The Rain Has Lifted, Time To Do Some Work On The Camper - Reinforcing The Walls

The last number of weeks have been getting pretty crazy weather, but today for the first time the rain finally lifted. It was time to get down to reinforcing the walls. The bad weather managed to pull apart some of the frame that was head together with 1 inch L brackets and also pull a bungee chord apart (they did only cost 1.49 each though so i'm not too sure about the quality). I first started off by removing those brackets and upgrading them to the 2 inch brackets. It was not because of choice I started with the 1 inch brackets, I just happened to run out of anything bigger.

I went to the shop, and picked up 40 of the 2inch brackets, and 40 of the one inch brackets just to have by chance I need them further down the line. Nothing is worse than starting the job to realize that you don't have what you need.

In the picture below you can see some of the brackets I was left with after today, along with the Makita drill that was given to me as a present over Christmas. This drill came with the usual spare battery that can be charged while you are using the other battery. And today, like every other time while working my battery did go flat and a jump to the other battery was needed.

Below you can see what the corners look like, they are 2x2 inch batons that are held together with the brackets using 4x40mm screws. Turned out quite well.

A side profile of the camper to date so far. You can see on the front left corner, there is a bit of wood connecting the left panel and the front right of the camper. This is to hold the entire frame together during the next few weeks, which will no doubt be windy again.

In the very middle of the camper, I added a sort of T-shape piece of wood. What is this little guy for? The job is pretty simple, just like a circus tent, the leg in the middle holds the tarp up, stopping water from collecting in the middle of the tarp. The big pools of water that were seen earlier in the blog are avoided this time!

The picture below shows a floor view of the camper to date so far.

The over all frame is now in place, and nicely secure. Now the interesting bits such as the curved edges which will be made from MDF can be added. The camper will stop looking like a box and more like the camper that I have in my mind.

Although the frame has come together will, some work will still be needed to affix the frame to the cross members (bit 4x3 inch wood at the chassis level) that were put in place earlier on. This is a job for a day when it is less windy, and the sprit level can come out to make sure everything is level!

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

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.