Building A 4x4 Truck Camper | The Floor 

I didn’t share all the mistakes 😅 it would have been too long of a video 😂 glad you’re enjoying it

Haha. I am obviously not an engineer. This makes me think of a saying, "if you can't tie a knot, tie a lot" 😂

Then I’ll unbolt it and load it on the next truck 😁

thanks. If only I could make it overbuilt and light 😅

@@TheTravelingTogetherJournal Weight down low is ok, even good.

I’ve tried shaping a surfboard once and have done a bit of glassing on boats. Can’t say any of it looked great but it always got the job done

Definitely will as soon as possible. In the mean time I’m keeping it under a tarp

By having wheel wells I can keep the floor lower. This gives me more room inside the camper. If you are building a canvas(or other fabric) pop-up, the flatbed with storage underneath may make more sense, but since I am doing a hard sided pop-up I would have to increase the collapsed-height to gain additional head room.

Thanks. That sounds like a cool project

The epoxy paste is the same epoxy and catalyst that I used thought the video, but with an added powder that makes it thicker. There are many powders you can get to make paste with different characteristics. I used a "milled glass" powder. It creates a strong finished product and has good sag-resistant properties while you are working with it. The tape is not self adhesive. It is just fiberglass, like the cloth I used, but it comes in a narrow roll. 2-8 inches wide are normal widths that I've seen. It has a stitch on either edge that holds the weave in place so it doesn't fray and is easier to work with than cutting strips of cloth.

@@TheTravelingTogetherJournal thanks for all the info, I appreciate the insight especially about the tape being easier with the edge than cutting strips from cloth.

@@mrad4234 I do still cut strips from my off cuts sometimes just because $

Thanks Ed. Definitely trying not to wast any materials or time if i can help it. Of course one of the tough things about a custom DIY project vs a production build is things like materials testing or specialty tools tend to kill a budget pretty quick when you are only building one camper. I continue to learn and get better at wood work, pour foam, and glassing with each new panel I build.

@@TheTravelingTogetherJournal Well, you're definitely making me want to start another one! I built a diy camper back in 2017; nowhere near as well done as yours, and I definitely learned alot, but it served its purpose. Your build is definitely inspiring me to start another build and incorporate the lessons I learned. One of the big ones was just how strong and light foam laminated between two layers of thin ply can be! I used a modified steel ladder rack as the basis for mine, with xps foam insulation and ply inside and out, with the exterior sheathed in fiberglass. It was definitely strong (too strong even...I probably could have rolled the truck and it would have just sat there upside down on the camper like a turtle), but the weight was more than it needed to be, and dealing with the steel frame inside the skin ended up being a real headache anytime I needed to make even a minor correction.

@@TheTravelingTogetherJournal By the way, what's your plan for wiring? I may have missed it, but I didn't see any wires run prior to the pours. Is your plan to keep it all external (inside the camper, but not inside the walls)?

@@Edhooey Yeah. thats the plan. when its done i'm sure I will wish I would have had the fore thought to run at least a few wires inside the walls, but honestly I still don't know exactly where I'm going to put all the lights or outlets.😅

@@Edhooey Sounds like a pretty ambitious first attempt. My first camper didn't have any insulation. It was a lot lighter, but not nearly as comfortable as this one will be.

Sorry. I'm not sure what you are suggesting/asking

I'm not familiar with GRP. What is it?

I think it could be cheaper, lighter, and stronger with aluminum, steel, or wood if you know what you are doing 😅 I was originally thinking of doing a steel frame, but was talked out of it because of its high heat conduction. In retrospect I'm not sure if I should have been so concerned with this 🤷‍♂️

Thanks Cory!!!! We had no previous experience making videos. Back when we started our Panama trip there was only one or two other "overland" travelers that we could find on RU-vid that were producing edited stories of their trips. It was content that we wanted, but couldn't find. That was the whole motivation for starting the channel. I'm glad you've enjoyed our videos so much. It makes me smile. I hope I have more TRAVEL content to share soon 😁

This is a good point. I thought they were grade 5 for some reason, but went back to confirm that after your comment and can't seem to find the info. No response form the manufacturer of course.

haha. some folks just don't appreciate a good project. Darn neighbors 😂

I based it off of what I was seeing being used in professional camper construction and kinda just guessing what will be strong enough. I wanted to feel confident that the mounts holding the camper to the subframe wouldn't pull through the bottom layer of plywood/fiberglass and that the top layer of plywood fiberglass would be ridged enough not to flex and compress the foam core.

It is a primer that is advertised as being designed for boats and boat trailers. It is by a company called Pettit. I got it at West Marine because im in the marine industry so I get a deal there, but they have it on amazon too: amzn.to/3oOAXDb

@@TheTravelingTogetherJournal Thanks for the info Matt.

thanks!

There will be some local trips and Baja trips to get it dialed in. Then, hopefully Alaska 👍

The whole project is an experiment 😂

I wish it was that light 😂

How heavy get the camper , only , after finishing , please?

Thanks Terry I didn't weigh any of my panels. They would each have a different weight depending on the amount of framing I used. I would calculate a 4'x8' panel with 20 linear feet of framing would weigh about 46 pounds. How does that compare to the commercial panels you are looking at? If I were to do it again... I probably wouldn't choose this build technique without having my own shop space to work on it. It is a very time consuming process and I can only work on it a few days a month, so it is taking a lot longer than I thought it would. Always waiting for glue, foam, or resin to cure before moving on to the next step, but not having the space/tools to work on more than one or two panels at a time. If I had the shop space, tools, and time to really get after it, I think this process is pretty good and I would do it again.

Thanks Felix. I try my best. I'm glad you've enjoyed it

Good luck!

Yeah either Bedliner or deck paint for boats. Gotta do my research still

Just don't forget about cure/set up time. Some take a few weeks @@TheTravelingTogetherJournal . Really looking forward to seeing your process. Have you seen any of the Overland Expo & gotten any ideas you might incorporate into your build?

@@tpseeker3367 Thanks We went to Expo west a couple years ago and went inside of the various campers and expedition vehicles and that helped with some of the spacing/layout ideas, but most of it has just come from using our previous set up and talking about what we like or don't like and talking to other travelers about what they would like to change in their rigs. Its really going to be a one of a kind camper built around weird priorities like surfboard storage 😂

Ah yes I know what you mean on weird priorities@@TheTravelingTogetherJournal

Thanks

I don't know how much it weighs, but it's not light. haha How much would you guess it's going to weigh?

Strength

@@alexiswilliams4769 Good point