Camper Without A Name

[GPW]

NICE !!!!

[Papi]

A little quick math showed me I need to add about 2" in height to avoid the wheels bottoming out (I swapped the originals for some 12" wheels). So I busted out the mitre and saw, and the glue is drying. That's all I had time for before work. Oh, and replacing the door locks in my bedroom because the old one broke off. At least the wife was outside the bedroom when it happened!

[GPW]

Locked in the bathroom ... She would have Not been happy ...
What size wheels did you have before ... ???

[Papi]

Originally it had the 8" black marshmallows, but I upgraded to 12" wheels to give it some ground clearance. My driveway is plenty steep, and with the 8" wheels it would bottom out. I also welded a piece of 2X2 between the axle carriage and the frame for a low buck lift kit. But that erased all the noodlin' I had done on the wheel clearance. The thought of seeing tire smoke in the rear view mirror when going camping would not make me happy.

[Papi]

I've been busy lately, but not much progress on the camper. I installed gauges on my D100 (since it didn't have any) and made some wood to mount it to. The truck also didn't have a wiring harness, but it was free, and had only 29K on it, so it was worth it:



I also worked on the wheel wells, and added 2" to each one for tire clearance. They're stacked on top of each other here:



Just goofing around with the tail lights, trying to figure out how to mount them:



I like them a little recessed better:

[atahoekid]

Those look great!!!

[GPW]

That wheel well looks like fine furniture !!! Nice !!!
“Frenchâ€

[Papi]

Thanks for the kind responses! I want the interior to appear like a woody, but not to be heavy. Just want that rustic cabin feel. man oh man am I ready fro a camping trip!

[Papi]

Not much progress to date, with all the bad weather in my outdoor garage, family piling in, and whatnot. But it was nice to pull the tarp off this afternoon and saw some "keys" into the floor. Hard to describe what I mean, so I'll steal someone else's pic to show you.


Mine are not quite as thick, being that they are the actual plywood floor, but it will all get reinforced with cabinets, etc. I hope Santa brings me some foam!

[mikeschn]

Awwww... here I thought someone built the same way I did!!!

Well, now we need to see a picture of YOUR keys!!!

Mike...

[Papi]

Mike, mine are not as nice as yours, but I owe it to you for the idea. I was head scratching on how to mount the sides, and revisited your build and had my viola moment. I like the idea because it increases the available surface area for glue, and since the forward and rear bulkheads will help support the sides, the thing will actually be a little overbuilt. I hope. The foam will slide over the keys, butt up against the frame rails, and get locked in with wooden strips.

[Papi]

Not sure why my pics turn sideways when I post them, but anyway you get the idea.
Today was the proof-of-concept fitting of one wall. This is not the final profile shape, that is still being noodled out. I am going for a somewhat Scotty look, sort of. I think. Nothing has been approved by the project manager, a.k.a. the wife.



And here you see how the wall is mounted to the floor. The cabinets and wheel arches will help support the walls even more:



And just another view:


Not much else to mention yet. Been kind of busy with everything else on my list.

[eaglesdare]

[Papi]

Had a few minutes before work today, so I played with the fauxmie. This might be the final profile, subject to approval by She With The Opinion.



I plan to put the door right above the tire. I'm not so worried about aesthetics as function; the wheelhouses will give us a place to sit and take off our shoes. Note that the roof is almost flat. This is so I can possibly put in a skylight or opening sunroof, because both of us love to look at stars and meteor showers.

[Papi]

Slow and steady wins the race, and that sums up my build. Slow. Been busy with a million other things, but did carve out some time for the foam (pun intended). I honestly thought the doors would be the easiest thing, but it turns out they are hard!
Basically, I built a door frame out of poplar (because I had it) and glued that in place. My original idea of rounded doors turned out badly. No matter how many kerfs, how much steam, or even ammonia, the wood split before reaching the desired arch. So I angled them off and am happy. Good thing about foam; goof and you can glue it back!

My window is going to be a small star. My granddaughter gave it her approval. But I draw the line at glitter.