Pop-Up Camper - Custom Build (scratch built) Oasis-Si

[VanIsle_Greg]

Finally got back out there and put in a few hours on the camper. It's all (mostly) small stuff I am dealing with now, so it's lots of picking and fiddling and 4 hours later it doesn't look like you got very far. But, it still feels good to be making progress. Today was all about finishing the kitchen (or trying) and then working on some stuff I was hacking away at last week.

One thing I did last weekend but did not really document at all was to remove the raised edge around both of the seat fronts. This was put in there to retain the cushions, but it will dig into your side / elbows when in 'bed' mode and not 'table' mode, so I decided to scrap it. I dug out my Fein Saw and went to town. LOTS of sanding and routing and more sanding later it looks great and is way more functional. I did this along the side as well on the cover over the water / battery box. Today I decided to fix it all up... and laminate it with some Formica to match the counter tops. I then took the front piece of Poplar that I cut off, ripped it on the table saw and then added it to the back of the cover to act as a strengthener. Looks stellar.

Lots of router trimming and fun today... best tool I have picked up in a long time...



Done.



Then it was on to the kitchen cupboards. Long overdue. I started with laminated Luan to match the walls and the other drawers / cabinets, but it was chipping and it is hard to keep the edges in good shape. So... I scrapped it and went with 1/2 inch Birch ply. Same thing, the veneer is soooooo thin on both that any little knick and you are looking at glue. Scrapped that Idea... laminated them as well with Formica. heh I am also going to do the backsplash in either the Formica or maybe some imitation tile? TBD.

Measuring and testing, PITA doing this. Lots of testing, cutting, testing....






I laminated them with some spray adhesive... man I love that stuff.



Busted out the new Makita again and trimmed off the edges. I think this is my new favorite thing to do. heh Ready for installation.



I will be using these hinges from Richelieu, they are interesting, and I have never used them before. They are called 'Self Closing Hinges' and they look...complicated to mount. Ran out of time, but will dig into it tomorrow maybe if I have time.






I also wanted to laminate the little spot beside the seat and under the drawers. This is a good spot to put a drink or your stuff if you are in the bed there, stuff like your keys and or phone. This turned out great too... didn't include int he pic the 1/4 round I re-installed, but you can see that I also added that trim from the wall to the corner to clean up that edge and to hold in the cushions one day... when I actually have cushions and stuff.



More work coming soon. I am going to be doing some more laminating, trim and then finishing off the bed and getting it ready to install the mattress. YAY that will be an epic day for sure. Need to start varnishing final coats too, and in some cases first coats. heh Might be able to get it ready for fabric install in a few weeks!

 

[VanIsle_Greg]

Managed to wrap up the cabinet doors tonight. After looking at the hinges again for a good solid 6 minutes, I realized that they are actually VERY simple to put in and to get correct. Measure where the overlap is for the upper and lower cabinet frame, mark a line, place hinge flush with line... screw in place. Done.




Finished. The keen eyed will notice that the far right handle has a hole in it. I tightened up the attaching screw from behind and it snapped off in the back of the handle...FML. I had to drill it out carefully. All of a sudden, the drill caught and went right out the front side of the handle lol. I still managed to drill and tap it out and get it installed temporarily at least.



in action



These work pretty well and hold the door in place reasonably securely. I think I will still install a proper stop of some sort... maybe.



Install pics for the handles, should have been easy. Should have been. Sigh.



Oh and look what showed up today... Lagun number 2! Box was trashed, so FedEx repacked it in another box... and that was trashed as well. All the hardware was rolling around inside the box and there was about a 5" hole in one end. Crushed top and on both ends. Man, someone having a bad day? This was the re-packed box!



Outside table? Hmm.....




Tomorrow is a write off so maybe Thursday for some more work on this thing. Need to grab a sheet of 1/2 ply to finish the bed, that is the next task.

 

[Andrew_S]

Holy smokes this build is unreal. Your attention to detail and craftsmanship is something dreams are made of. Seriously I'm blown away. Awesome work, the trim, sheeting, everything. So glad I found this thread.

 

[VanIsle_Greg]

Holy smokes this build is unreal. Your attention to detail and craftsmanship is something dreams are made of. Seriously I'm blown away. Awesome work, the trim, sheeting, everything. So glad I found this thread.

Wow, thanks Andrew...much appreciated. It has taken a long time to get to this point, but we are close to the finish line now. Heh

I can't take all the credit, I had someone do a lot of the work on this with me. I have been picking away at it for the past year...kind of lost motivation for a while (Dad got sick).

More pics coming soon!

 

[VanIsle_Greg]

I have been on vacation all week... and have done nothing to the camper. lol Lots of hikes and lots of hanging out with the kids etc... good times.

Need to get back on track!

 

[VanIsle_Greg]

This past weekend I had 2 choices... 1, do all the yard work and cleanup I have been meaning to do and 2, work on the camper. Well, I did both. Lawn / yard cleanup was on Sat, about 6 hours straight...was tired and dirty. Sunday however was the fun day (Sunday Funday, makes sense). That was spent for the most part on the camper and putting in pretty much the last 'construction' type piece, the bed extension. I still have some trim, varnishing and of course the remaining electrical (solar panels) to do, but no more buildy stuff.

The bed extension caused me to re-think it over and over. I only needed another 6.5" to fit my full sized mattress, but wanted to make it slide in. However that meant cutting the mattress and cover and then all that on top of devising a system to support the slide etc. Way too much work for only 6.5" of bed. I mocked it up and the extra bit did not bother me when seated at the table, so fixed it was! So much simpler and less complex.

I could not find Baltic Birch in 1/2" thick, which sucked... but Aspen was available with both sides finished and dressed, and its getting painted on top anyways, so Aspen 4 x 8 sheet it was. This top pic is what I was starting from. There are supports behind the interior panel, so I knew I could screw into them for support. I pulled off the corner trim and measured it up. I had just enough poplar trim and rough cut pieces left to make from front bed edge, the facing for the corner brackets and the backing as well. Oh and ripped up some bullnose I had to make the corner brackets at the wall.



This is where I was trying to finish. Great workspace up there on the bed!



Fabbed up some corner bracket/supports with Aspen ply and Poplar front edge and backing. Worked out awesome, and showed me the limitations of my table saw. heh Was struggling to get through the big chunk of poplar. Pretty hard for a softwood (hardish wood?).



The original bed edge stuck out about 1.5" from the wall, so I made the extension out of 2 layers of 1/2" ply. The bottom 1.5" wider, so I could screw up and down plus glue. Super strong. You can see the corner brackets in the pic below.



Front bed edge fits well, looks great.



Corner brackets / supports installed. I had to level the bed edge by raising it in the middle a little (sagged a bit) then screwed these in from the top (3 x 2" screws) and to the back wall with 6 x wood screws. Oh and glue of course. LOTS of wood glue on everything.



Trim re-cut and re-installed in the corners.



Done.



Actually, I lied... I forgot that I am remaking my table top as the one I have now is a bit too small for the space, and it needs to be a tight fit as the table seats make into a single bed. Oops, I forgot. heh Ran out of Formica too... need another sheet.

 

[VanIsle_Greg]

Man, where does the time go. I have spent the past few weekends and days off working on the camper trying to get it done... and I am getting pretty darn close. One of the issues I was still dealing with was the roof wanting to rack from side to side when lifting or lowering. I had always planned on another front lift support... but the two side ones were a PITA to make... so I made one closer to the FWC style.

Here is the finished short drivers side lift support. All glued and screwed in place. It is shorter because of the upper kitchen cabinet.



Finished passenger side... same as drivers only about 2' longer.



Looking good.



Here is the new front panel. Screwed into the top (roof) with a piano hinge and many many screws... folds in the middle and at the bottom. This is made with 1/2 plywood for strength and because I didn't want to mess with rivets and composite materials like FWC... and I had scrap plywood.



Oh and I finish painted the bed platform with the same primer and then the one part epoxy I used on the underside of the tub. It is for floors / garage or basements so it should stand up.



Detail of the mickup.



No more racking, roof works awesome.



Still needs a latch, trying to decide if I want to use a plank / stick like FWC does or something else? TBD



More to come...

 

[VanIsle_Greg]

Today and yesterday I worked on the electrical system details and the solar setup. I am running a pair of 100W Renogy Monocrystalline into a 20A MPPT controller. I only have one battery sadly, a group 27 AGM. I wish I had room for more, might look at adding another for the fridge specifically...if I can figure out where?

Power coming in from the panels goes through a pair of 30A circuit breakers so I can isolate the panels from the rest of the system to work on stuff if I need to. 20A out to the battery. All run using the supplied Renogy 10G wiring. VERY heavy duty casing.



MPPT controller and temp probe. I am picking up the BT module as soon as it is available again.



2 x 100W Renogy panels. I still need to finish water proofing the screws and penetrations. It is all well sealed with Sika, all screws and the feet of the panels are mounted using it as well. I am going over everything with Dicor self leveling sealant as soon as I remember. heh I had to run out to pick some up today, and forgot to finish it. Tomorrows job.



Nice panels.



Oh and I also installed the shunt and the monitor. I forgot to install a switch for this, as it is always on and has a blue backlight. It shines right at the bed. FML... Will install a switch ASAP.




More to come...

 

[VanIsle_Greg]

Ok last post for today. I am catching up on the last 3 weeks of work, so yeah...

As they say, the devil is in the details. And I am pretty much working on the details now. Installed the Smoke Detector, and this one includes a CO2 detector as well. Has a 10 year battery and a voice notifications and alarm. Wow.



Then I also installed a CO2 detector down by the floor... I already had this one, so I thought I may as well get it installed. Still need to find an LPG monitor. Even though I have no LPG inside, I will be carrying a pair of tanks and one is inside a sealed cubby (vented to the outside.



Fire putter outer



Oh and I pimped up the kitchen a bit with a tile backsplash. Ok, it's a peel and stick setup, but it looks great and sure makes it look a lot more finished.



Hard to see, but everything inside is finish varnished now too. Some of it needs another coat of varathane, but for the most part the interior is done!



As mentioned above, the bed is also finish painted. Looks great in the grey.



Next up. Fabric and upholstery for seats and so on. I sure hope the guy I lined up last summer is still good to do this project!? Oh and I need to finish the bottom bunk setup. The seats are GTG, the table is GTG but the support brackets for the table to sit on are like the LAST items I need to cut. Oh and I want to face all the drawers with the same Formica I used in the kitchen. The Luan looks nice, but it chips easily on the corners, so they are looking a bit ragged already. Need to harden them up!

Next weekend.

 

[VanIsle_Greg]

Oh and you might notice that in some of the pics you see the bubbling of the fiberglass, both inside and outside. This is what happens when you use basic hemlock 2x4 and not aluminum or at the very least hardwood. I need to remediate all of this and soon. I asked for fir, dried hardwood fir... I got Home Depot 2x4. Sigh... and so I fight with the wood rejecting the glass.

Might just rip it all off and epoxy paint it instead. Or use some good oil primer and some white marine enamel. TBD

 

[Ducstrom]

Oh and you might notice that in some of the pics you see the bubbling of the fiberglass, both inside and outside. This is what happens when you use basic hemlock 2x4 and not aluminum or at the very least hardwood. I need to remediate all of this and soon. I asked for fir, dried hardwood fir... I got Home Depot 2x4. Sigh... and so I fight with the wood rejecting the glass.

Might just rip it all off and epoxy paint it instead. Or use some good oil primer and some white marine enamel. TBD

Home stretch now!

I ll be getting my cushions covered soon too hopefully in October, but I plan to start using it here pretty quick. Would have been sooner but when testing for water leaks found that the rv door i bought leaks between the door and the frame. Actually required moving the door up 1/2" in the frame and remounting, then redoing all the weather stripping. I should be good now, I'll find out for sure this week. It's always something...

Where is the fiberglass bubbling? I can't see any in the pics.

 

[VanIsle_Greg]

Home stretch now!

I ll be getting my cushions covered soon too hopefully in October, but I plan to start using it here pretty quick. Would have been sooner but when testing for water leaks found that the rv door i bought leaks between the door and the frame. Actually required moving the door up 1/2" in the frame and remounting, then redoing all the weather stripping. I should be good now, I'll find out for sure this week. It's always something...

Where is the fiberglass bubbling? I can't see any in the pics.

Yeah, it is starting to feel like I am on the home stretch for sure. Cushions and upholstery will make a massive difference in the feel and done-ness of any project for sure. The fiberglass is bubbling up all along the outer edge of the camper roof. I know it is not going to last, so it is only a matter of time before I need to rip all that wood off and to start again (probably with rectangle box aluminum).

Here is a closeup of the inside of the outer roof edge @ the inside ceiling.



And here is is on the outer edge.



The inside is really bad, but the easiest to fix. I can simply cut it all off, seal and re-paint it. Done. The exterior is not so easy, but for the short term it might get the same treatment. TBD It also adds a massive amount of weight I was not originally expecting, so that in turn makes the roof much heavier than it needs to be. It is strong, but heavy.

Will pick away at the inner piece before it goes to get the fabric installed.

 

[VanIsle_Greg]

Weird, it feels like I was posting in here last weekend... not last month? So, what have I completed since the last time I was apparently on my personal computer and not buried in work... the answer is LOTS! Like.... really a lot. I finished up installing my solar stuff and sealing it in place. I used some of that self leveling Dicor, which works awesome. I also used strips of EternaBond to hold the cables in place. Great stuff...



All sealed up and tested weather proof.



EternaBond is slick stuff. Clean with Methyl Hydrate, and use a roller to seal it down.






I finished the underside of the tub with the same 1 component epoxy that I have been using on the sides of the tub as well as (recently) the bed. Great stuff, once it hardens up it is some tough stuff... comes from Home Depot and is for garage floors or concrete so. Yeah. Oh and BTW... the underside of the camper tub is 1/2 Baltic Birch with 1 layer of fiberglass, primed with Zinser primer and 3 coats of epoxy.






Looks soooooo small. heh

 

[VanIsle_Greg]

Next up... a visit to the Marine Upholstery and Fabric guy in Sidney. That was fun, as I got to actually drive around with this thing on the truck again for the first time in like over a year. I loaded it up myself to practice, and it was...fun. Yeah, lets go with that. I took it slow, jacked up the camper to heights that feel completely unnatural to me (38") and yeah, backed up and dropper her in. Perfect fit, but it is pretty tight. About an inch on either side of the wheel arches, and it sits completely flush with the tail lights inside the rear bumper. In hindsight I wish I made it about 1 foot longer... one-foot-itis.

I also did some more work on the cabinets and interior. I laminated / skinned the drawer fronts with the same Formica I used on the counter tops. The Luan finish was chipping off the exposed edges and was looking pretty sloppy. I don't mind the laminated sides, the layers look kind of cool... so they stay.



Looks alright I guess.







Then I finished the seat pans and got that done both sides. One side had lots of welding burns from the window install... should have been covered but that's all good. Will be covered with cushions in a few weeks.



Camper fits nicely in a small bed (forgot to take the tailgate off when I loaded it up....DOH!!).







I left the legs on for this quick trip, was not parking it in close quarters etc. Will look even better with them off.



Awning is at the PERFECT height.



That... looks sketchy.



All of the local marine fabric shops locally are either swamped and booking for next spring, or some have actually closed up shop. A couple said 'No thanks' to a camper project... but one guy said yes! He is a super nice guy too, went out for a quote last Friday. He is pretty stoked about this project even though it it well outside of his normal day to day stuff. He wants to do it because it is different... and he really liked the camper. We tossed ideas around for about 2 hours...picked colours and fabric for the upholstery etc. He is also going to try to fit me in next month even though he is booking all jobs next year.

Spec'ed out a med gray Sunbrella marine fabric with black bug screens, clear windows (x3) and all the goodies. Interior window covers and opening windows. The fabric is a really nice mottled grey/blue with some lighter colours, should look nice.

I just hope I can afford him. He is VERY highly sought after, and one of the best as I understand it from my Marine Surveyor friend. #Stoked #NeedASecondJob #DecmberCampingAnyone

 

[Ducstrom]

Looks great in there!
Doesn't look to sag the truck too much either. You'll have to let us know what it weighs.

Im assuming you'll be removing the tailgate.

I once road out with a friend who had a side by side loaded in a 8' bed and the tailgate didn't quite close. We left it down for the trip out, somewhere along the bumpy road the tailgate bounced up high enough and removed itself from the bottom pivot. Some harness and paint damage were the only damages. Who knows how long it was dangling around from the cables back there...