Home Depot Flatbed Camper Build...

[socceronly]

What would it typically cost to convert a 2WD F350 to 4WD?

I have seen some spectacular deals on F350's just like this one.

Great looking project!

 

[bergbennett]

awesome build.. subscribed

 

[Rebuilder]

What would it typically cost to convert a 2WD F350 to 4WD?

I have seen some spectacular deals on F350's just like this one.

Great looking project!

The complete front Dana 60 axle with brakes, springs, steering linkage and radius arms was $600.
3" lift kit was a little over $600
New coil spring cups/shock towers on the frame $200ish
New Front driveshaft $275
New custom Rear driveshaft $450
Reman T case $800
$200 for brake lines and misc items

It does add up but for me it was worth it. I was looking at buying a rundown complete used 4x4 to swap the parts but I decided to go with as many new or reman parts as possible.

 

[Rebuilder]

Making some good progress. All the beveled pieces are installed on the lower part and now I'm working on getting the top angle in place so I can start on the pop top. I haven't decided if it'll be a full pop top or just a clamshell. I'm leaning towards clamshell for simplicity but I'll have to see how much room there is at the front of the bed.

 

[Rebuilder]

Great weekend of work. I got the lower part of the frame finish welded and decided to mock up a piece of angle to see if a clamshell top would work. It is a little tight up front but I think it'll work. The bed will extend into the box a ways so there should be enough room. Maybe I'll put some storage up there and move the bed back a bit.




I also bought 4 cheap shipping scales so I can keep track of the weight as I go. Weight so far is 315 pounds. My guess with walls, floor and top it'll be 900-1000 pounds.



Here are the results of some testing I did with PL Premium. I know this lamination process has been covered in other threads but I haven't seen anyone mention misting the PL with water before the layers are pressed together. Polyurethane adhesives cures by absorbing moisture from the air and since aluminum and foam are both non-porous there's no air and therefor no moisture. I'm guessing it would cure eventually without the water but the early testing I did was concerning because it seemed really stuck but when I got it apart the middle areas were still wet. Adding the water made a huge difference.

Here's the test with mill finish aluminum and smooth (unsanded) foam. I wanted to try unsanded because that would be a LOT of sanding so I wanted to try without... it worked great.



I had a thought that a perforated surface would give the adhesive something to bite into and again I didn't want to sand both sides of all the sheets so I searched "Spiked Roller" on Amazon and found this. It's apparently used for self leveling floor compound but seemed like it would work for putting small holes in foam. Here's the test with perf holes, PL Premium with water attached to aluminum composite.... it worked great too. Probably not totally necessary but it did seem to stick a little better than the smooth.



I had to get this piece of aluminum off with a hammer....





I'd call it a success so I picked up a bunch of 28oz tubes and a battery powered gun to make the job a little easier. Once I finish the top I'll start on the composite panels.

 

[Toyo4Runner]

I'm also planning to buy Nitto tires, just like your ridge grapplers. I'll replace the old ones after installing the lift. Great job! I've been checking the progress on this build and amazed by your work.

 

[justbecause]

following

 

[Cambruggeman]

What a cool build! If you put a small ridge or bow in the center of the roof to lift it a bit, it will be stronger, and give you more room up front above the bed. Depending on your needs, it may be enough room to sleep under with the clamshell setup. Also much less likely to have water issues if the roof isnt flat.

 

[Rebuilder]

What a cool build! If you put a small ridge or bow in the center of the roof to lift it a bit, it will be stronger, and give you more room up front above the bed. Depending on your needs, it may be enough room to sleep under with the clamshell setup. Also much less likely to have water issues if the roof isnt flat.

Yeah I agree a ridge in the roof would be a good idea but since I've already installed the cross supports I'm going with flat. I was going to install the composite panels on the inside of the roof frame but that would leave and1/8" lip around the perimeter for water to sit it so now I'm planning on installing the roof skins on the outside with VHB, Sikaflex and rivets and then gluing the foam on the inside afterwards. More on that later...

Here's where I'm at with the roof.....

I started with the same formed 1/8" alum pieces







Starting to install the aluminum panels around the front using 1" VHB tape and Sikaflex 252.



I didn't get any pics of the process but I added 1/8" aluminum angle around the inside of the formed pieces to add some strength and have something to mount the the popup fabric to.



Up next is probably going to be mounting the roof panels and linear actuator to lift the top. I'm waiting to install the side wall panels because it's so much easier to work on everything without them in the way.

 

[TwinDuro]

Awesome build @Rebuilder and I like your approach. The Home-Depot aluminum flatbed looks like a nice unit to start with. Also, the 4x4 conversion on a 2WD is super cool.

I knew things were going to get interesting when I saw the “Flying Merkin” in the background. I followed your build on ADV and really enjoyed that build.

Keep up the good work!

 

[DzlToy]

Cool build!

As you likely know by now, there is only so much need for strength in the adhesive. Quickly, the next "layer" of foam delaminates from itself, either due to compression, torsional/flexural, shearing or tension-based stresses. This is where structural foams such as Diab's Divinycell and plastic or alloy-based honeycombs, such as those made by Plascore, come in. The strength-to-weight ratio is quite impressive, allowing structural sandwich panels to replace tube based structures in many applications. For a small camper, where you do not need ultimate strength, this is less of a concern. Sandwich panels usually fail because the foam core is weak in shear. As XPS is insulation, the strength isn't great, but with the cage you have supporting it, I would not expect any issues other than some pretty serious cold bridging/condensation issues.

 

[Cambruggeman]

Looks awesome. Your metal work looks great.

 

[Rebuilder]

Awesome build @Rebuilder and I like your approach. The Home-Depot aluminum flatbed looks like a nice unit to start with. Also, the 4x4 conversion on a 2WD is super cool.

I knew things were going to get interesting when I saw the “Flying Merkin” in the background. I followed your build on ADV and really enjoyed that build.

Keep up the good work!

Thanks and nice to see you over here. I've built a few more motorcycles since then but have sorta moved on to campers now. Campers are so much more fun and less stressful than bikes

 

[ITTOG]

]View attachment 645297

What is the purpose of this over with the circular part.

Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk

 

[ITTOG]

Yeah I agree a ridge in the roof would be a good idea but since I've already installed the cross supports I'm going with flat. I was going to install the composite panels on the inside of the roof frame but that would leave and1/8" lip around the perimeter for water to sit it so now I'm planning on installing the roof skins on the outside with VHB, Sikaflex and rivets and then gluing the foam on the inside afterwards. More on that later...

Here's where I'm at with the roof.....

I started with the same formed 1/8" alum pieces

View attachment 645288



View attachment 645292View attachment 645293

Starting to install the aluminum panels around the front using 1" VHB tape and Sikaflex 252.

View attachment 645294

I didn't get any pics of the process but I added 1/8" aluminum angle around the inside of the formed pieces to add some strength and have something to mount the the popup fabric to.

View attachment 645295View attachment 645296View attachment 645297

Up next is probably going to be mounting the roof panels and linear actuator to lift the top. I'm waiting to install the side wall panels because it's so much easier to work on everything without them in the way.

What is the purpose of the metal with circle attached in the last pic.

Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk