Truck Camper Construction Costs?

[saltamontes]

agree about the "stick and staple" manufacturing done by most TC makers.

but have you looked at Bigfoot or Northern Lite? (Canadian)

fiberglass molded, dometic windows, clamshell design (much like a boat).

 

[Nitromethane43]

egn - Do you know what the formulas would be for calculating cg and axle weight,with regards of items placed on the vehicle or is there an spreadsheet that is already set up? This would be a very beneficial tool in allocating placements while in the design process.

boblynch - The truck is going to be a long bed Dodge Ram, right now I have an diesel 3/4 ton regular cab, and a 1/2 ton quad cab one, I am trying to find a good 98 12 valve quad cab long bed truck, everyone seems to be keeping them or they are sold in a very short amount of time.

I have looked at the Wallas, Dickson and Teleflex units, but cooking inside within the small confines does not seem very appealing, considering the odors and mess created during the process. Most of the time a portable butane stove or grill used outside is sufficient for meals.

Does anyone think it's a must having an indoor stove/cook top?

 

[Lynn]

I have a couple of questions, if you don't mind someone else jumping into the conversation.

I, personally, would be concerned about all the work necessary to 'fair' such large, flat surfaces when using fiberglass mat. Have you considered using NidaCore, like Turtle V and the the SuperCamper used?

Or making your own foam-core fiberglass panels using home insulation foam and filon fiberglass sheets?

Reason I ask is because I am thinking of doing something similar, so am trying to learn from you!

I imagine that either one of those will drive your expenses up, though.

With regard to your kitchen question, my dream is to have a removable kitchen that can be used either inside or out.

Robert Riley designed plans for a camper that was in Mechanix Illustrated years ago that had a removable kitchen, but it looks pretty unwieldy to me

I think something like that, only modular (so as to be more managable), would be just the ticket.

'Course, you could always just have a counter to throw your Coleman on in bad weather...

 

[eugene]

I always wondered, why the second sink in the bathroom, why can't you position the kitchen sink beside the bathroom and use it. That would free up some space in the bathroom.

Another thought if you remove the tailgate and make the camper hang slightly off the end of the bed you could then have the shower drain lower without needing a basement. thats an option I am looking at, drop the floor in the rear to where its sitting on the bumper just a foot or two, enough to for the shower floor. I guess I need to back up a step too, I'm looking at mounting waste water tanks under the bed in some of the open space.

 

[boblynch]

Lynn, I agree cooking outside is preferred most days. I've always thought it would be nice to have some type of pull out system for the kitchen (see example). Another idea would be some type of removable shelf on the camper side near the access door where the cooktop is stored.
View attachment 16469

 

[OutbacKamper]

Does anyone think it's a must having an indoor stove/cook top?

Having spent 9 1/2 months continuously, in a camper that did not have any interior cooking facilites,..... Yes!

I prefer cooking outside 95% of the time even in cold weather, but occasionally in extreme weather conditions or when in areas with extremely high numbers of insects, it would be nice to have the option to cook inside.

 

[OutbacKamper]

agree about the "stick and staple" manufacturing done by most TC makers.

but have you looked at Bigfoot or Northern Lite? (Canadian)

fiberglass molded, dometic windows, clamshell design (much like a boat).

As the owner of a NL camper (which is consistently rated higher for quality than BF) I can tell you that there is very little difference in build quality. The 2 piece fiberglass "clamshell" is great but everything else is the same "stick and staple" quality. My camper has the same aluminum frame and glass windows as most other campers. There are only a few of the newest models that are available with dometic/sietz windows. All the hardware, fittings, appliances, etc are the same quality as any other camper I have seen or owned. The plastic fittings on the exterior deteriorate in sunlight just like any other camper. It may have a 2 piece fg shell, but that shell has lots of penetrations for fasteners, doors, windows, jack brackets, etc and these are prone to leakage just like any other camper.

In summary the 2 piece FG design is better, but the build quality and materials used is/are not.

Cheers
Mark

 

[Nitromethane43]

Lynn - Actually the Super Camper built by Tacodoc was my inspiration on starting this project, then realizing how many campers are constructed fairly poorly both interior and exterior ensured that this is a suitable solution for my personal preferences.

Construction is going to consist of an 1-2" high density foam core wrapped around with fiberglass cloth on both sides forming a sandwich construction similar to what is used on surfboards, some boats, and some aircraft. It would be similar to Nidacore panels when completed.

Having a removable kitchen seems unique, that one shown appears to be slightly cumbersome. One idea might involve having a removable counter and quick disconnects for the sink and stove hookups, then devise some sort of bumper mounting holding it outside along with the hookups.

I hope this can be a learning experience for all of us and I would be interested in seeing what you have planned.

OutbacKamper - I am really surprised to hear that you say Northern Lite campers are still of the same construction inside just like everyone else. I guess it is like the higher end RV's I saw, the dealer claimed solid wood cabinets, furniture, and quality materials, yet they still look and feel the same as an cheaper one just with more expensive materials.

Would you recommend gluing items when possible over using screws and bolts reducing penetration points in a camper?

eugene - You bring up a good point at lowering the rear for an shower drain, right now it should be fine with 15-18 gallons of grey water capacity under the shower pan.

It's really the blue highlight from sticking with a traditional bed that causes space issues. When the interior is closer to being finalized I will do some renderings or walk thoughts so everyone will have a good idea of how things are placed.

For cooking I usually use a portable stove similar to this one pictured, even at home it is used to cook things that get messy or causes odor problems in the patio.

I truly appreciate all the comments and suggestions that have been provided they are really invaluable in reducing the amount of mistakes or reworking once in the build process, this really helps minimize the amount of time spent exploring and figuring things out while building.

 

[gjackson]

Have you considered getting rid of the truck bed? That will give you more layout options and more weight distribution options.. If it a one-off build, then you don't have to cater to anything. . .

Like the ideas here!

cheers

 

[egn]

egn - Do you know what the formulas would be for calculating cg and axle weight,with regards of items placed on the vehicle or is there an spreadsheet that is already set up? This would be a very beneficial tool in allocating placements while in the design process.

I have stripped down the spreadsheet I used, but left some lines in as examples. At line 1 you enter the wheelbase. At line 4 you enter the weights at each axle. In the lines below you enter the total weight of the item you place and the distance from the 1. axle. A positiv value is behind the 1. axle, a negativ value is in in front of the axle.

To add further items just insert lines within the blocks, not at the end or the beginning. Otherwise you would have to change the formulas of the totals.

The units of the values don't matter as long as you use always the same for weight and distance.

Regarding building material I would try to get ready fiberglas enforced sandwich panels with polyutheran core. At least here in Europe they are available with a lot of different thickness for the foam and the fiberglass. Making such panels by your self is possible, but a lot of work. And If you don't work very good than there is the risk of getting uneven surface.

Have fun,
Emil

 

[Nitromethane43]

Thank you for supplying a spread sheet, so locations of items are based off distance from the front axle is this correct?

 

[egn]

Thank you for supplying a spread sheet, so locations of items are based off distance from the front axle is this correct?

Yes. Please download the spread sheet again, one formula was missing.

 

[Lynn]

Lynn - Actually the Super Camper built by Tacodoc was my inspiration on starting this project,

Sorry, Nitro, I'm confused. I was referring to the one built by the folks that go by SuperCamperos on this forum. Here's their blog.

With apologies to TacoDoc, I've seen his taco build thread, but no camper. Maybe I'm missing something.

Having a removable kitchen seems unique, that one shown appears to be slightly cumbersome.

Slightly? I think you're being too polite. That's why I said that I was thinking that a modular unit would be better. Maybe one cabinet with the cook top, another with the sink, etc. Of course, you would want them to be weatherproof, so an additional benefit is that you could design 'em such that you could use 'em in your back yard when you're not on the road.

I hope this can be a learning experience for all of us and I would be interested in seeing what you have planned.

Well, I didn't want to confuse your build thread, but since you asked.

I had a thread over on www.expeditioncampers.com, but I don't think it got migrated over here. Sorry, I haven't done any eDrawings, so I'll have to try to describe the ideas.

My ultimate dream is based around a chassis-mount camper, and would incorporate a drop-down patio like this one from Lonno Offroad Yachts:

(another really cool patio is the one designed by Rob Gray for WOTHAHELLIZAT 1

I would build the kitchen along one wall (let's say the drivers side) and design it such that it slides out, thru a hatch, onto the patio.

To utilize the 'freed-up' space inside, I envision a dinette in the back along the passenger side. It would be made up of a couch and two chairs. With the kitchen inside, the chairs would attach to the couch to form a U-shaped dinette. With the kitchen outside, the chairs can be disconnected and moved to the free space. The dinette table would swing down and away from the couch to become a coffee table. The disconnected chairs could also be used on the patio.

And, of course, the couch would make down into a bed, futon-style, with the chairs stowed underneath.

I did some rough sketches, and thing this is do-able, but the kitchen counters would have to be narrow and the dinette pretty narrow as well, to allow a usable walkway between the kitchen unit and the dinette.

 

[Lynn]

To further hijack your thread...

User Kerry just posted a link to an expocamer on ebay France that has a patio, as well:

 

[Nitromethane43]

Sorry, Lynn, I got mixed up, you are correct it was SuperCamperos who built that Nidacore camper and Tacodoc started th thread on it. That was the one which really got me thinking about going with a custom fiberglass camper.

You have some good concepts going for your camper, I hope everything works out for you and end up with a vehicle that suits your needs.

If a slide out kitchen is a desired feature, those trucks with porches should accommodate an entire bank of slide out cabinets with counter and all appliances, just have an end panel larger than the cabinets and counter covering the wall and have the entire assembly on slides. Similar to current RV slide outs, but not fully enclosed.

It would be a dream come true to have a medium or heavy duty truck with a chassis mounted camper for extended expeditions or for full time use. It would be quite a while before I would need something like that, maybe sometime down the road one will be made.