Opinions for an Ocelot Shell Build

[murphy744]

i'm probably going to be ordering an Ocelot shell here in the near future. I chose the shell, well...because of my budget.I have poured through all of the shell builds and really have seen some great stuff. I have a tentative list of options I'm looking at. Any input would be appriciated....

OPTIONS:
Jacks
Aux Batt
Solar Wiring (I have a 100w portable)
Fan
Struts
Yaks (60")
Rear Wall Steps
Bed Ext.
Water Tank Fill for future build
Sink drain for future build
Propane cabinet

I'm still not sure if I want to bite the bullet on a furnace, or just go with a Wave 6? The furnace options takes a big junk of build funds.

I may even delete the Fan, Yaks, and rear steps option???

I spoke with Marty @ ATC and he did recommend the IOTA 30amp converter with the IQ4 smart chip, if I want 110v capability. This would be in the future as well. I could put in a 110v plug, but he said just run an extention cord out the port.

And finally, struggling over a side dinette build.

Decisions, decisions......

 

[billharr]

Lots of builds to look at on WTW. Be honest of what skills you have to do the build, what is easy for some is not for others. Also what do you want to end up with when you are done? Everyone wants something different and no ones is better than someone else's. I would ask if ATC builds in the reinforcements for the heater vent, fresh water fill, sink drain and fresh water tank drain. FWC does not and i have had to build them on my hawk shell build. Looks like a good list you have started.

 

[Taku]

We have the side dinette in our Ocelot and are very glad we went with that rather than the front or bench. I am building the main cabinet and drawers, just had ATC put in the propane box and an ice box. Went with a Wave 3 that sits up against the front wall and slides out using two heavy drawer slides. The Wave is mounted on a tv wall mount attached to the drawer it sits in so it can be tilted in three directions. While a furnace is probably nice, at this point we like having the extra space. I will try to post some photos, but it might be a while since everything in the basement workshop is currently stacked up due to a bit of flooding. I would get as much of what you have listed as you can at the time of build, since as Bill said above, you have to be honest about how much building you want to do. I would have done more of the building had I still had the shop space at our old house in MT, however here in western WY we don't have the space and summer is too precious to spend building! Good Luck - they are riduculously comfortable after tent camping for decades!

 

[murphy744]

Taku,
I would love to see pics of your build when you have time. I'm coming from an offroad trailer. It had a stove and sink, but we never used it. We always set up camp outside....where the party is.

For us wood working challenged types, has anyone ever thought of using kitchen cabinets from Lowes or Home Depot as storage, then mounting a laminate counter top on top of that.??

Just a thought.

 

[takesiteasy]

If you are planning a to build it out soon after buying, I would decide what you are going to do ahead of time so you can factor that into the shell build. Things like wiring, reinforcements for fixture attachments, etc. Way easier to do during the initial manufacturing than later.

 

[billharr]

Taku,

For us wood working challenged types, has anyone ever thought of using kitchen cabinets from Lowes or Home Depot as storage, then mounting a laminate counter top on top of that.??

Just a thought.

I am a crate maker and not a cabinet maker. I had a local cabinet shop do my drawers so they are square and made right ($35.00 each). I am sure if I gave them the dimensions they could have done the whole cabinet for me.

 

[ski3pin]

For us wood working challenged types, has anyone ever thought of using kitchen cabinets from Lowes or Home Depot as storage, then mounting a laminate counter top on top of that.??

Okay, I have some skills as I work with wood all the time but the cabinet building from the factories is pretty simple. Most of the upright dividers are held in place with L brackets and screws. The counter top is held to the uprights and camper side with more L brackets, The square cabinet bases for the side dinette are held to the floor pack with more L brackets and screws. The difficult part is installing a nice looking cabinet face and perhaps drawers if you want them. If you can cut a square piece of plywood on a table saw you are on your way.

I'd think that the problems with dimensions of store bought cabinets along with the unnecessary weight of fiberboard would limit the practicality of that approach.

I'd suggest having ATC build your driver's side floor pack with the top piece of plywood cabinet width (will be the bottom of your cabinet) the way they do their cabinet. They build a simple white formica cabinet top. Think of adding that to the cost of your shell. It would be less or the same than then from a cabinet shop. That way you'll have a cabinet top that will fit when you build it out.

 

[murphy744]

Thanks ski,
I talked to Marty and of course he remembers your build. I'm guessing if I said do what you did to Ski's he could make it happen

Okay, I have some skills as I work with wood all the time but the cabinet building from the factories is pretty simple. Most of the upright dividers are held in place with L brackets and screws. The counter top is held to the uprights and camper side with more L brackets, The square cabinet bases for the side dinette are held to the floor pack with more L brackets and screws. The difficult part is installing a nice looking cabinet face and perhaps drawers if you want them. If you can cut a square piece of plywood on a table saw you are on your way.

I'd think that the problems with dimensions of store bought cabinets along with the unnecessary weight of fiberboard would limit the practicality of that approach.

I'd suggest having ATC build your driver's side floor pack with the top piece of plywood cabinet width (will be the bottom of your cabinet) the way they do their cabinet. They build a simple white formica cabinet top. Think of adding that to the cost of your shell. It would be less or the same than then from a cabinet shop. That way you'll have a cabinet top that will fit when you build it out.

 

[murphy744]

Ok,
So my stomping grounds are the Inyo's, panamint valley, DV, Saline Valley, and surrounding areas. Once in a while I make the trek back to my home town of Bishop, to do some fishing in the Coyote Flats area. I'm guessing the coldest temps we encountered where in Striped Butte Valley in January.........maybe high teens.

Now with that said, I'm leaning toward a Wave 6 heater instead of a Furnace.

Thoughts!!!

 

[ski3pin]

Thanks ski,
I talked to Marty and of course he remembers your build. I'm guessing if I said do what you did to Ski's he could make it happen

Funny thing is, though, I didn't do this on our build. ATC's way is simple and very good. Because of other factors, I went a little more complicated route.

 

[ski3pin]

We love our wave and for most times we are living in the camper, it works great alone. When we're sitting we enjoy the continuous, constant heat. That aspect can't be beat. We also added the furnace because we might have some real cold camps and we like the quick warm up. We enjoy reaching down from bed and clicking the thermostat on and getting the camper warm. If we only had the wave, we could do fine with it alone.

Our use is warm up with the furnace (we do not heat with either when sleeping overnight), wiggle and stretch, get up, start the coffee, light the wave. The camper heats up so the thermostat does not restart the furnace.

Actually lighting the stove to boil water adds a great deal to the warm up of camper space. ATC's are very well insulated, especially the roof.

 

[murphy744]

We normally do the same when I had the trailer. After out sitting around the fire, the wife would go in and hit the thermostat to heat it up. But we sleep under a down comforter and flannel sheets, so it would be quite cool during the night. Plus the dogs are buried under the covers too. The mornings were the same routine, a quick warm up, then it went off.

I really like the furnace option for the reasons discussed, but trying to stay within budget.

 

[craig333]

Nine out of ten are happy they got the heater. Are you an exception? If resale value figures in then definitely get the heater.

 

[murphy744]

Nine out of ten are happy they got the heater. Are you an exception? If resale value figures in then definitely get the heater.

Unfortunately, your right. Something keeps telling me I will regret it if I don't.

 

[Taku]

Murph: I put a post on the drawer build in our Ocelot here (http://www.wanderthewest.com/forum/gallery/album/735-ocelot-drawer-build-in-progress/). Take a good look at Ski3Pins build also, he is way better at this stuff than me. I think he recommended having the bottom cabinet piece put in by ATC. I would second that, I only had ATC put it under as far as the propane box, and then realized I did want to have the bottom all the way across. Not a big deal, but would have saved time and effort. I am far from having carpentry skills to make things look at all professional, but it has been fun (most of the time) building what I have. Good luck!

 

[murphy744]

Murph: I put a post on the drawer build in our Ocelot here (http://www.wanderthewest.com/forum/gallery/album/735-ocelot-drawer-build-in-progress/). Take a good look at Ski3Pins build also, he is way better at this stuff than me. I think he recommended having the bottom cabinet piece put in by ATC. I would second that, I only had ATC put it under as far as the propane box, and then realized I did want to have the bottom all the way across. Not a big deal, but would have saved time and effort. I am far from having carpentry skills to make things look at all professional, but it has been fun (most of the time) building what I have. Good luck!

Nice work. I think this is something I can handle....

 

[Ambling1]

I took delivery of my Ocelot shell model 10 days ago and couldn't be happier. I highly recommend adding 2" to the liner height for more headroom over the bed. Also the electric wiring in the shell model is very basic so think really hard about adding any exterior lights and interior switches!

 

[Taku]

We second the additional 2" on the top. We did not get this and my head regrets it!