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Guest
Guest
Firstly, thanks Bob on the helpful site. I have some added ideas and an opinion below.<br><br> M2C: My gut feeling is that the DIY groups will eventually be legislated out of existence. This is due mostly to loop hole plugging by the authorities, but the true reason will be disguised by the "safety" reason. Also the MFG group will be happy to provide another reason why we shouldn't build things ourselves. Permits and drawn out plans will be expected from us and this will be the screening method. These will be implemented as usual without any statistics to show the public that they are indeed needed has the situation is of course..... Ahemmmm "out of control".<br><br> Those of us who build shoddily and without carefully thought out plans will eventually be the bain of the rest of us. This is because these will make the news and once again serve to show the public for the need of yet once again protect us from ourselves. Camper parts strewn on the highway from a recent trajedy where the guy had no sense of the effects of gravity,weight dispersion and overload six sense will be portrayed has typical of our kind needing close monitoring by the stated methods which serve another purpose, ...empire building. Municipalities will need an extension to their departments hiring secretaries to take care of the paper work for this new group of renegades running rampant on our highways who have the audacity to attempt to side step the social norms and go it alone . New revenues will be gained with an inevitable tax increase of course.<br><br>Why am I saying this? Because I see this pattern emerging in our times. We DIY are ghosts of the old 40's, 50's Popular Mechanic days where we were the norm. When we are suddenly given a "gift horse in the mouth", ie: a liberty to be creative and be different, a minority blows it for the rest. This pattern always plays out. So I consider it a freedom for now, because one day it will be a dream. Sorry for the pessimism.<br><br>On Compact Trucks: The compact truck of the past, ie: car with a box, is gone. My 2006 Ranger has the option Payload Package 2, 1400lbs. I installed Monroe air shocks and for five years it's hauled 2 cords at a time, 16 cords in all per year, without problems. My ford mechanic tells me shock mounts,tranny and 3ltr engine are in great shape. I also have the trans cooler and trailer package. I agree with the high center of gravity concern with such a camper, and that is real. But if kept at 50mph, and watch for slippery then dry pavement. I don't think it's a concern.<br><br>camper: <br><br>1/You can make a pretty decent roof sealing skin by the old method of using canvas and oil base paint in your choice of color. Use 1/4 ply for the roof, then paint it with a very heavy coat, dripping even, of the paint. Paint the underside of the tarp and mate the surfaces stretching it tightly and tacking it to the sides temporarily until it dries. Take a roller and go over it once to drive in the paint better. Roll on 3 extra coats allowing for the standard drying time. The result will be a lighter stiff skin. Cover this with a coat of white RV sealer tar. The canvas/paint over a semi-circular twig frame idea was used in the past to build small paddling craft. <br> <br>2/I'm going to 1X1 steel frame the camper only has a foundation to give structural strength over the camper box sides, for the door, and up over the truck cab has a fulcrum for the overhang. The rest I'll use 1 X 2.5 oak w/3 coats of sealer preservative to prevent dry rot in the event of leaks(this is the worst cause of structural failure in RV's)<br><br>3/ I'm going to try to use a raise/lower sectional top so the cabover doesn't look out of proportion with truck and still give me the headroom. I'll use threaded rod in some way to achieve this. 12inches I figure will be about the extent of the lift.<br><br>4/Floor underlay Luan, 3/16 has a remarkable grain pattern, and I can get this stuff in 1/8 too. So my inside panels will be varnished luan, my outer panels 1/4 ply covered in aluminum siding (I'm not comfortable with aluminum being structurally dependable on it's own).<br> <br>5/Stove will be my trusty coleman naptha w/fan over to outside. Cooler a walmart bottom drain to outside drink cooler.<br><br>6/Heater, (new one 400$+!!!), I was thinking of making a fanless propane heater vented to outside. Basically the standard BBQ arrangement but without the tin burners, but instead two 1 1/4 parallel iron pipes capped on each end with a single row of 1/16 holes on their tops. So the use will be similar to having the left side of a BBQ burner on and adjustable. Same knobs for adjustment. Lotsa ROXUL for exterior insulated chimney, as well has a box within a box setup for the main furnace. A peep hole lighting access for matches. I'm not comfortable with it I admit, so I'll run it on it's own a couple of weeks to see how the engeneering works on this contraption, and build the enclosure to suit. <br><br>7/The dining table instead of one piece, I'll halve it lengthwise, and hang each half on the face of the seats on each side. <br><br>So this is my stuff and my thoughts for now. See ya later.<br><br>Andy <br><br>
