Luvs2ski
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Planning a dry camp oriented DIY TC build.
Hello, I have been browsing the web the last few weeks looking at various resources about manufactured truck campers, as well as DIY versions of campers, trailers, tear drops etc. About us: we are big fans of skiing and have car camped for 8 years. Originally in smaller vehicles and the last few years out of Suburbans. This has been a great way to save money on a motel and have comfy air bed/ sub zero sleeping bags. Our suburbans are getting older (2008 and 2011) and we thought moving to 3/4 trucks with a truck camper would be a good way to step on up in our dry camping lifestyle. Our goals of a truck camper: a bit more sleeping space. Our suburbans comfortably fit a 4x8 sheet of ply in the back which we use an air bed on. But we want Atleast a queen bed in the new rig as we have a dog and the 48” width is small for our size. Not unusable but small. We have no interest in showers, bathrooms, sinks, water tanks or cooking appliances or AC. We want at most a camper style vent fan, a propane heater and entertainment system (led tv, PlayStation) as well as 12v lighting. This would strictly be our ski rig so AC is not needed in our cool winter and spring months here. Why diy? I am a contractor by trade and after viewing build processes of lower end truck campers (namely Capri Retreats) I feel comfortable building a reverse engineered similar truck camper. The used market is full of junk campers and lots without floor plans we are interested in and tons of features we don’t want. The rig: the idea is this coming summer to buy a 3/4 truck, likely an f250. Not set on the 6.75 or 8 ft bed. Will likely be a crew cab for our various needs when not camping. Going forward I want to ask questions to this forum for feedback and discussion around my various design considerations as well as answering questions or help I am Not quite sure of. The diy camper: the goal is to build a stick built frame, panel board interior, insulated walls and thin plywood covered by epoxy/ fiberglass and topped with paint ala boat building. I choose wood over aluminum frame as I do a lot of framing for work in wood and it is comfortable for me. It appears to be good enough for many budget brands so I view that as ok. Why fiberglass over ply? My uncle is into project boats and has done it this way for 40 years. He thinks it could help make a waterproof, better insulated enclosure which would lend itself toward our winter use goals. I haven’t personally done a lot in this field but have researched other common camper skinning methods and this is a major decision point. I will post rough design ideas soon and lending interest in this build will be glad to give more information and hope to make some critical decisions in planning the build.1.8KViews0likes9Comments
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