Isuzu npr 4wd

gator70

Active member
I have been working with composites for over a decade and have done many of my own strength tests on components.
I'll just say... it takes a lot of force to separate a well made composite panel.
There are a multitude of methods that can be used to mount a camper to a subframe. It is true that some methods are technically stronger than others, but I have seen very little evidence of failures due to delamination alone.

As I have said many times before in this thread, it's your truck and you should do whatever you feel is necessary to make yourself comfortable with your own build.
Having said that, saying that everyone else has it wrong and only you are doing it right is, in my opinion, a bit of a stretch.


Not adequate like TC suggests

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gator70

Active member
Do you have any examples of setups like this delaminating?
Looking at something and simply making an assumption is not the same as having actual facts.

The forces required for delamination may be great. I would agree to that. Yes, if the truck fell over on its side with the habitat attached you would see delamination. If the cross winds are so strong they blow a box truck over it would delaminate.

My concerns and why I build a overkill attachment method is cross winds. We see 70 mph crosswinds as common.

And the LA California fires had 100 mph winds. (wind strong enough to jump fires over a freeway, and blow deep onto a very deep sand beach and burn lifeguard towers down)

A friend of mine was moving his family from Colorado to the SF Bay Area by car. He witnesses u-haul trucks blown off the freeway on their sides by wind.

A 12 ft habitat is a sail.
 
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SkiFreak

Crazy Person
If the cross winds are so strong they blow a box truck over it would delaminate.
Again... that is simply your assumption. Do you have even one example of this actually happening? Just because you say this will happen does not mean that it is true.
If you want to over engineer your own build, then go right ahead and do that, but why do you continue to claim that everyone else doesn't know what they are doing?
What engineering qualifications do you have?
 

gator70

Active member
Again... that is simply your assumption. Do you have even one example of this actually happening? Just because you say this will happen does not mean that it is true.
If you want to over engineer your own build, then go right ahead and do that, but why do you continue to claim that everyone else doesn't know what they are doing?
What engineering qualifications do you have?

There is no way to validate this until someone has an accident and it can be photographed.

That accident will not be mine. That is why I did it differently.
 

rruff

Explorer
The floor cannot delaminate under any stress due to the engineering I used. The floor is engineering so that it is over 5 inch's thick with a composite panel sandwiched between frames internal and external to the habitat including a internal subfloor.
Diagram?

Yes, if the truck fell over on its side with the habitat attached you would see delamination. If the cross winds are so strong they blow a box truck over it would delaminate.

My concerns and why I build a overkill attachment method is cross winds. We see 70 mph crosswinds as common.
Frankly... if I had a choice in the matter, I'd take habitat falling apart due to a cross wind, vs the whole rig being knocked over. :unsure: :p

At any rate, you can make a decent estimate of the forces on the attachment, when there is a side force sufficient to flip the rig. Just make a free body diagram and figure it out.

I'm pretty sure that TC boxes have endured crosswinds as high as you are likely to see. If you are in danger, then slowing down or parking with your nose into the wind would be a good idea.

I've been in crazy crosswinds myself as they are common in NM, but not crazy enough to slow down or stop.
 

SkiFreak

Crazy Person
That accident will not be mine. That is why I did it differently.
That is perfectly fine and you can do whatever you like with your own build, as I have said previously. If you want to reinvent the wheel, by all means... go ahead.
What I have issue with is your constant negativity towards how everyone else mounts a camper body to the subframe. According to you, they're all doing it wrong!
You make brash statements that are solely based on your opinion alone, not physical evidence or any engineering experience.
There is no way to validate this...
Well...
Given that individuals and companies have been mounting composite boxes to trucks for a very long time now, do you not think that there would be photographic evidence of failures by now?
If you have factual evidence of composite panel delamination issues, present it.
 

gator70

Active member
My habitat windows to my surprise are dual pane acrylic with tempered smoked glass on the outside. (integral shade and bug screen)

Seven windows and roof hatch/skylight total
 
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gator70

Active member
My dinette seats 4-6 and seems oversize. I wonder if this should have been only a smaller one for two people.

The advantage is it becomes a bed for two people. (close to queen size)

The disadvantage it takes up 30% of the floor space.

Currently I have sleeping for four.

I was concerned about all dinette walls were 1/2 inch. Yet to my surprise the whole construction has a welded steel frame behind the wood. A nice bit of insurance due to all the weight in the water tanks under the benches.

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gator70

Active member
To maximise my solar I have two solar MPPT controllers, (1) four 200 watt panels (2) two 100 watt panels.
Additionally I have the wiring external next to the storage box for external solar panel arrays.

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gator70

Active member
That is perfectly fine and you can do whatever you like with your own build, as I have said previously. If you want to reinvent the wheel, by all means... go ahead.
What I have issue with is your constant negativity towards how everyone else mounts a camper body to the subframe. According to you, they're all doing it wrong!
You make brash statements that are solely based on your opinion alone, not physical evidence or any engineering experience.

Well...
Given that individuals and companies have been mounting composite boxes to trucks for a very long time now, do you not think that there would be photographic evidence of failures by now?
If you have factual evidence of composite panel delamination issues, present it.


Many of you ignore the wind and the effect on the composite habitats. Especially the attachment to the rig.

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