Skiers Lodge - Build Thread

[Swedeski]

@ DEnd. After reading your first post again I see what You meen by not ruling out fibreglass (just got stuck on carbonfibre the first time. Also had to read your second post twice, since the first time I naturally asumed You ment the computer program. Which I do have at work but not the time to sit and make a plan for my camper on workhours. Smart thing though to make a mock-up in cardboard. Thanx for the input!

 

[IggyB]

You might want to check if 15" rims will fit on the truck. And the wheels you have on now look like Nissan Frontier rims that came on my 2000.

 

[Swedeski]

@ IggyB. Thats´s right the 16 inch rims are Nissan Frontiers (or King Cab/Navara as they are called over here). Got some 15 inch wheels too (studded winter tires). I asume they fit since the truck is registered at the swedish DMV with tire specs at 265/75R15. I might be wrong havn´t checked it out yet.

 

[Swedeski]

Have had some progress with the truck but I can´t take credit for the job. Got new upper and lower balljoints on the drivers side due to a certain play in them. Turned it in to a shop cause I figured I didn´t have the time or skills and equipment to not go apesh*t over it during the process. Got an 4 wheel alignment as well, and it seemes that it was just in time beforde I would have started to "eat" tire.

My plan for this camper is for it to be pretty small, well insulated, low cog and not to heavy (which will be a compromise of the all beforhand mentioned goals). Therefore it will not be a slide in camper but instead the top part will be fixated to the truckrim like a truckbed shell. In that manner I can utilize the space around the wheelwells for storage (which will end up under the bed). I´m not planning on a cabover area casue the 8 feet truckbed will fit a fullsize bedsection. From what I´ve learned a cabover area is offcourse great spacewise but terrible for causing turbulence which really affects your mpg´s badly. I havn´t made any google sketchup drawings to show you. I´ve gone oldschool and did them with paper and pen. But I just toyed around with apic of the truck and a editor program.

It´will have the basic features of what I´m looking for. A space to get out of the elements and to eat, sleep, cook food and be able to change clothes. Maybe not much compared to a big rv. But it´s just the basics that we need and I´m comparing to what I´m used to.

God it sucks to pitch a tent in windy, wet conditions after a day of bc skiing. It´s way colder with 0 deg celsius and wet compared to minus 10 deg celsius and dry! (or maybe I´m just getting old and weak.)

 

[java]

That will be pretty decent on an 8' bed. Its amazing what you can really fit in that size of a space.

Im spoiled though thats my ski bum mobile in my Avatar. But it works awesome with the kid wife and two dogs.

 

[Swedeski]

@ java. IMPRESSED!! You have a mansion right there. :clapsmile

 

[java]

@ java. IMPRESSED!! You have a mansion right there. :clapsmile

Thanks, it's pretty plush. Went on a longer ski bum trip with a couple guys who were sleeping in their trucks, felt a bit bad every night with a kitchen and heater....

They got back at me with my miserable MPG's on a 1000 mile trip.

Really looking forward to see what you com up with!

 

[Swedeski]

Finally some actual biulding

Finally got some building done. Had a couple of hours after work on my hands. Hopefully I will start for real this weekend.

Scored a great price at some XPS foam 50 mm thick. Bought som 45x70 mm studs and cut them down to 45x50 mm. As mentioned before... it will be a compromise between well insulated and "lightweight".
The XPS foam is constructed with a edging that locks the boards against each other (maybe they all come that way but havn´t seen it on EPS foam).

The 7 mm outer wall was glued and screwed to the studs and the corners reinforced with "angleiron" (You called them something like "Simpson strongties"?).

Started out with the wall that won´t have a window. Now the 7 mm outer plywood is attatched to the framing and the xps foam is glued (with PL200) to the plywood. Already really rigid, but the true sandwichrigidity will be acieved when the 4 mm inner plywood sheet is glued and screwed on.

Man everything goes so much faster when You are working with familiar materials and methods. (In my case that meens not working on the truck and googeling everything first)

 

[Swedeski]

One or two many beers after work yesterday and a 3 hour mtb session today wasn´t the best formula for a super progress on the camper. But got the other longside wall framed up and the hole for the window cut out.

I´m also getting a helping hand from my 72 year old dad which is fun. The son-father work crew might not be the smoothest running operation at all times but alot of things get easier when being two.

 

[southpier]

great project & work partner

 

[Swedeski]

Did a test mount of the window seal, and it´s seems like a fit.

Old-dude-approved!

The other longside wall got the aluminum sheet glued to it yesterday. Been laying under preassure during the night and cut to right size today.

Really crappy cellphone pic, but atleast You see that it is white.

Put that wall on a scale and its weighs 32 kg which is 70.5 lbs. Lacking the inner 4 mm plywood, so that´s going to add a little weight. I think that´s pretty decent considering the 50 mm (1.97 inch) thick foam and studs. Since it´s going to see it´s fair share of winteruse, a well insulted shell will be appreciated.

Got the foam to the window-wall cut to size and glued up too.

Finished the day off by doing a mockup of the truckbed mount.

 

[Swedeski]

Glued the aluminum to the second wall after work today and put it under pressure.

This is a really nice tool when applying glue, especially when You are concerned about the added thickness of the glue (like gluing a really thin aluminum sheet to something).

Might be the oldest trick in the book, but it´s a good one anyways.

Here used just for kicks when gluing the foam, not that it really was needed.

 

[java]

Fast Progress!

Spreader works nice, but skip a step and go for a snozzle! Cam be hard to get quite as thin though.

 

[Swedeski]

Fast Progress!

Spreader works nice, but skip a step and go for a snozzle! Cam be hard to get quite as thin though.

Damn it Java. First Your awesome Winnebago and now You school me on tools.

 

[Swedeski]

great project & work partner

Thanx!