DIY Camper Build From Scratch

[GoinBoardin]

Liking your build.

This question is probably too late for you but I am wondering if anyone has considered making the lift panels out of Aluminum plate or welding up something. It seems to me that they could be light weighted with cutouts that would also provide access to the inside of the canvas behind the lift panels (where it is hard to keep clean and wipe off condensation to prevent mold growth.

I suspect Aluminum might be lighter, stronger and importantly less prone to degradation as well. I have done no engineering related to doing this so perhaps there is a good reason I have never seen anyone do this.

Craig

I made a set of lifts for my Fleet out of 3/4" square steel tube. I wanted 34" of lift so I could stand up plus a little extra room. It's sort of based on the electrical conduit design that's floating around wtw and expo, but folds more flat so it doesn't eat up matress storage space. It's posted on expedition portal in my Fleet flatbed conversion thread (my only thread on expo, same user name). I'd call it version 1: works, but I would invert the mechanism, and make the hinge mounts beefier.

 

[ckent323]

GoinBoardin,

I am familiar with the conduit approach but I am not a big fan of it. Too many sharp corners and such to catch material or skin.

I was thinking of basically the same panel shape as is used by FWC but made out of Aluminum with large rounded corner triangular light weighting holes cut out of it. Could be machined out of heavier billet type material or welded up or cut out of thicker aluminum plate (not exactly sure the best approach). But I think it would have superior strength, not be susceptible to water damage and as I wrote earlier allow easy access behind the lift panels.

The lift panels in my present FWC Keystone panels are still in great shape but I got the idea several years ago when I was contemplating refurbishing my previous FWC Keystone before I found and bought the one I have now and before I sold the old one.

All that written, I will go find your build on EP and take a look.


Edit: I took a look - nice job on the flatbed conversion. I like your take on the lift but still have reservations about the protrusions and places where canvas can snag and skin can get scraped/cut. I does appear to be more robust than the EMT versions I have seen.

Are you seeing any scuffing on the canvas where it rubs on the lift components? Any problems with bedding or shin getting snagged on the protrusions (attach points, fasteners, pivot, tube ends)?

Craig

 

[Wyo1]

Wyo1,

Nice to see you back at it, and posting again.

Regarding the rivets used for the lift panels, here are a few thoughts. I did use 1/8" diameter for the hinges, and I apologize but I can't remember the length, but somewhere between 3/8" to 1/2". The correct term for the larger head is "large flange"rivets. You can find them by doing a search on eBay, but it may take some looking for all aluminum, which is best for avoiding rust.

You could take some of your scrap material and do some testing for length with standard flange rivets, keeping in mind you may need to flatten them a bit, especially on the center hinge for complete folding. You need enough length to get enough of the rivet crushing to hold the work. Too short and they barely crush before snapping off. Choosing aluminum composite paneling sounds like a good idea, I'll be anxious to see how it turns out. It occurs to me that you may not need the large flange rivets in your application, since you may not have the same issue of wood that crushes a bit around the rivets, especially when flattening them out a bit, as discussed above.

Shellback did his lift panels out of aluminum panels as well, so perhaps he can chime in on the rivets he used.

You could call ATC to ask specifically what size rivets they use, as well.

hope that helps a little.

Poky

Thank you for the insight poky. I found some rivets on eBay that I think will work. My lift panel plus hinge has a total thickness of 3/16” so ordered the rivets based on the mfg. stated grip range. I chose the 1/8” dia. large flange with 1/4” length...hoping they will work.
Since I have to wait for the rivets to arrive in the mail, I decided to get started on the canvas top portion of the camper. Am using the same material as Poky and others. Now just gotta research window size and placement. I have a friend that makes various leather goods including buffalo robes, so hoping I’ll be able to have him do the sewing for me.

 

[Karlton]

Looking forward to this build. Wish I had the time and skill to complete something like this.

Go Pokes!

 

[shellback]

Wyo1, I also built my lift panels out of ACM material. Shame you ordered the rivets, as I have a bunch. I think I bought a pack of 500 with the wide flange. I'm sorry I missed this post. My computer is in the shop and I'm trying to make do with a Amazon tablet and my Iphone. If you can find my old thread 79 Granby, it has some good info on the lift panels I made.

 

[philos65]

A previous owner had replaced the lift panels with a doubled sheet of 80s type interior paneling. There was no middle hinge. It lay flat on the bed and lay flat above the door. You had to lift the roof and the panel. It wasn't a "lift" panel. He had not installed anything to slide the panel along, so it slid along the headliner. It worked, but the design could have been improved.

Jeff

 

[Wyo1]

Wyo1, I also built my lift panels out of ACM material. Shame you ordered the rivets, as I have a bunch. I think I bought a pack of 500 with the wide flange. I'm sorry I missed this post. My computer is in the shop and I'm trying to make do with a Amazon tablet and my Iphone. If you can find my old thread 79 Granby, it has some good info on the lift panels I made.

I ordered a 500 pack of rivets myself so I’m sure to have tons of extras haha. That’s ok, they weren’t too expensive.

 

[Living The Dream]

Love the effort, screw it I'll build my own! Will be so rad when done. Keep up the good work.

 

[Wyo1]

Love the effort, screw it I'll build my own! Will be so rad when done. Keep up the good work.

I had intentions of rebuilding/modifying my 1980 fleet to that of a new one. But ultimately decided it would be cheaper and easier to start from scratch. Not to mention I could still use the old one while I built the new one.
I wanted to thank you for your videos as they have been helpful in putting together my sideliner. I did a few things differently than yours and Pokybro, but only slightly.

 

[Wyo1]

I have been making decent progress on my camper lately. I finally have the lift panels entirely completed and they turned out quite well. And as far as I can tell, they fold up properly and as long as I install them to the camper properly, I think they’ll work perfect. Using aluminum composite paneling, they’ll never rot. I also increased the height by 1” total to 26 5/16” approx. to add height to the panels you must move the center hinge up by half the amount of extra height you want to gain. Then make the top panel taller by the other half. In my case, I moved the center hinge up 1/2” and made the top panel 1/2” taller.
I’ve also got the sideliner ready to sew, and will be taking it to a friend who has a business making leather goods and is experienced and equipped to sew thick materials. I’m thinking the sewing I need done is quite simple compared to some of the buffalo robes etc. that he builds. It really went together very good and as long as it sews up the same I’d say it’ll turn out nearly perfect. Lots of planning and playing with numbers, and the first window I laid out was slow going. But once I figured it out, the rest went a little quicker.

 

[Wyo1]

 

[Wyo1]

When it comes time to sew the windows up in the next few days, I’ve opted to do the privacy flap a little different than what I saw Poky and Tim do. I can’t see really why the privacy flap needs to be tucked to the outside with the screen and window vinyl, as the clear window is what keeps the moisture out. So I’m thinking I can sew the bottom of the privacy flap on the inside and all the way across the bottom and it should provide for a nice clean and simple look as well. Hopefully I’m not wrong in my thinking.

 

[shellback]

Looking good!

 

[Wyo1]

Got the two main sideliner panels with windows sewn up today. Took more time than expected, about 4 hours, and wrestling the large pieces wasn’t pleasant. Overall turned out pretty good, had a little bit of wrinkling happen on the bottom of one of the windows when sewing in the window and privacy flaps. I opted to not tuck the bottom of the privacy flap to the outside and instead sewed it all the way across on the inside and did triple stitches in the corners. It seems to me it will still be just as water tight as the window flap and screen are still tucked to the outside, and provides a better looking finished product on the inside.
A big thanks to my friend Merlin for doing the sewing for me. Go check out their website if you’re into handmade leather goods and hides. After checking out some of his work, I may just have him make me cushion covers out of buffalo hide for the fold over couch, would be unique and considerably more durable than normal upholstery fabric!
www.merlinshideout.com

 

[Wyo1]

Another look at the triple stitch on the bottom corner, from the outside.

 

[shellback]

That wrinkling at the bottom was a problem for me also. I actually canned my first 2 panels due to that. I started sewing mine with the screen side up and under the foot of the sewing machine. A friends wife explained the problem was possibly due to the different type materials. She suggested I sew with the screen side down, and that helped a lot. I did get 1 small wrinkle at a corner, but was satisfied overall. I'm pretty sure my original panels were done the way you made yours. I made mine following Poky's plans, with one exception. Where he glued patches in the corners, I glued a strip across the whole bottom. I wasn't taking any chances on leaks. If it ain't damp, it ain't camp! LOL.

 

[Wyo1]

Shellback,
The wrinkling was fairly minimal and only below one window. I’m thinking I’ll be able to fix it somewhat when I install the the sideliner on the camper body. Don’t think it’s worth it to me to sew up another side panel to fix it haha.

On another note, I spent tons of time researching refrigerators of all kinds and pulled the trigger on an Isotherm cruise 65. Am nowhere near ready for a fridge, but West Marine had them on sale and free shipping until the 15th of April. Also found a $15 coupon online to bring it to a final price of $592.99. I think I got a good deal, but I sure hope I made the right decision going with this fridge vs. a 3-way or even a portable ac/dc chest type.

 

[buckland]

You will not regret it one bit. I installed last year 65L and it is a wonderful fridge. super quiet. I have DC only but it keeps everything cold and uses very little energy. Good choice.

 

[buckland]

Last year i installed the DC 65L isotherm and this Spring converted the side couch to a side dinette. Also I removed old counter and replaced so I could move stove top out from under the pull out bed. Coffee in the AM! I won’t put in the sink as we never use it... I will put the pump back on the counter as we use the water. We usually wash plates in a Tupperware tub as I prefer having food smells outside. Just have to make the new cushion covers.

 

[Wyo1]

Finally back to making some progress on my camper build project!
Most of the work I had been doing in my unfinished walkout basement. The camper was far enough along that it had to be moved out of the basement to continue on. So with that, I had to build a shed where I could finish building the camper and also provide storage for it until I build a garage in the next year or so. Once the shed was done, I got the main body and sides all welded together to finally have a complete camper body frame! It was so nice to finally see a full camper take shape! With that done, I could start the next step which was siding. The siding is now on, and the necessary openings were cutout using a router and flush cut bit. It’s starting to look pretty good if I say so myself! I’m hoping in the next month or so I’ll have a complete shell!
The official camper shed