POD: Homebuilt foam core fiberglass skin pop-up camper build thread

[JohnF]

What force is required at the top of the cantilever side of the door to pull it back into spec? (use a small scale and rope and pull as straight as you can. That is, at and along the top from the right of the door.)
Maybe that measurement should be taken with a little more weight at the cantilever end.
Put a straight edge along the bottom of the floor and measure how much deformation is across the entire length -vs- localized to right at the door.

What sort of structure will be behind the wall in the corner between the door and cantilever? Can we design it to carry load to the floor?

What is the depth across the bottom of the door and how is the load carried across it?

Can you put a 2x12 along the bottom on the door side and clamp in the center of the door until it touches the 2by and pull the top back into spec?

 

[pods8]

pods,

Just a quick thought on the door flex issue. Looking at your photos I'm guessing the flex you are seeing is coming from the floor at the door area. You might try weighting the door area and the cantilever equally and see how much deflection you get. If it is less then reinforcing the floor/door frame and attaching to the flatbed in the door area of the floor might solve the problem.


That thought has crossed my mind but ideally I don't want to rely on it and build each structure to handle loads independently. Right now I'm leaning towards doing a bit more unidirectional carbon.

So stiffness of composites is a function of E*A, E=their modulus (basically how stiff they are) and A= cross sectional area. I sat down today and punched up the theoretical numbers for what I've currently built (doesn't matter that it'll be less in reality because I'm not comparing it against a load, I'm just trying to increase it by a factor which should in turn cut the deflection equally). So if I 2.5x that number it should cut the deflection down by 2.5x to ~1/8". There are a variety of combinations I can use depending on what materials I pick up and a tradeoff of cost/time since carbon is more costly. But at the moment if on each side I laid down 2 plys of 24" wide uni carbon near the door and cap it with a ply or two of fiberglass it should putt me where I want while limiting labor in lamination and thickness of the overall build up in that zone verse just using fiberglass which would require 7 38" wide strips on each side (the fiberglass cap is to help make sure the carbon stays tied in and also to provide a protection layer during sanding phases so that gets sanded and not the carbon).

What force is required at the top of the cantilever side of the door to pull it back into spec? (use a small scale and rope and pull as straight as you can. That is, at and along the top from the right of the door.)
Maybe that measurement should be taken with a little more weight at the cantilever end.
Put a straight edge along the bottom of the floor and measure how much deformation is across the entire length -vs- localized to right at the door.

What sort of structure will be behind the wall in the corner between the door and cantilever? Can we design it to carry load to the floor?

What is the depth across the bottom of the door and how is the load carried across it?

Can you put a 2x12 along the bottom on the door side and clamp in the center of the door until it touches the 2by and pull the top back into spec?


Not sure how much force we're realistically talking to pull the door gaps back together (I don't have a scale of that nature).

There will be cabinets that will help carry load to the floor but that really isn't the issue it's the floor itself flexing in the door gap zone since there isn't a wall profile reinforcing it.

The floor is ~2.25" thick in the door vicinity with the current laminations. The fiberglass skins with a bit of unidirectional carbon currently carry the load.

I'd need to lift the camper back up off the floor to check out/confirm if pulling the floor down closes the gap to use the a beam on the bottom and a clamp however I can pile a load of weight there as DLN mentioned to accomplish the same check.

 

[Mark W. Ingalls]

That thought has crossed my mind <snip>

If DLN is right (and I think he is) you should be able to measure your floor humping up at the threshhold of the door. Please do that experiment, so I can decide whether or not to stop trusting DLN's shade-tree FEA!

 

[natjwest]

Here's a shot with 320lb loaded at the front end of the cantilever. The tip of the cantilever dips down 1/4" which is fine with me however I'm displeased with the flexing I'm getting in the door gap. The door opening width at the top spreads about 5/16" with that load on it and may can door fit/seal issues.

Just tell the immensely fat person to get the F out of your camper.

Problem solved

 

[pods8]

Ok DLN, numbers for ya. Again putting the 320lb out at the front of the cantilever produces and 5/16" increase in the top of the door gap. I stacked ~500lb in the door way and the change was 3/8" the other way resulting in a 1/16" net reduction in the door gap. When my 200lb is added onto the door area the gap reduced another 1/8" to a 3/16" net reduction. Definately going to add more stiffness to the floor there (and the roof when I build it).

 

[Gerdo]

I'm guessing that you don't want anything across the top of the door opening. Even a 1"x1" tube would eliminate the spreading.

 

[pods8]

I'm guessing that you don't want anything across the top of the door opening. Even a 1"x1" tube would eliminate the spreading.


I am going to just move onto the roof for now. Might consider a reduced height door but want to stew on it more.

 

[home skillet]

I hadn't posted on your thread in a while so thought I'd drop in this morning and let you know that I am still watching!

Looks solid. You'll come up with a solution for the door issue. Good Idea to step and give it some thought.

Anxious to see the top come together.

Home Skillet

 

[pods8]

Haven't touched it in over a month, since the new baby. However we've got family visiting now so I'll use the extra set of hands to help me rip a bunch of plywood strips so I can start piecing together the roof.

 

[johnr9q]

I am the fellow that built the following camper: http://www.wanderthewest.com/forum/index.php?/topic/5091/ I have had a few conversations with Pod8 and think I should post them here for all to see.
I joined this site and posted info regarding my camper. As far as the actuators are concerned, I did use the Firgelli actuators on the exterior of my rig and, as you know, they are rated only for interior use. I did have a problem with them filling with water, all of them continued to operate but very slowly. One of them, I had to replace the motor because it wouldn't operate. I built a plastic cover for them that goes up and down with the actuator and seals them against the elements and have not had any problem since then. Other sellers sell actuators that are rated for exterior use that you might consider such as AEI Linear Actuators. By the way, Firgelli doesn't allow it but you can take them apart and reset the stop limits. Nice looking build on your camper. If I can provide additional help, just ask. John R

 

[johnr9q]

I wired my actuators with no relays. Some of the actuators are slower so a master switch that activates them all then 4 individual switches that I occasionally use when I need to stop one momentarily. My fold up panels have a seal on the top and I have a piece of aluminum that sticks down (Kinda like your overlapping walls except they only stick down 4 inches) the bottom of this aluminum piece is kicked out so the rain is directed away from the camper and this kick out engages a seal. There is a bulb seal on the outside top of the camper base that this aluminum piece passes over and securly seals both in the up and down position. (I have a 80 lb spring on the bottom of my actuators that provide a constant pull on the camper top and also provide for any missadjustment for how far the top goes up or down. The latches for the camper are just like four wheel camper uses but heavier duty. I also have pins (plungers) in the top of the folding panels that, when the panels are fully upright, engage in holes in the top. I often drive with my camper in the erected position and have no problem. I try not to drive over 60 mph with it up.

 

[home skillet]

I am the fellow that built the following camper: http://www.wanderthewest.com/forum/index.php?/topic/5091/ I have had a few conversations with Pod8 and think I should post them here for all to see.
I joined this site and posted info regarding my camper. As far as the actuators are concerned, I did use the Firgelli actuators on the exterior of my rig and, as you know, they are rated only for interior use. I did have a problem with them filling with water, all of them continued to operate but very slowly. One of them, I had to replace the motor because it wouldn't operate. I built a plastic cover for them that goes up and down with the actuator and seals them against the elements and have not had any problem since then. Other sellers sell actuators that are rated for exterior use that you might consider such as AEI Linear Actuators. By the way, Firgelli doesn't allow it but you can take them apart and reset the stop limits. Nice looking build on your camper. If I can provide additional help, just ask. John R


Same actuators that I used on my build. 9 months of pretty heavy use in all weather conditions and no issues at all with them. Mine are interior of course, but a solid actuator for sure. I am very happy with them.

Home Skillet

 

[pods8]

New year, finally some new progress. Newest addition is 3mo old now and things are starting to get a bit more ironed out so I can start chipping away at this again. Got a few hours in on roughing in the roof structure. The center flat area is raised 2" from the rest to give the roof a bit of slope on the sides to hopefully sluff water off (I may try to put a slight arc in the top flat part too). The wide strips of wood are cedar (lighter and rot resistant, even though I'll have sealant on anything drilled into it) and are for solid blocking to bolt through for my 100watt solar panel (or whatever). I'll probably put it on the rear portion that is slightly angled down but I gave myself flexibility:

 

[pods8]

Anyone have any thoughts about whether to bother with a second vent and if so the placement? Here's a sketch of what is currently going on. As mentioned above the center square is slightly raised and the sides slope down slightly. The red X is the current vent I've framed in and is in the vicinity of the stove which is where I intended. The blue X is probably where the solar panel will go. Pondering if I should bother with a second vent over the bed or not, since the one over the stove is close to the bed. If there was one over the bed the second question becomes placement, I was quickly stewing on it with the wife and we though maybe one centered on the bed (both front/back and side/side) might be a decent spot since it would direct airflow down at center mass rather than heads/feet. Again though not sure if its really needed compared to use using a 12V portable fan to direct airflow if needed. I do not have the over bed vent on my FWC and can't say I've ever really missed it, however the PNW isn't that hot and some of the south west folks say they really like the second vent, don't want to hamper travels in hotter areas down the line...

Any sage traveler advice as I rough this together?

 

[chnlisle]

We like the powered vent over the sleeping area. When used Blowing in, It doubles as a cooling fan on warm nights.

 

[Alley-Kat]

I like the powered 6600R in the main cabin, blowing out, with the non-powered vent over the bed delivering a nice breeze... in and downward, when I'm in the warm, to hot desert.

 

[pods8]

The one over the stove is definitely going to be powered. If I put one over the bed I have a spare fantastic vent so I can either put that above the bed now and if deemed needed upgrade it to powered later or start off with powered. At the moment I'd probably be inclined to just do a non-powered vent since I have it. In reality the main focus is whether to accommodate it in the structure construction at this point.

 

[DanoT]

My Fantastic vent requires a second vent or window to be cracked open in order for the fan to work. I have a vent over the bed, the Fantastic Vent in the centre of the camper near the stove, and a vent in the shower stall.

 

[pods8]

My Fantastic vent requires a second vent or window to be cracked open in order for the fan to work. I have a vent over the bed, the Fantastic Vent in the centre of the camper near the stove, and a vent in the shower stall.


I'll have 6 horizontal slider windows on this. One on each side of the bed, one on each side and back of the dinette, and one under the cabover (this one is nice because you can usually open it even in foul weather since it's shielded pretty well).

 

[pods8]

Finished roughing out the top. Need to glue all the pieces together (only the top flat part and part of the rear are glued so far) and fill in the gaps. It'll get faired out well before glassing. I built the wood frame for a second vent and it's sitting in the possible position, after things are glued together I'll settle on a place and cut out a hole for that and glue it in. I'll probably start on the sides after that and circle back the interior blocking/conduit I'll need to install. Weather has been quite cold and family is sick so still moving slow but at least its something which is good for my morale!