Raven Rider
Rev. Jerry
Spent the last hour or so reading this thread all I can say is WOW what a great camper this is going to be. BTW I would like to be first in line to buy it whae you decide to build another.
Lightweight Homebuilt Camper for my Tacoma
- Thread starter riveroceanandmountain
- Start date
riveroceanandmountain
Adventurer
ROAM
riveroceanandmountain
Adventurer
I would still love to build a frameless design next.
riveroceanandmountain
Adventurer
Thanks for the feedback and ideas everyone.
Even though endless "wow good job" replies get tiring to read for those who read through the whole thread in the future.... They certainly help us builders who some days are struggling with little progress for our time commitment...or are solving some of the many challenges of one-off design/builds
Even though endless "wow good job" replies get tiring to read for those who read through the whole thread in the future.... They certainly help us builders who some days are struggling with little progress for our time commitment...or are solving some of the many challenges of one-off design/builds
riveroceanandmountain
Adventurer
I have been plugging away off and on.
I installed some tie downs on the front truck box anchor bolts.
Then I have been laminating the 1/2 inch foam to the 1/16 inch plywood. I think it is going to work perfectly for wall panels. Super light but still enough rigidity, and it adds an extra 1/2 inch of insulation over top of all the frame members... the edges will need some trim bits as they are fragile.
Then I cut out my lift brackets... and painted them .... and installed them... they are through bolted to plates that are welded into the frame... except one side of the back brackets, which I had to screw to the frame due to not enough clearance.
Trying out my light weight flooring idea.... staining stripes in the plywood floor with a dark walnut stain ... then cutting a very shallow kerf with the circular saw on either side of the stripe to make it look like a different piece of wood.... then 3 coats of polyurethane.
This is my test piece. I think I like the boat floor look and the weight added is only the 3 coats of polyurethane.... I only put 1 coat on this test piece.
On the left stripe I used a router and a V groove bit to cut the lines either side of the stripe... on the right stripe I used a circular saw.... the saw cut looks better to me.
I installed some tie downs on the front truck box anchor bolts.
Then I have been laminating the 1/2 inch foam to the 1/16 inch plywood. I think it is going to work perfectly for wall panels. Super light but still enough rigidity, and it adds an extra 1/2 inch of insulation over top of all the frame members... the edges will need some trim bits as they are fragile.
Then I cut out my lift brackets... and painted them .... and installed them... they are through bolted to plates that are welded into the frame... except one side of the back brackets, which I had to screw to the frame due to not enough clearance.
Trying out my light weight flooring idea.... staining stripes in the plywood floor with a dark walnut stain ... then cutting a very shallow kerf with the circular saw on either side of the stripe to make it look like a different piece of wood.... then 3 coats of polyurethane.
This is my test piece. I think I like the boat floor look and the weight added is only the 3 coats of polyurethane.... I only put 1 coat on this test piece.
On the left stripe I used a router and a V groove bit to cut the lines either side of the stripe... on the right stripe I used a circular saw.... the saw cut looks better to me.
Last edited:
riveroceanandmountain
Adventurer
So what is it with us home builders always making more work for ourselves
Installed the nutplates for attaching the fridge slide and the fold out counter.
Then put the last piece of the exterior skin on the passenger side after installing the nutplates
And I put the tie down D rings on sometime ago... bolted to plates welded into the frame
The front one is just below an access hatch
And installed the window
Now working on the last pieces of the interior and then on to the ceiling finish and the pop up canvas..... and the interior build...
These projects do drag on.... I cannot imagine those of you who have been working on them for 2 years or more...... I am looking forward to the completion.
I can see many things that I would do differently if this was a model for sale!
Installed the nutplates for attaching the fridge slide and the fold out counter.
Then put the last piece of the exterior skin on the passenger side after installing the nutplates
And I put the tie down D rings on sometime ago... bolted to plates welded into the frame
The front one is just below an access hatch
And installed the window
Now working on the last pieces of the interior and then on to the ceiling finish and the pop up canvas..... and the interior build...
These projects do drag on.... I cannot imagine those of you who have been working on them for 2 years or more...... I am looking forward to the completion.
I can see many things that I would do differently if this was a model for sale!
Last edited:
Overland Hadley
on a journey
riveroceanandmountain
Adventurer
Finished installing the interior panels on the walls today... I will need to install edge trim pieces as I build out the interior
Also put my flooring on the floor..... teak and holly! Nothing but the best for this build.
Ok... not really... could call it faux teak and holly I suppose.... first coat of polyurethane is on... but still wet in this picture
Also put my flooring on the floor..... teak and holly! Nothing but the best for this build.
Ok... not really... could call it faux teak and holly I suppose.... first coat of polyurethane is on... but still wet in this picture
Last edited:
riveroceanandmountain
Adventurer
bphang10 the window is from Motion windows..... it looks very well built... but not cheap. I tried and tried to find seitz windows but decided it wasn't worth the trouble as this is my first build... I am still dreaming of my ideal design and I am not finished this one yet... is that a good thing or am I crazy?
Don't answer that!
Don't answer that!
crazy and good. these things are real "projects", they don't progress on their own! i've been at a stage of little visible progress, sanding, filling and sanding all the corner joints.
i'm hoping(and building) this thing lasts forever, but yeah, also realizing changes and improvements as i go.
i looked into the motion windows, decided to go cheaper. they sure look good though, i saw some on a sprinter van last week.
i'm hoping(and building) this thing lasts forever, but yeah, also realizing changes and improvements as i go.
i looked into the motion windows, decided to go cheaper. they sure look good though, i saw some on a sprinter van last week.