All you expedition camper DIY people... I have a question

[spankybear]

What and did you make your box out of? Kind of toying with the idea of making one and was wondering what people did.

 

[ramdough]

I have not built mine yet...... but I plan to copy much of Duckworthe's design. I will do thin steel frame with aluminum pre-painted skin adhered with sikaflex. Where I plan to vary from his design is that I plan to run horizontal stringers (hat channel or wood furring strips), then spray foam closed cell foam. Then thin skin of some sort on the inside of that.

Maybe Duckworthe can post some pics of his build here or a link to one of his posts.


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[99nouns]

I have not built mine yet...... but I plan to copy much of Duckworthe's design. I will do thin steel frame with aluminum pre-painted skin adhered with sikaflex. Where I plan to vary from his design is that I plan to run horizontal stringers (hat channel or wood furring strips), then spray foam closed cell foam. Then thin skin of some sort on the inside of that.

Maybe Duckworthe can post some pics of his build here or a link to one of his posts.


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I wish you could post a link

 

[Masspilot]

I'm getting ready to build my camper building the frame with 2x2 square tubing like duckworth but then going to build the outside out of PVC board 4 foot by 20 foot lengths and cold fuse all joints together I'm a distributor for the product through my Construction Company then going to use foam insulation on the walls with furring strips on the inside to attach paneling essentially making it a completely enclosed capsule.

 

[ramdough]

I'm getting ready to build my camper building the frame with 2x2 square tubing like duckworth but then going to build the outside out of PVC board 4 foot by 20 foot lengths and cold fuse all joints together I'm a distributor for the product through my Construction Company then going to use foam insulation on the walls with furring strips on the inside to attach paneling essentially making it a completely enclosed capsule.

Sounds like we have similar versions with a few tweaks, all Duckworthe inspired.

I am curious about your pvc products you use. Can you say more?

What are you using for furring strips and paneling?


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[ramdough]

I wish you could post a link

I don't have a link to his build. I have just seen pictures. Maybe he has a thread or tutorial somewhere.


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[cybindustries]

Mine is made of aluminum 1.5 square then skinned in 1/16 sheet

 

[ramdough]

Maybe everyone that has built a camper should post their build thread links in this thread for reference? I would enjoy reading them.


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[coachgeo]

Have sorta cheated. 2" Aluminum square tube/ 1' on center framing. 2" insulation. Aluminum outer skin. Plastic Interior cabinets and walls pre-installed, AC and heat pre-installed (but will need modifying)

Granted, though.... it came off the back of a Freightliner Ambulance. Build was in 2004. 14.5' long. 5'9 or 10" interior height. Fine for me. Got to modify wheel wells and move them back to far end. Cost including delivery "so far"... let's just say significantly less than if I had built it myself and massively less than if had it built for me. About same cost as some of the middle of the road S280 boxes are being sold for.

On the build thread front.... decided to respect SS purpose of MV discussion by only doing the LMTV side of the discussions here. SS is not about "Expedition truck building" thus putting that part elsewhere. Thank you for all that have helped in the past with my truck and same to those whom may pipe in and help in the future. Look forward to your suggestions.

Build thread for the Camper Box side of this is at http://www.ambulancerv.com/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=289&sid=ceea612ae512d3e9df777a4ab2ea7052 Obviously there will be some overlap such as when it comes to dealing with mounting the box on the LMTV chassis.

PS- one and a half (AKA- one complete../... one project about 3/4 complete) diesel motorcycles will be here sometime this summer to complement the rig. Smaller of the two (KLR with 435cc Diesel and CVT- NOT MILITARY version) will get mounted on back of camper box. Probably commute use this summer also. Larger HEAVY 3cyl Tribota (Triumph Tiger with Kubota 3cyl and CVT) will be for other adventures when completed.


Now if it will FREAKING STOP RAINING or occasional snowing so I can work on the truck. So much to do. It has rained every week for months now and been freaking cold lol.

 

[teletech]

I really like ambulance bodies, well built and with lots of nifty wiring and plumbing one can re-purpose.
That said, I'm now building a camper based on a deuce water-purification body. It's crazy heavy but I love the way one entire side opens out.

 

[Duckworthe]

All,
I am glad to share all of my build pics with anyone who wants them. I will also try to help you answer any questions I can. However, I don't want to take the time to do a whole write up and post all of the pictures on this site. Love the site but posting all of my build pics at this point would take forever. I also am the kind of guy who thinks that if you are going to build one of these, part of the fun is doing the design that you want. Not just what someone else has done. I'm sure that every design that you come up with will turn out to have a drawback of some sort after living it for over a year. Example- I just removed the bed in mine this weekend and built a new base that has storage under it. Now with my motion base memory foam bed removed I have less weight and twice the storage. I also understand that I am not an Engineer, however, I have been building and fabricating Race cars and running weld/repair shops in the Navy for over 21 years. So I know that Engineering drawings don't always work in practice like they do on paper! My favorite Engineering quote told to me personally- "I don't know if this will work. I just design homes, I've never actually been part of building one." I'm not kidding!!! LOL. It really doesn't matter to me how you build yours. From the frame up or just drop a camper on it, it doesn't really matter. Just make sure the way you build it will fall in line with the registration laws for your area. I would hate to see someone spend $$$$ on their project and then not be able to license it! If you want pics of my build please just email me duckworthe@gmail.com I will sent them to you off of my phone.
Have a great day!
Eric Duckworth 619-952-4337 San Diego, Ca.

 

[coachgeo]

If anyone wants an unfinished camper box project for a SMOKING DEAL let me know. It will get posted in classifieds soon too as well. IT IS NOT MINE. Just passing on the word. It's based on a Square body (aka not older 404/4x6 bodies) Unimog Radio command Box. Yes, you can stand in it.

 

[Masspilot]

My box is being made out of 2x2 1/8 steel tubing and the corners out of 2x2 1/4 inch and the floor. So I have maximum strength in corners of uprights and floor. Also putting gussets in corners. Sorry for any spelling errors in tired. I will have pics this week hoping to be finished with box this week.

 

[m1010plowboy]

I doubt that wood is desirable for something that is going to get beat, off-road, but if a guy doesn't have mad metal skills, it's an option.

My Dad caught me with a girl in the basement when I was 16 and he said, "Don't ever let me catch you down here with a girl again!" So I asked if I could use the garage. He said no, you're not taking girls into my garage! After explaining that I wanted to build a camper, he was ok with it.

I just wanted something big enough to A) Stand up in and B) Lay down in. This is the back of the first one with one of my tough buddies feeding bread to the WhiskeyJack sitting on the roof. I'll find better pics of the Aero-dyne top on it. I made the top look like the cockpit of a stealth fighter so it gave up that cockpit feeling while cruising down the road. This was back in 1981 so I'm pretty sure the F-117 copied me. It was 6' long, 5'9 1/2" height but only the width of the cab of the 72' chev at 53".



The second one came in about 1983 when this super aero-dyne image popped in my head which allowed for only 4' long, 6' height and flared out from the cab to give us a very comfortable 6' 3" width.




We could always do this!

 

[Another Ahab]

I just wanted something big enough to A) Stand up in and B) Lay down in. This is the back of the first one with one of my tough buddies feeding bread to the WhiskeyJack sitting on the roof. I'll find better pics of the Aero-dyne top on it. I made the top look like the cockpit of a stealth fighter so it gave up that cockpit feeling while cruising down the road. This was back in 1981 so I'm pretty sure the F-117 copied me. I was 6' long, 5'9 1/2" height but only the width of the cab of the 72' chev at 53".

Maybe you should sue for infringement of the copyright.

 

[ramdough]

I just got a copy of this book.

Looks like a good introduction.

"Build your Own Overland Camper manual (Haynes Manuals) "



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[99nouns]

I just got a copy of this book.

Looks like a good introduction.

"Build your Own Overland Camper manual (Haynes Manuals) "



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Is it a pdf?

 

[ramdough]

Is it a pdf?

No, it is a full length Haynes Manual. I would have posted a link, but it went to a popular online book/everything store.

Here is the cover.

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[99nouns]

So you cant copy and paste from it

 

[ramdough]

So you cant copy and paste from it

It is a hard cover book. I think I paid $25-30 for it.


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