I'll have to rethink the flooring for sure. There are some things to reconsider. I want to go with 1/2" ply floor pack but know I'll regret that to save only about 60 pounds over 3/4". I also think I'm heavy on the frame. If I can get to the <1000 pounds I'll be stoked.BBZ said:
Berts 1983 FWC Fleet, Total Rebuild
- Thread starter Berts
- Start date
Came up with some preliminary dimensions for the frame. To save weight I'm not going to insulate it which will save me 50 pounds and also about $50. These don't come stock insulated so I'm sure its fine. I'm going to make a cross section template out of cardboard I can physically put in the truck to assure it will fit. Going to try and keep 1-1/2" each side off everything inside the box which makes it actually 3" smaller total. 2" min above the rails and 2" min above the cab.
I insulated the floor by putting down 1/2" rigid foam on the bare plywood, then 1/4" underlayment and then the sheet vinyl. MUCH warmer than without the 1/2" foam.
Good to know. I would like some insulation. This is hard making all these decisions ha ha.Vic Harder said:
I was thinking last night I'm going to keep the frame simple and make the rear the same width as the front. So 48" floor, 23.5" side walls and the final wing walls. So the rear won't fill up the entire back. Its not like a guy is gaining that much room anyway. Its only a couple cubic feet. It will be way easier to build the floor pack. It will use less 3/4" plywood so my floor pack even if I go pressure treated 3/4" plywood will only weigh 150 pounds. Last, it will resell better for the day when I sell it. Basically it will fit any truck that has 48" between the wheel wells. It will speed up my build process with less to think about and I can just go. it will also assure my size is right and it will fit in my truck pretty much guaranteed. I know I'm not really into this build very far only having demo done but its stressful trying to build it perfect and get everything right. I need to just run with it and not over think things like I usually do in life ha ha.
After redesigning to a more simple plan I'm looking at 2" clearance from bed rails to the bottom of the camper. If I figure for that, it puts me at 3.75" gap between truck roof and the overhead cap sleeping area. Was hoping to get that tighter. Adding 2 layers of 1x1 alum to the top of the camper body that will put the front lip of the overhead cab at 8" so the roof of the camper will be 12" above the roof of my truck. Not horrible but was hoping for more lower profile. I could drop the bed rail clearance to 1" and lower the roof 1" total so it would be 2.75" gap over the truck roof and total height 11" from truck cab to top of camper roof. I'm going with that. This figured 1x4 lats under the camper to keep the floor pack off the bed for water drainage, if its too tight I can change that to 2x4 and raise the overall camper more.
This is the design I was referring to above. I'm still leaning towards making it fit with my tailgate shut. Not sure if I'll keep the tailgate on or not but want the option. One thing I was thinking about is if I did keep the tailgate and it could close. I would have added exterior storage under the wings of the camper. More things to sleep on. This seems like the biggest decision in the rebuild and I'm not good at making these calls as you can tell.
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Most (all?) truck beds have ribbed bottoms. Not sure that I understand why we need to have the 1/2" by 4" rails added to the bottoms of our campers. I'd try to shrink that gap on the side rails to 1/2" or so.
I have a 1/2" rubber mat I'm going to leave in the bed. It should help it from not sliding around. The 1x4, which is 3/4"x3-1/2" I was thinking screw it to the bottom of the camper to raise it up just a little so the floor can drain and the camper floor pack isn't sitting in water creating unwanted rot. My other option is to use 1" foam board and lightly glue it to the bottom of the camper helping it drain as well as adding insulation. I might go with that. 1/2" Seems a little tight,? I guess if it is I can always raise it pretty easy. I'll play around in autocad some more, see what I come up with.Vic Harder said:
Right now I have 3" foam board under my camper to help lift it above my rails and add some insulation to the floor. It rides well like that.
I’m still struggling with the width of the floor of the camper at the rear. If there any real advantage to making that 58” wide versus matching the front which is 48”? Only thing I can think of is being wider would make it more stable side to side roll. My camper now is about 43” at the rear, same as the front and way more too heavy so this FWC will be much even if it’s 48” the entire length of the camper.
I found some 1/8" aluminum and 16ga locally. Going to figure out what I need this weekend and hopefully get it welded next week. I'm thinking overkill and using the 1/8" wall 2 layers over the entire body. That cantilever will be STOUT that way and won't add too much weight. Plus when I extend my bed way out, I'll have my welder weld some aluminum angle to the sides to support my bed frame and that 1/8" will help. My master plan is to basically have a king size bed in there. 76" wide but about 84" long would be sick. I'll build a frame for it out of aluminum that will sit on the aluminum angle welded to the sidewalls and also likely have a couple support legs that swing out and go to the floor. Having a big comfy bed is a big priority for me.
One question:Berts said:
How are you going to attach your camper to the truck?
- bolt through floor
- FWC method, inside bed tie-downs
- external tie-downs (e.g. Torklift)
If you are going with the FWC method you won't have enough room in back. I widened mine behind the wheel wells but I bolt through the floor. It adds a little bit more internal storage.
I use torklift external tie downs. Which will be an issue since this fleet is only 78” wide. It doesn’t stick past the exterior of my truck for the tie downs to have enough clearance away from my truck. I’m going to have to bolt on some thick aluminum plates or something that extend out a couple inches. I’ll cross that bridge when I need too I guess.
I'm getting the frame to my welder tomorrow. I decided to make the frame 79" long at the floor which will give me a 34" over the cab. Was going to go with 76" and 37" but I think I'll appreciate that extra 3" down the road. I also decided to make the front floor 48" wide and the rear 58". Again, I think I'll appreciate making the rear wider and adding a little extra storage back there. I've moved on from thinking I would like to close the tailgate.
Can't wait to get it back so I can build the floor pack and start feeling more productive.
I'll post pictures when I get it back.
Can't wait to get it back so I can build the floor pack and start feeling more productive.
I'll post pictures when I get it back.
I got the frame chopped and welded to the size I wanted. Also for the floor pack roughly installed.
I'm assuming people are sealing the corners for the floor pack? What are we using for that? I'm thinking some spray foam insulation in any crevasses, bituthene on all seams and I plan to use a roll on bed liner material from the auto parts store. All that seems a little overkill maybe. I'm guessing the bed liner will fill all those seams up on itself but I'm curious.
I'm assuming people are sealing the corners for the floor pack? What are we using for that? I'm thinking some spray foam insulation in any crevasses, bituthene on all seams and I plan to use a roll on bed liner material from the auto parts store. All that seems a little overkill maybe. I'm guessing the bed liner will fill all those seams up on itself but I'm curious.
Camper is resized, floor pack is screwed and all exterior seems caulked. I'll let that cure for a week before I apply 2 coats of bed liner roll on. I also need to apply plywood to the bed area. I'll apply 2 coats of the bed liner to that as well to make sure its sealed. I guess from there I need to figure out my electrical system. Get the roughed it so I can insulation and get the interior put together. One step at a time. Hope she is ready by Sept/Oct.
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