Avion truck campers - Hundreds of photos
Without going into too much painful detail, we had a mishap several week-ends ago. While working with sand bag crews on the Mississippi River, the truck and camper fell into the flood waters as a road...
Forum Discussion
krustydog, I've been following your mod and I must say it's a great idea! Might be nice to have a slightly shorter rig if you're off roading. And I think you'll find that dealing with skin and rivets is pretty straightforward.
As for protecting your plywood, let me recommend a product called Smith's Clear Penetrating Epoxy Sealant. It doesn't coat the wood; rather, it soaks in and saturates, making the wood virtually impervious to rot. I've used it on boat projects - both restorations and new construction - and it's a really outstanding solution where you have water and wood and penetrations from fasteners. It's also a great base if you chose to paint afterwards. Not cheap but well worth the cost, in my view.
As for the actual plywood, get the best quality you can afford. I'd use marine ply rather than a lumberyard exterior sheet. Marine is made for the conditions we're dealing with. I'm convinced there is no way to keep water out of an aluminum structure with a thousand rivets...
Onward!
Dick
As for protecting your plywood, let me recommend a product called Smith's Clear Penetrating Epoxy Sealant. It doesn't coat the wood; rather, it soaks in and saturates, making the wood virtually impervious to rot. I've used it on boat projects - both restorations and new construction - and it's a really outstanding solution where you have water and wood and penetrations from fasteners. It's also a great base if you chose to paint afterwards. Not cheap but well worth the cost, in my view.
As for the actual plywood, get the best quality you can afford. I'd use marine ply rather than a lumberyard exterior sheet. Marine is made for the conditions we're dealing with. I'm convinced there is no way to keep water out of an aluminum structure with a thousand rivets...
Onward!
Dick
