Too many projects #3. The foamie truck camper.

[dbhost]

Okay this one is a multi year project, that is involving me learning new skills.

My wife and I are childless, and love camping, we are also getting older and aren't among the tiny human population. We want a comfortable couples oriented camper that will fit in, and be well within the weight carrying limits of our half ton 4x4 pickup because I sure as snot am not going to spend $50K to buy a new one every 5 years or so.... The old truck is getting repowered. New "bulletproofed" 5.4L 3v V8, freshly redone 4 speed auto, new seals on the transfer case etc...

But the camper itself. We were looking at buying a nice basic little composite over reinforced aluminum camper from a company called Eureka Campers, but before the finances could be worked out, the company folded.

Most slide in campers are honestly too heavy for 3/4 ton pickup trucks let along a half ton. I needed to design and build something myself. I am still in the design phase.

My design requirements are pretty straight forward.

#1. Room for a king size bed.
#2. Standing height room for me at 6' even. Actually somewhat shorter now that I am getting older but you know...
#3. Room to sit up in bed.
#4. Space inside the camper for a port o potty should weather be foul enough to keep us from wanting to exit the camper for a privy tent.
#5. Air conditioning.
#6. Provisioning for water supply storage.
#7. Ability to do ultra basic cooking / making coffee inside the camper.

The design so far is what I can best describe as an overgrown camper shell shape, standing height, with a slide out end where the camper can expand over the opened tailgate of the truck to gain an additional 24" of interior length, a folding king size sleeper sofa, integrated into the rear wall of the slide out will be a 5K BTU A/C unit. There will be an overcab, but that will be solely for a full width storage compartment, not a sleeper. Water storage will be via 4 Reliance AquaTainer 7 gallon water carriers. The kitchenette as it were will be simply a folding table on the wall and a little propane stove.

Construction of the unit will be an aluminum welded frame, with PMF or Poor Mans Fiberglass. Which is canvas over foam, or foamie construction. I am planning on 1.5" thick foam walls and of course the foam, and lots and lots of dilluted wood glue / canvas.

The interior will be trimmed out / cabinet doors / tables made from mostly red Cedar to keep weight down and looks up. The table will likely be Aracuo ply with a red cedar veneer and capping for strength and to keep the look consistent.

I have seen similar designed campers built for Toyota Tacomas, and weight estimates are not including the bed cushions, stove, water etc... just the bare camper, 400 - 500 lbs. That leaves me with plenty of room with my 1920lb payload rating!

I mentioned the aluminum framing. I haven't a clue how to weld aluminum, but one of the gents in my small group at church does, and he offered to teach me. So new skill hopefully on the way. I am planning on welding up the entire frame, reinforcing some key areas so I can include a DIY awning off of each side of the camper, and reinforce there the camper jacks will go.

[leehljp]

1. First thing that comes to mind, and you probably already have thought of it - HD rear shocks with spring lifts on them.

2. Second thing: keep as much weight (water storage/AC if possible, etc) forward as possible to balance the load for when driving.

3. Just saw your "Camper Jacks" portion. "reinforced" - good!

4. Foam - get fireproof if possible or at least fire retardant. The other is dangerous. Second thing to ponder - some foams vent fumes long after being made and can cause unbearable headaches. Do your research on the kind of foam you choose - along with its reaction/interaction to glues. Some double sided tapes may be more feasible, along with caulk.

I have thought of this in possibly building my own 8 ft by 14-16ft trailer. Just never have done it.

Welding: I have not done aluminum but have done miles of steel. The one key thing for me is CLAMP WELL before welding. Helps every time.

[dbhost]

1. First thing that comes to mind, and you probably already have thought of it - HD rear shocks with spring lifts on them.

Rancho RS9000. Front and rear from the Rancho Quicklift setup. (Preloaded coilovers). They are fully adjustable and go from super soft to super firm. Firestone Ride Rite air bags. Been on the truck for about 10 years now.... Yep, I am used to towing with it... I also swapped the front coils in the Ranchos with Moog HD springs to keep the nose from sagging under the added weight of a fat driver and a 9K lb winch...

To be blunt, I am rebuilding a 2004 F150 because I built it up once, and with the $$ for a new F150 XLT 4x4 supercab with the top spec engine, and towing package, plus the added mods to make the truck actually usable on anything beyond the interstate, I would be looking at 55 to 60K, and I would be terrified to actually use it. Repowering and going through the drivetrain I will likely have 10K total into freshening this truck up, make it good for another 16 years, and if I kick a hunk of log or rock from the trail into the step bars. Eh that's character....

Mind you, staying with the old truck also helps us save for the Escalade my wife wants...

2. Second thing: keep as much weight (water storage/AC if possible, etc) forward as possible to balance the load for when driving.

The plan is to design it such that the bed folds up over the water storage at the front wall of the truck bed. Which is about the midpoint of the truck.

3. Just saw your "Camper Jacks" portion. "reinforced" - good!

Yeah, it's kind of a must have.

4. Foam - get fireproof if possible or at least fire retardant. The other is dangerous. Second thing to ponder - some foams vent fumes long after being made and can cause unbearable headaches. Do your research on the kind of foam you choose - along with its reaction/interaction to glues. Some double sided tapes may be more feasible, along with caulk.

It would appear that you and I are on the same page. I will not be using Polyester resin. It IS possible that I may decide to go fiberglass / epoxy resin. I am considering residential foam board like XPS. If a fire breaks out in the camper, yes evacuation NOW is critical, thus an escape hatch is a must include. Toxic fumes from flaming destruction would be similar to a home. Not something I want to breathe in much, but I don't see much of an option if I want insulation, light weight, and waterproofness. XPS and typical wood glue like titebond are just fine and very commonly used in camper construction. Much cheape than fiberglass. Polyester resin outgasses like crazy and eats most foam...

[quote]I have thought of this in possibly building my own 8 ft by 14-16ft trailer. Just never have done it./quote]

I don't have storage for a trailer, don't want to pay for storage, and honestly, I need off road mobility. My first overlanding trip I want to take is Padre Island National Seashore, a couple of miles over lose sandy beach that I don't want to get stuck in...

Welding: I have not done aluminum but have done miles of steel. The one key thing for me is CLAMP WELL before welding. Helps every time.

So, like woodworking? Clamp, clamp, clamp, verify, verify, verify....

[dbhost]

On the framing. I have been teetering between aluminum and steel. Steel for strength, aluminum for corrosion resistance and weight. The big issue has been how to weld aluminum and make it a strong weld...

Then I came across this video / test of various aluminum welding / brazing rods. Harbor Freight's alumiweld actually compares very well with over 1100lbs pull before failing and in torsional tests proved stronger than the aluminum itself. I think we have a winner.

On the weight issue. I will note the AC is goiing in the back wall of the camper as it is the only place it efficiently fits, and given the incredibly small space I am working with, I don't have a lot of options. HOWEVER, the specific unit, is 36lbs and the power draw at max is 4 amps. I will fit it with a soft starrt capacitor to reduce the surge as I plan on running this on a teeny generator. Only things I need power for are the AC and to charge my CPAP batteries.

Something to consider weight wise that is...

7 gallons of water per AquaTainer x4 or 28 gallons of water.233.52 lbs total.
Reliance AquaTainer 7 gallon potable water carriers. 2lbs each x4 or 8lbs total. Depending on the trip I will use either 2, or 4. 1 gallon per day per person is the rule, but showers use lots of water...
Let's add that up and just round up to call it 242lbs total for the water and carriers.
Jaxpety 5 gallon portable toilet (holds 3 gallons fresh water). 10lbs + 25.02 lets round it slightly down and call the total 35lbs.
10" Memory foam mattress modded to make it a trifold. 65lbs.

Anyway, IF I can keep the weight of the raw camper itself under or around 400lbs. Total weight of the camper, air conditioner, water, toilet / water, and bed would be at 800lbs. Most of the weight will be mostly biased toward the front of the bed to try to keep the center of weight within the wheelbase of the truck.

[leehljp]

Back shortly after our first two kids were born, ('73 & '77) we got a van and the first thing I did was get a traveling flushable porta-potty. That saved us LOTS of stops. I bought a new one when we moved to Japan, as I knew we would have a van over there. Again, it sure saved us a lot of stops! Those things are helpful!

Alumiweld - in general, I recommend people get experience before starting something new like that, but I can tell you are one who can figure it out as you go and do extremely well. I had a talk with a bunch of preachers today on close to the same thing: "All can read, but only a few can figure out how to DO it."

[dbhost]

Practice makes perfect. And I have access to clamps, and plenty of scraps to practice on before I dedicate to any serious costly construction....

[dbhost]

So after several recent inquiries, including one during an unrelated zoom conference today, I thought I should update here on what is going on with this build...

We are still in the experiment and design phase.

Concerns with weight since this will be on a half ton truck, and durability considering 24x7x365 exposure to the elements has me experimenting with using Alumaweld and aluminum 1.5" square tubing as the frame, and rigid foam as the main structure.

As a reminder, the point behind this VS say a much simpler dressing out a high top fiberglass cap is to allow for a king, at least width bed, an air conditioner, and storage for our camping gear. I want to be able to simply pull into a spot, climb into the back of the truck and lay down should the need arise. Top heavy is completely unacceptable as this is a 4x4 truck, and is actually used on trails, although not difficult ones. Think logging trails, not technical Jeep trails...

Anyway, so I did some measuing everything that needs to fit UNDER the bed will with plenty of room to spare. The camper cap itself should overhang the sides of the bed, so that interior width is just at 78", Basically We are going to RV king this,just like an RV queen is short, the king will be short as well. I am planning on studying scissor couch designs to get the mechanism down, but the idea is to have the bed fold up into couches on both sides of the truck over the wheel arches. Underneath I have plenty of room for 4 7 gallon AquaTainers, our 55 qt Lifetime cooler, the 5 gallon flush toilet, and the misc gear such as the stove, cook set, etc... on the sides. There should be an overcab that would simply be for storage of soft goods such as spare blankets, clothes and the like.

I have found some templates for the brackets needed to manufacture a 270 degree awning that can be enclosed to provide for rain proof entry / exit to the camper, and cover / enclose a kitchen / dining area without having to pitch a tent or patrol fly.

There will be minimal cabinetry in the camper, using leftover pine bead board to keep weight down and visual interest up.

I am presently torn between using PMF, Poor Mans Fiberglass, or actual fiberglass with epoxy resin so I don't destroy the foam. Fiberglass / epoxy can be brought to a smooth finish and done in a nice paint to match on the truck...

On the repower issue for the truck. I don't know if I mentioned above, but I was a fool and followed Ford's maintenance schedule and badly sludged up the 5.4L 3V and had a massive VCT system failure. I have the option of full rebuild / bulletproofing this engine, or getting a warranteed already bulletproofed 5.4L 3V that includes all of the TSB updates from Ford, and the Melling high pressure / high flow oil pump that will insure no oil starvation to distant points in the engine, like the VCT system.... Bad engineers! I digress....

So yeah, I have a lot, and I mean a LOT to do to this truck. I mostly need time, money and help to get this done, no small task, but with some determination, and my wife getting more solidly on board as she sees what can be fit into something like this (I showed her a similiar inspiration build based on a Toyota Tacoma), I know we will get it done. I might be close to dead by then but I will see it through...

[dbhost]

Just a quick update. I have been doing some test brazing, not really welding I guess, with Harbor Freight Alumaweld, a Bernz O Matic torch, and Propane, it's working, although I see pretty much everywhere that on larger pieces MAP gas is preferred, I will try that next...

I am working the design still, although I lost the computer with the local version of Sketchup, and the web version I am having trouble getting used to. I have come up with a folding bed and kitchen design that works. The bed will be effectively a short king bed that tri-folds, and will basically create a funky couch across the front of the truck bed.

The "KItchen" is effectively just a drop in place table top and support legs that will hold the stove, and provide space to prep and wash in just a cheap little plastic basin.

I plan on either building it fully extended over the tailgate, or with a manual slide out that goes over the tailgate but slides back in and will allow me to close the tailgate for travel. I haven't quite figured that part out yet. It would be nice to be able to travel, particularly off road, with the tailgate UP to improve my departure angle, while I am not going to be doing any wild off roading, ti would be nice to be able to navigate logging roads without fear of smashing my tailgate, but a rear slider seriously limits the ability to include most cabinetry.

Design for the back wall is complete, including something seemingly so readily obvious as the door, I will be using a junkyard existing RV door and frame as they are CHEAP and readily available locally for $50.00. Somebody didn't take care of their 90's Tioga, I get the benefit of an all aluminum frame and skin RV door, lockset etc... The AC support is already designed and will have some gusseting to limit rotational stresses. I am using a cheap Walmart 5K BTU mechanical unit. Very low amp draw at max, won't even come close to maxing out my Tailgator generator.

The overcab storage is more or less settled. 18" front to back to keep everything reasonably accessible, and a simple face frame with 3 top higned, pop out boat latched doors. Most likely frame and panel using something light like the bead board pieces I already have as the panel.

Heating will be by a Portable Buddy Heater with a small battery powered fan (USB rechargeable) and plenty of fresh air ventilation for safety, and let's face it, even on low, a Buddy Heater is massive overkill for this space...

The water system is still a bit vexing. I currently have 4 7 gallon aqua tainers, and don't really want to replace them yet. It would be trivial to design a bed base / concealment cabinet for the water tanks, but it would end up being a matter of using one jug, emptying it out, switching jugs etc... My current Zodi pump doesn't fit into the tanks etc.... I am working on designing a 12V pump with multiple, selectable pickups but am thinking that's too complex. And of course I would need to design the faucet location such that it would work inside, and out for things like washing dishes, and taking showers in a Privy tent set up next to the truck / camper. Not enough room in here for a shower after all...

I figure with the extension over the tailgate, and using a 6.5 foot long mattress instead of 7 foot, I can squeeze the port o potty in there for 2 A.M. necessitites in foul weather. The other option of course is an ecloseable 270 degree awning that can be divided out for privy, and other space...

The worst part is, the truck bed suffered some damage in a wind storm this past spring, basketball hook smashed down into it. This makes me still want to replace the bed with a full on overlanding camper build that solves almost all of the issues. If I do a hard side pop up, and support the overcab, I can even do a proper overcab sleeper with sit up room on top of the mattress and buy us a TON more room. I doubt my wife will go for that though...