dustboy wants to build a camper...

dustboy

Explorer
Okay, so I got a pretty decent setup:

IMG_2541.JPG


img_0063.jpg


But I've started thinking about building a different camper, because of these shortfalls:

-lack of headroom (I'm 6' 3")
-bed is about 2" too short to stretch out
-poor security, esp. as used as a work truck (see my related thread)
-lack of places to mount hi-lift and other gear
-rear lift window dumps rain water inside the camper when raised!

Of course, this is my dream camper, Sönke's hard-side popup camper:

soenke-outside-1.jpg


But I don't have the budget or the need for that sort of thing.

To remove the bed and do a conversion type of deal like SuperCamper crossed my mind, but I realized that I wouldn't gain much, except a tiny bit of width and storage below the top of the frame. Toyota's truck bed has already been engineered to be light and sturdy, and I'd rather not re-invent the wheel while adding possible failure points at the camper/frame interface. Also, I don't want to make the rig significantly wider.

SO, here are my realistic goals:

-more headroom
-LOW budget
-light weight
-roof and side mounting points
-add 1-2" of bed length
-improve security
-improve comfort (i.e. keep wife happy)

WHICH I think can be realized with the following ideas:

-build a contractor-style shell, using thin-wall steel square tube frame and sheetmetal skin.
-use existing windows from my old shell
-remove tailgate and add a single (double?) tall door.

QUESTIONS!
-add a cabover for storage? It wouldn't be high enough for sleeping.
-have you seen any crazy ideas that I should include?

BTW the sleeping platform could be modified too...
 

dzzz

I'm not sure what you mean by contractor style shells.

With your skills you might find an inexpensive material to build your popup.
 

UHAULER

Explorer
Jimmy thinks thats a good idea. Jimmy also thinks Elaine is cute and would like to go out with her....:wings:

Sorry, couldn't help myself

Seriously, start building it. A cabover would still be a good storage area for clothes bags, midnight snacks, etc.
 

rynosurf

Adventurer
You should be able to sell your shell and buy some windows, it would be a shame to ruin a perfectly good shell. As for double doors, they are nice. I had some on my old camper but I always missed being able to flip down the gate for a seat or a place to set my stove. If you do go with a door or doors in the back, make it so the whole back flips up(doors and frame) so you have a built in canopy.
 

dustboy

Explorer
You should be able to sell your shell and buy some windows, it would be a shame to ruin a perfectly good shell. /QUOTE]

Nah, I paid $130 for this POS shell, put a ton of holes in the fiberglass, the white spraypaint is chipping, and the liner is thrashed with crack torch burns from the previous owner...I'd easily pay twice that for new windows!:snorkel:
 

4cruzer

Adventurer
garen wants to build a camper too!

sorry, had to.
So, E, are you planning on something that is only for storage or sleeping, like your current setup, or do you want to stand up in there?
Or, are you thinking something around the same height as the one we tried (and failed) to install on yours, but with a cabover section integrated?
You could sit up straight but not stand... Have you thought about just making a rack for the cabover part for outdoor items like spares and tools?
Are you keeping your spare down below?
Will you be in the desert over X-mas?
GB
 

4cruzer

Adventurer
I'm not sure about Dustboy, but my problem with Flippacs (and RTT's, and Wildernests, and a lot of the pop tops out there) is the fact that anything mounted in the roof, like kayaks, surfboards, or mountain bikes must be displaced when you want to go to bed. There are so many times when I don't want to take things off of the roof so I can go to bed, whether it be parking at a pemex in the rain and passing out for the night or camping at a place where my things will likely walk away in the night (or both!).
I need to leave my toys up while I sleep. I think the answer for me is either a Westy type pop up or a plain old hard top, and for reasons regarding weight, wind and discretion while 'street camping,' I'm leaning towards the latter...
like Matt I guess....
except mine will need to me tailor made as there is nothing for 1rst generation 4runners...
 

dustboy

Explorer
Sportsman Matt, that looks like a good platform to build from, I'm guessing very expensive and heavy though?

4cruzer (if that's your real name) I think something similar to the tall ARE contractor shell, with something over the cab to break the wind (hee hee). My shell right now works fine for summer trips, but I'm thinking of some winter trips where I will want to sit up and play guitar or read inside.

After watching a friend with a ATC pop-up wheel some gnarly trails, I'm wary of carrying too much bulk and weight..My solution is going to have to be big enough to be comfortable, light enough to still be fun on the trail, and functional enough to haul lumber and cabinets.

I woke up Sunday morning thinking about shell materials, and had a cool idea. All of the sandwich-style sheet materials like Nida-Core are super expensive, but I could make my own using this 3/4" foam insulation sheathing from Home Depot ($14)
4fca3f48-e3e5-402b-80e8-313d2554b315_400.jpg

and laminating a sheet of thin aluminum (~$50/sheet) on either side..I have access to a vacuum veneer press, so I could make some super-lightweight panels for less than $130 each!
 

dustboy

Explorer
Peter-good comments, you know your stuff. Since we're neighbors, I'd like to see this FUSO camper of yours!

After a couple cups of coffee :coffeedrink: I thought this all through, and a composite-panel camper is probably not what I really need.

I want to be able to do long washboard roads and bounce over rocks without worrying about the camper coming apart. And then, on Monday I want to put 500 lbs. of lumber on top of it..probably not something you would do with a composite camper.

Which puts me back at a contractor-style shell, with a steel frame and sheetmetal skin. For insulation, I could just fill the area between the frame with pieces of the foam panel, or use an expanding foam product.
 
I like your idea about the foam and aluminum skin...attached to a stout steel or aluminum tubing frame. My Carson trailer does the same thing, but uses particle board for the core and laminates (glues) it to the frame. Very stout, but heavy. Surprisingly warm.

I'm still drawn to fiberglass toppers...I have a 12-year old SnugTop that still works well. But the headroom is the problem. I have a buddy who has an older Callen shell...beefy with adequate headroom. Try C-list for used.

As for the double door cargo tops...they look great and you can access the bed much easier. But I still like a tailgate for sitting, climbing up on top, etc.

Lookin' forward to the build...I may have to steal, I mean borrow, your intellectual property! :sombrero:
 
P.S. I'm with you on not considering tent campers...FWC, ATC, FlipPac, etc. I owned two Westys ('69 & '70) and while fun overall, not so fun in the wind. I hear it gets windy along the coast and desert. :yikes: Perhaps the above-mentioned units have solved that problem, though. I've seen the inside of a FWC...very nice setup...but when it comes to the conditions I've read about on your adventures...just sayin'.
 

dustboy

Explorer
As for the double door cargo tops...they look great and you can access the bed much easier. But I still like a tailgate for sitting, climbing up on top, etc.

Lookin' forward to the build...I may have to steal, I mean borrow, your intellectual property! :sombrero:

Yeah, I'm on the fence about ditching the tailgate, the tall doors probably make sense if you can stand up inside, but often the tailgate is my kitchen counter.

On the off chance that a good idea comes into my head, you should steal it and make it better!

Windy nights are the main reason I don't like soft-sided campers, I'm a light sleeper and with a bunch of canvas and zippers flapping in the wind, it's a rough night for me. Plus, no sound insulation if you get stuck in a campground next to a noisy neighbor.
 

robert

Expedition Leader
Insulating the top will certainly help, but you'll need to insulate the bed too if you really want it to be warmer. I've insulated my Westy behind all of the panels and it makes a heck of a difference in road noise but only a mild difference in interior temperature- that's subjective as I never measured it. With all of the glass (even with curtains) and the fiberglass top, it bleeds heat off really fast. A Mr. Buddy heater warms it nicely, but it looses that heat quickly after you turn it off.

The only way I've been able to make a real difference is to put reflectix over the windows and under the bed and drape a wool blanket over and in front of the bed to reduce cabin space and provide some insulation.

In my old Tacoma, during the winter I had an old wool blanket on top of the carpeted platform and I suspended another inside sort of like mosquito netting- think of it as a wool tent inside the bed. The fiberglass cut the wind, but the wool actually insulated some. The best I've found for this purpose, heck the best wool blanket deal I've ever found period, is the surplus Italian wool blankets. I'm not sure what they're selling for now, but they were around $10 for a really heavy 100% wool blanket that is about 64"x80". They have some sort of moth repellent on them but if you hang them outside for a couple of sunny days it goes away. I usually wash mine with Woolite then hang them outside. After they dry I tumble them in the dryer for a bit to soften them up.
 

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