Lightweight Homebuilt Camper for my Tacoma
- Thread starter riveroceanandmountain
- Start date
riveroceanandmountain
Adventurer
Here are a few more photos .....
putting in the pieces for the front of the cab over section
cab over section complete and......
.....a few angle braces added
I am pretty happy with my welds.... but I have blown a few small holes through the tubing
looking from the front to the rear.... squaring up the rear to start assembling the rear wall
The rear wall is going to take some planning.... as I have changed my ideas a bit.... need to calculate the finished width of my fridge slide for the fridge door on the right side... and allow for a propane compartment door on the left side and keep enough room for the entrance door in the middle.
Fun fun
putting in the pieces for the front of the cab over section
cab over section complete and......
.....a few angle braces added
I am pretty happy with my welds.... but I have blown a few small holes through the tubing
looking from the front to the rear.... squaring up the rear to start assembling the rear wall
The rear wall is going to take some planning.... as I have changed my ideas a bit.... need to calculate the finished width of my fridge slide for the fridge door on the right side... and allow for a propane compartment door on the left side and keep enough room for the entrance door in the middle.
Fun fun
Last edited:
riveroceanandmountain
Adventurer
A week without welding.... and really not much time to work on it.... but I did come up with a couple of things
I cut the jigs for the table leg parts out of 3/4 inch plywood to get the parts cut with a plasma cutter.... one funky shape and two circles
parts will end up looking like this
then I had an hour this evening and I put together a mock up of a fox wing type awning.... looking for something simple and cheaper than buying a Fiamma (although they are nice!)
My idea is to have webbing straps with an easy attach system to the top corner of the pop up part of the roof, and the arms are permanently mounted to the top rear corner of the camper.
The straps would all have tensioning buckles which could be reached.... by tall people..... just over the outer edge of the awning.
this model is built to a scale of 4 inches equals 1 foot
view underneath... the first arm would be 7 feet and the remaining 3 arms 6 feet long
folding it up.... the 8 inch tall piece of 2x4 represents the 2 foot height of the pop up roof.... so the straps would disconnect from what is the top of the 2x4..... i just used the staple gun to see if my basic idea worked..... and the whole unit .... arms and material....would zip into a bag attached to the side of the camper
I am designing it now because I want to add reinforcement into the back top corner of the frame... and I now need to move my intended position for the roof latches....
feel free to make any constructive comments!
I cut the jigs for the table leg parts out of 3/4 inch plywood to get the parts cut with a plasma cutter.... one funky shape and two circles
parts will end up looking like this
then I had an hour this evening and I put together a mock up of a fox wing type awning.... looking for something simple and cheaper than buying a Fiamma (although they are nice!)
My idea is to have webbing straps with an easy attach system to the top corner of the pop up part of the roof, and the arms are permanently mounted to the top rear corner of the camper.
The straps would all have tensioning buckles which could be reached.... by tall people..... just over the outer edge of the awning.
this model is built to a scale of 4 inches equals 1 foot
view underneath... the first arm would be 7 feet and the remaining 3 arms 6 feet long
folding it up.... the 8 inch tall piece of 2x4 represents the 2 foot height of the pop up roof.... so the straps would disconnect from what is the top of the 2x4..... i just used the staple gun to see if my basic idea worked..... and the whole unit .... arms and material....would zip into a bag attached to the side of the camper
I am designing it now because I want to add reinforcement into the back top corner of the frame... and I now need to move my intended position for the roof latches....
feel free to make any constructive comments!
Last edited:
riveroceanandmountain
Adventurer
I have not seen that idea..... And searched and searched over on WtW but cannot find it
Could you post a link please pods?
Could you post a link please pods?
Last edited:
Search function there is pretty jacked up. Main reason I can find stuff I remember having seen it in the past and some details to search out. Here's the original concept thread (along with other ideas mixed in):
http://www.wanderthewest.com/forum/index.php?/topic/968/
If you scroll down his picture page here there are pictures of his refined awning on his ATC rig, I believe he's got track on both sides and can set it up on either side and adjust pole length to change the angle:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jayaronowcampersales/
http://www.wanderthewest.com/forum/index.php?/topic/968/
If you scroll down his picture page here there are pictures of his refined awning on his ATC rig, I believe he's got track on both sides and can set it up on either side and adjust pole length to change the angle:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jayaronowcampersales/
riveroceanandmountain
Adventurer
Thanks.... it looks like it works well too!
Yeah I figured not too hard to mount track where needed and then just have the supplies on hand to set up. I believe to concept is poles back to the truck for ease of setup usually. But if windier put the poles to the ground and use a couple guide wires to each pole as well.
That is a cunning plan!
riveroceanandmountain
Adventurer
The rear of the camper coming together.
The reason I decided to go with the complicated angled door design is....
1) I think it looks cool!
2) It is easier to get into a short door when the bottom sill is 18 inches forward of the top of the door!
3) I like doing things the hard way.... hmmm.... that doesn't sound too smart does it.
The large opening to the right of the entrance door is for a fridge slide/drop
The opening to the left of the entrance door is for the propane locker.
It is amazing how many little things come up that need to be solved along the way doing a custom design..... the handles I chose do not fit on a one inch thick door.... problem to solve.
I may have found some 1/2" foam.... expanded polystyrene.... not the extruded stuff I was originally looking at... so now I can do my 1/2" inner full insulation idea to overcome some of the problem of heat loss through the frame..... and it will overcome the issue of the handles needing a 1.5 inch thick door!..... of course there is still the issue of heat loss through the pop-up part.... but I have ideas for that too.
I am having fun.... I hope it is enjoyable to watch.... let me know if you want any specific info
The reason I decided to go with the complicated angled door design is....
1) I think it looks cool!
2) It is easier to get into a short door when the bottom sill is 18 inches forward of the top of the door!
3) I like doing things the hard way.... hmmm.... that doesn't sound too smart does it.
The large opening to the right of the entrance door is for a fridge slide/drop
The opening to the left of the entrance door is for the propane locker.
It is amazing how many little things come up that need to be solved along the way doing a custom design..... the handles I chose do not fit on a one inch thick door.... problem to solve.
I may have found some 1/2" foam.... expanded polystyrene.... not the extruded stuff I was originally looking at... so now I can do my 1/2" inner full insulation idea to overcome some of the problem of heat loss through the frame..... and it will overcome the issue of the handles needing a 1.5 inch thick door!..... of course there is still the issue of heat loss through the pop-up part.... but I have ideas for that too.
I am having fun.... I hope it is enjoyable to watch.... let me know if you want any specific info
Last edited:
riveroceanandmountain
Adventurer
Does anyone have information on marine grade plywood..... like how thick each ply is .... how much stronger is it than standard plywood....
I have been searching all over the internet.... but still find little info.
I have been searching all over the internet.... but still find little info.
Sorry, can't help on the plywood front. Great progress. I like the idea of running the 1/2" expanded polystyrene through on the inside. Will you have to weld some 'tabs' on to attach the interior 'modules' to? All your structure will have 1/2" of foam covering it and solid fixing is 'underneath'. Just something rattling around in my head is all. I completely agree/understand with point's 1-3 regarding the door! Looks great though. Maybe biased. Actually looks remarkably similar to what's in my head...
Attachments
Overland Hadley
on a journey
Overland Hadley
on a journey
Marine plywood will be thin ply with no voids. Very strong and sturdy stuff. You could also use Baltic Birch, similar to marine ply but without the water protection. There are all sorts of marine grades, I will dig up some of my bookmarks for you tonight.
riveroceanandmountain
Adventurer
I somehow thought you might have found some info Hadley.....mr. Research....I have read through your thread... But there are so many great ideas in there I forget most of them. That would be great to get your bookmarks.
I am mostly wondering things like .... Is 3/8 marine ply essentially as strong as 1/2 regular ply? ... does 1/16 really have more than one ply? Is it almost as strong as the cheap 1/8 stuff at the lumber yard or is it just a veneer? And good sources... I have found a few but always nice to get recommends of good service etc.
Billhilly I like your design...I pondered the solid wall idea ..... Maybe on the next one....when do you start your build? I was thinking of using spacers where needed on the inside....but I like the tabs idea say for the cabinets.
I am mostly wondering things like .... Is 3/8 marine ply essentially as strong as 1/2 regular ply? ... does 1/16 really have more than one ply? Is it almost as strong as the cheap 1/8 stuff at the lumber yard or is it just a veneer? And good sources... I have found a few but always nice to get recommends of good service etc.
Billhilly I like your design...I pondered the solid wall idea ..... Maybe on the next one....when do you start your build? I was thinking of using spacers where needed on the inside....but I like the tabs idea say for the cabinets.
Last edited: