Taking a Look Into The Future - How We Have To Make This DIY Camper Build Look Great!

When building anything all of the decisions are left up to you. But sometimes we can get a little lazy. A recent video that was put out by the YouTuber Wranglerstar, talked about a young kid and how the kid wrote into him to tell him how he didn't cut corners when cleaning snow from under a car.

This approach really shows us, that deep down we are always trying to get ahead and cut the corners so we can get to the next task.

But what does this have to do with the design of a camper I hear you say? Lots! It can be really easy for some bits of wood that are a 1 or 2mm out to be left by the side and forget about them. But when you come back in the future you are always glad that you took that little bit more time to deal with the issue.

Ever Worked on Auto Body?

During my limited experience with auto body work I noticed one thing. This one thing should be hung above the painting booth in a workshop and given as introductory notes for new comers:

It all comes through the paint!

Something that you may think looks about right and you decide to speed up the process and get painting. Well as soon as the paint has begun to dry, your heart can then begin to settle also as you know those lines you saw before you painted are still there!.

How do we get around these problems? They are generally quite simple, finer grade sandpaper (good old wet and dry sandpaper) and then progressively move to a finer grade as time processes until all the marks are gone. During this process, using a high build primer would be a great option, as they add an extra thick layer for you.

To Bring This Back To My Camper

The top half and bottom half of the camper are going to be separated the two lines of different colours that meet together. I had a little idea spark off and thought wouldn't it be great if I could get some of the table trim from Eddie Rocket's Diner tables. It was about 2 inches wide, and would make a great band around the van to separate the colours.

I've found some nice US suppliers who have a wide range, and some others sourcing from here in Europe. Hopefully we can get these in time (and chromed) for the deadline. It is the attention to all of these details however, that make it all come together and look the best.

Winterizing Your Camper - Some Thoughts On Keeping Your Camper Warm

When starting a camper project from the very beginning, the conditions that the camper will be used in need to be considered. In the US, the temperature can go from sweating hot, to bone chattering cold between seasons. Here in the west of Europe, things are a little different.

We quite often get a middle range of temperatures, things never get too hot, or really go too cold. So an approach to this needs to be taken during the construction process of the camper.

Typically campers here do not have very thick walls. The same can be said for most vans and campervans that are currently on the market today. They are usually created for the good seasons, as people rarely go out on holiday in the winter months. But some people do!

The insulation in the camper can then suddenly be inadequate and warm days suddenly come with really cold nights. Preventing this from happening needed a lot of thought.

At the moment, the walls in the camper are currently pegged at being about two inches thick. This will give plenty of space for a two inch thick insulation, or 50mm for us European people, to be added in.

One of the recent advents in the insulation world was creation of polyiso insulation, or "rigid foam" as it is often known.

Unlike polystyrene insulation (the white stuff) you would have seen used throughout the 80's and 90's, polyiso insulation is denser and often covered in a foil film offering better insulation. To ensure a good seal, a foil type tape is available to seal up the gaps.

Where Your Camper Loses Heat

People often wonder about campers and where all of the heat is really lost. It can be seen from a number of different angles. Below is a breakdown of where your heat goes!

1. The floor of an RV or a camper is often made from some wood or floor pan sheet metal that has been added to the chassis frame. In a lot of cases, that is really it! Although heat rises, a cold floor can quite quickly turn your hot air into cold cold air.
   
   By insulating the floor, we can reduce the risk of losing heat out of the floor. The wind gap underneath the camper or RV is also an issue. Because the floor is raised up and a gap of anywhere between 10-14 inches is there, cold air can easily flow in under the camper. To prevent this draught from happening, people have often moved towards the idea of creating a skirt around the camper. This can stop the flow of cold air under the camper.
2. The roof of the camper again, like the walls needs to be insulated. If all the hot air is hitting your roof, you need to ensure that it is not a cold metal surface that can turn your expensive hot air into cold air.
3. Windows and doors although useful during the day if left open at night can becoming gaping air holes allowing all your precious hot air to flow out. Do not block up your vents however, they are needed for safety!

Heater Strips
If you have external water sources, one product that is on the market are heater strips designed to go around your pipes. They require a very low voltage and keep your pipes just above freezing to keep the water flowing, preventing cracks and leaks.

This solution however, can be costly to power if you are running on a solar rig.



In conclusion, as soon as the camper outside plywood has been added, it is insulation time!


A nice comparison of insulations can be found here
For a little bit more about polyiso insulation, check out here

Making a DIY self Build Camper - The Ideas

As talked about in the previous posts, the idea for this camper trailer was born from the beauty in the airstream trailer.

For those people who do not know what an airstream is, (e.g. the european people, generally most american people know about airstreams. This is what they look like:

The most iconic element of their airstream is the aluminum shell, that hell or high water will not rust. This has allowed airstreams to last the test of time. Most modern campers and trailers are skinned in an aluminum shell for this exact reason. The frame inside these however is often to up the company making it, sometimes they are wood and others they are steel or even aluminum.

The Type 2 VW has also got curves, a popular choice around the 1970s and further back to the 1950s as seen below in ambulance form:

The idea of making a DIY camper, is all about doing things your own way. So for that reason this project will be a hybrid of both of these two icons of camping. Given that a trailer has been bought, it settles the issues on how wide or long the camper is going to be, which can often be a big time waster as there is always arguments for a little bit bigger or a little bit smaller.

Some key facts in this trailer however are:

• There will be no permanent cooking facilities.
• There will be no water facilities, everything will be done in buckets and with bottles (or tanks) of water.

The reasons behind this are quite simple. While I had the last camper, I never actually filled up the water container as bottled water was always cheap and easily to transport. The idea of sending all of the waste water into a barrel did not really appeal to me as I knew I was going to empty it in time, so all washing was usually done in a bucket outside!

The new camper will be mainly cupboard space, as it was always needed and desk space because when cooking or making some tea, having the desk space was always a premium.

All of these little factors are something that have been learned with the experience of hardened campervanning.

One final deal breaker, was to make all cupboards easily accessible and this goes for under bed storage as well. Nothing was more difficult than trying to reach a bag under your bed at 3am in the morning. Easy access makes for better camping!