Standie Build - Took First Camping Trip.... updated 8/26

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Standie Build - Took First Camping Trip.... updated 8/26

Postby ktm_2000 » Sun Aug 16, 2009 3:45 pm

Hi All,

I've posted a bit on the Generic Standie build and hadn't started a page for our build. My wife and I have been tent camping for years and continue to stretch our season into early april and later into november. Stretching the camping season had led us to wanting a camper so we wouldn't have to wake up cold or having condensation on the blankets in the morning.

We spent a year looking for a camper and after looking at 30 or so and every camper show we came up with the conclusion that the production campers are less than desireable, they all look the same and are poorly constructed. We thought alot about what we use a camper for and what we we actually need and also found production campers have too much stuff crammed in them. We believe that all we need is a dry place to lay our heads a couple feet off the ground and a place to stand up and put clothes on before heading out the door. A simple electrical system with a few lights and a car stereo should round things out.

So we found this site and teardrop campers, we thought long and hard about building a teardrop and came to the conclusion that we like the style but we want to be able to stand up. From there we did quite a bit of cad designing and came up with a design that we both liked. Once we had our design we went looking for a pop-up frame as metal work is not my thing and we found a pop-up for $150, it was torn down to the frame and we actually got $60 for all the scrap aluminum.

We started final assembly this morning and I've been taking a break from the heat and need to get back to work but here's a few pics of where we are right now. I'll post a bunch of pics later showing alot more before and some later....

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New Pics -
Adding insulation
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Prepping for running lights:
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Front Covered with Luan then transitioning to Bendable plywood
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Framing for ceiling vent
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Routering out the inside - no fun getting covered with sawdust
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Last edited by ktm_2000 on Wed Aug 26, 2009 11:36 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Postby Juneaudave » Sun Aug 16, 2009 3:59 pm

Wow :thumbsup: That looks great!!! How long have you been working on it? Looking forward to following the assembly and small details...Juneaudave
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Postby Barry and Darby H. » Sun Aug 16, 2009 5:46 pm

Looks great so far. Where abouts in Ma. are you from ? Maybe you can join us New England Tearjerkers for a campout one of these days. Keep the pics coming, I enjoy watching other peoples builds.

Barry
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Postby eaglesdare » Sun Aug 16, 2009 9:06 pm

that is awesome. what are your measurements?
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Postby ktm_2000 » Sun Aug 16, 2009 9:18 pm

I live in Worcester, MA and we have been working on this for a couple months off and on with more off than on due to the near daily raining.

I'm not sure how long it is as the shape grows a bit on both the front and back but the deck measurements are 124" x 81". The cool part is that I'm 6'1" and can stand up inside with my shoulder touching the front wall and only have to bend over a little bit at the back of the trailer.

After the pics today, we ran out of juice because of the heat and only got a few more spars installed and foamed in the front and got the first piece of the exterior roof installed. We have tomorrow off and expect the remainder of the roof to be complete as well as glassing the roof.

We are scrambling a bit as we only have 5 more days till our vacation and plan on camping in this camper during our vacation. Alot of stuff won't be done but the camper will be useable.
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Postby kirkman » Mon Aug 17, 2009 9:44 am

Way CoooooooooL! :thumbsup:
"If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito." -- Dalai Lama XIV
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Postby b.bodemer » Mon Aug 17, 2009 1:19 pm

Great looking standie!!!!!!
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Postby ktm_2000 » Mon Aug 17, 2009 8:07 pm

Not as much done as planned today..... 94 degree heat and I'm a wimp.

I learned a few things the hard way today about bendable plywood. The stuff is not demensionally stable and if you put it in the hot sun on a fairly humid day it expands in radom ways and creates bubbles if you staple from the corners first. I found on the second sheet that if you put a staple in the middle and work your way out in a balanced pattern it goes down smooth with no wrinkles.

Too bad that learning session cost me 3 hours of daylight.

In the end the whole roof is on, all seams filled with cabosil and 3m microballons and a little over 1/2 of the camper is glassed in. I'm praying for another day without rain so I can get the camper weathertight.

I'll post some pics tomorrow.
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Postby ktm_2000 » Thu Aug 20, 2009 9:57 pm

Early on pics:

Building the frame.... We spent hours with a batten to figure out a fair shape, here's the results from the first frame
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We didn't take any pics when we put the luan on the outside but here are some pics from when we glassed the outside on the flat so it was alot easier than glassing when vertical
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Here's a pic after the wall insulation was installed before installing the interior birch ply
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Routering the edge after glueing and brad nailing down the interior birch panel
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Postby Dark Horse » Fri Aug 21, 2009 7:39 pm

This is looking fantastic!!
I like anything that turns money into noise.
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Postby ktm_2000 » Sat Aug 22, 2009 6:14 pm

Update - 8/22

All windows are in, the door is in, the whole trailer is glassed and partially faired. We've built the wheel wells and the bed frame in the back.

All we have to do is install the running lights and the new license plate.

We have a family party to attend tomorrow and plan on leaving with the trailer on monday morning. The trailer won't be done but we will be using it on our vacation.
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Postby ktm_2000 » Wed Aug 26, 2009 11:52 am

Far from finished we had to use it anyways.....

We took the camper for 2 days to October Mountain state park in western Mass as a test run. The trailer ran great even though we had the wrong hitch coupler on it and it was A$$ dragging and swaying a bit because of the light tongue load. I didn't really check the gas mileage but I got 285 miles out of the tank when I normally get 325 or so without towing anything so we got pretty good mileage. I did notice us in passing gear a bit more than normal but nothing like having to run with the overdrive off the whole way with our 6500# boat in tow. Here are some pics:

The better half
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The other side:
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We had to stop back at the house to feed the cat and so we bought a 6" drop hitch so the trailer runs level now and hopefully doesn't sway.
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We're off to Cape Cod for a few days to do some fishing and beach going and we'll post some pics when we get back.
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Postby green_eyed_diablito » Wed Aug 26, 2009 2:16 pm

that's a good-looking standie! the profile is perfect.
Since this life here and now is all we can know, our most reasonable option is to live it fully.
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Postby High Desert » Wed Aug 26, 2009 2:48 pm

Great looking trailer, and impressive build time! I also like your profile, it just looks 'right'. Look forward to more updates as you finish it up. Well done! :thumbsup:
Shaun

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Postby Senior Ninja » Wed Aug 26, 2009 11:14 pm

That's one nice looking RV!
And the memories have already begun.
Good for you.
Steve and Patricia

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