Small camper thoughts.

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Ditcherman said:
but maybe the bottom of the top, engages a stationary seal when it’s lowered,
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I think having that index in to a V block when in the down position might be a winner. It'll seal(ish), and help stabilize things going down the road.

I'll be at the shop tomorrow getting things ready for our spring trip, I'll try and get some screen shots. I've put some more time into it, but not a ton. I do have the interior semi figured out.
 
So here's where I am at at the moment. I need about another 30 hours of working on this to get it where I want I think.

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At the moment, in the open position I've got almost 76" of standing room inside

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I've got the interior kinda filled in. On the left side I'll have 3 shelves that will sit on some folding hardware from Sugatsune that will allegedly hold the weight of a non-standard USA human. (ie, not a big giant fatty) That way those can be folded down and have more floor space to either sit on the bed and put your feet there or lock them in the up position and have a spot to put cushions to sleep 2 people well enough in the rare occasion my non-camping GF comes with on an adventure


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Here's with the tables swung out of the way. The little cabinet just inside of the door would be for potentially a small sink, and I'd like to be able to put an induction hot plate there for when cooking outside with propane is a horrible plan.

Hatch in the floor would be to access the space in between the wheels and the drawers. Don't know what I'd put there, but might be handy for something.
Maybe clean water tank? I don't think I'd do anything for dirty water storage. The amount of water that will be consumed is gonna be really low. Maybe it's a good idea keeping that water captive in bear country though. I don't know.

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The hatch on the side would be for an electric cooler on slides. Flip up door so you can get at it from the outside
It would be accessible through the top of the bed from the inside, after moving the cushion out of the way.


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-I'm leaning towards pnuematics to raise and lower the top.
-Drawers in the main part of the frame, I think I'm going to make a sleave from polyethylene plastic sheets that a plywood drawer would just go into. That would be light(ish), I wouldn't use any hardware like slides, just friction fit them. Less weight, less things to go wrong.

I'm jumping around altering things like the kid with ADHD that I am, and this is far from done.


I have no idea how to do those back doors. I've looked on Mcmaster to find latches I like, and a few other places, I've no clue. There's big RV place between my house than the girlfriend's house. Maybe I'll stop in there some day and see if they have anything with split doors like that. The issue is the thickness of the latch. I need to be able to have top section slide over it and that is proving tricky to locate. I'm sure it's just a matter of using the correct search terms, and I'm just not doing that.
 
Not sure if this is even in the wheelhouse.

Terrible pun intended. But they have quite a selection.

www.boatoutfitters.com

Stellar Series Stainless Steel Flush Latch

Say bye-bye to old plastic, and hello to one of the most popular marine latches made! This stainless steel latch offers a sleek look, solid feel, and push to close convenience. An excellent replacement for cheap plastic latches, giving your boat the finished look it deserves.
www.boatoutfitters.com www.boatoutfitters.com

Also, I know when you're a hammer everything's a nail, but you really want to build using plywood?
 
Ditcherman said:
Also, I know when you're a hammer everything's a nail, but you really want to build using plywood?
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It has it's uses. Thousands of wood boats out there. Fibreglass it and it's good and waterproof plus stupid easy to modify.




I think I'm going to use plywood for the internal stuff and the drawers underneath. The rest of it will be metal welded together with an aluminum skin over that. Trailer frame steel. Cabin frame aluminum.

Box on the front would be folded up aluminum.

You should look through the SAS7 thread where Chris and I built a camper to go on the nose of my gooseneck for that trip. It was a cool project and served us well
 
matzell said:
Maybe something like one of these.

Arctic Tern Entry Doors

ternoverland.com ternoverland.com
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The issue is one door has to pass over the other.



Maybe I'm thinking about this wrong. Being the hardware needs to be flush with the face of the doors, one front one back. Maybe the doors just need to be thicker to give enough space to get everything in.
 
I'm thinking you'd want to be able to open the door whether the top is up or not. Maybe not, it would depend on how you set it up. There's pop up trailers out there. Maybe a visit to some dealers to get some ideas on how it's been handled by others.
 
80t0ylc said:
I'm thinking you'd want to be able to open the door whether the top is up or not.
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That was my thought as well. Grab a bag or whatever. I'm betting it'd take a few minutes to raise that top section. If you try and go fast, imbalance in pressures, friction and flow would make raising all four cylinders equally difficult. If you go slow, it should balance itself.

That would be a plus for a motor driven linear actuator, but still slow I'm betting.
 
sogncab said:
That was my thought as well. Grab a bag or whatever. I'm betting it'd take a few minutes to raise that top section. If you try and go fast, imbalance in pressures, friction and flow would make raising all four cylinders equally difficult. If you go slow, it should balance itself.

That would be a plus for a motor driven linear actuator, but still slow I'm betting.
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Maybe think about one motor or actuator, 4 levers that can’t get out of sync? Instead of 4 on the comers.
 
sogncab said:
Like a scissor lift?
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Mmmm maybe. But not over engineered. Just right.
Assuming you don’t have a rack or rtt or something on top, it’s only lifting the shell.
I’m thinking about the possibility of levers even in between the layers, they are actuated from rods underneath the frame, with one actuator under the frame. Access no matter what to the mechanism and out of the way.

More thoughts, if it was just guided at the corners and only lifted in the center would that simplify things?

I bet between that fancy cardboard aided computer you got and all that woodewerkin knowledge of parts and pieces you’ll come up with something great.
 
Maybe check out these guys, they seem to have been doing it for a while...

Hard-Sided Pop-Up Truck Campers | Alaskan Campers

Our hard-sided pop-up campers are built to last. Sturdy and dependable, they're perfect for adventurous travelers. Experience efficient and comfortable camping anywhere.
www.alaskancampers.com www.alaskancampers.com
 
matzell said:
Maybe check out these guys, they seem to have been doing it for a while...

Hard-Sided Pop-Up Truck Campers | Alaskan Campers

Our hard-sided pop-up campers are built to last. Sturdy and dependable, they're perfect for adventurous travelers. Experience efficient and comfortable camping anywhere.
www.alaskancampers.com www.alaskancampers.com
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Wow those look awesome.
That being said, do you ever wonder if you’ve chosen the wrong job, doing it the hard way?
I like what I do, I just need to win the lottery.
 
Ditcherman said:
Wow those look awesome.
That being said, do you ever wonder if you’ve chosen the wrong job, doing it the hard way?
I like what I do, I just need to win the lottery.
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I get to work with Land Cruisers almost daily, if not a few days a week at the shop. But yes the Lottery would make it easier!

My GF and I have watched a lot of camper builds and video's over the past 6-8 months. Lots of cool stuff out there. I use my 20' car trailer and have my tent set up on it with an awning. I am not sure how I could bring a camper along as well, unless I pull the gooseneck, as I have a fuel cell in the back of the bed, so that takes away a truck bed camper.

I am following this thread to see what gets built, as I am sure it will be really cool.
 
I saw a video on this one last night. Starting price 124k...... You may get some idea on how to do yours but very similar to what you are talking about.

 
7700#......

I know that wasn't the point of sharing, but holy schnikies. Imagine dragging that up anywhere?

Some cool ideas there
 
sogncab said:
7700#......

I know that wasn't the point of sharing, but holy schnikies. Imagine dragging that up anywhere?

Some cool ideas there
Click to expand...
Actually, no, I can’t imagine pulling that thing into anywhere in the outback. The trailer weighs as much as my 80 series, with all the armor and mods on it. So you would need at least a 3/4 ton or 1 ton pick up or SUV to pull the damn thing. I think somebody sat down when they designed it, with the idea that money was not an object. Yeah, there are a lot of good ideas and cool things on that trailer, but who the hell could afford it? Probably somebody that really doesn’t have the time to enjoy it because they’re too busy making their fortune.;)
 
matzell said:
I saw a video on this one last night. Starting price 124k…
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The one as shown was 160k - you almost had me buying the wrong one, how dare you!

I suppose a certain type of people start shopping for an RV then migrate toward “what are my off road options” and they’ve already decided to spend the money.
They obviously really aren’t going off the road.

I wish we could have seen how it raised.

“Money can’t buy you happiness but it can buy you a boat big enough to pull right up alongside it”
-Abraham Lincoln on Reddit, probably


ETA: went on the website, hard to see but thought it looked like 4 screw jacks in the corners.
Also, Platinum starts at 189500.
 
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