Subscribe. I'm envious!

 

Great looking build so far! I'll be following along.

 

Update on Cabinet Materials: I priced the same Balsawood product using a 2mm Hardboard face instead of a poplar ply face and dropped from 3/4" to the 5/8" equivalent and man what a difference in price. Still not what I'm happy with price wise, but works for the weight factor Steve is looking for. Its $120 a board delivered. Heck of a lot better than $200 a board so I can live with that. It doesn't eat near as much as my cabinet allowance.

Next: Steve wants to use #8 or #10 torx head, self-tapping, stainless screws. Well, I found them online. OUCH......... The only source I found comes in 1/2 kegs only (5,000 pcs) for a mere $370+ shipping. Did I already say OUCH.......... I sure hope my metal guy has a source where we can get a smaller quantity and/or better price. I realize this is a one-time build and why go cheap on things that need to last for as long or longer than we plan to keep this trailer, but OUCH. These screws don't even have those little rubber thingys we need for weather proofing. I realize this is one of those things you don't want to skimp on but man was I ever sticker shocked on this one.

I'll tell you, finding that donor camper has more than paid for itself but these things you never think about are what shocks you. I researched the silly things like metal, cabinets, beds, appliances, A/C and all that but never even gave a thought to something like screws.

Do I think it will be worth it in the end????? YES. We will have exactly what we want and hopefully last for many, many years.

 

Just random thoughts.

You pay big for specialty fasteners. #8s are the industry standard. #10 seems to me like it may be overkill. Rather than torx heads, how about square drive, much cheaper, unless you just have to have the appearance of torx. Regarding sealing the screws, possibly butyl tape between sidewall and wall stud to seal the threads. Since you are using these on the vertical, water penetration should be less an issue.

I am sure Steve already considered and rejected this idea, but if you used a 3/16" substrate on the wall studs and glued the siding, you would get a smooth finish and reduce condensation. The manufacturer Big Foot also used to fill these aluminum sidewall studs with foam to insulate and reduce condensation.

Like Steve, I am given to overkill. Don't you love it when someone tells you how to do your project. You should hear all the "advice" I get when I am working. If there is an easy and a hard way, you will usually find me doing it the hard way.

Steve

 

I'm checking with one of my suppliers for stainless self-tapping #8 x 3/4" torx and square.

Unless absolutely necessary, he wouldn't even consider putting a substrate on (added weight). As for the foam insulation, funny you should mention this. We already planned on foaming all the sidewalls and ceiling. We did this in our metal garage when we lived in WBP and what a difference. Steve found a foam business on the way to Daytona and stopped in there about a month ago. The guy told him to give him the all the measurements and he'll cut the foam sheets to fit. Don't have a clue how much this is going to be but the guy said it'll be a lot cheaper than buying the sheets from Lowes or HD.

Yes, I do and please keep it coming.

Until this thing is on its first camping trip, any and all advice and comments are welcome.

 

Hello Carlene.

Great build and I am enjoying it. Thanks for taking the time to document all of it, thats a bit of a job in itself.

And it looks like you have some very good advice from several others here.

I have a couple of suggestions.

On any of the adhesives, glues, boards, plastics, and insulations, make sure to find out about outgassing and emissions of the materials as they cure, age, and are exposed to heat in the summer.

Depending on the materials used, you might have to allow the trailer to ventilate when stored, rather than keeping it closed up...at least for the first season.

Next, have you thought about using solar power and catalytic heating?

Both used together can allow you to dry-camp, or 'boondock', for a lot longer in cooler weather without even needing a generator, and the catalytic heater will conserve propane. RV furnaces are terribly inefficient.

Of course your genset will be needed for the microwave and the AC unit if shore power or hookups are not being used.

That large Onan genset removed from the donor should more than recoup the price of the entire donor RV unit by selling it on Craigslist or selling it to an RV dealer or RV repair shop.

As far as the roof unit, you might consider a dropped roofline at the front or rear so the AC unit will be much lower. Of course, interior headroom will be lower for that part of the RV.

The project looks like a grand adventure Carlene...keep the updates and the camper 'selfies' coming!

 

Thank you. I've been enjoying posting the progress. Its definitely wielded a lot of good advice.

All of the wood and laminate we're using are LEED qualified and the adhesive is low VOC. The adhesives we use are also for high temperatures since we have summer for what seems like year round. The cabinet shop I work at does a lot of work at schools & other govt projects so I've done way too much research on "Green" products since I'm the one that has to do all the paperwork (I hate LEED projects). I haven't researched the vinyl flooring or foam insulation yet but I probably need to jump on that pretty soon.

Luckily both Steve & I like it cold. When/if we do run the heat, I keep the thermometer at 60-63 in our house and 58-60 in the camper. With the campers being such a small closed in area, I can't stand it any hotter than that.

Hmmm, I didn't know and RV Dealer would buy them. We'll have to check into that. Steve refuses to use Craigslist or any other classified because then people will want to come and see it. We'll probably end up taking it over to the Turkey Rod Run in November and see if we can sell it there if checking with a dealer doesn't pan out.

Having the unit on the passenger side works for us. The drivers side is where we have the main height restriction. Besides, the interior is only going to be 6'3" tall and I'm 5'8 so I'm sure I'd have a headache all the time if I had something to bang my head on, not just when its convenient for me.

Definitely an adventure but it will be worth it when its done.

 

If you were closer I'd buy that generator. Actually, depending on what you want for it, I'd be willing to arrange shipping for it...

 

Subscribed. Very cool project!

 

Are you going to do a flat or arched roof?

 

The roof will have a slight angle, just enough to keep the rain flowing.

Speaking of rain, the camper's on hold again. Its been raining every day for weeks now and its way too wet to weld outside.

 

I really, really wish we had that problem out here in California.

Stewart

 

Hey Stewart, I sure wish we could send some of this rain your way.

BTW everyone watching this thread, I changed the thread title so we didn't have 2 "Camper Build" threads going at the same time. Ya never know, I might post to the wrong thread some night after having that one too many.

 

Rats, I thought it was going to get interesting!

 

What a neat project... to be able to build your own home on wheels, just the way you like.

After skimming through this thread, but not reading EVERY word because the pics were too interesting, there were two thoughts that occurred to me.

1. With the complete build up of the tongue, all the way to the ball coupler practically speaking, the type of weight distribution hitch systems might be limited. In your specific case, with a 1 ton dually, this may not be an issue, as perhaps you had not planned on using weight distribution when towing this aluminum rig. But it could be an issue, depending on how heavy you make the trailer with content, and depending on how that weight is spread in the trailer.

This isn't to say that there are no WD systems that will work with a fully built tongue, but it is a suggestion to consider now, if you haven't already, what type of WD system you would use, if needed, and what type would you recommend to someone who might later purchase your creation, should you decide to change to say, a motorhome later on.

There are spring bar tension brackets that bolt THROUGH the tongue frame, as opposed to the kind that wrap over the top of the tongue, or attach with twin plates on either side of the tongue, or attach with Ubolts around the tongue. The latter three attachment styles will be unavailable to you with your built up A frame, but a bolt through the frame style will be.

So the decision point here may be to determine if the local area of the H or I beam frame that would need to be bolted through needs to be buttressed up to the tip of the horizontal flange, so that the WD hitch hardware can hang correctly. Also, some consideration might be given if the frame at that area (approximately 18" to 24" behind the ball coupler) is adequately gusseted to distribute the localized stress from the spring bars. This is a special consideration with aluminum.

Again, none of the foregoing may be applicable to your planned usage or needs, but it is something that might be better thought of in the construction phase, rather than after the fact, should you later determine that you or a future buyer would benefit from an anti sway or WD system.


2. The second thought that crossed my mind concerns the two big outdoor "closets" for lack of a better term that will be in the back of the trailer. Flex storage spaces are an invitation for variable loading... and with your flex space being at the furthest position aft of the trailer axles, there is a potential for significant swings in tongue weight.

This isn't your first rodeo with trailers, clearly, so I know that you and Steve know exactly what I'm talking about. But I still mention it, because when you start talking about putting the generator back there and the batteries back there and all the toys back there... and only a bed and a bath upfront ahead of axle... the thought of too light of a tongue came back to mind.

Other than those two thoughts, everything else on my mind when looking at your project was admiration... with a touch of envy! Very impressed!