The TARDIS - A Four Wheel Camper Build

[SLO_F-250]

I like it!

You guys and your cool names.... I call my truck "The Ford" and my camper "The Camper." Man I need a little creativity help for my rig/camper names! haha

KEEP THE PICTS COMING OVERLAND! Looks great! :Wow1:

 

[Bill_G_62439]

The roof is back on mine now. But when I look at everything else it needs, I'm thinking "Insanity" might be a good name! If not for it, then me!

Hadley, you're rig is looking great! I love it!

And Paul, you keep me inspired with all your projects. Keep up the good work!

 

[AeroNautiCal]

...When it gets really windy the soft sides blow in and out a little. And I mean when it gets really windy. On the way home we spent a windy night in a WallMart parking lot, so we were exposed to the wind. The truck rocked back and forth from the wind and the soft sides made a little noise, but it seemed fine and I slept well. My girl did not enjoy the wind, but we were comfortable and we ate dinner and stayed warm with the heater on. The next day I thought it would be interesting to get an exact wind reading, so I looked up the wind records from the local airport. Through the night it blew steady at 35mph, and gusted to 47mph! I am impressed that were able to have the top open and were comfortable in a force 8 gale wind...

When I lived full time in my vintage mobile holiday home, I loved the feeling of the wind rocking my little 'cabin' as if on a boat, and I even put wind chimes outside. Hearing the rain drumming on the roof was another favorite.

 

[Overland Hadley]

When I lived full time in my vintage mobile holiday home, I loved the feeling of the wind rocking my little 'cabin' as if on a boat, and I even put wind chimes outside. Hearing the rain drumming on the roof was another favorite.

Yeah, I love the rocking of the vehicle, even if it is just when I am moving around. Like you said, feels like being at anchor on the water.

 

[Overland Hadley]

Fuel Usage

I just ran the numbers on fuel usage for this trip. The total miles traveled was right at 3,000.


Minnesota to Montana (highway and ethanol)
4 tanks
average mpg 16.4

Around the mountains of Montana (two lane and forest road, with ethanol free gas)
5 tanks
average mpg 19

Montana to Minnesota (highway and ethanol)
4 tanks
average mpg 16.4


This is very close to the mpg that I would average with the topper and rack. I even feel like the highway numbers may be better with the camper.

Obviously the wind resistance at highway speeds effects mpg. Another thing that effects the poorer highway numbers is that going across Minnesota and North Dakota the gasoline has 10% ethanol mixed in. Once in Montana I used ethanol free premium. (I have done tests around home and the 10% ethanol hurts fuel economy. I wish that was not the case, but it is.)

Overall I feel fairly happy with the MPG considering what I am driving. A lifted and overpowered truck with larger than stock off road tires on it, carrying a heavy load with poor aerodynamics.

I am currently working on a wind fairing to smooth the air flow from the truck to the camper. That should make a small improvement in highway averages.

 

[Overland Hadley]

This thread is quite the inspiration to a new builder. Keep up the good work!

And "well done!" on a first class thread.

:bowdown:

Thanks guys. I am glad people are finding this thread useful and interesting.

 

[Overland Hadley]

The roof is back on mine now. But when I look at everything else it needs, I'm thinking "Insanity" might be a good name! If not for it, then me!

Some people thought Galileo was insane, so that still fits.

 

[Overland Hadley]

​

 

[Overland Hadley]

Overnight

In some ways the camper is a little harder than the topper to stealth camp in. Mostly because people do not assume there is somebody overnighting inside a topper. (But the camper is a fair bit more comfortable.

But this was not a solo and stealth trip, it was a trip to get into camp early and enjoying wandering about with my girl and dog.

We still did good with nightly expenses incurred, only paying a total of $25 for the entire trip. Most nights were spent in closed campgrounds (no water or trash) or out in the middle of nowhere. Going and coming a couple nights were spent in a parking lot or at a rest stop, I do not mind these nights as they are a genuine part of my ''overland'' traveling.

I do look forward to a future solo trip where I can test out the stealth camping ability of the interior layout. I am thinking a trip to the east would be a good testing ground for that.

 

[WASURF63]

Sounds and looks (very scenic pics) like you guys had a great trip!
I'd be stoked to get that kind of fuel mileage with a camper,
(consdering my average 11-12mpg :smilies27).

 

[Frosty_1]

Thanks for the kind words Frosty.


The propane system is a combination of parts from Fireboy-Xintex and Trident. All of which were ordered from defender.com. From the tank there is a line that runs to the wall mounted regulator with a pressure gauge on it. Then comes the solenoid valve, after which there is a tee, on the line to the heater I have a valve so I can turn off the propane to heater when it will not be used for an extended time. The lines are all Trident marine lines.

All sounds simple enough, but plumbing the propane kicked my butt for a while. It was a combination of learning as I went, and that was hard because there is no ''how to'' when it comes to propane, everything just says have a qualified person install. And also needing to order every little last part online, the local store had a couple parts, but they ended up not fitting and I spent a couple hundred extra working with and installing the wrong parts. It was frustrating.

The propane system would have been much simpler to install if I had not been working to fit it in such a small compartment. There is no extra space around the tank and plumbing.

I made my own sealed and vented propane locker. I could not find one to buy that matched my needs for weight and space.


As for the sink drain, or grey water, I decided not to plumb it with an outside drain. I like to keep my camp (er) as contained as possible for easy departure and to be as stealthy as possible in parking lots. This is the system that I put together right before we left on the trip, it is just a drain hose from the sink going into a folding bucket. It was surprising how well it worked, and I do not mind emptying the bucket in the morning as I do not want to haul around the extra weight of grey water. So for now that is the whole system, sink draining into collapsable bucket.


Here is a photo in camp mode. (The far left is the door to the propane locker.) When moving this area gets stuffed with a duffle.

Thanks for the detailed response! I have to agree, finding "how-to's" on propane plumbing on the 'net is nearly impossible. I know you've been asked for a ton of links, but I'm wondering what kind of fitting you used for your "thru-hull" fitting on the propane locker? Or did you come up with something else to get the hose out the locker? Also, where did you source all the on/offs, angles, etc used in the propane setup?

Thanks!

 

[Overland Hadley]

I'd be stoked to get that kind of fuel mileage with a camper,
(consdering my average 11-12mpg :smilies27).

Ouch! That seems low for a 05 Tundra, what kind of mpg do you get without the camper on? Do you have fuel efficient driving habits? If not having a ScanGauge can help you lean when the gas really gets burned.

 

[Overland Hadley]

I know you've been asked for a ton of links, but I'm wondering what kind of fitting you used for your "thru-hull" fitting on the propane locker? Or did you come up with something else to get the hose out the locker? Also, where did you source all the on/offs, angles, etc used in the propane setup?

Thanks!

No problem, I can get you some more links tomorrow.

 

[AeroNautiCal]

Would it be conceivable to consider a storage area built between the roof of the truck and the camper overhang, which would aid airflow whilst adding storage capacity?

IIRC the roofbar mounting channels lie beneath the black trim on the truck roof.

 

[WASURF63]

Ouch! That seems low for a 05 Tundra, what kind of mpg do you get without the camper on? Do you have fuel efficient driving habits? If not having a ScanGauge can help you lean when the gas really gets burned.

Ouch is right! The only "unloaded" mpg data I've compiled was on the trip from Seattle to Denver to pick up the camper. This was with a fairly empty truck, including mild supplies, driver and two passengers. Additions/changes to the stock truck have been Toytech/Bilstein 5100's front, custom Deaver 9 pack/Bilstein 5100's/Timbren rear, a set of sliders at about 175 lbs, and 255/85/16 E rated Toyo tires. The average on that first leg was 14 mpg at 60-65 mph.
I never drive any faster than that with the camper (which is on full time, since I don't own any jacks yet) and am very easy when accelerating/stopping.
I'm also somewhere between a shell and a fully loaded model pop-up when it comes to camper equipment/appliances and provisions carried.


A ScanGuage would help monitor things, but alas, I threw caution to the wind and built up a heavy platform for the Phoenix camper (1000 lbs dry weight per manufacturers sticker.) Note: The stock form Tundra rear suspension sagged hideously (2.5" +) with a 1000 lb test weight load, prior to the build up.
One could safely say I didn't exactly follow the "Overland Hadley/Tardis" weight saving guidelines...