1 Bored Clerk's Garage Built Camper

No photos today but I got the cat 5 cable from the battery sensor in the engine bay through the firewall and routed under the sill plates to the rear of the cab. That felt really good. I'll get some photos because I'll be running more cable through the sill plates in the next couple of days.

Still truckin'!

 

A bit more cable routing and thinking...



Both cat 5 cables are run. You can easily see the blue one but there is also a black one in there too. Im going to try to run the power for the 12v socket by the driver's knee through here as well.


Considering where to mount the Manager 30 display/control. Maybe here? Easy to run the blue cat 5 cable up to here. Maybe centered in this panel? Maybe down low on this panel where it recesses further. I don't love any of these spots. I may make a bracket that puts it down by the manager 30 itself.

Going to try to wrap up all the wiring this weekend and have everything up and running.

 

Well, rain moved in. The forecast was clear last night. It's been raining pretty much all day. Still got some work done but not as much as I had hoped


Made this aluminum plate to mount the camper fuse block. I dig it because it uses a screw that's already there to hold the box onto the camper and two walls to keep it oriented. Simple.


Made the harness for the 12v plug by the driver's knee. This plug was put in to run a handheld CB radio. There is an antenna cable plug there too. Have never hooked it up though. Figured this was a great time to at least run power to it. Could use it for phone charging if nothing else.


Ran the harness behind the dash and down the passenger side sill.


To the back of the cab...



Then buttoned it all up.


Then I prepped two more sets of wires for running fridge power and a second USB charger in the back of the cab. The second USB charger will be where I had originally put the 12v socket for the fridge...if there's room to actually use it. Might as well use the hole I drilled if I can!

I need to spend a lot of time outside with the truck doors open to finish this off so I'm calling it for today.

 

Took the afternoon off and worked 6 straight hours on nothing but wires. HOW DOES THIS TAKE SO LONG!?


Decided to start with the waterproof scanstrut wire seal. Marked out and drilled The mounting holes



Then did the more labor intensive part: cutting the hole.


Start the scanstrut install process


Drill out the rubber seal for the wire size you're running, pull the wire through and screw it all together. Done! Hopefully done correctly. Haha.


Here's the inside for now. I'll sleeve the wires and put guides somewhere to keep the wires nice and wrangled.


Then on to mocking up this mess!


Pull everything apart and finish trim, sheath, heat shrink, ziptie and generally arrange everything. This will henceforth be known as the gaping cord hole.


And the gaping cord hole cover in place.

After lots more fussing and cussing...


Everything is in place! Only wiring left to do: 12v plug for the fridge, roof vent fan and USB charger. All pretty easy. I would have had the fridge done tonight but I didn't have the correct terminals for the wires. Ugh...I'll pick those up tomorrow and finish that off.

I still need to mount the manager 30 controller which Im hoping to handle tomorrow...unless it turns into a big job to do it right. But, I'm SOOO close to firing this whole mess up and checking for smoke.

 

Boom!


It's Alive!!


Got everything wired up, circuit breakers turned on, fired up the truck and...I heard a beep and the display lit up. That's good right? Set up the system and took it for a drive. Nothing burned down and the battery was charging. Yay! I still don't know where I'm going to mount this giant controller but I'll figure it out.

 

I had an issue with my old fuse block that has been under the hood of the truck for several years...it was corroded and wasnt passing current. So, I replaced it and got everything up and running properly. I also took some time this morning to make a bracket for the manager 30 display in a spot that seemed both out of harm's way, out of the way and totally accessible.




Looks good to me!

This afternoon, after I thoroughly clean the garage, I'm starting a new part of the project. Stay tuned!

 

Damn you do nice work man.

 

Wow you are patient

 

I am, you have to be to watch this build.

 

Thanks!

 

You think it's bad watching this build? You should try building this build!

 

Camper work...


Cut down a sheet of 1/4" plywood


Cut a hole out of the middle of it.


Loosely in place. This will be padded and upholstered for comfy sitting and reading in the camper.


Then cut that in half. Had to take this step because the fabric that I'm going to upholster this with isn't wide enough to cover the whole width.


First coat of poly



Drilled a bunch of large holes. This is to assist with airflow and keep any kind of mildew at bay. Then I rubbed on a second coat of poly.

One last coat of poly later tonight...maybe.

Tomorrow I'll test fit the wood pieces again to make sure then I'll get some foam on these two pieces later in the day. Upholstery Monday/Tuesday.

Fan wiring (temporary wiring) tomorrow as well.

 

Big day!


Foam on the headboards


Fabric!


Started with this...


Ended up with this. I dig it!


Cut this stuff. It's a spacer that goes under the mattress to allow airflow under there to limit mildew. After it was cut, I put it in the camper. Surprise!


Then I tossed in the mattress. Easier than I thought...really happy about that.


Then the big moment! Took a comfy little rest. It's officially campable!

I also got the ceiling fan temporarily wired up and running. Can't wait for our Thanksgiving trip South. It'll be our first camp trip with the box.

 

Congrats, enjoy since you've been busting your ass!

 

Thanks! Tons left to do but I'm really excited to get a few nights in it.

 

Dammit, I waited 6 months to check back in hoping it would be just close to done but it's finished. Congrats man it looks great amazing job.

 

Looks great!

Can't wait to hear how the first outing goes!

 

No worries! Still plenty of stuff in the works. Keep checking back.

 

I'm excited! I'm curious how cold and wet it's going to be in the camper (condensation). We're heading to Yosemite over Thanksgiving and it's been pretty cold at night down there.

 

So much awesomeness!!! Looks great man!!