XPCamper Intro

[Nimbl Vehicles]

Hi All;
Wanted to introduce myself. My name is Marc Wassmann and I am the “creator” of the XPCamper.

I saw that my camper has been mentioned here a few times.

Maybe I can give you all a little bit of the history behind it.
The project began around 7 years ago; one week after I had purchased a new Pop up truck camper.
That particular unit leaked in the 1st rain it saw; and after a few month of off road use it literally fell apart.

While I was rebuilding the inside I researched mainly the marine industry and was introduced to some cool composites. Light weight; can’t rot; if the water tank leaks again so what? Plastic don’t mind water.
After rebuilding the inside I managed to save about 50 lbs.
Cool.

Next idea. Let’s built a whole camper out of this stuff.

So there you have it; 7 years and 2 prototypes later and here it is.
A low profile; light weight( shell is 600 lbs) frame less pop up camper loaded with the latest technologies in diesel appliances and power management.
Hasn’t leaked yet ( not too bad for a former chef to build his 1st camper leak free); besides the hole I drilled trough the roof; but hey ; it’s composites; so no harm done

I managed to stuff 80 Gallons of water in that unit; a full wet bath; 25 Gallons grey H2O and have nearly 65 cuft of storage.
It also can fit 7 cases of beer ( Blue moon) in one of the outside storage compartments. One of the design requirements….
There was even talk about installing a 5 Gallon Keg in the shower stall!!! The Burning Man edition.


Too much fun.
It turned out to be a big disaster after I opened the camper.
The fridge opened and all the beer got warm.
That problem got fixed pretty fast and no more opening fridges here...

My latest edition; remote controlled lights for ease of night parking.

 

[Nimbl Vehicles]

Here are some pics from the inside.
I used a cool technique from the marine industry by creating a lip on the counter top.
No water can roll off.
The faucet is a single handle for ease of use and has a ceramic valve.

The shower converts to a counter top when not in use.
The same single handle faucet is used there as well. It is also handy to place you wet boots and jackets in the shower stall.

I only use breakers and no fuses throughout the whole camper. The system I use is a Blue Sea 360 Panel which is best in my mind on the market.
All wiring is done in a harness and can be easily replaced or added on if needed.
Again; only marine wire is used.

By using marine equipment I eliminated a few down falls I discovered in my old campers.
They haven’t rattled loose yet; are not subject to salty air when camping on a beach and provide much better connections.
They are also water resistant; so if you get stuck in a river you probably be able to use the systems.
I can’t verify that; since I haven’t played submarine with the camper yet.

Any Marina in the world can work on the camper if there would be a potential problem.
Not so with main stream RV equipment; which is mainly used in the US.


View from the bed

View from the dinnette
Those are "hidden" led's behind the upper cabinet.

 

[Nimbl Vehicles]

Here a re some pics of the truck without the camper.
Never had a flatbed before; but sure love the versatility of it.

I think flatbeds rule...


It's a short bed truck.
The break over angle is pretty good on this truck.
You could use a hitch extension to tow some things.

 

[Barko1]

Very nice, I like flatbeds as well, see a ton of them in Australia. So does the camper have a door ?

 

[switchback]

what's the price tag for something like that ?

$$ ??

 

[Nimbl Vehicles]

Very nice, I like flatbeds as well, see a ton of them in Australia. So does the camper have a door ?


Thanks
Who needs a door if you have big windows??

Yes; it's a side entry door.
You can see it at the right side of the camper; 1st pic

 

[K6ON]

It would have been nice if you had a finished version at Overland Expo. The one I saw there appeared to be only partially completed, wires hanging from the ceiling, no upholstery, no door, etc. Basic design looks good and would really have liked to see one complete.

One question, it appeared you used balsa or foam coring between the FG layers..Is this correct?? Seems to me it would create a huge issue if it had a leak somewhere and the coring ended up saturated with water..?? I've seen decks on several large boats (Sea Ray's in particular) have the coring completely saturated because of a single leak from a rail stanchion.
If balsa coring is installed, what measures do you take to prevent water entry from any "hull" penetrations??

 

[Ted]

Hi Marc,

Thanks for bringing us up to date on your camper. While I appreciate what you have shown and told us, I'm greedy and want more.

You said the shell weighs about 600 lbs. How about the whole camper when equipped with cabinets and other amenities? Since you are just starting out, I suspect you will build to order for a while. Any idea how soon you expect to start production? Any exterior pictures of the camper in the open position?

Thanks, Ted

p.s. my neighbor is a distributor for Blue Moon. I'll let him know about your plug. Maybe I can get you some free beer!

 

[Nimbl Vehicles]

It would have been nice if you had a finished version at Overland Expo. The one I saw there appeared to be only partially completed, wires hanging from the ceiling, no upholstery, no door, etc. Basic design looks good and would really have liked to see one complete.

One question, it appeared you used balsa or foam coring between the FG layers..Is this correct?? Seems to me it would create a huge issue if it had a leak somewhere and the coring ended up saturated with water..?? I've seen decks on several large boats (Sea Ray's in particular) have the coring completely saturated because of a single leak from a rail stanchion.
If balsa coring is installed, what measures do you take to prevent water entry from any "hull" penetrations??



What you the the EXPO was A SHELL MODEL which comes partially prewired.
If you look at the pics above you see a finished one.

I don't know where you get that i use a balsa core????

I only use foam core with unidirectional hand laid fiberglass reinforced with carbon and kevlar.
And NO; i won't give you my lay up schedule....

We had a piece at the show ; we even let people hit it with the hammer.

 

[Nimbl Vehicles]

Hi Marc,

Thanks for bringing us up to date on your camper. While I appreciate what you have shown and told us, I'm greedy and want more.

You said the shell weighs about 600 lbs. How about the whole camper when equipped with cabinets and other amenities? Since you are just starting out, I suspect you will build to order for a while. Any idea how soon you expect to start production? Any exterior pictures of the camper in the open position?

Thanks, Ted

p.s. my neighbor is a distributor for Blue Moon. I'll let him know about your plug. Maybe I can get you some free beer!


FREE Beer yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It depends how you set up the camper.
A fully loaded one with all the specs i have on it is about 1600lbs.
I need to get it to a certified scale.

All campers are built to order; since you can choose the finishes; colors etc etc.

You can see pics on my website in the up position..

 

[K6ON]

What you the the EXPO was A SHELL MODEL which comes partially prewired.
If you look at the pics above you see a finished one.

I don't know where you get that i use a balsa core????

I only use foam core with unidirectional hand laid fiberglass reinforced with carbon and kevlar.
And NO; i won't give you my lay up schedule....

We had a piece at the show ; we even let people hit it with the hammer.


Sorry Marc, didn't mean to ruffle your feathers. I'm only asking the questions I'd ask as a prospective purchaser and I was standing right in front of you. If the questions make you uncomfortable then something's wrong.

I said either balsa or foam coring..either can get water in them. I wasn't shown your sample at Expo, nor did I just ask you for your lay-up schedule.

What i asked was, and I'll repeat it, what measure do you take to prevent water entry from any "hull" penetrations??

 

[Nimbl Vehicles]

what's the price tag for something like that ?

$$ ??


From $22;000 for a shell to $75;000 for a fully loaded with the latest in RV technology.
It really depends on the you want or need.

 

[Nimbl Vehicles]

Sorry Marc, didn't mean to ruffle your feathers. I'm only asking the questions I'd ask as a prospective purchaser and I was standing right in front of you. If the questions make you uncomfortable then something's wrong.

I said either balsa or foam coring..either can get water in them. I wasn't shown your sample at Expo, nor did I just ask you for your lay-up schedule.

What i asked was, and I'll repeat it, what measure do you take to prevent water entry from any "hull" penetrations??


Hey no feathers ruffled..I don't have any

Don't take it to serious.

Anyways; to penetrate the camper cabin you really need to hit it pretty hard. If that happens you probably have other issues to deal with.
We hit the hull with a 3 LBS sledge hammer and couldn't get thorough it.
It poked a little hole when using the claw side of the hammer.
Since I use a closed cell foam core; water doesn't penetrate into it.
I hit a tree pretty hard a while back; only scratched the surface and never fixed it to show people how though the cabin actually is.

Once you have actually managed to puncture a hole in the cabin; I'll go to the nearest marina and get it patched up. If worried; you can also carry a little fiberglass kit with you.

Since you are in SAC; shoot me your info ; next time i am up there; which is pretty frequent; you can do the hammer test for yourself...

 

[craig333]

Very interesting. I don't think you dr are on the same page here
So you have the exterior shell, then some kind of closed cell insulation, then an interior shell? Or what?

 

[K6ON]

Ok Marc,

I guess my question wasn't too clear.....

I'll try again, If for instance you ran a cable through the roof for a solar panel, how would you seal the cable entry to keep water out.
If a rack was mounted on the roof...how do you seal the bolt holes, etc.

I'm not questioning the strength of the unit or your lay-up, just curious how you seal through "hull" entries...

I'll PM you my phone number and next time through Sacto, I'll buy you coffee and look at your sample...Fair enough??

 

[K6ON]

P.M sent...

 

[pods8]

Where is the bath/shower mentioned, its not jumping at me in the pics?

What size is the bed, does it pull out as well?

Nice work.

 

[sjv]

I hit a tree pretty hard a while back; only scratched the surface and never fixed it to show people how though the cabin actually is.


I helped him get off the tree. His camper was leaning pretty hard against a stub left by a broken branch. Luckily he got off the tree before damaging his window! Only the paint was scratched. It likely would have ripped a hole in most other RV siding. His camper is very well built and quite impressive.

Here's Marc doing his chef thing and slipping KC some scraps.

-steve

 

[Nimbl Vehicles]

Where is the bath/shower mentioned, its not jumping at me in the pics?

What size is the bed, does it pull out as well?

Nice work.


Thanks

The bed is Queen size and it doesn't need to slide out.
There are some pretty big storage compartments under the bed ;with each compartment sealed off to the next.
Collapsed the camper is 56" tall

Here is a pic with the shower down

Here with the shower up

 

[Nimbl Vehicles]

Ok Marc,

I guess my question wasn't too clear.....

Sorry; I did misunderstood your question.

I'll try again, If for instance you ran a cable through the roof for a solar panel, how would you seal the cable entry to keep water out.
If a rack was mounted on the roof...how do you seal the bolt holes, etc.

I'm not questioning the strength of the unit or your lay-up, just curious how you seal through "hull" entries...

A lot of people are curious as well; let's leave it at that.
All I can say is; that my camper never leaked.
Guess you have to get one to find out

I'll PM you my phone number and next time through Sacto, I'll buy you coffee and look at your sample...Fair enough??

Sure be happy to show you the hammer test