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RE: Brainstorming Custom TC build
So Silver are you saying that a stick built camper using at best 2x2's and plywood if not OSB is better than an Aluminium frame?
...good, better, best...superlatives, non-quantitative things.
...fighter aircraft in 1916 have been built out of plywood covered panels and cloth shrouded fuselages and wings...if they are engineered correctly, they'll fly and even perform extreme maneuvers.
So, truck campers can be successfully built from OSB, glue and staples, and can be driven at 90 miles per hour, no problem, from existing plans or reverse-engineering.
The question I think you are (well, all RV consumers) trying to surmount is: durability and longevity. Example: how long would a Sopwith Camel fly without extremely time-consuming maintenance? How long will an OSB, glued and stapled camper last without extremely time-consuming maintenance?
Durability and longevity in a truck camper (lets say pretty close to maintenance-free, and lifespan of 20-years) would be, for a layman not backed by an engineering team and not having any experience in building truck campers, an endeavor way past the point of diminishing returns.
There are plenty of guys out there ***copying*** wooden camper structure designs, however how *durable* these campers will ultimately be is the question. Some extremely talented people (like Sleepy, for example) have built durable wooden campers successfully. I don't know of any layman who has done a complete re-design of an aluminum framed proven durable unit, successfully.
I've seen Nidacor single shell truck camper units designed and built (shown step-by-step on the Net), but never an aluminum-framed truck camper (skinned with Filon) built in a garage by someone that has never designed or built a truck camper before.
I'm suggesting that you generate a 3D CAD design first, and run it by an engineer for road-worthiness before committing huge investments into the endeavor...
On edit:
My brother and I joined him out of high school in the late eighties and early nineties and went on to complete a few custom bus conversions.
...the guys high-lighted in the custom aluminum truck camper design endeavor in the Truck Camper Magazine article are consummate professionals with *hard-core RV repair* and manufacturing experience!
Cheers,
Silver-
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silversand
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03/20/10 08:02pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Can't justify the expense of a new camper!
Alaskan truck campers resale sinks like a rock over time just like any other camper:
-1970 8' Alaskan Truck Camper asking $400;
-1972 10' Alaskan Truck Camper asking $1500;
-1975 8' Alaskan Truck Camper asking $2200;
-1987 7.5' Alaskan Truck Camper asking $1700;
-1987 10' Alaskan Truck Camper asking $7500;
-1995 8' Alaskan Truck Camper asking $12,000;
-etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc...
I've collated roughly 40 Alaskan truck campers on the net for sale, and they average $3000 to $5800 used after about 11 to 14 year old vintage...myth busted!
Silver-
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silversand
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03/20/10 07:03pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Brainstorming Custom TC build
The trick to a strong cabover is an integral (composite) sidewall from the tip of the cabover nose to the back end of the camper (one solid looooong contiguous sidewall).
This is how I'd do it (your mileage may vary):
I would never consider an aluminum framed camper without 6063 Aluminum rectangle tube 4" x 1" x 1/8" wall integrated into a composite wall structure (see foam application below) at ALL 4 CORNERS even the tub corners and base, and after welding, inserting a mono-block polypropylene piece to the bottom of each corner tube (inside) set to position where the jack brackets will be screwed/connected. Then, fill each tube with *limited-expansion* closed-cell foam (the filling method to be determined by experimentation).
Where you bend the radius for the cabover, make SURE that you have inside radiused marine plywood back support to wrap the Filon around, or the Filon may crack or craze without this backing.
You need to select a very special grade of Filon that DOES NOT come with an organic wood/cardboard backing-- this is the stuff that can weaken with moisture, and potentially delaminate.
Gluing the Filon to the aluminum frame first, then renting closed-cell foam spray equipment and material sounds extremely interesting to blast the back walls! This stuff should be (check by making a test first) virtually indestructible and literally impossible to separate from the Filon and aluminum. I'd then slice off the over-spray using the aluminum channeling as a cutter guide. Then, I'd use strips of bubble foam (the type used between cement foundation and header strip for example) over every inside-facing aluminum frame side (this will be your thermal bridge, but it could be problematic vis convective anomalies without some scientific experimentation), then fasten your moisture-proof/warp resistant inside panels to the inside wall, et voila.
The roof sections and design should be pre-designed by en engineering firm (they'll conduct FEA analysis of your proposed shell structure so that the roof doesn't implode (or burst open) while under highway velocities, and can handle say a 40 LB per sq ft static snow load).
...in the end, such a camper will probably cost you about $38,000++ in parts and labor and failed dead-ends, because you'll be buying everything in one-zies and two-zies, costing you an absolute King's ransom. But you'll be satisfied knowing after a few thousand hours of intense experimentation and labor that your shell/camper will be near perfect. Then to recoup your costs, you can sell your technology, CAD data and bill of materials perhaps to an existing or start-up truck camper manufacturer...
Or, you could take a chance and just throw something together that may self-destruct under the stresses of interstate velocities...
Good luck,
Silver-
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silversand
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03/20/10 06:16pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: TC boondockers -- I'd appreciate your tips
Cal:
You are welcome to boondock in our driveway if you divert 350 mile east of Toronto.
We're doing 4~5 trips this summer, so you may catch us between trips...
IF you divert east a bit, PM me.
Cheers,
Silver-
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silversand
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03/19/10 08:22pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: NE hiking trips
Wow, Kinsman in the dead of winter! A brutal climb, but it looks worth every bead of sweat!!
Many thanks for this great documentation of your expedition!
Cheers,
Silver-
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silversand
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03/19/10 08:15pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: North-East Truck Camping Jambore---Spring Fling
Dick:
Site 23, excellent!
Forgot to mention: we were at 60F the entire day today; it's 51F currently (as cold as it will get tonight!).
Silver-
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silversand
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03/19/10 08:07pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: What kind of camper is this??????
My theory:
That structure appears to be a classic 8-foot SpaceKap "Standard" (an older model, perhaps 10 or more years old), with:
-retrofit jack extensions and jacks;
-optional tub windows;
-clearly retrofitted lift roof;
-custom-made lifting side panel, with logo.
Cheers,
Silver-
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silversand
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03/19/10 06:25am |
Truck Campers
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RE: Wilson Mountain.... almost
I really like the elevation change as you ascend up over 2000 feet on this trail!
Nicely photographed and very informative text!
Cheers,
Silver-
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silversand
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03/19/10 05:45am |
Truck Campers
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RE: Center of Gravity Concern
Patricia:
Read through the Ford loading documents that Brad had linked to, above.
There is a ***loading zone*** within which the center of gravity mark/line of the camper you are contemplating should reside within. If you read those documents, you'll not that the ***loading zone*** is NOT one fixed point in the truck bed, but a spread of several inches (far more that 2 inches).
I don't know of ANY camper we had ever looked at (either pop-up or, hard-side) to potentially buy that lined up precisely with our Silverado's center of gravity singularity. If you think about this, it makes sense: there are perhaps 40+ truck build axle distances sum-total from all the puck-up truck manufacturers in North America, all over say the last 15-years. I don't know of any truck camper manufacturer that offers 1 or 2 dozen truck camper models to accommodate this.
If you want a guarantee that the Lance you are looking at fits your particular truck build, fax a photo your truck loading paper/sticker showing your truck's specific numbers to Lance, and have lance fax you back a written guarantee that their camper model is appropriate to your truck.
Examine your camper, does it sit within your truck's ***loading zone*** and is the trailer tongue weight exceeding your truck's payload with camper and gross load (consider getting load distribution hitch system) ? This is the question you need to answer yourself, I think.
Good luck,
Silver-
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silversand
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03/18/10 02:53pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Where can I buy...
...I've done a quick power search, and have found in general used SpaceKaps in near-mint condition (the big cab-over models for 8-foot beds) with ladder, heater, windows and electricals inside selling used in the $4000 to $5500 Canadian range...
We have thousands upon thousand of these large fully-molded units driving around here in Quebec (nearly as many SpaceKaps as contractor pickup trucks!). It's hard not to see 1 or 2 dozen every short trip out for groceries.
They appear to be made nearly indestructible, and contractors I have talked to locally have told me they keep them from truck to truck (they don't sell them, because they put many $ thousands into customization and they will out-last any North American pickup 4 to 1 it appears)...
Good luck,
Silver-
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silversand
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03/18/10 12:21pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Outfitter Trip Report: Whazoo In Wonderland pictures
...your photos cover the gamut from studies in light, to macro botany, to technical illustration, to capturing evidence of the past! Your text covers your encounters in great detail. Remarkably talented you are Sir. If you hadn't set out with a detailed advance script, I'd say your production was genius! If you had set out with a script I'd still say it was genius :B
Cheers,
Sand & Dunes
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silversand
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03/18/10 11:48am |
Truck Campers
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RE: Where can I buy...
I agree with the SpaceKap (linked in the above post). If I read your post well, a regular ol' truck camper would get destroyed very quickly using it as a mobile construction facility/suite. The Spacekap has immeasurably more space to work inside over any truck camper-- even a triple slide! Additionally, the SpeceKap has rear doors at least 4 times the area-opening of any truck camper made (you can drive an ATV into it). It'll be impossible to do any carpentry work in a truck camper....unless you plan on building miniature wooden model boats to insert into bottles, or tying flies :B
The SpeceKap can be outfitted with everything a regular truck camper has but infinitely more robust industrial-grade components like stainless-steel work tables (minus the claustrophobic accouterments that would make it impossible for any meaningful carpentry in an already space-crippled TC).
Have a custom logo decal designed for your business, and stick it on yourself for just a few bucks.
Here's the SpeceKap that most looks like a cab-over camper....only from the outside:
here-->
Good luck to you,
Silver-
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silversand
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03/18/10 06:38am |
Truck Campers
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RE: My resident raptor
....this is Hoot-Hoot-Hooty; he hangs around just outside one of our top floor office windows at home. To give you an idea just how huge he(?) is, that tree limb is about ~~8-inches in diameter where perched about 25-feet up :B The photos looks "grainy" because it was made with screen in window. Seems to be a great listener:
http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p318/isladelcisne/hoothooty.jpg
Cheers,
Silver-
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silversand
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03/17/10 02:25pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Can't justify the expense of a new camper!
I'm reading between the lines here and sense that your 'total camping season' may be a very short one, yes? Say, under 30 days a year?
The way I see it:
New:
1)Campers/RVs make more economic sense when one plans on using their unit not for 2-weeks a year but 30, 40 80 + days a year;
2)Campers/RVs (like automobiles) make economic sense when you plan on keeping the unit till the wheels fall off (this can vary from roughly 7 years to well over 20; also, see Keller above));
*mitigating the above *economic* consideration are the psychological perks to owning an RV (there are hundreds of scenarios here)
used:
1)Buck the system by buying a lightly-used $40,000 camper for $20,000 or under (many exist on the market today);
2)Buying highly-depreciated allows you to re-sell the unit shortly after purchase or several years later with little to no financial loss-- if you maintain it well.
As an investment:
No RV purchase should be considered an investment for gain unless the RV will be used in a business context as a tax credit (roving library, medical emergency vehicle, mobile communications unit, law enforcement, rental unit, etc, etc).
Cheers,
Silver-
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silversand
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03/17/10 05:25am |
Truck Campers
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RE: US Dollars--take note:
...there was once a time that Canadian dollars were accepted in Guatemala City banks (!) Fast-forward to the Canadian dollar collapse in the early to mid '90s and the acceptance dried-up faster than a puddle of water in the Saudi desert.
The moral of the story is: change on currency acceptance/exchange changes rapidly and frequently in every country on the Planet!
Cheers,
Silver-
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silversand
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03/16/10 07:31am |
RVing in Mexico and South America
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RE: Things to look for when buying used truck camper?
I would have to say that it appears to be a later 1970's model to me!
There is a long-time member here who really knows his vintage campers (Matt). He'll no doubt chime in soon...
Good luck,
Silver-
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silversand
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03/16/10 06:48am |
Truck Campers
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RE: Last Chance Get Away of 2009,part7
C.Traveler:
Excellent! One of our top two favorite places in the Southwest. This brings back great memories for us.
Thanks for your on-going travelogue!
Cheers,
Sand & Dunes
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silversand
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03/16/10 06:33am |
Truck Campers
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RE: Being stealthy when boondocking
Been mortared in Lebanon and almost killed by a sniper in Somalia...
...hay-Zeus, and here I thought I had some wild "foreign relations" adventures that couldn't be matched....by many :D
....here's another shameless plug for: burbdocking
Cheers,
Silver-
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silversand
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03/15/10 03:39pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: When tires look like this are they shot?
...that tire is shot. Are the others the same? Drive to your tire place before going anywhere with that truck and change...
Our BFG TA/KOs had nearly-new tread depth left, however, they were cracking (between tread knobs and side-walls), I had 'em replaced with perhaps 80% less cracking than yours are showing in that pic.
Silver-
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silversand
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03/15/10 02:46pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Goat Canyon Trestle 3/12 - 3/14
Wow man, what a hiking extravaganza and SUPERB camp ! The landscape is both brutal and stunningly beautiful.
Can you whip-up a rough map for us? Nothing fancy, just a placer...
Into TR it goooooooes...
Cheers,
Silver-
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silversand
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03/15/10 08:40am |
Truck Campers
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