Truck Camper Construction Costs?

[Nitromethane43]

In the past few weeks I have been looking at various motor homes, trailers and truck campers at local local dealers, one thing that stood out was how poorly they are constructed even the high end ones. Many seemed to be very flimsy with very low craftsmanship levels. Being unable to find something that seems suitable to my likings the decision is to go forward with a custom made one. With most of the parts priced out it seems to be quite high for parts alone, for this price a fairly fancy truck camper with slide outs and other unnecessary dodads could be purchased.

I was wondering how the manufactures get by with selling truck campers at less than half of what I have budgeted out for parts. It would be nice to hear some of your experiences in a camper purchase or construction. And let me know if there seems to be something wrong with the planned budget.

 

[milo12]

Very nice list. Are you going with a solid fiberglass wall construction? I do not see any foam core in the list. If you are going solid fiberglass it will be rather heavy. Also how will you form the body? Molds and fixtures can cost more than the finished part for a one off.

Another item missing is all the fittings you will need. Everywhere there is a pass through or a hard point, door frames, window frames, all hinges screws bolts etc. It adds up quick. I saw the $3242 buffer but I think you can easily spend that on all the little details.

 

[OutbacKamper]

I can't help too much with specifics, but I can tell you that a friend in Australia built a custom one-off camper thinking that he might built more to sell. The first (and only) one he built cost him about $25,000AUD in parts and materials not to mention untold 100's of man hours. He figured to built them and make a profit he would have to sell them for $45,000 IIRC. This camper was significantly better quality than any North American factory made campers that I have seen, but wasn't quite Earthroamer quality either.

Most typical North American made RV's are very cheap compared to European or Australian. For example a 16-20' trailer that would cost $15-20k here would sell for $35-40k in Oz. There is no magic, you get generally what you pay for.

BTW one thing that you may not have taken in to account is that RV companies buy all the parts at wholesale prices, probably less than 1/2 the retail price.

Cheers
Mark

 

[Nitromethane43]

It's going to be made out of a fiberglass and foam composite, so weight is reduced greatly from a solid fiberglass construction.

For the door I was planning on going with am aluminum frame with an fiberglass door panel. The windows would be a similar aluminum frame fitted with double glazed tempered glass. Aluminum would come from work and also fabricated there. But I agree with you on the small stuff adding up very quickly, just working on my boat the stainless steel hardware and marine grade electrical connectors costs a great bundle.

Thanks for addressing the issue with American made recreational vehicles, I thought it might have been my perspective, even looking at some of the $200-300k rv's they still seem to be made with poor construction. I wonder why the industry does not have similar quality standards to our marine vehicles.

 

[OutbacKamper]

I wonder why the industry does not have similar quality standards to our marine vehicles.

I think you just have to read some of the comments on this and other forums regarding the price of EarthRoamers to know why there are not many rv's of this quality. The majority of us are not willing or able to pay $90,000 for a small highly capable high quality RV, or $250,000 for a fullsize one.

I have read that the Chinese will soon be exporting RV's to North America and I can only imagine how that will affect the price and quality!

Cheers
Mark

 

[Nitromethane43]

I have read that the Chinese will soon be exporting RV's to North America and I can only imagine how that will affect the price and quality!

That would be really bad, a few years ago I rented an RV based off a Toyota truck chassis in China and the walls seemed to be as flimsy as a cardboard box and the interior was worse than a child's play set. This may not be a good representation of all of China's RV's but if they are anywhere like that then we might be in trouble.

 

[Nitromethane43]

Here are some of the final exterior drawings for the camper.

Floor plans of the interior layout, I am undecided about which toilet to use either an Thetford C-403 which has an awkward seating position due to having a bump out from the bed, or use the new C-250 which I unsure about their availability in the US. The dinette are may also change to accommodate more storage, it's still being worked on.

Let me know what you guys think and any suggestions to help improve the design, thanks for the assistance it's greatly appreciated.

Hopefully the build will start in a few months after everything is worked out.

 

[OutbacKamper]

It looks like you have put a lot of thought into your design. I am no expert, but I do have a few minor suggestions:

-weight distribution: put all the heavy stuff as far forward as possible. For example locate the batteries, and water tank at the very front of the floor. One practical suggestion to help achieve this goal is to swap the location of the right rear storage and dinette areas (ie: move dinette all the way to the back)

-windows: I would suggest a significantly larger window at the dinette and I would eliminate the window at the front of the cab over (they are the most prone to leaks)

-you are going to need a step to get up to the cabover bed, so you might as well have a built-in cabinet in that location for additional storage.

-Safety: Many commercial RV's have an escape hatch over the cabover in case of a fire that blocks access to the rear door. Your design would nor allow this unless you relocate the solar panels.

I will stop for now, but will gladly continue if you are game.

Cheers
Mark

 

[Nitromethane43]

Thanks Mark, if you want go ahead with the suggestions as this is going to be a first time experience with a build of this kind, so I am also learning along the way.

Weight distribution is a challenge, right not most of the heavy items are are located under the bed rail height, when moved forward they would have to be located higher due to wheel wells. Would it be better to have weight down low but further back or up front and high?

The front window can be removed, and the solar panel and vent can be swapped for an escape hatch. Would a 14"x14" vent be sufficient or does it need to be larger, I can fit through 12"x12" attic access openings without any problems.

I think the cab window will be eliminated, with a built in unit to function as steps and store batteries, this should move a quite a bit of weight up front.

Thanks for your assistance, and any comments are appreciated.

 

[eugene]

As OutbacKamper said, heavy stuff should go in front. A lot of campers have access holes and mount the batteries in the space in front of the wheel wells. It just makes a small extra step before you unload as you then have to open the access cover and pull the battery in.

I see a lot of un-necessary items. Do you really need a coffee maker< can't you just make coffee in the microwave (I don't know I can't even stand the small of burnt beans, I mean coffee).
Some of the prices seem crazy to me, like the interior lights, I could buy chandeliers for that price. I have about a dozen vehicle dome lights that I've spent less than $50 for all of them and they look nice. The faucet prices are higher than whats in the kitchen and bathroom in my house.

 

[Nitromethane43]

Here's a revised layout

 

[OutbacKamper]

Nitro;
I like the revised layout.

If it were me I would consider using Dometic/Sietz arylic windows rather than tempered glass. Advantages: lighter weight, better thermal performance, built-in blinds. They also make a very nice opening skylight/hatch
http://www.dometic.com/enie/International/Site/Caravan/Windows-Systems/

A questiion about the bathroom: Your design appears similar to most commercial truck campers.... Have you ever used this type of bathroom? If you have, and you like it then great. But for me they are just too small and crowded. Since your design does not have a basement, you will have to raise the bathroom floor in order to provide drainage from the shower. This typically results in VERY restricted headroom. I am 5'10" and can't stand up in a NL or BF bathroom in this style of camper. Possible solutions are 1) provide 6" =/- basement for drainage under the bathroom and general storage under the rest of the camper 2)eliminate the indoor shower and 2nd sink and just have a much roomier toilet cubicle 3) make the bathroom bigger (?)

Cheers
Mark

 

[egn]

Weight distribution is a challenge, right not most of the heavy items are are located under the bed rail height, when moved forward they would have to be located higher due to wheel wells. Would it be better to have weight down low but further back or up front and high?

I would recommend to make a Excel sheet to estimate the weight distribution by entering the distance from one of the axles for each item. This should not only done for the fixed installation but also for removable items, water/fuel tanks (full/empty), ...

Otherwise you may be suprised how the weight is distributed after you are finished. And you should not only look regarding the weight on the axles, but also regarding the wheels and center of gravity. If you have everything prepared then it is easy to see how everything changes when you place an item.

I have done this very carefully and now have a nearly even distribution of the weight on all axles.

 

[Nitromethane43]

Is there a US supplier for Dometic windows and toilets, they seem to have innovative products.

The bath area becomes limited by protrusion for bed clearance which the sink rests on. It is fine for my use since the upper part opens up with 6' ceiling height measured from the shower pan, just very little standing room. Guests will just have deal with this inconvenience or use an outdoor shower.

I really like the second shower pictured below, laid out very nicely with function in mind, maybe that can go in expedition camper later down the road.

This is what inside looks like, the blue highlights are what makes the bathroom small.

An elevated shower pan with a holding tank below it. A method of stopping splash out and odor still needs to be worked out since it drains directly in the tank with out a p-trap. I was thinking about a spring loaded flapper fabricated in the drain, or just use a positive locking drain stopper that would be removed for shower use and installed during all other times.

 

[boblynch]

I'm by no means an expert, but will offer a few observations. Nice work so far - wish I had your CAD skills.

I did not see a cooktop on your latest sketch or parts list. Consider adding a small diesel cooktop to go with the Espar.

It may be helpful for everyone commenting to know what truck/chassis you are going to use (or at least the cab-axle dimensions if the truck has not been selected).

Dometic has a dealer/service locator on their US website. http://www.edometic.com/

Bob