My attempt at a Pop-up........It begins....

[lindy74]

Hey Lindy74. Nice progress. I'm a couple months behind you on a very similar bid so it's cool to see how your doing it. What size tubing did you use, especially for the cab over section? looks like 1 x 4" ?

I've been searching out what to use for the siding, and all of the filon I can find is heavier and more expensive, so I am going to go with smooth, pre-painted trailer siding (white for me) that comes in a variety of sizes. It's .030 thickness. I've heard advice to go thicker or even thiner, but this thickness gets used on a bunch of enclosed trailer around here and seems to work. Also I think some airstreams are only slightly thicker. Here is one supplier, but there is a variety out there online. http://www.mirageinc.com/030-beveled-aluminum-full-skin-sheets

Would .030 be thick enough to just use 3m commercial vehicle tape to side it, or would it need a substrate underneath? I will obviously have rigid foam in the voids between studs, but I had hoped to adhere siding straight to the studs. That was my idea when I was considering filon, but I like the look of the smooth aluminum as well.

 

[shellbackcva59]

I'm in the process of rebuilding a 1979 4 Wheel camper. I need a few pieces of siding, and the rest isn't that nice. To buy and ship RV siding is way expensive. My son works in a commercial glass business and has 4x10 sheets of white finished aluminum shipped to them weekly. I also was wondering how I could attach flat sheets to the aluminum frame of my camper. I'm afraid it would pucker between studs, or where a window or door mounted. Is the 3M tape capable of holding it on permanently? Also, if you covered a side with one piece, would it wrinkle with the truck bed flexing off road?

 

[lindy74]

I had a thought of using the tape on the studs, which I have read is capable of holding no problem, and actually adhering the siding in between to the rigid insulation to give those spots added support. One thing I read about the tape is that once applied you would need an air chisel to remove the siding from the stud. Then once the inside paneling is put up it would actually sandwich the whole thing together. I was impressed at the price of the smooth siding dweb recommended as the shipping for all the 5 panels I would need is only 125 bucks. Anyhow food for thought.

 

[dweb]

Would .030 be thick enough to just use 3m commercial vehicle tape to side it, or would it need a substrate underneath? I will obviously have rigid foam in the voids between studs, but I had hoped to adhere siding straight to the studs. That was my idea when I was considering filon, but I like the look of the smooth aluminum as well.

I think so. I am not planning on a substrate. I think your comment about the hard foam insulation and the interior paneling would be enough. Every trailer built with this siding around I walk up to and poke at the siding.. there is some give to it, but it doesn't seem too spongey. I am planning on 3M Tape on the supports, edges, etc. Maybe a rivet or two on the edges where it will get covered up by trim. Here's a good resource on 3M tape I was just reading.. because there is a ton of different types. http://multimedia.3m.com/mws/media/441448O/vhb-tapes-design-guide.pdf

 

[shellbackcva59]

I just called 3M and asked about the thickness of the tape. My camper frame has some irregularities at joints and also the bumps of the welds. So I would need a tape with a thicker core. He told me their #4956 tape is 62 mil. or .062. Their #4991 tape is 90 mil, or .090. I think either of those would work for me. I would probably run the tape up to the weld joint, then skip over the weld and continue the tape on the other side of the weld. With the corner, bottom, top moldings and windows, I really won't have long runs with the tape bond only keeping the siding on. I also plan on bonding ridged foam insulation to the inside before paneling. What's everyone's opinion on skinning that way? Thanks Ron. PS I spent today at the welders having my corners reinforced for jacks and narrowing the frame for newer pick up tail gate openings. Next step is a new floor pack.

 

[dweb]

I just called 3M and asked about the thickness of the tape. My camper frame has some irregularities at joints and also the bumps of the welds. So I would need a tape with a thicker core. He told me their #4956 tape is 62 mil. or .062. Their #4991 tape is 90 mil, or .090. I think either of those would work for me. I would probably run the tape up to the weld joint, then skip over the weld and continue the tape on the other side of the weld. With the corner, bottom, top moldings and windows, I really won't have long runs with the tape bond only keeping the siding on. I also plan on bonding ridged foam insulation to the inside before paneling. What's everyone's opinion on skinning that way? Thanks Ron. PS I spent today at the welders having my corners reinforced for jacks and narrowing the frame for newer pick up tail gate openings. Next step is a new floor pack.

Good info. Seems like a reasonable process and similar to how i'm planning to do it. One concern that i've been reading about is the potential for buckling if heat expands the siding. It seems like more of a problem on steel framed trailers with aluminum sheet (different expansion/contraction rates) rather than all aluminum, but i'm not sure. Been reading this interesting, if dry article that describes how you can deal with that by leaving 'unconstrained' edges that aren't fixed by fasteners. So I wonder if cutting the aluminum sheet 1/4 less all around (covered by trim) and leaving a bit of room for expansion would help? Or I wonder if realistically it will even be an issue on a camper this small?

http://trailer-bodybuilders.com/archive/can-you-prove-it

 

[shellbackcva59]

I guess it wouldn't hurt to leave a small margin for expansion. But the trim would still screwed down, then you have windows and doors that are screw fastened. Plus all those edges would be caulked. Although caulk would allow movement. In reality, I think you hit the nail on the head. The small size of a camper probably isn't going to have a lot of expansion. I may be ready for skinning in a couple weeks. I've got some thinking to do!

 

[lindy74]

Moving along nicely....

Attached floor pack to the frame.....


Placed windows and door for checking fit....


installed Rmax 1" rigid insulation between studs using reflectix tape...


More gratuitous pics....






Really happy with how this has come along so far. Just for piece of mind I used angle braces on each of the corners with tapping wafer head screws just for extra support on those integral parts. tomorrow I'm ordering the smooth aluminum siding from Mirage in Nampa ID. plan on using the VHB tape I just dropped $200.00 on and then will fab the roof frame and order an aluminum 1 piece for that. I will supplement the siding tape with a few well sealed skin screws as well. I also ordered and received all my internal and external lighting that I need to run wiring for. I also found this product https://www.lowes.com/pd/FloorComfort-100-sq-ft-Premium-2mm-Flooring-Underlayment/50402206 that I will layer the entire inside of the camper with prior to siding it for extra spacing between the walls and panels to hopefully reduce condensation and thermal transfer. then the next steps will be mounting the jacks and ordering my Sail-Rite vinyl for the popup portion. Although, I might work on finishing the interior prior to completing the popup and roof for ease of working space. I opted for a 47 qt. rotomold cooler that I purchased instead of a refrigerator, less battery draw and with dry ice will work for any of my fishing trips as I'm usually near a town to replenish any ice and food.

I also am purchasing a suburban forced air furnace instead of any cat heater as I have gone back and forth between the 2 but opted for the furnace since I would feel 100% at ease running it while sleeping and it doesn't produce water vapor as minimal as it might be.

The only real concern I still have structurally is whe cabover portion. While I have aluminum angle around all 3 sides and then the frame itself to support to plywood sheeting for the bed I am concerned about that supporting my 250lbs sleeping on it. I will for sure screw it down and trust my welds but some other way to help support it would be nice, but maybe this is just how they are normally constructed. I haven't seen any of the ATC or FWC have any cross members underneath the bed in any of the research I have done.

Thats all for now, will update when the siding goes on!

 

[DT75FLH]

Why not grind the welds down on the siding side then put the vht Tape continuous? ...

Look into this cat heater...it's vented..uses 5 amp for 2 min then down to .5 amp per hour...way more efficient in gas and elect use...pricey but worth it....I would ditch my suburban heater in a sec...it runs the battery down in 1 night

 

[DT75FLH]

Opps.
http://ventedcatheater.com/2.html

A side benefit is being vented outside reduces the amount of condesation on the I side of the camper. ..and you do not need to leave a window cracked

 

[ScottReb]

Another heater option is the Propex forced air. More expensive but smaller and more efficient. Just another way to go

 

[lindy74]

Still waiting for my siding to arrive, hopefully next week. I went with Mirage Trailer as you recommended. Not a bad price either, 575 for all the siding I needed shipped to California from Idaho. I did get my decking in for the cabover as well as the flooring installed. Found a nice remnant piece of commercial vinyl for $35.00 at the local flooring shop. I can also spend this time running most of my wiring and as soon as the rain stops I can weld up the roof frame. Ill post some pics tomorrow of how i did the decking for the bed and of the floor.

 

[lindy74]

In regards to the other heater options, going to stick with the suburban I think. Price is right, and I don't usually leave the heater going when I sleep anyhow. Also having a solar charging system will alleviate some of the battery draw issues.

 

[ripperj]

Nice job, thanks for documenting


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[lindy74]