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Something to keep in mind: Aluminum will transfer heat out and cold in pretty easily. Maybe keep the aluminum as close to the outside as possible, then insulate inwards of it.
Easier/better to do continuous insulation on the outside.
You would be hard-pressed to build a camper as lightweight and solid as a fiberglass one. I would say look for a decent Bigfoot or Northen Lite camper to your liking and make some upgrades. Some may already be 4 season with heated tanks etc. If you will be camping off-grid you’ll probably want something like a catalytic heater so a fan is not using up precious battery power. Solar panels and a lithium battery are great.
Any camper is 4 season if one burns enough propane. If you dig into BF or NL you'll find the amount of insulation is not very good. Worse is the lack of air sealing which is needed to control condensation/mold.
I've lost count of the threads that people report what a great 4 Season camper/trailer they have is only to see they have mold issues after 1-2 years.
Any camper is 4 season if one burns enough propane. If you dig into BF or NL you'll find the amount of insulation is not very good. Worse is the lack of air sealing which is needed to control condensation/mold.
I've lost count of the threads that people report what a great 4 Season camper/trailer they have is only to see they have mold issues after 1-2 years.
Decided I'm going to buy an older model, gut it and will make sure to insulate thoroughly and add a good vapor barrier as well as air seal.
I dont have any interior photos because I was building it and my wife was the one documenting while I was building. In a month and a half I am 95% complete. Weight is unknown at the moment but it squats my DRW about as much as my 4000lb pin weight 5th wheel did. It is just under 12ft sitting on the truck. The interior length is 16ft and overall just under 19ft. The rear sits 32" behind the taillights. The entire frame is rough sawn red cedar 2x4 and 2x6. I put a metal roof on it because it's rated to 200mph the solar panel brackets are rated to 150mph. I used Owen's Corning self-sealing ice blocker on the entire roof. 7/16" force field plywood to sheet the outside, which I wouldn't recommend, wrapped the entire thing in Tyvek.
Solar setup is 8x 100w Renogy 16BB panels with a Renogy 60A MPPT solar charge controller, Renogy 40A DC to DC charger, 2x 200AH Renogy lithium batteries.
Beautiful setup! I’m starting a build soon for something very close to this. Overall length was right around 17’ in length and 94” wide outside. I’m going with a flat bare roof though I’ll put a slight center crown on it to run water off. Solar is getting an EG4 3kW AIO inverter, EG4 LL-S 48V 100AH battery and 4x Hyperion 395w Bifocal panels which will just fit. 😂 The system will power my bike garage when home with 6 panels on top but able to be moved to the camper for trips. I’ll be running the EG4 9k mini split with a seer2 rating of 29.5. I need the added length over the rear to allow for two dualsport motorcycles to fit in the tube… with a small wet bath. 🤪 Rear passenger side entrance with a pull down rear ramp for loading bikes.
