Home Built truck camper

[deepNdirt]

any engineers here or anyone can figure out the correct support/bracing area's for a Home built slide in truck camper? I have been thinking of how difficult it would be to Build a camper, I have great carpenter skills 35 years worth and some proclaim that I should be a master carpenter, so any wood work I can handle, and I'm a Farley good welder , so I'm pretty confident I should get the job done, although I would need to know the appropriate area's of which the bracing and any load transfer will need to be?
My plans are to build as simple of a camper as possible and to limit the curve lines to more straight lines, I will work out the front and aerodynamics later, the measurements are just a rough figures,
Please look at the drawing and advise of where and how I should brace this thing,? I have also attached a Blank drawing that could be used to draw in the bracings/supports, Once I get all the correct supports in place I can do a material takeoff to determine an estimated cost, By the way I think 1x2 square tubbing is what I would use? what you think?
I have also attached a picture of what I would be working toward building,
Thanks all

 

[jstrasser]

Have you visited the truck camper part of RV.net? RV.Net RV and Camping Forum ? RV, Trailer, Camper, Motorhome, Camping and Campground Information

or NATCOA http://www.truckcamperforums.net

Several folks on those sites have really good info on construction.

Good luck with your project.

John

 

[Kays Supply]

Any time I tackle a project like that I overbuild it to the point it is too heavy to haul. If you looked inside the walls of a factory camper, you would be afraid to use it.

 

[zukota]

Buddy built one last year, or he built an rv. Regular tow behind. . I put a bunch of pics here. The first post has a link to the full album.

 

[Short Game]

I had a buddy who had a job at an RV body shop of sorts. He told me it was a Mafia front, and almost everything that came in the gate was judged a "total." He told me that any of the common wood framed, aluminum skinned, RVs simply can't take any but the lightest of collisions. He said that they racked out of square and all the cabinets and inner structure were ruined. He told me they simply parted out pumps and tanks, axles, tires, tongues, stoves, refrigerators, AC, heaters, and any hardware, and scrapped the rest.

Any time I tackle a project like that I overbuild it to the point it is too heavy to haul. If you looked inside the walls of a factory camper, you would be afraid to use it.

Anything built really strong will probably be much heavier than anything one might buy. I rebuilt the cab-over portion of a Dodge van mounted unit once to repair extensive rot from leakage (discovered soon after the guy bought it). The tiny bit of wood that was there was all crap. I peeled back the skin and redid the whole section in 3/4" treated plywood, screwed, glued, and braced, and then reapplied the skin. I warned him not to hit any bridges unless he had good insurance.

 

[deepNdirt]

yeah... overbuilding it is one of my concerns, as I may have the same tendency do to so as well, I mean I know with enough bracing I am sure to make it rigid enough, however might be heavier then need be, I thought about using gussets instead of diagonal bracing, although couldn't be certain about how it might try to flex.... I have a enclosed 6 x 12 cargo trailer that the Box frame structures is built from nothing more than 1 x 1 square tubing that has been bent into shape rather than weld fabricated, I added some gusset into the corners and did in fact help but a cargo trailer sets firmly on the bottom frame, and a slide in camper will of course need to be moved too and from the truck quite often,
I'm thinking that once the metal sheathing is installed on the outside and the 1/4 inch paneling on the inside and secure them into as much frame as possible this should help to stouten it up some,
My greatest concern is the cantilever that hangs over the cab, I've seen many class-C campers that over a period of time actually settle down onto the top of the cab... which I want to prevent happening,

 

[BHD]

I toyed with the idea a number of years ago, the main difference was I have a 12 foot flat bed truck but was going to hang it off the back and down so it would be easer to get in and out of, it would have ended up being about 15 foot long with out any cab over hang,

Any way my thought was to 1" square tubing for the main framing, welded together, and then put rigid foam 1" thick for insulation, paneling on the inside, and the tin skin on the exterior, run some frame members for the where the windows are, and maybe about ever 2 foot and that would basically be it, my be put some foam tape to make a thermo barrier on the steel framing. if concerned a few properly space angle members would give a tremendous amount of strength,

(I think most commercial units are just made with wood for the framing)

 

[westcliffe01]

Aluminum tubing is the way to go. It is considerably lighter and being hollow allows a ready made place to run electrical lines all over if planned right. Buy FILON siding, clamp it in place temporarily, then mark the positions of all the structural members on it, remove and abrade the surface to be glued with scotchbrite, same with the surface of the aluminum. Then bond it in place with polyurethane glue. It will probably never come off again.

The biggest issue with gluing is applying pressure to the bond lined. One can use rivets spaced 6-8" but that is a lot of rivets and a lot of holes in a surface that is best left without any perforations.

If at all possible, avoid materials that rot, delaminate or are sensitive to moisture. One can buy aluminum honeycomb panels with both faces also aluminum sheet. With this you can make cabinets, closets, partitions etc that are as strong as plywood but at a fraction of the weight. The only thing you need for the exterior is a more dent resistant surface.

I considered rebuilding a Toyota motorhome with the entire coachwork being made from the aluminum honeycomb but that would have been a $6000 shell. I decided that to justify that expense the base vehicle had to be worthy which just didn't apply to a 1986 toyota truck chassis with a tiny cab and a 22RE engine. My current 2008 F250 with its turbodiesel, extended cab and 4wd would be a lot more worthy and I am going to be moving in close proximity to the panel factory in Colorado in future anyhow... So I may have to re-visit this idea at some point in time.

 

[Taylortractornut]

At work I get alot of RV parts at the landfill since we are owned by the company that makes Alegra buses. They side walls are a 1.5 inch thinwall tubing with a fiberglass outside and paneling inside with sheet foam on the inside. Its pretty strong as the compact really hast to work on them to get them to break. Im looking to build one to go on the back of my Isuzu cab over for a mini trip I want to go on. I thought about also making a large slide on rig from my20 foot gooseneck trailer I dont use that often.

 

[Short Game]

My friend from the RV shop told me that the best light RVs were the fiberglass ones. A little bump that would kill the wood framed, aluminum skinned, RVs will more likely have localized damage that can be repaired. I guess it's the combination of light weight and strength. An impact will create local damage, not overall structural failure.

I would guess the best heavyweight RVs are the ones built up from Bluebird bus frames and bodies. Got money?

 

[wdchyd]

Deepndirt,

I built my own PU camper back in the late 70's......

The plans came from an old Popular Mechanics magazine and it showed step by step instructions......enough for me to build with what I had....

Way overbuilt but it rode on the back of a 1972 International 1210 Camper Special PU truck...

The base was the first stage of construction.....1/2" plywood on bottom, 2x3 sandwiched flat with another 1/2 layer on the top for floor.....shaped to fit in bed of truck with clearance for tailights...glued and screwed

The knee walls were 2x3's just high enough to clear the top of the fenders on PU

then 3/4" plywood was cut to fit between knee walls and the underside of the camper sides.....

Once the base was complete, the four walls and roof sections were prefabbed with 2x4's ripped in half for studding......paneling was preinstalled on the wall and roof sections before screwing to the base......

from there on it was built from the inside out.......all sections were glued and screwed....insulated, wired for 12vdc and 110vac....alum sheet metal roof with vinyl siding...it was very sturdy and stabile on the camper jacks

I gave it to a neighbor to use as a storage shed about 8 yrs ago and it is still dry inside, alot of good memories made in that camper.....

 

[creekbend]

Buddy built one last year, or he built an rv. Regular tow behind. . I put a bunch of pics here. The first post has a link to the full album.

Impressive and skilled work.:thumbsup: What steps did he take to get it inspected, titled and procure a tag?

 

[F250DSLPWR]

I would build the camper frame out of aluminum square tubing. If you don't have the welding skills for aluminum, then you can build it by glueing and riveting the tubes together with aluminum angle braces and PL400 or liquid nails (yes this method works very well, some RV companies build them this way since aluminum welds break). I would build a solid brace all the way across the back where the camper overhangs the pickup bed and then run angle down that outside corner. Make it where you can easily hook on drop jacks (we used modified trailer jacks) to lift it on and off the truck. You can buy windows and all kinds of RV parts from JCWhitney. Cover the outside with the filon or with thin sheet aluminum. If you use the aluminum, cover the frame with 1/4" plywood, paint and seal it, then cover with the tyvek house wrap and finally your exterior aluminum. Finish the inside however you would like. Good luck!

 

[mjncad]

Your framing plan looks fine to me as triangles are your friends for rigidity. I second what other have said about using aluminum tubing. Granted it's pricier; but it's light and strong. Gussets will also help as an alternative. What you are looking to do is remove the "hinge" factor at the joints. I know wood is used frequently in the RV world for its cost and ease of fabrication; but it's so prone to water damage unless you're using treated wood. Heck, even wood can get heavy if too much is used.

 

[jatt1]

yeah can second what water over time does to timber..

In the shop we recanvas windup caravans and its not uncommon to find em rotted out in sections where water has gotten in and stuffted the timber.

Have used the "weatherboard" style ally cladding. Nice and lite but can dent easily. Any outside fixings are best done on the joins of the sheets.

Fibreglass - strong, but like any construction can be heavy if you overdo it.

Liquid nails, yeah there isnt a lot I havent done with the stuff. Sags easily when doing vertical work, but I swear by it.

Like stated previously watch the weight.

 

[FredH]

If using construction adhesive , I would go with the Loctite Brand .

10 fl oz. Power Grab All Purpose Adhesive (12-Pack)-1363132 at The Home Depot


If it will hold vertical placed Hardi Panel until the nails were shot in , it will hold just about anything .

We had a cabover camper for years that went on and '84 Ford 4x4 F250 . When it was all the way up to the front of the bed , it over hanged the cab to about the base of the windshield and off the back by something like 26" or 28" , ( to long ago to remember exactly ) . It was all wood , compared to the newer ones , dang thing was heavy .

Regarding construction , I am not sure what would cause more stress , riding on the truck or loading / unloading with jacks . Ours had 4 corner jacks while now I see lifts that basically cradle each side thus spreading out the stress .

We sold it when the state of Oregon changed their license procedure , up to like 12' is "x" $$$$ , then after that it goes up dramatically by the "FOOT" !!:confused2:
In-laws had a 35' fifth wheel that they re-registered to Arizona were they spent the winter . Neighbors have a 28' cabover motorhome and oldest brother has a 35' bus type that they just get 7 or 10 day trip permits for when they want to go somewere .

Fred H.

 

[BHD]

Popular Mechanics - Google Books

Popular Mechanics - Google Books

Build Your Own Camper

 

[wdchyd]

Deepndirt,

I built my own PU camper back in the late 70's......

The plans came from an old Popular Mechanics magazine and it showed step by step instructions......enough for me to build with what I had....

Way overbuilt but it rode on the back of a 1972 International 1210 Camper Special PU truck...

The base was the first stage of construction.....1/2" plywood on bottom, 2x3 sandwiched flat with another 1/2 layer on the top for floor.....shaped to fit in bed of truck with clearance for tailights...glued and screwed

The knee walls were 2x3's just high enough to clear the top of the fenders on PU

then 3/4" plywood was cut to fit between knee walls and the underside of the camper sides.....

Once the base was complete, the four walls and roof sections were prefabbed with 2x4's ripped in half for studding......paneling was preinstalled on the wall and roof sections before screwing to the base......

from there on it was built from the inside out.......all sections were glued and screwed....insulated, wired for 12vdc and 110vac....alum sheet metal roof with vinyl siding...it was very sturdy and stabile on the camper jacks

I gave it to a neighbor to use as a storage shed about 8 yrs ago and it is still dry inside, alot of good memories made in that camper.....

WOW BHD,

http://books.google.com/books?id=lNcDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA128&source=gbs_toc_r&cad=2#v=onepage&q&f=false

Thanx for the link.....that's exactly the magazine article I used to build my PU camper.....:thumbsup:

Reading that again really brings me back in time.....I held on to that edition for a couple years till i actually made the thing....and somewhere it got lost in the shuffle

Thank you BHD......:thumbsup:

 

[deepNdirt]

Yes very interesting illustration from the 70's and the same procedure used in erecting a mobile home, Back in the early 80's I went to work throughout the Winter for a Mobile office building company and learned hands on how to build construction office trailers,was a small business operation of about 30 of us, and we could turn out 9-10 units each day, I was amazed at how small amount of wood materials went into these trailers, 2x6 floor joist 2x2 wall studs with 3/4 inch dado notched in every studs 2 ft apart to run a Belt rail ban around it to latter attach the metal skin to,and had 2x2 ceiling truss with a 1x2 bowed at the top, these were set at 32" o/c very cheaply made but can be certain was light weight..... and size from 8ft. x 20' to 10 x 50'
..........
But getting back to the camper, the reason I want to use steel tubing instead of wood is with past experience in buying campers, every camper I have bought used I wound up having to make some major repair to either the floor, wall's or ceiling area due to moisture getting in and rotting it out,
I figure to eliminate this possibility by going all metal, except of course the inside will be of wood cabinets and paneling of sort, I'm not exactly sure of it's weight when finished but I should be able to keep it under 2000 lbs. it might get a bit heavier once installing the a/c ,refridge, etc,etc,

I've looked at a couple used 2000 models and they are quite unbelievable and more spacious then one would think, although a bit more than what i need for my truck, they weigh around 3000 lbs and cost on up into the 10,000 worth,
I figure I can build one for around 2500, I have resources, actually after posting this thread I've already had someone to offer some stuff I can use
BTW-thanks for the offers, I'll be in touch when I get this thing nailed down,
for now it is still in the preliminary and contemplating stages
Thanks all

 

[wdchyd]

Looking forward to the Const Pix....:thumbsup: