Metal or Lumber

[Willy]

 A person also doesn't need 'specialty' tools to work with wood beyond a tape measure, saw, hammer, and screwdriver. I once rebuilt near a whole camper with said tools in an orchard I was working in (the Okanagan, picking cherries). Now, if I'd wanted to use steel, I'd need power for the welder (unless it was Oxy/Acetylene), drill, the welder itself, hacksaw, files, grinder, helmet, gloves, and STILL all the other tools I'd use for wood. The barrier for 'entry' is much lower with wood and mistakes more easily rectified. I'd rather back out a few screws in order to redo something than grind out welds. ..Willy.

 

[IGBT]

Ok that is a good point.&nbsp; I paid around $1100 for a 120/240V Miller MIG welder to do this project plus I already had a metal cutting bandsaw.&nbsp; Our camper is big and somewhat heavy though and I would not have wanted to make certain parts out of wood if I had framed the main camper in wood.<br><br>Take for example these jackstand mounts.&nbsp; I wanted a quick connect for the camper jacks so I don't have to drive the truck around with the jackstands hanging off the sides like you always see.&nbsp; Because I had a steel frame, it was fairly simple to just weld on three receiver tubes and then make a matching three prong plug.&nbsp; Super strong and will not tear out.&nbsp; I would be confident lifting double the weight of our camper on these quick connect mounts.<br><br>Similar thing with the tiedown mount.&nbsp; I wanted something that was not going to easily tear out.<br><br>All that being said, I think wood makes a quite nice material for building a camper, and it insulates a lot better than steel or aluminum.<br><br><br>

 

[Zil]

Better wood at lower costs. I found a recycled lumber place that sell wood they salvage from old buildings. Some is much more expensive because of the decorative quality but most dimensional lumber is cheap, dry, and past warping.

 

[Willy]

Those jackstand mounts are reminiscent of the ones found on my old Vanguard camper, 'cept they're single 'plug' and mechanical screw jacks. Nice thing with the Vanguard setup is that the jacks swivel up for storage while driving. ..Willy.<br><img rel="lightbox" src="/file?id=1619564" class="shrinkToFit decoded bbc_img" alt="https://vanlivingforum.com/file?id=1619564"><br><img rel="lightbox" src="/file?id=1619562" class="shrinkToFit decoded bbc_img" alt="https://vanlivingforum.com/file?id=1619562"><br><img rel="lightbox" src="/file?id=1619563" class="shrinkToFit decoded bbc_img" alt="https://vanlivingforum.com/file?id=1619563"><br><img rel="lightbox" src="/file?id=1619565" class="shrinkToFit decoded bbc_img" alt="https://vanlivingforum.com/file?id=1619565"><br><br>