Truck camper home build

[Avg.Joe]

How do the top and bottom mate? Two flat surfaces? Weatherstripping

As I install the vinyl liner, I'll do my best to include pics of the process. The top of the side wall and the ceiling mating surface are both flat. There will be an overlap on the outside as a way to keep as much weather out when it's closed as possible.


Also, regarding the width of the camper and your flatbed. The angled gussets attached between your flatbed and headache rack won't interfere

You've got a good eye. I will be removing those gussets. The amount of welding on this bed is insane. It's definitely not going to hurt my application to not have those in place. The diesel heater will exhaust in that space that the headache rack frame provides.

Did you source the windows/door from anyplace special?

Tri State Surplus. They sell blemished items that the rv factory didn't use. All the windows and baggage doors you can see were $425. They're on eBay and Amazon.

 

[Bike_Mech]

I'm very interested in your project since Ive been planning a aluminum frame version VERY similar to what your doing. I was working with a spool gun last week, with varying success.

You've peaked my interest some more with mentioning the diesel heater. The webasto and webasto China made clones are pretty popular amongst the van folks. Are you thinking about one of those?


Thanks for the Tri State mention, I'll search them out.

-Chris

 

[Avg.Joe]

I thought this project would be a warm-up for an aluminum framed and skinned build, but if this one holds up I think I'll stick with it long term. I'm sure you have your reasons for wanting aluminum. I might need paint and sealing maintenance more often but all my other boxes have been checked...so far.

The diesel heater will be one of the Chinese made units. There track record is good and they are super affordable. The John McK 47 channel on YouTube has been invaluable for instruction on these heaters.

Best of luck on your deal Chris and enjoy the process!!

 

[WillTheThri11]

I was working with a spool gun last week, with varying success.



-Chris

Not sure what your experience level is, but even with the control of Tig, it's quite challenging to weld thin aluminum. If you're building from scratch, you might consider 1/8" frame members and using less of them in a "space frame" rather than "stud/ladder" structural design.

 

[Avg.Joe]

Before trying to bend conduit for the lifters, I watched a bunch of videos and got a brief tutorial from a co-worker who is an electrician on the side. As it turns out, I was still missing a crucial piece of info and I was feeling like a total dumbass for not getting it right. Then I found pdf instructions from Klein tools that named the U shape I was trying to make as a back to back bend and gave detailed steps including where to place the bender for the second bend. The bender I bought is a less expensive version than the Klein but lo and behold it had the star mark that is used to set up the bend. The scrap pile had been growing so I felt somewhat redeemed when I got 4 pieces bent, drilled, and bolted together.
After bumping the roof this way and that to get it lined up perfect, I mounted the lifters. I was shocked when I couldn't lift the roof. It dawned on me that the roof is pretty dang heavy and it was unreasonable to expect to lift it without more leverage or some other help, like gas struts. So, now I work back from the other side. I'll get the liner hung from the propped up roof and then mount the four 60# struts and cross my fingers. Hopefully by next week I'll have this all worked out. We are deep into fall here and the number of hours of good weather is dropping steadily.

 

[Avg.Joe]

We've been working on the vinyl liner install this week. It's going fairly well. I feel like at this point I can say that Phoenix Pop Up Campers did a great job making the liner.

 

[Avg.Joe]

Does anyone have advice on figuring out gas strut placement? I am really struggling to get them right and not have a million mount holes from wrong placement.

 

[hebegebe]

Does anyone have advice on figuring out gas strut placement? I am really struggling to get them right and not have a million mount holes from wrong placement.

Do the initial placement with them extended

 

[Avg.Joe]

I'll try that.
I had a bad experience yesterday. I tried raising the roof by myself but it was too heavy. When it lowered the rod end of the strut housing pinched the vinyl liner. There was some minor damage. Now I know that spacers are needed. I thought about reversing the struts so the rod end is up figuring there would be less chance of pinching but the that would allow water or dirt to sit on the tube end cap around the rod. That didn't seem optimal.

Needless to say I have a health respect for the manufacturer R&D folks.

 

[WillTheThri11]

I'll try that.
I had a bad experience yesterday. I tried raising the roof by myself but it was too heavy. When it lowered the rod end of the strut housing pinched the vinyl liner. There was some minor damage. Now I know that spacers are needed. I thought about reversing the struts so the rod end is up figuring there would be less chance of pinching but the that would allow water or dirt to sit on the tube end cap around the rod. That didn't seem optimal.

Needless to say I have a health respect for the manufacturer R&D folks.

FWC attaches the vinyl to the lift panels so that they fold in with the panels when the top comes down avoiding any area where they can snag. They also have bungee cords inside that span from driver to passenger side to pull in the sides as the top lowers. You put your lift bars on the sides rather than front and back like a FWC. Are you putting the struts front and back? If so, you could consider a bungee from the liner to the ceiling in front and back to avoid a super long bungee. The way they attached these to the vinyl is with a rivet and a rivet washer.

You could also try adding something to the strut similar to a rock shield on a shock absorber.

 

[Avg.Joe]

You're right. The lifters are on the long sides and the struts are on the front and back.

I like the bungee idea and I may try that. I could use the window velcro as an attachment point rather than a rivet...at least to try it out.

The strut maker said to mount them rod end down, but I think that's part of what caused the snag. The tube end pinched the vinyl. As I'm mounting them today, I'm turning them so the rod end is up. I'm also adding spacers to bump the mounts out from the wall. Pics to follow.

 

[WillTheThri11]

Good luck! The bungee and attaching to the lifters will reduce the amount of post-roof-lowering tucking in of the vinyl you will need to do too...might be trivial though.

 

[Avg.Joe]

That's a good tip Will. Tucking is an issue, especially at the corners where there's seams in the vinyl pieces.

 

[WillTheThri11]

That's a good tip Will. Tucking is an issue, especially at the corners where there's seams in the vinyl pieces.

I don't think you'll get away from it completely unfortunately. My corners are starting to wear through and I'm sure that taking the time to make sure the corners lay nicely will help with the longevity of the vinyl.

 

[JaSAn]

One advantage of the speaker lift is I can stop at any point in lowering the roof and adjust the soft sides to my hearts content.

 

[Avg.Joe]

So with the 60lb struts I had a heck of a time lifting the roof and the solar panels aren't mounted yet. So I returned the struts and ordered 95lb ones. That should give me the extra lift I need plus handle the 50lbs worth of solar.

 

[Vic Harder]

So with the 60lb struts I had a heck of a time lifting the roof and the solar panels aren't mounted yet. So I returned the struts and ordered 95lb ones. That should give me the extra lift I need plus handle the 50lbs worth of solar

No panels and hard to lift with 60# struts? That doesn't sound right. Did you have the door open and/or vent fan running to pressurize the camper?

 

[Avg.Joe]

You know Vic, I was feeling the same way. My wife and I could lift the roof without too much strain when it was on sawhorses. I haven't weighed it but I can't imagine it weighs more than 150lbs, but I could be wrong. One thing to remember is that this is built with wood framing and plywood skin and has a rubber roof. I don't know what the ATC or FWC roofs weigh, but I'd imagine being aluminum with a metal roof and cloth ceiling that it'd be a bunch lighter.

To answer your question, the door was open. There's no power to the fans yet.

 

[WillTheThri11]

Door being open should be plenty of airflow I would think. Sounds like you've got a heavy roof! Also keep in mind that the lift struts push at angles in order to lift the roof vertically. They will provide the most lift when they are closest to vertical, so when the roof is all the way up already. If you go too big on the struts, you may need to install handles in the ceiling to pull the roof down when stowing it...probably not a huge deal

 

[Avg.Joe]

Yeah Will, I don't want to pass that tipping point where I have to put a lot of force on the lifters.

In a perfect world the struts would do most of the work and lifters would just be guiding the roof up or down. The new units should be here tomorrow from Lift Support Depot. I'll let you all know the outcome.