Here I'm removing the end of the arm that holds the rubber foot. You could leave it as is and it would work the same but I prefer the more finished look that cutting it off provides.

Next I rounded the edges and painted the bare metal.

I added a piece of self adhesive felt to the back side to give the fridge door something soft to contact. The arm contacts the plastic door itself and not the seal on the door so there is no worries for damage.

Mounting up the new door catch.

And mounted! The unit looks great (Well in my opinion anyways lol) and is out of the way until needed. It's easily engaged with one hand (See video below) and is Waaaaay nicer than having to hold it open manually.

Here's a quick video showing the fridge door in action both before and after the mod.



Hodakaguy

 

[SpeyRod]

Good stuff! Thanks for sharing!

 

[Doc Foster]

I really enjoy reading through your detailed modifications, thanks for sharing all of these! For some reason your Amazon links directs me to supperoffers.com and not Amazon?