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.

The Walls Were Added To The Camper - And The Rain Returned

Now that the floor was added the most interesting part was about to start. The walls create realistic dividing lines in the camper and allow you to see what the space is really going to look like. Seeing it all down on paper is always just one perspective, really being able to climb inside is always the most valuable.

To get started, 2x3 inch wood was added to the four corner posts. Simple L brackets were used, with some three inch long screws to secure them in place. These, are pretty shaky by themselves so the next important part was to add the securing braces between them. The wood running between them was 2x2 inch timber when secured in place with some L brackets really pulled it all together.

The picture below shows a look from the inside:

The rain, once again started off so there was a really quick rush to get the tarp on top once again. All the rope and bungee chords that could be found were used to secure all of the eyelet holes on the tarp in place. The rain is always a small percentage of the problem, the wind is usually is what pulls the tarp off.

Looking in from the very front of the camper, the size really becomes visible. Some temporary diagonal pieces were added to hold the frame in place for the week, before it could be fully secured. The beautiful red anti-rust paint can be seen a mile away on the trailer. It sort of adds a kind of character to the trailer already... sort of.

This rectangle frame, was 3ft 6inches tall, and runs the whole way around the camper. This is the dividing line between the bottom half of the camper and the top half of the camper, which has a tilted in design as can be seen on the VW campers. Now that the frame is in place, the next step will be adding additional strengthening pieces to make sure the all of the walls stay put.

To the very front left of the camper, a space about 2 foot wide is where the door will eventually be placed.

The Tools For Building The Camper

Before any project begins, it is always a good practice to see what tools you are working with to make sure that you don't go running out looking for things when you really need them. So far my favourite tool has always been the angle grinder, as it is a single solution for any metal related problems that happen along the way. 

Apart from this, the usual tape measure, hand saw and plenty of screws are all that have been used oh, and a circular table saw!

Although technology has evolved and the process of using electrical saws has been around for years, this was the first project where I actually used one. Due to the amount of cuts that were needed, the idea of the electrical saw just seemed better. This actually speeded the process of erecting the frames so much quicker, although the saws are 100% more dangerous than anything you operate with your own power like a hand saw as they can quickly take your fingers off.

So far we have been lucky and no injuries have been sustained.

Take Cover! Take Cover! - The Week The Rain Started to Hit

In the month of december it is always cold and I am fine with that. But as soon as rain enters into the situation, it is a completely different story. Rain can make anything more miserable, specifically if you don't have any from of a cover or tarpaulin.

During January, I spend must time grinding quickly, paining quickly and then waiting in all hope that it would not rain. 9 out of 10 times, we got away with it and nothing too bad ever happened. Apart from the odd rain drop shaped blotch on the paint.

During this time, I managed to get the new 4x3 cross members put into place and they were first hole drilled in, and a coach bolt was then hammered in and finally tightened with a 13mm socket.

This process was repeated 18 times in total, two bolts per end.

Then The Rain Really Hit

The country has gone onto high alert and that sent a pulse straight to my project thinking what do I need to do that will keep this rusty and half painted frame dry for another week or two. I managed to find some cloths in the garage that did just about the right trick. But soon they were not good enough.

I came across an english site called Tarpaulins-direct, which offered pretty good looking tarps at a great price, so in my late night slummed state I went ahead and bought the biggest forrest green tarp I could fined... And damn was I happy to have it.

On the first night of the storm, all bungie cords were taken out, and bricks where thrown across the tarp to keep it down. This winds got faster and quickly blew all this away. A plan B was needed.

 The pools of water nicely built up on the tarp.

I placed an other with my brother to get me a 100ft piece of rope, and we were going to go around the entire trailer a few times and tie it down nice and safe. This time, it did work.

So I Bought A Trailer.. How Much Work Will It Be To Build A Camper?

As described in the previous post, the main issue with this project was that I wanted it to be done on a budget, a real budget. The concept of buying a camper of any sorts didn't appeal to me, because nothing really suited my taste.

I really liked the iconic 1950s air stream, the body looked right, great curves and well crafted.. but it didn't have the connection to the styles of the early bay window VW that I originally tried to recreate with my VW Transporter idea. Enter the trailer: 

The previous owner had told me it was used as a car transporter of sorts, its about 10ft or so long, and about 6 foot wide. Really wide wheelbase which was perfect.

 It also came with four tires, in pretty bad condition. Cracks all around, bald as far as the eye can see and a hazard in all forms. This was something that would need to be addressed in the future.

Before I could get on with building what I had in my mind, the very first thing that needed to go was the wood. It was old, oily and water logged. Not a good way to start any sort of future project. I pulled out the jigsaw, my preferred tool of choice and got down to work.

The first to go was the lengths of wood running from the front to back. These cut off quite quickly without any hassle and just left behind the horizontal 4x3 inch cross members. These were not actually secured in by any great means, just held in by their own weight and pressure. A few quick smacks with a sledgehammer and a crow bar, and we were back in action. 

I was left with a nice, rusted frame. What a better way to start any project.