House on a Pickup

[Neckerson]

So I built my first truck camper back in December, and lived in it up til last Saturday. Sunday, I decided I was tired of always crawling, and I built a new one. Did the whole thing in one shot, 17 hrs straight, no lunch break, no nothing. Just working. Had to be done in one day, because we're working 6 days a week, and the overtime is great.

I think the difference is amazing. I can actually stand up(mostly, anyways), gained a whole bunch of floor space by moving the bed up over the cab, and completely sacrificed any stealth I may have previously had. Oh well. 

Today I finally put in my fantastic fan, and solar panels are going up as soon as I'm done posting this. 
To do: Almost all the interior. Finished the bed platform today, so that's done, but I haven't even hooked up my batteries yet, much less put up the lights, done any paneling, insulating, etc. Living by flashlight at night is fun! 
[img=400x300]https://scontent-atl3-1.xx.fbcdn.ne...9855a41ffaf74f432f34207351e&oe=5B80EDF5[/img]

 

[tx2sturgis]

17 hours to build a house? What took you so long?

 

[Neckerson]

17 hours to build a house? What took you so long?

Mostly the planning... Kinda winged it a little bit!

 

[tx2sturgis]

Just kidding of course, it looks real good...how about some pics of the interior?

 

[Neckerson]

Will try to get some tonight after I get back.

Also need to order some accordion boot so I can go back and forth between the cab and living area without going outside. Have power again as of last night, just kind of haphazardly strewn around, all the old wires are now too short, need to work on that tonight.

 

[regis101]

Necessity is the mother of invention.

Looks great.

 

[Neckerson]

So, a couple inside pictures. Obviously, still under construction! Didn't get around to any electrickery tonight, finished the door and put a knob in it instead. Figured that was more important, what with the water falling from the sky this week... Incidentally, I did get some video of the first couple hours of the build, probably most of the important stuff. There's even a blooper. Will work on editing and uploading, might be a day or five, though...

(Had to downsize all these pictures to upload, so they're kind of junk. Sorry.)

 

[DannyB1954]

Will try to get some tonight after I get back.

Also need to order some accordion boot so I can go back and forth between the cab and living area without going outside.

I once used an innertube between the cab and camper. Worked OK

 

[Neckerson]

I once used an innertube between the cab and camper. Worked OK

Heard they weren't that great, especially since I have a gap that slants farther open as it goes up. Haven't cut the hole yet, so not really an immediate issue. Already went the first half year without the option, what's another few weeks?

Here's some video -

[video=youtube]

 

[closeanuf]

I really enjoyed the video and couldn't believe how much you did by yourself.  I usually get to do things by myself too.  I almost cried at the end of the video.  Glad you were't on top of it.

 

[Neckerson]

Thank you, I learned a lot the first time around. Believe it or not, the first version(you can see it on the ground still with solar panels and fan in the second half) was harder. The slanted sides made the whole thing so unstable, I lost it a whole bunch of times while building it, before I got it bolted down. Sometimes right off the side of the bed, couple times it just flopped the bottom sides out straddling the bed. That first one was a pain, but I still had a place to just go inside, sit in front of the heater, and leave it til the next morning. Couldn't afford to buy enough materials to make it square at the time, so 3 sheets of plywood, 2 2×4's, some 2×2's, and some random junk I had lying around were what I had to work with. I think I did the whole shell for under $200, and built it over the course of a week. This time around, I still came in under $600, did it in a day, and only dropped it once. I'd call that good enough haha!

 

[Neckerson]

So, interesting development, at least to me - Even in the middle of a tropical storm, a pair of series wired 100w panels will still put out over 40v. Surprised me. Also, the build is officially storm resistant. Nothing like a tropical storm for proof of concept haha!

 

[John61CT]

Charging output amps is the real indicator, panel voltage indicates little.

 

[Neckerson]

Good point. Guess I should say, put out enough to keep the batteries up to my normal level, with my "typical" use.

 

[Swan]

great work until the end , never saw that coming. glad your ok and continued on

 

[Neckerson]

Finally have an indoor shower/tub, really happy about that. No more beach showers, or 2 am behind the truck showers!

25x23 laundry sink, back faucet area cut off, making it 20x23. Drains straight down through the floor, stick a bucket or jug underneath the truck when necessary. 2 shower curtains to avoid having to build a permanent enclosure, something I don't want to do until I'm sure I'm happy with it, and maybe not even then. Should be plenty of space for my skinny rear, and I don't generally (ever) have company, so...

Now need to order a 12v shower pump, and maybe even an on demand water heater. Maybe.

Total cost: under $100.

[img=292x408]https://scontent-atl3-1.xx.fbcdn.ne...1e11bcf5702c15655c8bd7c1ae0&oe=5BB76D50[/img]

 

[Jacksonricher]

Nice build Neckerson. If I buy a truck I know now I could build that and live on it.

I see yh AC unit installed on the back panel and low, what was the reasoning to mount is low?

Thanks
Jackson

 

[Neckerson]

Thanks, Jackson.

My 3 big reasons were 1: paranoia. Didn't really want anything that heavy mounted up high where it could eventually rip itself out, down there, it's supported by the steel bed better, with less likelihood of destroying itself on a ridiculous speedbump. 2: it's much harder to see from anywhere but directly behind the truck. That was more of an issue with the first version, as it was intended to look like one of those big toolbox toppers, and it just carried right on over to the second version. 3: space. I've got plans to build cabinets and a counter over that area, and with batteries already there, can't really stuff other junk in there. I've already started ducting the outlet, so maybe having the intake in there with the batteries will help keep them cooler, while hiding the mass of wiring and such. Ducting it also means I can outlet it straight to the two most occupied spots in the truck; the chair at the desk, and the bed, so even in stupid heat, the cold air gets to the right places, whether the surrounding air inside is cool or not.

Other reasons include not wanting to put another seam in the back wall, the plywood is a structural item, and I tend to hang off the sides of the door going in and out, so there's that, too.