So I want to build a truck camper

[Boatbuilder79]

So I want to build a truck camper. I have been thinking about this project for the last 6 years. I have bought a set of jacks and windows and I have a file full of sketches and spreadsheets I have made for the project. My plan is to build it out of wood and skin the outside and roof with 1/8 inch plywood 10oz glass and epoxy. I am confident I can get the shell under 700 pounds.

My first question

Is a pop up really worth the extra complexity and cost to build? How much benifit is it for highway driving?

If I had an extra $25k I would buy a four wheel camper but I just don't want to spend that much.

I like the look of the Capri campers and could build something that shape easily but worry about the wind resistance on the interstate.

 

[Jonnyo]

a properly aerodynamic design on a hardside camper would do as well as a FWC

Take the capri camper,
-round all the edges, on the side and at the rear
-make the roof a full curve
-keep cabover gap to cabin very minimal

you will turn very good mpg and neglect any gain from a pop-up. That said, i think a pop up as other great advantage vs hardside for off roading...

 

[4x4JeepCamper]

I've had two popup campers, a FWC on a 1976 GMC Jimmy, and a "FWC knockoff" on an 1990 F350. I've never had a hard side camper, but have a cousin and friend that had them for years. I've been on trips with both of them, their hard sides, and my popup on the same trips. I built the "FWC knockoff" from scratch. It was a lot of work, but it came out really nice.

Here's my opinion on the subject. I believe you could build a hard side very close in weight to a comparably sized and equipped popup. The difference would be irrelevant.

Hard side advantages:
Better in foul weather such as driving rain.
Will be easier to heat (or cool).

Popup advantages:
Less wind drag cruising down the freeway.
Less side wall area helps when there is a strong cross wind. It can be a white knuckle ride in a tall hard side.
Possible to enter areas that have lower overhead clearance.
Possibly a little better gas mileage.

 

[Boatbuilder79]

Do you have any details of how you built the roof and attacked the canvass? Did you use the folding panels like the 4wc?

That is the part that I am not really confident about.

I did go look at the 4 wheel campers and I liked them a lot but not quite enough to pay $25k

 

[southpier]

are you leaving it on for a daily driver of just when trippin'?

hardside eliminates a LOT of moving parts. a hull without a centerboard trunk is easier than with, no?

 

[4x4JeepCamper]

are you leaving it on for a daily driver of just when trippin'?

hardside eliminates a LOT of moving parts. a hull without a centerboard trunk is easier than with, no?

You are absolutely correct that it's much easier. I just wouldn't want a hard side camper for all the reasons I listed.

 

[turbothrush]

Since you mentioned mostly highway driving I would say unless you really need the lower profile of a popup for off road situations I think i would build a hardside. With the time saved in not building a pop-up incorporate those features that Jonno mentioned above. Take a look at a U-haul box truck and build in the radii that the airflow would see from the front to reduce the drag. Also do the radius at the sides to roof to enhance crosswind stability. Avoid hard crisp edges everywhere except the back.

You dont need to do an angled/curved front cabover panel to lower the c/d but you would need to do the radii. Even an inch or 2" radius is worth doing. 4" would be better but harder to do. I used 7" on my fiberglass build but foam is easy to shape.

Having said all that, i do like the look of the FWC but I wasn't sure I could make the softside part look/work nice so I took the easy way... Well maybe not easy
Very interesting project..Good luck

 

[4x4JeepCamper]

Do you have any details of how you built the roof and attacked the canvass? Did you use the folding panels like the 4wc?

That is the part that I am not really confident about.

I did go look at the 4 wheel campers and I liked them a lot but not quite enough to pay $25k

For the canvas attachment (I actually used laminated vinyl), I did what FWC does. At the top, the fabric is attached to outer "rim" of the roof, and the roof sheeting bends over the side, and covers it. At the bottom, the fabric just goes over the outside of the wall. What I don't like about this design is that the fabric wall is "sandwiched" between the roof and the top of the body wall when you lower the roof. Makes getting a good seal difficult.

The roof construction is another tough area. My body was built using 1x1 and 1x2 .065 steel tubing. Heavier than aluminum, but I had the equipment to mig steel. For the roof, it was too heavy. I ended up having to make the roof frame out of aluminum. Seeing that you are a fiberglass guy, you could probably make something light enough out of wood and glass. I hate fiberglass (itch, fumes, etc.), so I eliminated that approach from my build. Hallmark campers makes their roof out of fiberglass, so it must be doable. I'm not sure what the frame is, but their side walls are wood.

For the lift system, I was way ahead of my time, (built in 1991), and used gas struts for the lift. I wanted windows on all sides, so I didn't use the plywood panel design. I made some metal "scissor" arms to replace the plywood panels. I never fully trusted the gas struts, so I had brace bars that locked it in the up position.

I've been considering building another popup for several months now.

Here are 3 pictures I found somewhere on the net that show the roof to side wall attachment.

 

[IdaSHO]

So long as you dont add a bunch of weight with the pop top hardware (easy to do), You should be able to sneak in well under 700#


FYI, the empty shell of my custom camper weighed roughly 800#, and it isnt small.
It is essentially a true 4-season 10' slide in cab-over camper, and weighs just 2200lbs finished, dry.
I used 6mm marine ply for the exterior. Its tough as nails.
If I were to do it again, I would certainly consider 3mm as you are, with more glass and epoxy.

Any questions please let me know.

My entire build is online, over on Pirate4x4

 

[Peneumbra2]

I feel that the best sort of camper for off-road, etc, is something like an Alaskan - pop-up, but hard-sided. I'm thinking of either buying one (very expensive) or fabricating one (also very expensive).

Did I mention that these kinds of camper are very expensive?

 

[rruff]

So I want to build a truck camper. I have been thinking about this project for the last 6 years. I have bought a set of jacks and windows and I have a file full of sketches and spreadsheets I have made for the project. My plan is to build it out of wood and skin the outside and roof with 1/8 inch plywood 10oz glass and epoxy. I am confident I can get the shell under 700 pounds.

What is your panel/wall construction like exactly?

I built a camper 17 years ago. Panels were foam and some wood core, with 1/8 luan skins, FG exterior. Came out very nice. This time I'm not doing wood skins, just FG. The Luan is really crappy stuff now, and marine ply would have cost more than FG.

I'm not doing popup, but I can see it working for some people. I like the improved clearance under tress and such, but I didn't want to mess with moving it up and down, plus having canvas walls.

 

[Boatbuilder79]

Thanks for the advice and the pictures. Some of your projects are awesome.

Please tell me what you would change based on my thoughts below.

My plan is to make the floor and bottom of the cabover out of 2 layers of 1/4 inch ply with 2 inch framing and foam between.

I am thinking that the sides of the tub will just be 1/2 inch with The seams taped with glass and epoxy fillets.

The side walls and bulkheads will be 3/4 inch plywood framing with 1/8 inch skins. I will glass the outside skin with 10 oz woven.

For the roof I want to use 1/8 inch skins with a 2 inch frame and foam and glass the top with 10oz woven

I am thinking I will build it like a funny shaped stitch and glue boat and use the us composites slow epoxy and woodflour for all my glueing and flashing. I will use 6 inch woven tape for seams.

 

[rruff]

I am thinking I will build it like a funny shaped stitch and glue boat and use the us composites slow epoxy and woodflour for all my glueing and flashing. I will use 6 inch woven tape for seams.

I thought about stitch and glue as well, for a good aero shape. The problem with curved walls and roof though, besides being harder to build, is that you lose some space and clearance efficiency. And since you are using sandwich panels, it won't really be stitch and glue. It should look really cool though, hope you can pull it off.

I tried USC epoxy, but found one cheaper that I like better. Ebond. I use the slow hardener. I think it's $26/gal for part A and $30/gal for part B. Old school, you have to call them. http://ebondepoxies.com/
Cheapest cloth I found was Fiberglasssite. Like their 1700 biax. http://www.fiberglasssite.com/1700/

 

[Mickey Bitsko]

Op , why do you want to BUILD a camper ?

Are there none on the market that fit your needs?

 

[VanIsle_Greg]

Op , why do you want to BUILD a camper ?

Are there none on the market that fit your needs?

I asked myself the same question. Why build when I can buy? The answer I came up with was simple (and my friend who will be doing much of the work answered it for me)... cost. A nice Raven FWC starts at roughly $11K USD...as a Canadian this is a BIG deal. Add 25% to that and you can see why. I like the size, shape, options, basically everything that the FWC has to offer, and my friend says he figures we can be all in ready to camp with a basic shell for around $5-6K CDN. I can take the other $8-10K I save and buy some NICE stuff for it!

Not trying to steal your thunder OP... following this thread to steal (er) share ideas!

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