1 Bored Clerk's Garage Built Camper

That’s really cool. I admire your fabrication skills with multiple media - not a lot of folks can do what you’ve been able to accomplish.

 

Hey, thanks! I'm an equal opportunity hack. No media is safe!

 

Epoxy coating something this small is tedious. Waiting for individual sides to dry seems reasonable when the piece is large. But when it's very small, you just want it to go faster for some reason.


Last coat to dry before sanding and buffing to a nice satin sheen. Tomorrow...

 

So, this "little" project keeps on giving. Here's how it all looks in place.



Not bad! I didn't like the fit though. It was too tight. So I trimmed it down slightly and went for another round of epoxy on the edges.



Here are the trims I made. They are now coated again and drying. But I also forgot to clearance the edge for wire pass through as well as drill a finger hole so I can pull this whole cover out of place. Soooo...another round tomorrow of mods and fitment then epoxy again. Then sand, wet sand and buff again.

I've decided to try a really basic attachment method for this. I think I'm going to epoxy some blocks of wood in three places around the perimeter of this cover but on the camper walls. Then use industrial adhesive backed Velcro to hold it in place. I think it'll work pretty well and I don't have to deal with fasteners. The beauty of doing everything yourself is that you can try stuff and if it doesn't work, you just try something else.

 

Oh, another decision made...for now. I was going to use RAM track for my phone chargers and whatever else. But I decided against it as I was worried about the balls coming loose and slipping out of place (always a valid concern!). Especially considering how heavy the wireless chargers and arms are.


Here's the RAM track and one wireless charger for reference.

Here's what I've decided to use instead. 3 discreet ram balls with a large diameter base. I'll use four screws per base and mount them to the wall. I plan to leave the charger(s) in place when driving so I think this will be a much more reliable solution. I also plan to get an iPad for mapping and other crap. Might be nice to have a mount for it back in the camper should I want to kill some time watching You Tube or Netflix. Hey, I'm all outdoorsy and shit but everyone gets bored from time to time.

 

And just like that...three RAM balls reporting for duty. Hopefully these hold with accessories attached over washboard road. We'll find out! And I'll fix them if they don't.



This is a way better idea than the track mount I think. Of course, this guarantees I'm going to want a fourth mount at some point.

 

Man, I'm working slooow...as usual.


Started the wiring harness for my two new USB ports. This is actually critical path for wrapping up that project so I guess that's something. One end is done and I'll finish up and terminate the other end once I run and secure the wiring.

Oh, my awning mount is ready for pickup! A couple of days late but at least it's ready. I'll pick it up tomorrow if everything goes well with the windows of time I think I have available.

 

Picked up my awning mount today. As usual, it looks way bigger in person. I'm sure it'll look normal on the truck...especially with the vast majority of it being hidden behind the awning.


Once the awning mounting holes are drilled and I know where it's going to tie into the roof rack, I'll trim away metal I don't need and drill big holes in areas where it makes sense to cut weight. I did as much as I was comfortable without having the whole system fit together.

And, just for a data point, the long part of the mount was $80 for material, laser cut and two full length 90 degree bends. The small triangle at the bottom of the pic is the support for the hinge end of the awning and it was $50 for everything. Both are .125" thick steel. I probably should have done aluminum but I can always swap it out if I feel the need in the future. I suppose it depends on how much weight I trim and how heavy the rack/awning feels when mounted.

 

we need a walk around video or pictures of this thing

 

You and Homer...the pressure is too much!

I know, it's hard to get a good idea of everything overall with random crappy pics. I'll work on the video idea.

 

dont take to much of your time just a quick walk around or pictures from farther away. everything is just so detailed and its not a bad thing. great work.

 

Agreed. This doesn't need to be a high resolution instructional video. I'd be happy with a 5 min walkaround from 20" out then a zoom in on the interior.

 

Just a simple made for Netflix mini docu-series, then?

 

Truck all washed and waxed! Interior is all nice and clean again. So nice. I'm glad I pay someone to do this twice a year.



Lasted almost 30 minutes before a bird dropped a fat black tar turd on it.

I'm getting more and more excited about ditching the flatbed next year and dropping the camper lower and further forward on the truck.

 

thanks looking good

 

A slow start to the morning but I'm happy to see my rack and awning mount mocked up!





It's almost a shame the awning will cover 90% of this. In the end there will probably be there crossbars as the two are so far apart, they are only really suitable for sea kayaks and SUPs. I may need a thrift one for maybe a whitewater kayak or something like that. Been thinking about getting back into that. I'll also trim and lighten the awning mount wherever I can to shave weight. Just waiting to get the awning mounting holes drilled before I know exactly where and how much I can cut.

Shall we start a pool for how bad this is going to whistle when I get it done?

Anyway, onward and upward with all the heavy things!

 

I forget, is there a forward facing window as well?

Great pics BTW.

 

There is a window that roughly lines up with the cab window. But, if I decide to tear the whole thing apart and ditch the flatbed next year, I'll probably fill that window in. I can't see through the camper in the rearview mirror anyway and the window is right where your head is when sleeping.

 

Spent a few hours transferring awning holes and marking trim areas.


I was able to get 8 holes using this method.


Then I switched to this method for the hinge side holes. Had to close the garage and I still only had a 1/2" clearance to swing the awning open.


No dice. Still can't get to the holes reasonably. And I wasn't about to take this thing apart. So I went with measure and pray.




Then I started marking out areas I can trim off to save a little weight. These are areas where roof rack cross bars won't tie in. Don't need that much steel floating in the air. I have a feeling I'll end up transferring all of this into my CAD file and having an aluminum one made next year. But this will do and we'll see how it all holds up.

That's it for today. Time to go hang out with some good friends for Halloween.

 

Oh, and I finished this piece! It's ready for install. I fussed over the finish for a while (still not happy with it) but decided it was good enough to sit in my camper and get all scratched up throwing backpacks up against it.