My Overlander Build. Well, woods build..

[RJ Howell]

I'm hoping to have the truck bed off and have my rear bumper, sliders and frame built.

So, are you replacing the stock rear bumper with something of your own design or relocating it or...?

You already are stripping down to bare frame. With foam construction and your minimal steel skeleton you could fairly easily extend the frame and bumper rearward and add as much as a couple feet of floor space. As long as you keep the heavy stuff stored forward of the axle (think water tanks, batteries, etc) most of what you would need to support on such an extension besides the structure itself is your own weight walking around back there.

Thank you for you interest and input!

Truck process will be front to rear. Front coils & shocks, the strip of the bed and do the leaf add & shocks back there. From that point I can truly determine overall lenght. The OEM bumper will be replaced by something that makes sense for clearance and real protection. Probably something minimalistic such as 1.5 x 1.5 tubular to work as a slider as well as hold the lights. I probably should start drawing that up as well. The side body slider's will be of the same material and ever possibly the front bumper..

I like the angle of the back and distance as drawn, yet as I strip off the bed and work out exact heights, I may just extend a bit, probably just inches though. Weight forward (closer to axle) means I'm going under the unit and mounting in the frame. I may need to go that way yet hope not to. Once I go low with tanks, I'm stuck needing a pump to get that water up into the unit. I'm thinking about just how I could get most of my water needs with gravity feed. I like theses 2.5 gallon carboys https://www.uline.com/Product/Detail/S-15648/Jugs/Carboy-2-1-2-Gallon and could just bring one in at a time to counter use, yet how cool would it be to keep it outside (in the rear storage) and plumb it in!!

I know I will need a gray water tank under. Also trying to figure what could be an under fresh water to use with the shower and a small pump dedicated to that.. Oh, so many choices...

A little more of the thoughts running circles in my mind. Welcome to the craziness!

[rjgimp]

Once I go low with tanks, I'm stuck needing a pump to get that water up into the unit. I'm thinking about just how I could get most of my water needs with gravity feed. I like theses 2.5 gallon carboys https://www.uline.com/Product/Detail/S-15648/Jugs/Carboy-2-1-2-Gallon and could just bring one in at a time to counter use, yet how cool would it be to keep it outside (in the rear storage) and plumb it in!!

So, a couple thoughts there... It appears your desire is to keep things fairly simple (you mentioned earlier thinking about not even installing a sink) you could mount one empty jug as high as needed for gravity feed and plumb a simple hand pump to transfer up a gallon or two at a time for immediate use. No real need to drag a 20-30# water jug around! Also you could mount a passive solar water heater on the roof (basically a loop of 1" black plastic pipe) and keep it empty for travel then transfer water into it as needed with that same pump.

I know I will need a gray water tank under. Also trying to figure what could be an under fresh water to use with the shower and a small pump dedicated to that.. Oh, so many choices...

Couple thoughts there, too... Regarding the potty/shower situation. With a roof your size a rooftop solar water heater could easily be made big enough to accommodate a shower. A few weeks ago in the plumbing forum I saw a chart showing what length + diameter of pipe is needed to hold 'X' gallons of water. Obviously in your situation the strength of your lift mechanism (water = ~8# per gallon) needs to be taken into account. On to the potty... lots of opinions out there on the matter but I am a huge fan of composting toilets. I will be using one in my build. When used and maintained properly there is no more smell involved than your toilet at home. Also, NO disgusting chemicals are needed! By design, liquid and solid waste are separated at, uhmmm... the point of production. IMO, urine can be directly diverted to gray storage and disposed of in the customary fashion. Solid waste is immediately covered with a composting medium (peat moss, sawdust, etc.) and the <ahem> "final product" can be disposed of in the trash or in certain areas, as with any finished compost, could be spread on the ground. Either way, emptying what is basically a bag of dirt is far more pleasant a task than dumping a chemical or cassette toilet tank or (God forbid!) a plain old five gallon pail of raw sewage!! EWWWW!!!

[RJ Howell]

I usually don't mention it, but since you brought it up (and a crappy conversation), we Wag-Bag. I made a travel toilet from a seed bucket (low/wide mouth) and XPS foam seat/cover. Works pretty good. Cat Litter (non-scented) has been our media so far. It goes in my Topper. We've been doing this of several years now with the commercial trailers I've owned. Trick seems to be not turning on the overhead fan.. you can guess why!
And I totally agree, separation is key to success. Done right it's safe in all manners!

I like the thoughts on hot water. I've settled into stovetop warming, yet that would be nice to do.. some sort of solar. A 5" PVC pipe holds ~1 gallon per foot, so only a 5ft section would be needed for both of us. Certainly warrants more consideration!

[RJ Howell]

Got a little more time in today and work the rear storage area a bit more. Liking how it's coming and re-checked heights to ensure it's working.



Stairs are planned to fold up and lock in. That part is fine, what's missing is a lower cover... The upper cover works as an awning when open and always liked this. Issue is when close I have this lower section wide open for dirt/dust to get in and all over that section... For some reason I'm hesitant in putting another hatch/cover to swing up there... Could be my mind is telling me the stairs folded up won't fit.

[RJ Howell]

Rear bumper is working out fairly well. Lights fit and visible, rock guard/skid plate in place.



Rear fender is good width, yet need to determine true wheel travel.. think I'm 3-4" low. I'm running 30" high tires now, know I'll go at least 32's and want it set if I want to upgrade to 34's.
It's extended 3" beyond the side wall give that beer stand! Okay soda, coffee whatever.. I will want to keep the steel light, so a lip may come into play.. Design stage.. aye!

Looks pretty good from the back so others can see my lights while traveling. Hitch receiver I hope works out that well since it blends in nicely. I will at some point do back up spot lights and the bumper should allow that. As I drew this, I wondered we so many rear bumpers are closed off. I don't know, yet like the idea of it being open so air can pass through.



Overall it's still looking pretty decent. Much more work to come in this stage, yet still see no reason not to proceed. Actually beginning to see a reason to build the bed separate.. Hey, that's what design part is all about, working through these things.



Ongoing issue to date that I haven't worked through.. I have no place to mount the rear lift struts. By design, there's no flat space. Placing inside would interfere with the material folding. Started looking at commercial campers to see how they got around this.. Ideas?

Side Note: I figure a few are wondering why on a camper build site would I post about the truck? Well, I do believe in my build, both are rather important. They reflect upon each other in so many ways. So please do excuse me as I go through the truck part.

[rjgimp]

Side Note: I figure a few are wondering why on a camper build site would I post about the truck? Well, I do believe in my build, both are rather important. They reflect upon each other in so many ways. So please do excuse me as I go through the truck part.

PFFFFFFFTTTTTT!!!

In this case the truck is integral to the unit. It must be discussed. Carry on.

[RJ Howell]

Looked at a couple commercial built and this idea I like best. All did not have a screen on the rear and I can see why, they were straight up and no room. I have a slant roof edge, so my bracket will have to be slanted and room to open a screen. When the roof is closed there still has to be room for the material to fold in, so it can not completely fold. I liked how each still had a hook/bungee/cord attached to help the material fold in. Also they used a flat board (plywood/plastic/composite) to stop any side sway and works as a solid stop when opened. Nice! No reason for it to be solid besides for them there was no reason to look through.



All were at least 1/3 of the camper width wide (one being much wider) and they all still had strut assist. They also had these front & rear to stabilize. That does make sense.

As always, all input welcomed.

[RJ Howell]

Good forward progress on design in the last few days. The back lower (truck) is laid-out and now see wheel well 'will' interfere with the refrigerator as draw. The light blue you see over the wheel is the cabinets. Two choices ahead of me. One to switch locations of cleanup (toilet/shower) and frig or raise the counter to fit a frig.

Swapping the positions I prefer not to do. I like the cleanup area in the rear (weight and accessibility to outside). Raising the counter means I lose valuable counter space, but I could now go with a larger frig. Raising it also could give me 'nightstand' space to the upper bunk. I'll have to draw the and look at it a bit.

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I placed the suggested solar water heater on the side to have a look. 6ft long looked better and should hold 5-6 gallons (40-48lbs). That can always be added later, yet like the thought. Just from a pure weight stand point, I would probably move to forward more to place more weight forward.

[RJ Howell]

Oh ya did those coils and Bilsteins make a diiference! I got what I hoped for on the front and surprised what I gained on the rear (still will do an AAL back there).

Now ready to start removing the bed and beginning the build!

My tires look way too small now.. It's my highway tires and serve their purpose, or did, time to change out.



The ground slope does not show full impact of what I've done. I still have a 2" rake (notice tire bottoms) empty. With what I believe will be about a 400lbs add (bed gone and camper attached 750lbs) I still figure the AAL is required. If I go deeper... all the more reason for a AAL!

I'm stoked!!! So far so good!

Measured 'er up against a 2018 stockie.. Matching rig mind ya.. I have 1/2" over 'em, with 2" smaller tires... Ya, Pleased with the effort!

So far... So good... Plenty of time yet to screw up..

[rjgimp]

Stairs are planned to fold up and lock in. That part is fine, what's missing is a lower cover... The upper cover works as an awning when open and always liked this. Issue is when close I have this lower section wide open for dirt/dust to get in and all over that section... For some reason I'm hesitant in putting another hatch/cover to swing up there... Could be my mind is telling me the stairs folded up won't fit.

Could you install a cover on the back side (under) the stairs so that it would automatically seal against the sides of the door opening when the stairs are folded up, something that would remain permanently mounted to the stairs? I'm visualizing something similar to the stairs that come out the side of a small jet airplane.

[RJ Howell]

Weather is starting to cooperate a bit, so it's time to start-up! Still have some rust removal happening, but enough now that I can start the mockup and review sizing.

Here's what it looks like now...

[RJ Howell]

And the start of the mockup.

More space than I thought I'd get.. Less intrusion, cool!



Few more braces/joists, et all, but sizing so good so far.



Due to the insert of the tire I'll now debate on keeping that sidewall baseline as is.. Really not going to interfere with a tire change.

[GPW]

Wow!!! And I thought the first one looked Great !!! RJ, what are you using for Rust abatement ???

[RJ Howell]

Wow!!! And I thought the first one looked Great !!! RJ, what are you using for Rust abatement ???

Putty knife, grinder, sander and Orthoposphoric acid (sold as Ospho by SKYCO). My local Ace Hardware carries it.

[DaddyJeep]

That looks real tight to the rear tires. Remember the travel isn't quite as linear with your truck as it might be on a trailer. when your axle articulates, one wheel up and the other down, that tire is going to tip in towards the frame. You might be fine but it wouldn't hurt to flex the suspension to it's limits to be sure. Something like this