Pop-Up Camper - Custom Build (scratch built) Oasis-Si
- Thread starter VanIsle_Greg
- Start date
headingwest
Member
Stunning!! I bought a rivnut tool for fastening into metal, works a treat, super stong. A local supplier has a range of different rivnuts for different depth of metal that it bites into. I think $100 for the tool and $14 for 100 rivnuts.
VanIsle_Greg
I think I need a bigger truck!
Good call on that. I have thought about one of those tools many times. I will look around for one locally...or Amazon maybe?
VanIsle_Greg
I think I need a bigger truck!
Me too!!
Well done! As others have said great attention to detail. I think a lot of the camper shops save time and $ because they figure out all the ways to cut corners and then by doing it over and over again save time. But sadly the product gets "leaned down" to something that doesnt last long with all that cost cutting. Your budget surprised me (I was thinking more considering what this is), but your sweat equity (and your builder friend) is huge- if you added a "labor cost" for that this would indeed be a pricey rig. But well worth it. And buying one would never give you the satisfaction of doing it to your planning. Thanks for sharing so much! I look forward to seeing its completion. 
VanIsle_Greg
I think I need a bigger truck!
Well done! As others have said great attention to detail. I think a lot of the camper shops save time and $ because they figure out all the ways to cut corners and then by doing it over and over again save time. But sadly the product gets "leaned down" to something that doesnt last long with all that cost cutting. Your budget surprised me (I was thinking more considering what this is), but your sweat equity (and your builder friend) is huge- if you added a "labor cost" for that this would indeed be a pricey rig. But well worth it. And buying one would never give you the satisfaction of doing it to your planning. Thanks for sharing so much! I look forward to seeing its completion.
Ahhh the personal satisfaction vs. cost point. Yeah, it is costing me a LOT more than I had anticipated, but then again I have added a lot of stuff that doesn't necessarily make it to production campers and or RV's as you noted. Some of the parts and pieces are also SUBSTANTIALLY more $pendy when you buy one as opposed to 500 at a time. So the economies of scale do not apply in a one-off custom. I have heard this analogy used when talking about custom classic car rebuilds and or "Barret Jackson" level restorations. You see cars crossing the block going for $90,000.00 and the announcers comments are "whoever did this probably has $200K into it, but then this is a good deal for both the seller and the buyer."
Ouch... but it's true. Part of the fun is the process. Like they say, it's not just about the destination, the journey is sometimes more important. #EndZenLikeMoment
Many of the offroady campers and trailers are coming from small builders are are either reasonably well made or VERY well made, and the prices reflect that. Most (most... not all) of the factory mass produced campers and trailers are really just junk. Unless your idea of quality is no glue, non-waterproof chipboard, staples and finger jointed 2x2. My guess is if you are reading this... you are in agreement with me there. We have owned a couple of mass market RV's and while we are lucky with our current Outdoors RV 23' travel trailer (nicely made and decent components) our first tent trailer was cheap.
Anyhow, enough complaining and analyzing here... #EndRant
I am slowly picking away at it as I can. I have 2 kids (one teen and one pre-teen) who between them eat up a LOT of our free time (ha ha, 'free time'). So because of reasons, I will sadly not be making it to either the NWOR or the BCOR this year. ? I simply ran out of time before I ran out of work to do. I am so close to getting the fabric installed, like 1 day's worth of work away close. But alas, I still have a decent sized punch list and the NWOR started today. Well tomorrow.
Next year. In the meantime it is back on track to finishing this thing!!
VanIsle_Greg
I think I need a bigger truck!
First kick at getting these friggin lift bars in place. All went very well... until I noticed that I cut the bars that attach to the trainer sides too short. FML
I am now going to re-work them by tossing them in the trash and starting again. First however I will do some fitting testing and ensuring that the new ones I make will work. All installed last weekend. Got depressed when I realized my mistake, and after picking up the parts to resolve this (2 x 3/4" lengths of EMT) I stopped. Its been hard to get motivated to finish this thing. Its summer and I want to be using it, but almost can't be bothered to work on it. Plus the weather has sucked this week and its been rainy. Bah... excuses excuses.
Back out there this evening to work on this some more. Here it is, the long side installed. They work great (not attached to the roof yet) and look pretty good.
Long side.
Short side. Why is one shorter than the other, the upper cabinets over the kitchen (thanks for asking). There will also be a third support only in the front over the bed, jut to add some additional support.
The biggest issue with the way they are installed now... they need to close up tighter to the ceiling and as they sit now they need some adjustment. Engineering on the fly and custom building comes with challenges. This, is one of them. heh
I am now going to re-work them by tossing them in the trash and starting again. First however I will do some fitting testing and ensuring that the new ones I make will work. All installed last weekend. Got depressed when I realized my mistake, and after picking up the parts to resolve this (2 x 3/4" lengths of EMT) I stopped. Its been hard to get motivated to finish this thing. Its summer and I want to be using it, but almost can't be bothered to work on it. Plus the weather has sucked this week and its been rainy. Bah... excuses excuses.
Back out there this evening to work on this some more. Here it is, the long side installed. They work great (not attached to the roof yet) and look pretty good.
Long side.
Short side. Why is one shorter than the other, the upper cabinets over the kitchen (thanks for asking). There will also be a third support only in the front over the bed, jut to add some additional support.
The biggest issue with the way they are installed now... they need to close up tighter to the ceiling and as they sit now they need some adjustment. Engineering on the fly and custom building comes with challenges. This, is one of them. heh
VanIsle_Greg
I think I need a bigger truck!
Ahh the cost question. Well, so far I am at around $7500 worth of parts, pieces, materials and fasteners etc. That includes everything to finish this unit too, all electrical, solar, plumbing and jacks etc. Honestly, you probably wont save much over picking up an older pop up unit and re-building / renovating it. Actually I am sort of wishing I had done that as I would have been camping for at least the last 3 seasons already. Oh well, there is nothing like the pride of owning and using something you built from scratch and from your head.
I still need the fabric done and installed. At this rate I hope to be camping by winter! lol
jmnielsen
Tinkerer
That really isn't too bad considering the quality you seem to be building with! If I can, I like to build/make my own stuff. I have a cheap camper that I am currently using so I won't have to miss out on camping while I build something, just can't decide what I want to build!
VanIsle_Greg
I think I need a bigger truck!
If you have a camper to use while building... that is kind of the ideal situation. Me, I sold my ExPo trailer to fund this little project, so I have missed out on 1 year of fun by not having it. I miss it but honestly I think I will prefer the camper to the trailer.
We have a 25' Travel Trailer for family camping trips, but this past year those have been few and far between. One thing I would look into is composite panels. If I had those available I would have gone that route. The construction method we used while VERY strong is also very time consuming. Whereas composite panels are finished when installed, glue together with a permanent bond (water tight too) and assemble in a fraction of the time. I have a friend who owns (with his Dad) Total Composites and they sell amazing drop on camper bodies. Excellent for flat deck and or cab and chassis installations. They were working on a drop in camper shell design, just not sure that they have completed it yet. These assemble from flat pack kits in a matter of days and cut with regular power tools... amazing system.
That is how I would do it next time.
totalcomposites.com
We have a 25' Travel Trailer for family camping trips, but this past year those have been few and far between. One thing I would look into is composite panels. If I had those available I would have gone that route. The construction method we used while VERY strong is also very time consuming. Whereas composite panels are finished when installed, glue together with a permanent bond (water tight too) and assemble in a fraction of the time. I have a friend who owns (with his Dad) Total Composites and they sell amazing drop on camper bodies. Excellent for flat deck and or cab and chassis installations. They were working on a drop in camper shell design, just not sure that they have completed it yet. These assemble from flat pack kits in a matter of days and cut with regular power tools... amazing system.
That is how I would do it next time.
Expedition Trucks & RVs - Total Composites Technologies Ltd. - contact us for information about Expedition Truck builds
Everything to start building your own expedition truck or overland camper - An off-road, off-grid tiny house on wheels ready for adventure, built by you.
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VanIsle_Greg
I think I need a bigger truck!
So I finally got out of my funk and did a thing. Well 2 things, but one I didn't take pics of. I have not been progressing on the camper at all. I hit a mental block after running into some issues, and along with some family health issues I lost my MoJo. Well, I decided to get back out there and do something. My Bullfinch water / shower port showed up from Amazon a few weeks ago, so I decided to install it. This of course meant drilling more BIG holes in my perfectly good camper sides. Oh well, nothing good comes without drilling some holes... or something like that?
This shower port is the same as the ones installed on manyExPo style trailers and campers from Europe and a few available here in NA. AT Adventure Trailers sells them... but I found it cheaper on Amazon.ca, and Prime so free shipping. w00t!
Pics out of order but here it is installed with the hose attached.
It comes with this sink type spray head. I might make up more of a shower type... but honestly, it is for washing dishes and rinsing outside. Hot and cold running water out here. Sweet.
I love the compact size of this unit, which is why I went with this one. Far nicer quality that the popular camper units and requires 1/8 of the space (simple 2" hole).
Finished.
More holes... shows off my insulation well however.
That is all that is needed to install it. I should also point out that I lined the inside of this hole with Sika to seal it up incase of a leak. The Bullfinch comes with a rubber seal and I also used Sika to seal it up...so it should not ever leak. Belt and Suspenders I guess.
Nice daylight in the under sink cubby. Well for about 10 minutes.
Up next is... fixing some more stuff and following up on the fabric. I got a few quotes and have a few people to go see about getting this done. Hopefully in time for winter! Ugh...
This shower port is the same as the ones installed on manyExPo style trailers and campers from Europe and a few available here in NA. AT Adventure Trailers sells them... but I found it cheaper on Amazon.ca, and Prime so free shipping. w00t!
Pics out of order but here it is installed with the hose attached.
It comes with this sink type spray head. I might make up more of a shower type... but honestly, it is for washing dishes and rinsing outside. Hot and cold running water out here. Sweet.
I love the compact size of this unit, which is why I went with this one. Far nicer quality that the popular camper units and requires 1/8 of the space (simple 2" hole).
Finished.
More holes... shows off my insulation well however.
That is all that is needed to install it. I should also point out that I lined the inside of this hole with Sika to seal it up incase of a leak. The Bullfinch comes with a rubber seal and I also used Sika to seal it up...so it should not ever leak. Belt and Suspenders I guess.
Nice daylight in the under sink cubby. Well for about 10 minutes.
Up next is... fixing some more stuff and following up on the fabric. I got a few quotes and have a few people to go see about getting this done. Hopefully in time for winter! Ugh...
VanIsle_Greg
I think I need a bigger truck!
Nope... not in time for winter. I sort of ran out of steam, and have been dealing with some family stuff with my Dad. I ran into a few challenges, and need to re-do some things that just isn't working or wasn't done right...and I got frustrated and walked away from it.
So basically it's sitting in the driveway doing nothing (tarped up). If I had a garage I would be done by now... working an hour at a time and then putting everything away and closing it up etc has been a pain.
Oh well, lots of whining, but it's just sitting there waiting for me to finish it (or sell it).
Maybe spring will bring some additional motivation?
So basically it's sitting in the driveway doing nothing (tarped up). If I had a garage I would be done by now... working an hour at a time and then putting everything away and closing it up etc has been a pain.
Oh well, lots of whining, but it's just sitting there waiting for me to finish it (or sell it).
Maybe spring will bring some additional motivation?
Greg your work is amazing. I came to this forum looking for information and guidance on a roof lift system and yours is exactly what I wanted.
I am planning on cutting the top off of my fiberglass truck cap and installing a lift system like yours and tenting the opening for a few more feet of headroom. I have spent dozens of hours researching and planning in my head and each time I think I know what I want I come across something new and better. Me thinks it is time to stop planning and get to building.
Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk
I am planning on cutting the top off of my fiberglass truck cap and installing a lift system like yours and tenting the opening for a few more feet of headroom. I have spent dozens of hours researching and planning in my head and each time I think I know what I want I come across something new and better. Me thinks it is time to stop planning and get to building.
Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk
VanIsle_Greg
I think I need a bigger truck!
Hey VW Guru. Wow, that is amazing to hear, I mean that you got some inspiration from the posts and my build. I did pretty much the same and cam here to get ideas when I was having trouble finding a Four Wheel Camper for sale used and wanted to build my own. Sadly however mine is STILL not finished, and requires some modifications to complete it. I messed up on my calculations and managed to make the tubes 1" too short....ugh. I neglected to take into account the drop from the upper edge of the base camper to the actual bracket pivots.
All good, I just need to re-do the tubes, which is a few hours of bending and measuring and cutting. Sadly, I ran into some motivational issues a few months back and sort of shelved the project (for now). I will pick it up again soon, and get the rest completed hopefully for early spring. I have a portable garage / shelter that I will be putting up soon and will move the camper in there and get re-motivated soon.
The basic principles are sound, and the gas lift struts are the cats pajamas... they lift the roof with minimal assistance, so once the lift structure is in place they will work 100%.
Post up some pics of your build and thanks for checking out this thread. Much appreciated!
All good, I just need to re-do the tubes, which is a few hours of bending and measuring and cutting. Sadly, I ran into some motivational issues a few months back and sort of shelved the project (for now). I will pick it up again soon, and get the rest completed hopefully for early spring. I have a portable garage / shelter that I will be putting up soon and will move the camper in there and get re-motivated soon.
The basic principles are sound, and the gas lift struts are the cats pajamas... they lift the roof with minimal assistance, so once the lift structure is in place they will work 100%.
Post up some pics of your build and thanks for checking out this thread. Much appreciated!