OutbackHack's Build, solving problems with metal

Well this sure makes things easier

 

The tent fabric put up a hell of a fight. @Iggy was right

 

Not bad man! How did you secure the fabric to the camper?

 

Sandwiched between two strips of 1/8" rounded edge aluminum, then riveted in place all around. So much drilling....

Cross section looks sort of like this

 

Oh yeah, so much drilling

 

Tracks! And omg more drilling.

 

Fabric is looking good! Nice work!

They installed my L-Track on the very edge so the bolts ended up outside the fabric. Probably should have told you...

 

Cool, wonder why they did mine differently then. They didn't have L-track so just welded extra structural tubing inside, 3" from the outside edge for me to bolt into later. I believe where yours is installed there's just air/foam under the skin on mine. But the flush mounted nuts I got should keep my head safe inside.

 

Finally time for some all-up test fitting. Cabover section just barely clears the stupid shark fin. Hopefully enough clearance for chassis flex and whatnot. Otherwise really happy with how the dimensions worked out, overhangs the bed sides by just about a finger width but still narrower than overall truck width.

 

Truck looks awesome, love the bumpers and top. How much weight do you think the top added?

 

Thanks, haven't been able to weight it yet but my best guess currently is somewhere around 400lbs

 

Excellent work! That bed rack you used too is super clever!

 

Good progress this weekend. Got the mounting plates installed on both sides and the front, camper can finally be securely bolted to the truck. And misc other things. Might be in sleeping condition in time for some mid-October camping.

 

Finished sewing up the fabric, installed the sleeping platforms, installed 3rd brake light and ran wires for 12v power, tail light, brake light, and aux reverse lighting up to the shell, and misc other stuff.


Discovered the unfortunate outcome of applying brakes for the first time after the truck has been sitting accumulating some rainwater on the roof. The cabover section is perfectly designed to dump all the water in through the front windows.... will have to think of some way to mitigate this.

 

Camper and mounting brackets survived the initial washboard road vibration test


First field test of the camper. Should come up with something to keep the walls from flapping in the wind so much.

 

Added some supports to carry the sleeping platform loads straight down to the composite bedsides rather than being cantilevered on the outside edges. Also started work on insulation, wiring, wall panels etc inside. Eventually plan to also have an insulated liner to hang on the tent walls so the whole thing can stay warm, unfortunately not in time for this winter.

Think I managed to avoid any pinhole burns in the fabric from sparks. Ideally should have gotten all the welding done earlier in the process...

 

Don’t set truck on fire... Don’t set truck on fire... Don’t set truck on fire...

 

Dual swing arms! Only took 6 months to get back to this project...

 

Fuel can mounts, swing arm latches, and starting to build out the sides. More slow progress.

 

Subbed. Your fab skills are incredible!

Keep up the nice work