46 replies to this topic

[Basin Deranged]

Nice work on the cabinets, skills I wish I had.

 

 

Edit: thought it was odd you have moisture problems in CA. I looked up your location; yes you do get some moisture.  Also I have been guilty of riding my motorcycle to fast on Sir Francis Drake Blvd. ;-)

Yes, Sir Francis Drake from Lagunitas to Olema is one of those roads that seems to bring out the throttle twister in some and the looky-loo in others: Highway 1 too.

[Basin Deranged]

We Interrupt This Program...

 

N and I just got word that we have 10 days in front of us with no obligations.  We're taking off on a spur-of-the-moment camping trip to Nevada!  This will be the first chance we've had to spend more than two nights in a row in our new camper.

 

So I will not be posting the next installment until after Sept. 19.

 

Thanks again for all the nice comments, questions, and suggestions. Keep 'em coming: I'll reply upon our return.

[ski3pin]

Have fun in Nevada. Travel safe and happy camping!

[jackattack]

This is fantastic. My wife and I are sold on the slide-in campers, but not at all interested in the American style finishes. I may contact you in the future for information regarding your parts supplier.

 

-Kai

[Basin Deranged]

Thanks for the good wishes ski3pin.  We had a fine trip!  I'll post a trip report after I finish this build thread.

 

Thanks Kai.  Feel free to ask any questions.

[Basin Deranged]

Interior Layout

 

We went with a forward dinette with large benches on both sides.  As mentioned earlier we often camp with friends, so it's nice to be able to accommodate a couple others around the table.  Also this allows us to have the option of a "grandchild bed."

 

 

The narrow storage beneath the sliding bed is a benefit of the taller area above the cab.  We store the slide-out bed cushions, auxiliary solar panel, and table in there.

 

The table mounts to a home-made swiveling aluminum bracket.

 

 

With the table bracket removed the table drops onto two ledges built into the benches and the seat-back cushion is put on top for the aforementioned "grandchild bed."

 

 

A tall storage cabinet, a tiny storage cabinet, and the galley are at the rear of the camper.

 

[Basin Deranged]

Various Fixtures

 

The Renogy flexible solar panel is attached to the roof with 3M tape and a second panel, with a 30-foot detachable cord, resides below the bed when not in use.  The solar controller, water level indicator, Propex heater controls, and 12v outlets are mounted to the tall storage cabinet.

 

 

The Blue Seas fuse panel lives under the passenger-side bench. 

 

 

The Propex heater is installed under a false floor in the same cabinet. We chose the Propex because it is relatively quiet and quite efficient.  It came from another of my Vanagon sources, Westy Ventures.

 

 

Combustion air comes from the outside and the exhaust gasses are vented to the outside.  Two vents on either end of the bench provide the hot air source and the cold air return. The false floor allows us to use the area above for storage. 

 

 

Spring loaded "toy-chest" hinges keep the bench lid up or down.

 

 

The 12 volt fridge installed in the galley cabinet is a Truckfridge  also from Westy Ventures.  I should mention here that the customer service from Westy Ventures is first rate.

 

 

The galley cabinet top swings up to reveal the stovetop and sink.  The stovetop is from ENO and available through West Marine and other marine suppliers.  Nice hot burners!  (Though the lowest setting is not quite low enough to keep a small pot of rice from burning when cooked in a thin-walled stainless pot.  I'll need to either get a thicker pot or a flame diffuser.)

 

The sink is one that I purchased from All Terrain and the faucet is a Shurflo purchased from GoWesty.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Basin Deranged]

Curtains

 

The curtain fabric is a Japanese cotton from the local fabric store.  The curtain hardware is from Curtaintracks.com.

 

First I cut the curtains to size, double-folded the edges, and seamed all the way around.  Next I sewed on the shirring tape and installed the curtain hooks into every other loop in the tape.

 

 

Next I cut the plastic curtain track to length and installed the gliders and end stops.

 

 

I attached the hooks to the gliders...

 

 

and installed the tracks.

 

 

Snaps and curtain ties were next.

 

 

 

This makes for a nice low profile installation that even fits with room to spare between the door and the screen door.

 

[takesiteasy]

Professional looking result- nice work!

[Basin Deranged]

Finishing Touches

 

Once the camper was completed I weighed the truck so I could replace the hopelessly overloaded rear springs with something more stout.  The camper will seldom if ever come off the truck.  I contacted Deaver Spring in Southern California for a set of their heavier springs.  This photo shows the stock spring on the left and the new spring on the Right.

 

 

I also installed taller tires with an E load rating for increased load range and ground clearance.  The tires are Cooper Discover AT3 in size 235/85 R16 which fits very nicely into the Tacoma front wheelwells without rubbing on full compression.

 

 

On the left side of the photo above you can see the base of the hi-lift jack hanging from the brackets that I built for it.

 

I attached the bracket for the Brophy folding aluminum steps to an angle iron which I mounted to the bottom of the camper shell.

 

 

 

I was happy to discover the zero-cost, zero-effort, guitar mount modification. It holds the instrument nice and snug.

 

 

I made a pair of strap brackets to attach to the passenger seat mounting bolts for strapping the removable winch into the back of the cab.

 

 

 

The existing child-seat attachment points that you can see protruding between the seat cushion and backrest in the photo below worked perfectly for holding the straps at the rear of the cab.

 

 

That wraps it up for now.  I'll report back in the future as we find out how this all works out and make the inevitable modifications and additions.

 

 

See you on the road...