Custom Slide on Camper- Door on Side or Rear?

[Canine]

I am building a custom camper for my flatbed truck. There are advantages and disadvantages to placing the door in the passenger side or to place it in the very back. I'm trying to imagine all the scenarios and reasons for each door. Seems to me having it in the back with one long hallway would make for the most efficient use of space. Having it on the side with the bench seat directly across from it would give me a great view with the door open. Etc., etc.

Any ideas or preferences you folks have if you had a choice where to put the door?

 

[Almost There]

I am building a custom camper for my flatbed truck. There are advantages and disadvantages to placing the door in the passenger side or to place it in the very back. I'm trying to imagine all the scenarios and reasons for each door. Seems to me having it in the back with one long hallway would make for the most efficient use of space. Having it on the side with the bench seat directly across from it would give me a great view with the door open. Etc., etc.

Any ideas or preferences you folks have if you had a choice where to put the door?

What's the size on the planned camper?

The smaller it is the more one has to take advantage of every bit of wall space. At that point the rear opening makes sense because it leaves both long walls available for building on. Some of the smaller fiberglass trailers use a rear door opening for precisely this reason.

It's really six of one, half dozen of the other if it's larger.

Since you have a choice, play with layouts and see what you like the most.

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

Do you plan to tow anything behind it, like a boat or a trailer with a motorcycle on it?  That would be the main reason for avoiding a rear door.  If you put the bed across on the back, and the side door all the way at the front, you'd still have a center aisle and almost as much counter space and storage down each side.

BTW, I've seen at least one design where the side outer door opened directly into a marine style shower, which was also used for the porta potty.  You'd go through that space to enter or leave the camper.  Plus, you could leave wet rainsuits and such in there to drip.  A very efficient use of space.

Regards
John

 

[Bdog1]

In dusty driving conditions, rear openings tend to allow dirt in. If that matters.

I always envisioned a side door with a step below the flat bed height. A cut-out step well entry. This would work well with the shower stall idea mentioned.

 

[Canine]

The camper would have an over cab for a sleeping area. The living space outside dimensions are 8'9" long by 6'6" high by 6'6" wide. I would be able to stand up in it. It will be wide enough to sleep sideways. I didn't want a full 8 feet wide because that is that much harder to drive. I want this to be as easy and enjoyable to drive and park. Having the overall height as close to 10 feet as possible allows for fewer clearance problems. Solar on top with fan on the back. Am playing around with layouts. Not a lot of differences in the layouts; mostly where I want the kitchen, etc. The door placement is the biggest thing affecting layout.

I would be towing on occasion and want that ability .

I'm not completely picturing the marine shower on the side. It must need to be taken down when traveling. The camper will have a shower and a bucket toilet because I want it completely self contained. That's why I'm making the camper on the large side. Having a space for a shower sucks a lot of room. Would like to make it permanent, but doubt that. Will likely get one of those concrete mix buckets; that would be super fast to set up. Need something larger to wash the dog- she's a filthy beast.

The rear door would be a good idea if I wanted to throw rocks and stuff at the bad guys coming after me. Lol.

Neither way would be wrong, but it's nice to hear something that I may not have thought of before- like the marine shower thingy. Let me know on that. Googling it didn't really help clarify.  

 

[Bdog1]

The shower mentioned above is "in"the doorway. The step well is the shower pan.

Try Unicat or some of the exotic Euro all terrain campers. They use these on some models. Makes use of dead space.

Here's one.


Shower, & dish rack drains into shower too.

 

[K1ngN0thing]

If you do go with the side, make sure it opens back to front. Wouldn't want it accidentally getting torn off on the highway.

 

[Canine]

Using the space of the door that would not otherwise be used for the shower would save a ton of space. Am surprised I haven't thought of it. The more I think about it, the more it sounds really good!

 

[ascii_man]

Canine, glad to see you posting again.

Personally, a shower is one of the reasons I am considering a truck camper: I think that given even small truck campers like the Lance 650 have a shower, you can too. Maybe there is an OEM supplier of showers.

For an off-the-wall idea (which I think you've already rejected): a lot of people seem to like the idea of ingress/egress through the truck itself. Whether that's a door through the back of the truck, or climbing up through a sunroof. Probably neither would be practical.

 

[masterplumber]

On the Turtle Expedition's Turtle V the shower is in the entry step well, and there is even a built in drain in the floor. They used a simple shower valve with a door that is usually used on the outside of newer trailers and Motorhomes. It's mounted on the wall of the closet that is directly beside the entry. On the other side of the entry is a dinette and the toilet slides out from under the seat into the entryway also.