Truck camper home build

[Vic Harder]

After many many hours of reading wtw project threads I thought documenting mine on here was a good way to keep the knowledge sharing alive...a way to repay the gift others gave by sharing their experience. It doesn't seem like there's much interest here for legacy style building. On previous threads there seemed to be a fair amount of interaction from the community. I have been slow in uploading info and short on description because it appears that there's a lack of interest in the project. I'm not sure if I'll continue.

this is seriously impressive work.... please do keep it up

 

[Avg.Joe]

I hear you folks. Thanks for letting me know you're out there.

 

[Happyjax]

Man I'm loving this! Pocket holes instead of staples...great idea

 

[ski3pin]

It is fun to watch your creativity, design, and craftsmanship. Well done, thanks for posting, and we're looking forward to more!

 

[Avg.Joe]

The walls were primed and painted this week.

 

[Avg.Joe]

I finished up the wall insulation today.
I called in two of our boys to help me get the floor section out of the basement this afternoon. It was so close that I had to remove the handrail to do it. We all wondered aloud how Gibbs got the boat out of his basement.

 

[Avg.Joe]

Thanks Vic and Ski for chiming in. Your projects were very informative and helpful for planning this one.

 

[Vic Harder]

I finished up the wall insulation today.
I called in two of our boys to help me get the floor section out of the basement this afternoon. It was so close that I had to remove the handrail to do it. We all wondered aloud how Gibbs got the boat out of his basement.

oh man, it if had not fit on the way out of the basement.... that would have been a[SIZE=10.5pt]ggravating! Looking very good. Are you going to skin the outside with alum? [/SIZE]

 

[Avg.Joe]

Thanks for the kind words.

Yes aggravating indeed and an expensive mistake. Thank goodness it worked out in my favor.

The skin on this one will be Ben Moore house paint. The next might be aluminum framed and skinned, but this time around it'll be all wood.

 

[rando]

Very nice woodwork, definitely a step up from the staple and twisty 2x2" on most wood framed campers!

One question I have is if you calculated the loading for the cab over section attachment? It seems to me that that part is kind of the crux of the cab over design. I know with FWC the cab over section is a continuous piece of aluminium C-channel that extends well back into the walls for support. In the back of my mind I still wonder if it is going to fall off in the middle of the night even with 2 people who are lighter than average Americans. It wasn't until the flatbed campers which have room to stack 2 C-channels vertically that FWC went to the longer queen size cab overs, so I guess they were also concerned about the cantilever.

 

[Avg.Joe]

While doing research, I found where someone shared schematics from Hallmark truck campers. They would be considered a premier wood framed camper in my opinion. I copied their framing very closely. I'm not sure how they fasten their joints but our Lance is stapled with no glue. Also both the Lance and Hallmark use 3/4" pine. So to up the durability factor I've used 5/4 select grade pine (no knots) and glued all joints along with the pocket hole screws. I was able to find testing info regarding strength of the glued joint and the screwed joint and based on that I felt confident enough to give this a try. I would also think that gluing and stapling plywood to both inside and outside will provide extra shear strength.

Although we love our north south bed in the Lance, we are going to have an east west full size so as to shorten the cabover.

 

[rando]

Sounds like you have thought this through! I have no experience with wood framed campers, so I didn't know how this was typically done. Better than the competition is likely a safe bet.

 

[Avg.Joe]

Yeah I've done a fair bit of reading and ear bending with craftsmen. I like working with wood and I trust that it'll work out in the end. Either way I'll be sharing the results here so the next person dreaming about building something he can't afford to buy new can see whether this way works.

 

[Avg.Joe]

...that's a big part of why I wanted to share my project here. This seems to be a place where folks try stuff and share knowledge with each other. A lot of other forums are big on naysaying but I haven't seen that on WTW. I'm thankful to all that shared before.

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

Joe, your thread has me thinking about doing something similar in the form of a pod that I could put on my lightweight Aluma utility trailer. It may be just a pipe dream, but I miss having something small for my solo trips.

 

[Avg.Joe]

Wandering Sagebrush, that's a great idea! What's holding you back?
If you go for it in the future, look up tristatesurplusllc.com for cheap prices on windows and baggage doors. They sell "blemished" items from the RV industry.

 

[Avg.Joe]

I've got a tarp garage set up outside where the rest of construction will be happening. A good buddy, who was willing to work in 100 degree heat, helped me carry pieces out of the basement and put them together in a permanent way. We glued, screwed, and stapled the whole deal together.

 

[Avg.Joe]

I am so excited to have gotten to this point. A walk out basement shop that could've housed the whole project would be nice but a little sweat never hurt anyone.

 

[Avg.Joe]

Here's the new work space.

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

Wandering Sagebrush, that's a great idea! What's holding you back?
If you go for it in the future, look up tristatesurplusllc.com for cheap prices on windows and baggage doors. They sell "blemished" items from the RV industry.

Biggest issue is too many irons in the fire, including looking for a new home in a drier part of the state. When you’re in your 70s, some jobs are best done with a wallet.