Building a Custom Bed Camper

[hikingff77]

Since I don't feel like paying 10k for a camper that slides in the bed of my truck so I thought to look into building one. And esp. since there's not much on the market for anything Dodge Dakota, except one or two, I wanted to see how much it'd cost to build one of my own.

Also what materials you build it with. Do you simply use plywood? Or do you use an aluminum frame and then fiberglass it? I have some ideas, but I'm curious to know what the group thinks since all of you have experience with this and I have none, just a general design/build/handyman knowledge.

Thanks.

[Capt Sport]

Hikingff77,

You might want to checkout this link, there's a lot of info on building your own pick-up camper as well as plans for a few different models.

http://www.glen-l.com/campers/glenlrv.html

[Outback]

I had a custom camper built for the back of one of my snowcats. The idea was to cat in the 50 plus miles. Work on our Seismic station until the station was back online. Then we would cat back out. Before I would either build a snow cave or we would use one of the Forset Service buildings (if our site was on there property). Most of the time we would just head back to our hotel and do it all over again the next day. NOW we can stay on site in style! The camper is very basic. Two bunk beds and a heater. We still cook outside and do our other business out there too. This trip I dont need the camper so I decided to take her off for the first time. This summer will see a new stand for her for easy loading and unloading.

[Outback]

The inside dimensions are 8' deep x 6' wide x 6' tall. The basic structure is made up of 1x1 steel tubing and allows for 1 inch thick polyurethane panels for insulation. The outer skin is riveted on and is aluminum sheeting pre painted. The inside has a plastic based 1/4" wall panelling. There are 12 volt plugs inside as well as an invertor and a propaign heater. I would post some inside pics but shes full of batteries and solar panels plus my gear. Heres some pics after she was finished. The two rectangular tanks are 40 gallon fuel tanks and there are two 7 gallon propaign tanks.

[Outback]

The basic construction is very simple indeed. If I had the time I would have built it myself but as it is I work 70 to 90 hours a week. This week is an exception and I hope to beable to post while on the road. Some places dont have internet connections worth a dam. ANYWAY I dont see why someone with some welding skills and time couldnt build a very nice unit to fit on the back of a flatbed. PLUS it could be removable to allow for other uses like I have done with my snowcat. I may build a passenger cabin for the back when friends and family show up on the holidays. Right now its not great for sight seeing tours but it does stay warm inside (when heater is on at least)! On my way back home from picking her up I slept in the back in -29 degree weather with no heater (propane tanks were empty). My gear is rated for -60 so its was a comfortable night. BUT getting out of the sleeping bag and out to get into the truck was NOT high on my list that morning!

[hikingff77]

It looks nice. I'm thinking more like the SuperCamper (???) but as a slide in.

Now I'm thinking a trailer...

I don't know. I want both. I don't really understand the whole teardrop trailer thing. I'm assuming it's solely for sleeping in. I guess either would work for it. I'll design something and it'll sit there in my computer until I have money to have a fun project.

Thanks for the info.

[KG6BWS]

http://www.brian894x4.com/images/InnovationKJ73a.jpg

im still trying to design something kinda like this to go on my tacoma. i think it would be cool to have a flatbed on my truck and then have this to put on when i go out camping/exploring.

i dont think it will be too horrendously difficult, i just need to learn to weld aluminum. i want to build the frame out of aluminum tube and then skin it with aluminum sheet. it would still give me a bunch of headroom in the body and then have a shelf that would pull out of the cabover portion to give me a full length bed. there arent any interior shots of this one but im assuming thats what they do too.

im gonna keep an eye on this thread. looks like some good ideas here.

[haven]

A great resource for camper construction is Stephen Stewart's
description of his Unimog construction project
http://www.unimog.org.uk/mymog/

See also Stephen's description of camper types and equipment
on the Silk Route Motorcaravan Club's web site
http://www.xor.org.uk/silkroute/equipment/choosevan.htm

There are lots of different materials used in a camper.
The early campers used a wooden frame and plywood
siding. I think Alaskan Campers still uses a wood frame
construction.

The problems with wood are heavy weight, and the potential
for rot if the wood frame gets wet. Wood construction is more
flexible, however, so it can "roll with the punches." The
Alaskan Campers last just about forever.

Here's a camper made entirely of marine-grade plywood



Aluminum framing is popular today. There are two approaches.
The first is to build an interior framework, and cover it with
lightweight material. Four Wheel Camper is a good example
of this type of construction.



Most companies use aluminum instead of steel tubing. But
there's no reason why you can't use steel. A good "birdcage"
design won't be too much heavier than the aluminum structure.
Here's the steel frame used by Caravan Campers for their pickup
bed cap



The Hymer Eriba Touring caravans used to be made with a
steel tube frame. Newer models are fiberglass, I think.



The second approach with aluminum is to build an exoskeleton
and attach the sidewalls from the inside. Gary Wescott's Turtle V
is built this way.

http://www.turtleexpedition.com/images/t5TCframe.htm

Aluminum is generally welded, but there are some adhesives used
in the construction of aircraft wings that can work well in a camper,
particularly to attach the wall covering to the frame.

The monocoque shell is another option. In this approach,
the walls have less internal support. The wall material provides
most of the strength. A fiberglass shell is used by Bigfoot
Industries (now closed), Earthroamer, and the Adventure Learning
Foundation. There are plenty of fiberglass trailer campers
built 50 years ago still in use today.

This is the Adventure Learning Foundation camper. The basic
shell, which is like a seamless upside-down bowl, was made by
Unicell in Toronto.



The Supercamperos custom camper is a monocoque shell made of
some sort of fiber-reinforced plastic sandwich material, if I remember
correctly. http://www.thesupercamper.blogspot.com/

The campers from Unicat, and the shell built for Stephen Stewart, use
similar materials.

Once you have the shell of the camper built, the interior cabinets
and shelves are usually installed with screws to the walls, like
you would build a kitchen at home. One new trend is to cast some
or all of the interior shelves and bulkheads in one piece with the fiberglass
shell. This provides extra strength and simplifies construction. The new
All Terrain Warriors "Scout" model is an example of this approach.
http://www.allterrainwarriors.com.au...d=19&Itemid=25

Please keep us informed about your progress.

Chip Haven

[hikingff77]

So here's a question, how does one apply the Nida Core to the alum. frame? I saw some pictures where it looked as though they riveted it to the Nida Core.

Other pictures and spec sheets I see them just using epoxy and setting it into place.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated there.

[brianjwilson]

So here's a question, how does one apply the Nida Core to the alum. frame? I saw some pictures where it looked as though they riveted it to the Nida Core.

Other pictures and spec sheets I see them just using epoxy and setting it into place.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated there.

I've been looking at Nida-core stuff too, it looks tricky to work with, but I like the idea of it.