I'm back...we decided to build our own RV from scratch

[IGBT]

We are nuts...but I have gotten a lot of practice welding!<br><br>We wanted a flatbed truck camper which doesn't really exist in the market (well, there is one model by one company, but it is short and has limitations).<br><br>So what do you decide to do?&nbsp; Build one from scratch!<br><br>The camper will have 8 feet of headroom, be a full 8 feet wide inside and 11 feet long, with an additional 6 foot overhang for the queen bed.&nbsp; I am tall (6'7") so the 8 foot ceilings (unheard of in a truck camper) will be so nice!<br><br>We are placing the camper on a 2006&nbsp;Isuzu NRR 20 foot diesel&nbsp;flatbed truck with about 10,000 pounds of cargo capacity.&nbsp; I estimate the steel framed, aluminum skinned camper will be about 3800 pounds dry.&nbsp; The rear of the flatbed will hold motorcycles.<br><br>If we need repairs on the truck, we will offload the camper on some BLM land and stay in it while the truck is in the shop, using the motorcycles to get around.<br><br>Currently I have finished MIG welding the steel&nbsp;frame and we are putting on the aluminum siding using Sikaflex 252 as a glue/caulk/galvanic barrier.&nbsp; The roof will probably be EPDM over the 1/2" marine plywood that has already been installed.&nbsp; There will be the usual camper stuff like fridge, furnace, water heater, thetford cassette toilette, water and gray tanks (37 gallons each).&nbsp; Since the&nbsp;truck will have tons more capacity I plan on having a few hundred more gallons of water stored under the flatbed frame for serious desert boondocking.<br><br>Here are some pics of our progress so far:<br><br>

 

[Terry]

I have a mitsuibishi I was thinking about doing that to but I'm not good at finishing things any more so I decided against it.

 

[flying kurbmaster]

Hi IGBT before you go to much further you should have a look at this site "ecomodder.com"&nbsp; search for RV mods. By the looks of this frame that you have welded you are doing a good job. there are ways at this point to make some small adjustments in the shape of the rear of the frame to improve your fuel economy substantially. 'there is a guy on there that added a boat tail shape on the back of his conventional RV and almost doubled his fuel economy. I would have a look before going a lot further, the thread to see&nbsp;might be called," Adding a boat tail to RV&nbsp;"&nbsp;it is a long thread but has the build and all the angles along with the testing data.&nbsp;I think you will find this interesting. There are also other ideas about shape of the roof, gaps at cab, skirts under flat bed, belly pans&nbsp;etc...fk

 

[bee]

My personal favorite is the "big ass wardrobe", keep us updated it looks good.

 

[rokguy]

<EM>Looks good, great move building on one of these Jap cabovers. You won't be spending anytime in the workshop with one of these trucks. They are super reliable.</EM><BR><EM>There is a company in Aust. which construct the extra heavy duty winding jacks (happyjacs) suitably big enough for a truck slide on at this weight. (common Aussie name for this build)</EM><BR><EM>What are you using for the alloy sheet ? Cargosheet ?</EM><BR><EM>Keep us updated.</EM><BR><EM>Geoff</EM>

 

[leftcoastadv]

Oh this is gonna be awesome! I'm subscribed.<br><br><img src="/images/boards/smilies/smile.gif" border="0" align="absmiddle"> Keep up the good work.&nbsp;

 

[IGBT]

Thanks for the comments.<br><br>Re: the camper jacks.&nbsp; I actually went through quite a bit of investigating on these and decided on manual Rieco-Titan jacks that are rated at 2500 pounds each.&nbsp; Because I want to be able to back the 20 foot flatbed under the camper without changing my underwear more than once, I welded up some custom quick connect extension wings with mating couplers on the camper.&nbsp; This allows me to store the jacks under the truck in a locker and install them in under a minute.<br><br>Here are some pics of that solution:<br><br>

 

[highdesertranger]

wow super cool.&nbsp; I am planning on a toy hauler build so I might ask allot of questions.&nbsp; I to will use a steel frame.&nbsp; what wall&nbsp;thickness did you use on the steel?&nbsp; did you buy all of your appliances first so you know the configuration of the wall openings?&nbsp; are you going to fir out your walls to run the electrical and plumbing or will you go though the steel frame?&nbsp; nice job on the corner gussets.&nbsp; are you going to put a shower in the bath area?&nbsp; one more thing you might want a larger gray tank the usfs has already started new regs saying no dumping of gray water this is only going to spread.&nbsp; btw nice job so far.&nbsp; have many more questions but will save for later.&nbsp; highdesertranger

 

[IGBT]

<span id="post_message_1277899902">&nbsp;what wall thickness did you use on the steel? <br><br>11 gauge&nbsp;(1/8") on the&nbsp;outer&nbsp;base frame, corner wall verticals<br><br>16 gauge (1/16") on the inner base frame, wall framing, roof trusses<br><br><br>did you buy all of your appliances first so you know the configuration of the wall openings?&nbsp; <br><br>Yes, we bought the entry door, fridge, toilet, furnace, water heater, water/gray tanks, and several hatches before we did the layout of the wall openings.&nbsp; We did go ahead and weld up the window openings before having the windows in hand, but we custom ordered them to size from Atwood (double pane thermal insulated, sliding - one is emergency egress)<br><br>are you going to fir out your walls to run the electrical and plumbing or will you go though the steel frame? <br><br>The walls will probably be 1/4" mahagony plywood, with some wiring behind the walls.&nbsp; We arranged things such that the floor, walls and roof will all have 2 inches of R10 insulation, with the steel beams isolated from the interior by 1 inch of that insulation.&nbsp; This will provide a thermal barrier between the cold steel and the interior.<br><br>nice job on the corner gussets. are you going to put a shower in the bath area? <br><br>No shower inside, although we have a 6 gallon propane/electric water heater.&nbsp; We will have an outdoor shower plumbed to the water heater.<br><br>one more thing you might want a larger gray tank the usfs has already started new regs saying no dumping of gray water this is only going to spread. <br><br>The 37 gallon gray water tank is really only used for holding water from the sink.&nbsp; The outdoor shower will use the outdoors as a holding tank.&nbsp; We might do things like wash our hair in the sink when it is too cold or not private enough to use the outdoor shower, but I think the tank will last awhile.&nbsp; I am just too tall for a compact indoor shower, and then you have all of that wet mess in your bathroom area too.<br><br><br>btw nice job so far. have many more questions but will save for later. highdesertranger</span> <br><br>thanks, I will answer what I can.

 

[Les H]

Cool. Nice job!

 

[pdxnate]

<p>I've spent the winter designing a versatile interior for my 2002 Chrysler Town &amp; Country mini-van.&nbsp; Filled a whole notebook with ideas!&nbsp; Finally refined almost to the finished project, I started learning how to use Google SketchUp to make more exact drawings, and really love the free software for designing projects.&nbsp; As a woodworker, I like to use it to design all kinds of projects.&nbsp; So I thought I'd share some of my ideas, which can also be seen on my profile page.&nbsp; Versatility is necessary, so I can rearrange at will into several configurations, using all the same components.&nbsp; Since the rear area seating for the camping components can't be used with the seat belts, the interior is for camping only, but if I do need to use one of the stock bench seats for passengers, the camper components all stack up in the rear and can be strapped down, providing passenger space for up to 5 people, using the middle seat.&nbsp; Since the seat pops out easily, the van can be used for a family camp-out, as well.&nbsp; Or, all of the camping units can be removed, both bench seats reinstalled, and the stock interior is back to original.<br><br>The kitchen is a separate unit that mounts in the tailgate area, so I can stand up under the shelter of the open hatchback for cooking and other kitchen chores.&nbsp; I have a 10' X 10' awning with attachable tarps for walls that can enclose the whole back area in bad weather.&nbsp; A folding table and couple of chairs makes a roomy "dining" room at the rear, and a nice place to just sit in the shade and enjoy the view.&nbsp; The bed can be arranged as a "double" bed 48" X 72", a single bed 36" X 72", or a single cot/sofa 24" X 72" by rearranging the seat units and cushions.&nbsp; I'm not quite finished yet, so I can't attest to its comfort and functionality, but after months of planning, I think I have it streamlined down to the essentials for comfortable road trips.&nbsp; I hope some of you might find something useful in these ideas.<br><br>pdxnate, Portland, Oregon<br><br></p><p>&nbsp;</p>

 

[highdesertranger]

thanks for the answers igbt keep us updated I will have more question later don't want to bug you to much right off the bat.&nbsp; highdesertranger

 

[IGBT]

<p>I did a quick crude CAD drawing of what the camper is going to look like on our 20 foot Isuzu flatbed truck.&nbsp; Important dimensions are accurate, but I didn't try to model the axles or interior or hatches.&nbsp; Just wanted an idea of how she might look when done.<br><br></p>

 

[IGBT]

When we are done with the main living pod, we will build a garage pod to hold motorcycles and/or snowmobiles.&nbsp; This will have a 8 foot ramp door and be fairly simple.<br><br>Here is my not so artist's conception of what it might look like:<br><br>

 

[highdesertranger]

that's so cool will you have access to the garage from the house?&nbsp; highdesertranger

 

[IGBT]

No...that would have been neat (to be able to have access from the main pod directly into the garage pod) but it would require 2 doors, since sometimes we will leave the garage pod on the ground or at a storage yard.&nbsp; Also, having a door there means you lose that space in front of the door in both the main living pod and the garage pod.&nbsp; In the living pod, the door would be directly where our sink and water/gray tanks reside.<br><br>That was a long answer to basically say, nope.&nbsp; <img class="emoticon bbc_img" src="/images/boards/smilies/biggrin.gif">

 

[IGBT]

<p>Got er skinned.&nbsp; That was a LOT of work.&nbsp; I should take a picture of all of the 10 oz tubes of Sikaflex adhesive I used to bond the 0.063 aluminum skin to the steel frame...over 90 tubes!<br><br>Adding 2 inches of R13 polyisocyanurate exposure rated insulation on all walls and floor right now.&nbsp; It comes with aluminum facers which also double as vapor barriers.&nbsp; I am taping the seams with aluminum tape.<br><br>Probably right now it is around 1600 pounds.&nbsp; Figure steel frame is 800 pounds, 500 pounds of aluminum siding, 250 pounds of marine plywood on the roof and partial floor, and 50 pounds of caulk!&nbsp; I guestimate fully loaded it will be a tad over 4000 pounds...good thing our truck is rated for 10,000 pounds of payload!<br><br><br></p>

 

[Ziggy Moon]

Wow, I'm impressed... and jealous! <br><br><br>

 

[highdesertranger]

I to am impressed.&nbsp; quick questions. &nbsp;where the sheeting over laps and you seal the seam does the adhesive ooze out then you clean it up?&nbsp; on the roof did you use the sikaflex to glue the sheeting to the plywood?&nbsp; finally those little thingys that look like darts in the first pic are those to hold the panel in place how do they work and what are they called?&nbsp; thanks and cool job so far.&nbsp; highdesertranger

 

[rokguy]

<EM><STRONG><SPAN style="COLOR: #888888">Highdesert,</SPAN></STRONG></EM><BR><EM><STRONG><SPAN style="COLOR: #888888">&nbsp;They are called pop rivets or could be truck huck bolts. </SPAN></STRONG></EM><BR><EM><STRONG><SPAN style="COLOR: #888888">IGBT I hope it was nice and hot in your shed when you skinned the body cause alloysheet will stretch in the sun badly. When I did mine I did it in the middle of summer outside even with prestretched sheets and overlapping&nbsp;starting at the&nbsp;back to front&nbsp;(stops water forcing its way in hIghdesert) the sheet will still buckle a bit.</SPAN></STRONG></EM><BR><BR><EM><STRONG><SPAN style="COLOR: #888888">She looks great.</SPAN></STRONG></EM><BR><EM><STRONG><SPAN style="COLOR: #888888">Geoff</SPAN></STRONG></EM>