Big Blue Sky Cougar Build

[BlueSky]

Hello everyone,

New guy here with my Cougar I picked up a few weeks ago. It is a shell with furnace and roof fan on my mostly stock 2008 Tundra DC 4x4. My goal with this is to build it out to sleep 4 (wife, me and 2 kids) and have enough space for all of us to eat inside in bad weather. I also want to preserve the existing floor area, or most of it, and make it as spacious as possible while keeping it very simple. My last expedition machine was a 1986 Westfalia that took us on lots of great adventures, and I am looking forward to more capability with this rig, and fewer problems of course. I have never actually built an RV interior, so this is going to be interesting. Here's the rig in Bodega Bay right after I picked it up...

and on the road...

At home in CO, starting with this...

Looking forward to sharing this build as I go along.

 

[Casa Escarlata Robles Too]

Welcome to the site.Another ATC owner.Great campers.
Sounds like you have some great ideas for your camper.
Frank

 

[ski3pin]

Welcome to Wander the West and congrats on your new ATC!

 

[CougarCouple]

Hello BlueSky welcome to WtW. Your gunna love that Cougar, and enjoy the build out.

Russ

 

[BlueSky]

Thanks for the welcome. BTW - I slept like a rock in the cab over, that 4 inches of foam is perfect up there. First thing is to find a place for the 120AH deep cycle battery I got for about $90 at Walmart. I have not had great experiences with AGM batteries, so going old school lead acid this time around. I found that there is just enough room in the truck bed behind the wheel arch and I can still get the camper on and off the truck with no issues...

This puts the battery outside the camper which is good for regular lead acid, but the drawback is you can't access the positive terminal unless you take the camper off the truck. We'll see how this works for a while. I take the camper off the truck in winter, so it should be fine. I have it strapped to plywood with rubber bumpers screwed to the bottom so it is stable in there. While doing this I discovered there is a lot of room above the wheel arch and that first step from the bed could have been a few inches lower than the way ATC normally builds these. That would have given me a lot more storage area, but at least I can take advantage of the room behind the wheel arch on both sides. Only using one battery for now, so on the other side I have something different planned.

 

[Tuff Guy 62]

Welcome aboard BlueSky!

 

[longhorn1]

Welcome. Your pictures didn't open

 

[BlueSky]

Fixed the photo issue I believe, thanks for the heads up. Started working on the rear passenger side cabinet. This is where we'll put things that we need to access quick from the outside, such as our folding camp chairs, without having to climb into the camper. It is also going to support the cooler. I thought a lot about whether to get a fridge like an ARB, or just stick with a cooler. Since our camping trips tend to last only 3-4 days, I decided to keep it simple with a new 70qt Coleman extreme cooler that will keep ice for about 5 days. It only costs $40 compared to $850 for the ARB, and doesn't run at night while sleeping, and doesn't produce heat, and doesn't require another battery or solar panel. That's a lot of simplifying! I also found these "Cooler Shock" bags on Amazon that replace ice and got decent reviews. So no buying ice or dealing with water in the cooler. I like that the cooler is elevated off the floor so it is easy to get things in and out. I'll add tie-downs to keep it in place while driving. In the future if I take extended trips I can always add the ARB fridge in the same spot. BTW - I am using 1/2" birch plywood from Home Depot and 1"x1" or 1"x2" inner braces and various screws.

 

[Casa Escarlata Robles Too]

Coming along nicely.
Good way to go simple.

Thanks for posting the pictures.
Frank

 

[BlueSky]

Finished up the rear cabinet and then some.

It was a little tricky cutting out the door from a sheet of birch plywood with a jig saw. I understand there is a way to plunge a jig saw into plywood, but I needed accuracy. I drilled several small (maybe 3/16") holes along my cut line, and then cross drilled those to create a slot that I could put the jig saw blade down into. The result is flush door with matched grain to the outer frame that helps create the feeling of more space. I used some self closing surface mount hinges that required no large bore or holes other than for screws. We'll see how these hold up, so far so good. I also looked endlessly for a low profile pull knob or handle. I did not want a regular cabinet knob or handle that stuck out and caught the straps of backpacks and other things. Marine style slam latches required a lot of careful drilling and were expensive. I then realized the good old stainless steel Footman Loops that I use for 1" strap tie downs (like for the cooler) are also available in larger 2" sizes. Works great, cost is minimal, doesn't grab straps, and easy to install. Finally I installed the plywood section that makes up the side of the storage bin and will support the bench seat/bed.

Working with getting a nice smooth finish on this birch plywood I discovered that this wood has a sort of tiny hair that sticks up even after sanding with 220 grit. As I ran the palm of my hand one direction with the grain i can feel these tiny hairs stand up, and then going back the other direction they would lay down and make a more smooth surface. I made note of this when applying poly so that I used a one-direction brush stroke that laid these little hairs down. That's all for now, have to attend my brother's wedding so it will be a few days before I can get back to it.

 

[fireball]

Thanks for sharing!

What is the lower bed setup going to be?

We just bought a hawk shell and are planning to build a larger front dinette that will sleep two crossways and also allow for seating for all four of us.

 

[BlueSky]

My kids can't sleep side by side in the same bed, the older one always complains the little one kicks her all night. So I need to create two separate sleeping areas. One will go along the passenger side, and the other will go along the front, basically creating a big "L" shape. These beds will fold up to create bench seats, and fold down to create 2 bed platforms each about 23" wide and about 6' long. The folding part is accomplished with a piano hinge. I'll post the photos in a few days. My only concern is the kids rolling off in the middle of the night, especially the younger one.

 

[BlueSky]

Started working on the bench seats and lower bed platforms. On the passenger side this is the bench seat folded out to the bed platform that is 23" wide (no cushions yet)...

You can see the piano hinge there, and when you fold the two parts to about a 90 degree you slide the lower part back toward the window and it creates a bench seat. I am going to do the same thing along the front bench/bed with a piano hinge. In the corner is a stationary part that completes the "L" shape of the two lower beds. It will have a hinge along the wall so you can open it and access the storage space under it. Still working on the supports under the plywood for when the bed is deployed.

On the driver's side is a bench that is primarily for sitting, and helps complete the "L" shape of the lower beds. It also will have a hinge along the wall that allows access to the storage space under it.

 

[arg]

BlueSky, not trying to hijack the thread (maybe send me a PM), please comment on why you choose the shell size that overhangs the rear of the box, by what looks like 10 inches. Are you going to run with the tailgate on the truck? Did ATC comment on the overhang? Thanks.

 

[BlueSky]

That's a good question. ATC said no problem on the overhang just as long as you don't heavily load up the rear of the camper that hangs out. Mine will have the furnace and cooler back there and a few things in the storage box I made. On the 2nd Gen Tundra if you put the tailgate down you can't get the spare tire rod thing into the little hole, so you can't lower your spare tire. So, I took the tailgate off. I wanted to maximize the space in the camper, so I got the 8 foot long version. Truck handles fine, and I have a back-up camera to help in that regard. It looks a little funky, but when you see the final build with all the stuff on the roof it will look like the Beverly Hillbillies truck going down the road!

 

[BlueSky]

This one is probably going to void my warranty, but here goes...

Driver's side space behind the wheel arch and in front of the turnbuckle access hole.

Our frying pans and plates fit perfectly in there, but the cut got a little rough on the inside and I had to do some wood filler and sanding, and that really messed up the gray paint. I had no gray paint laying around, but a gallon of white semi-gloss, so white it is...

Added a door with self closing hinges and a Footman loop pull handle

 

[BlueSky]

Got the bench seating/beds nearly done, the white paint really brightened things up...

Working on the upholstery this weekend. I bought 1" extra firm high density foam, and layering 2" of memory foam I already had laying around. This will be comfortable enough for the kids to sleep on while not being too bulky for seating cushions.

 

[Alley-Kat]

In case you've never sewed upholstery fabric, my foam guy gave me these tips:

Make the size of the sewed fabric 1" smaller than the dimension of the foam all the way around to insure a nice tight fabric cover. It was fun stuffing the foam inside, but the fabric is still nice and tight after many years.

Double sew the seams, about 1/4" apart, with a generous seam allowance of about 3/4". If you don't get the size small enough for a nice tight fit of the fabric over the foam you can always go in and sew it again smaller. Especially if you find, like others have, that memory foam becomes like a hard brick when it gets cold.

FYI, I used 4" foam, don't know the density as I just trust my foam guy to make it right for my intended use. I also have small wood edges to keep the cushions in place. They stick up about 1.5" and when we are sitting we never feel them on the back of our legs.

Here's what mine look like after following my foam guy's advice.

BTW, Nice work so far.

 

[Happyjax]

Nice build. Looking forward to seeing whats next

 

[BlueSky]

Thanks for the tips Alley-Kat.

I did mine a little different, stapled the material under the plywood rather than making cushions...

In bench seating config...

In lower bed config, sleeps two, one along side window and one along front...

Here's some detail on how I did the sliding support parts...

So now time to work on the kitchen galley. When it is all done the Lagun table will swing out into the area surrounded by the bench seats, and then swing back and stow above the sink/stove. Lots of work, thanks for the support.