1 Bored Clerk's Garage Built Camper

Noooooooo!

At least it’s dark and rainy here.

 

What's worse is I got off yesterday with the sun still up and it was nice out and checked my phone and had a 'I'm in the Hospital' text from my wife. We were there until midnight. I hope her health improves after the feeding tube.

 

Sorry to hear that.

 

I understand completely! Got to make hay when the sun shines!

Sorry to hear that. Hope she feels better soon.

 

Stole away a little time to do a little bit on the camper.


Did some fairing on the door opening. Hopefully it only takes one round. We’ll find out tomorrow!

 

Early Saturday update:


What’s this all about?

Well, we decided that this camper was designed/built to go on this truck so we’re going to see that through. If I was going to put it on a trailer, I would have designed it differently. So, this is the jig for placing the camper mounts on the flatbed. I’ll center this up in the bed and clamp it down, then I’ll clamp the bed mounts to the cleats on the edges of the OSB. Then I’ll have nice drill bushings to guide my bit and placement. Especially the hole saw! Should be sweet. Fingers crossed.

I also sanded the door opening. I’ll touch that up tonight after I sand the interior of the camper this afternoon.

Feels good to be back on track and cruising to the finish line!

 

Lots done today!



Sanded the entire interior! Then I went back around and filled a few little divots that appeared. The pictures don’t really show anything but it’s fairly smooth. I still need to go back in and hand sand all the corners where the sander can’t reach.


I also went back in and did a little more fairing on the door jamb corners. Looks sloppy but it stands off fast.


Then I did a hasty fairing job on the outside of the door. Again, sands off fast with the sander.

Great progress today in my book! Hoping to wrap up all of the epoxy/fairing/sanding over the next couple of days. I’m feeling good about this.

 

I felt like you would regret doing it as a trailer since this was built for a truck. I'm sure you would have changed alot to put it on a trailer.
But I dont like to tell others what they should do.

 

This will be invalid at this point, but what the hell...

1. I love being able to use my tuck as a truck. That is why I built my trailer to put my RTT on. I do still have the ability to move it to the truck if needed.

2. I also have a dirtbike and one of these are completely invaluable...
https://www.discountramps.com/black-widow-motorcycle-carrier/p/MCC-500/

3. I got tired of setting up the tent and packing it up every time I wanted to go exploring. Hence the trailer.

4. Towing a trailer in any conditions can be nerve racking. But there are plenty of aids to help stabilize it.

5. Not all trailers "suck" off road. With the right suspension and attachment points they can be almost forgotten about while traversing your next adventure. Here are a couple of things that would make the experience more pleasurable.
https://locknroll.com/
https://www.easternmarine.com/torsion-axles/
https://timbren.com/axle-less/

6. Great ideas here...

7. Trailer do take up space, there no way around that. Keeping the camper on your truck alleviates that issue.

I hate to say it but if you do buy a trailer it will not be made for "your" camper and you will want to modify it anyways. We've followed you long enough to know that a factory fresh trailer just wont cut it for you.

I also have mine in the truck and would highly suggest a second battery for it. I can let it run over the weekend and it will have drained my second battery. (Texas summers)

Nice area's, I grew up in Lincoln City on 101. Great hwy for a 2 wheeled adventure btw...

This sucks man! I know the feeling though. My vacation just got cancelled for Jambo (Texas Lonestar Jamboree) due to work restrictions/downgrade in force.

As much as I like the idea of having a trailer, I'm glad you decided to go with the truck route. I agree with you & your wife as you built & designed this to mount to your truck. I can only imagine the differences you would have made if the initial plan was to be mounted to a trailer.

On a side note, I am planning to build an enclosed trailer and steer away from the RTT life. My wife and I are in our early 40's and not getting any younger (don't tell her I said that). The idea of climbing up and down the ladder and having minimal amenities available from the sleeping area is less than ideal. If you do decide to go with a trailer setup down the road, I'd love to share my experiences with you as I also build offroad trailers.

 

Some point down the road you could always build a custom trailer built around the camper itself. But that's if you feel like it after you enjoy it for a while on the truck!

 

Check out @gwolff 's cargo trailer camper conversion thread! Might give you some ideas on your enclosed trailer build!

 

That’s the idea!

 

Got my hands dirty a bit last night.


I touched up some areas, did a second coat on a few more areas and put the first round of fairing on the little stub wall just inside the door.


I also sanded and got a second coat of fairing on the outside of the door.

Small progress but it’s still progress. Just found out my sister will be in town this weekend. While that means camper work will be slim, it will be awesome to see her. It’s been a while.

 

Nice!

 

Are you going to paint it yourself or take it somewhere?

 

Solid work right here. Can't wait to the fruits of your hard work.

 

Painting it in the garage. Roll and tip method with boat paint.

 

Do you use a respirator while doing all this work?

 

Thanks, I'll check it out.

No matter how much you still got to do, you can always find time for family.