ARE Shell Build-Out

[scooterdog]

Ok, and the fun begins.  I have a Ford F-150, 4X4, w/tow package.  We usually tow a 19' camper.  A buddy and I have decided we want to do a road trip to Alaska.  So, the idea of building a simple camping space in the back of the truck was hatched.  Our wants were guerrilla style camping, fast and simple. We have a lot of camping gear between our two families, so this should be pretty straight forward project.  Thanks for all the ideas everyone has shared on this Forum.  

 

[Seraphim]

Sounds like fun.

What time of year will your Alaska trip take place?

Sleeping in the shell might be quicker and more comfortable than a tent. We took the back seat out of our truck, and use it for all the 'dirty' gear - cooking stuff, wood, tarps, outdoor adventure stuff - and keep the inside of our truck camper cleaner and neater. Large plastic boxes in the back seat keep stuff organized and easy to move around. Also keeps the inside of the truck cleaner.

Expect DIRT and DUST on the Alcan Highway. It's in a constant state of repair. The outside of your vehicle will get crusted, so make sure all your window seals are good lol.

If you carry stuff outside, make sure it's covered. Especially bikes. Our bikes needed complete servicing when we got back, just from being on the bike rack. Dust got in all the mechanisms...

Have fun.

 

[VanLifeCrisis]

what kind of height do you have in there from floor to ceiling?

 

[scooterdog]

We are planning on crossing the border into Alaska about the 2nd week in June, playing a month, then return to Kentucky. Anyone have some favorite places, feel free to share.

The ARE is the DCU 26"-32" Wedge. ARE has 3 cap heights for the wedge and mine is the middle one. All measurements are from the truck bed floor to the roof of the DCU. At the wall closest to the pickup cab the height is 45 inches. At the rear doors the height is 56 inches.

I will lose about an inch of height, as I put down gym tiles and plywood on the floor.

I plan to insulate/sound proof the cap with a layer of peel & seal Aluminum and a layer of polyiso (does this sound right). Windows will have removable cloth covered reflectix. Alaska in the summer will probably be the coldest I will ever camp in this truck.

 

[Seraphim]

You could easily spend a month just on the Kenai Peninsula, especially if you're a fisherperson.
Probably where most visitors would enjoy the most. Also has the cruises and such.

If you like to backpack and camp out in pure wilds, then Denali. Haven't spent a lot of time north of Denali. Spent time around Fairbanks, but nothing jumped out at me - other than an occasional moose lol.

 

[akrvbob]

It'll just be you and your buddy in the truck, is that right? How are you going to do the beds? My first thought would be folding beds coming down off each side Maybe do a "U" shaped counter top all the way around the sides and behind the cab. In bad weather you could cook up front and the two sides would be the beds and loungers.

I lived in Anchorage for 45 years and Alaska really isn't that cold in June, you don't need to make special plans for around cold. However, do plan on rain and being stuck inside!!! You're going at the best time but it's so variable that it could rain the whole time you were there. I moved out of Alaska in 2006 and this last summer my girlfriend and I drove back up there for the summer in her van. It was cold and snowed one time on the Alcan, but that was the only cold we ran into. It was at the highest point on the Alcan at 4200 feet and that's the only reason we got snow. However it rained a lot so we spent a lot of time inside together!

By far the prettiest places in Alaska are the Glenn Highway from Tok to Anchorage, all around Cook Inlet, and the Kenai Peninsula. Of course Denali NP is a must-see, but the weather is especially variable there and travel in it is very restricted.

The Wrangell-St Elias NP is probably the pretties thing in this country, but access to it is so difficult few people ever see it. An amazing trip is to put the truck on the ferry at Whittier (just south of Anchorage) take the ferry to Valdez, then drive back to Anchorage: FANTASTIC! If you have time and money take a boat out to the glaciers from Valdez.

The two single best experiences of my life were on this last trip:

1) Fly-in bear viewing into Halo Bay at Katmai NP. It was unbelievable how close we got to wild bears.
2) Flight-seeing over Mt Mckinley from Talketna with glacier landing. Astounding!

I blogged a lot about my trip. Go here to the "Alaska" category of my blog:
http://www.cheaprvliving.com/blog/category/alaska/

I can't help myself, I've got to put in some pictures:
Bob

 

[cdiggy]

Bob, you have balls as big as church bells getting that close to a bear!

 

[scooterdog]

Love the pics Bob!  I already poured over your Alaskan adventure, twice.  We are definitely doing the flight/glacier landing around Mt. McKinley.  We thank you for that idea.  The spouses are flying to Anchorage and staying for a week, we will switch to hotels at this point.  We are thinking the "spouse tour" should include Denali and the Kenai Peninsula.  Lots of bang for your buck.

The interior of the truck camper will be a u-shaped build.  Objectives are a little privacy, room to sleep and sit in the camper comfortably and as much storage we can cram under the beds and over our heads.  The back seat of the cab will be rubbermaid tote storage.

---

It will look something like this.  Mockup is to scale.

 

[akrvbob]

Seems like a great plan! I sure hope you'll post pics here as you build it and then during the trip!
Bob

 

[highdesertranger]

scooterdog nice mockup. great pics bob. highdesertranger

 

[scooterdog]

Today we apply Peel & Seal to the cap.  Objective is to act as a sound damper.  The aluminum sheeting of the cap is a little twangy as it stands now.  According to sites about sound dampening this is the poor mans Fatmax.  

Our local RV shop, shout out to Frank at Bluegrass RV, is allowing us to use one of their heated bays for a day.  This stuff needs at least 40 degrees temp to adhere properly.

After the Peel & Seal is attached, then we will put up Polyiso.

 

[akrvbob]

Huh, that's a new one to me. I'm looking forward to hearing how it works for you.

I also have to say that the more I looked at your U plan for the truck bed the more brilliant I think it is!

Bob

 

[highdesertranger]

I am confused(that's no surprise). are you installing the peel and seal on the inside of the shell? highdesertranger

 

[scooterdog]

I am confused(that's no surprise). are you installing the peel and seal on the inside of the shell? highdesertranger

Inside to the unpainted aluminum skin of the shell. The peel and seal will dampen the sound of things hitting the outside of the shell, i.e. rain. Also, will aid in lessening the sound of polyiso squeaking against the shell during movement. Helps with condensation, also. This is my hope, anyway, lol.

I'm waiting for Bluegrass RV to have an open bay, it will take about a day for this stuff to set up. Of course, if the bay never becomes open, I see a quick trip to Florida in search of 50 degree temp or better to attach the peel and seal.

 

[scooterdog]

We attached the Peel & Seal (PS) to the inside aluminum skin of the cap today.  It was pretty easy to do. The PS can be cut with a razor blade or scissors.  You had about 4 seconds to reposition any errors in judgement, lol.  It took the two of us about five hours to cut and position all the pieces.






Next up the polyiso, to be continued.  Merry Christmas Everyone!

 

[scooterdog]

Okey dokey, between the bitter temps and recovering from the flu, things have been slow on the build.  Yesterday we finished installing the poly-iso insulation.  The poly-iso panels were cut to be a tad to big and then pushed into the areas between the aluminum framing.  Taped off with extreme weather foil tape.  Happy with the results and the sides of the camper sound pretty solid when you knock on them now.

 

[akrvbob]

That is looking really, really good!! It's going to keep you cozy warm in the winter!
Bob

 

[highdesertranger]

wow that does look good. are you going to put something over the insulation? keep the pics coming, I love them. highdesertranger

 

[scooterdog]

I have no plans on covering the foil-like interior.  I like the way the light bounces off the foil.  Thou, I must admit, I'm beginning to feel I'm looking at the inside of the camper from the perspective of a baked potato, lol.

 

[akrvbob]

I also left my foil uncovered for the extra heat retention and for the extra light it put in the trailer.

Hadn't thought about the baked potato aspect, I wondered why I was slowly turning red!
Bob