Four Wheel Camper Flatbed Conversion

[Ponyracer]

Come on man!! You made it to the second page!! Thia is UNEXCEPTABLE!! lol

[teleturns]

You need to be careful on how you skin it in relation to the edge of your plywood floor. You HAVE TO keep moisture out of the edge of the plywood. If water gets into that plywood you are screwed. Seal the edge with coats and coats of paint or use fiberglass resin and run your exterior skin past the plywood. The wood will wick up the water so to you need to raise the floor up even a 1/4" to allow for a space for the water to drain. If you run your skin well past the plywood and even past the flatbed it will help.

I plan to seal the edges of the plywood with caulk once it is screwed to the frame. Water is not a huge worry for me. The original floor I removed was over 25 years old and had minimal water damage. The edges of my floor will have the same exposure as the original FWC floor. Plus I live in New Mexico and it never rains here. The camper will always be protected for the weather when stored and when it is on my truck the diamond plate of the flatbed should elevate the camper enough to keep it away from puddling water.

[teleturns]

Here are some pics from my latest backcountry ski trip....
Old VK 540 loaded to the gils

Climbing in the ultimate quest for powder!

Left our (tele)mark on that slope...on to the next

Wagon train loaded up and headed out...check out the igloo we built


Stay tuned for updates on the camper

[Ponyracer]

LOL well they aren't camper pics but it looks like time well spent.

[Ponyracer]

Hey, what thickness tubing are you using? 1/16 or 1/8 wall?

[teleturns]

Ponyracer.....The tubing I am using is .0625 (1/16) but the original FWC tubing is .045. I used alot of the original tubing for cross supports and areas where strength wasn't as important. If I could do it over I would have not reused any of the old tubing. It is too thin to weld and takes skill and time.....(I don't have the skill with my spool gun).

[teleturns]

I finished the jack mounts and test fitted the jacks. It feels good that my measurements were actually correct!




In these two pics you can see the floor is clamped to the frame and ready to be attached.


My wife has lit a fire under my *** and wants the camper done. I think she has the winter blues and is ready to camp. Last night I got the floor attached. I used coated pancake head self tapping screws at a 4" spacing on the frame. It took 2 hours of me laying on my back and using everything I had to push the impact driver. I'll post a pic of the screws today. I am really impresssed with their ability to attach wood to metal.

Later.....

[Ponyracer]

.45!?!?!? That's like paper! By the way what welder/spool gun are you using? I'm looking to buy a new welder anyway so I'm prob going to go with a lincoln pro mig 180 and there 100sg gun. A smart ebay shopper can have them both for $600 delivered.

Looking good man!

[teleturns]

.45!?!?!? That's like paper! By the way what welder/spool gun are you using? I'm looking to buy a new welder anyway so I'm prob going to go with a lincoln pro mig 180 and there 100sg gun. A smart ebay shopper can have them both for $600 delivered.

Looking good man!

I have the miller 211 with the 100 spoolgun. Seems to weld the thin aluminum better on the 110V setting.

[ExpoMike]

I have to agree with Tyler. If I was going to buy a new welder, I would be looking at the Miller 211 with the 100 spoolgun. I am half tempted to sell the two MIG welders I have and buy this setup but not too long ago I spent $300 to have the Snap On welder repaired.

Looking good Tyler. Keep up the good work and pics!