Coast Resorts Open Roads Forum: Our custom true flatbed truck camper build thread

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Topic: Our custom true flatbed truck camper build thread

Posted By: CaveRun on 09/14/13 07:11am

Looks great so far!

Keep posting pics!

John 3:16

1996 Hide Away Sun Lite Truck Camper
2003 31' Salem LE Forest River Travel Trailer
2013 Sun Tracker Bass Buggy 18 DLX Pontoon
2002 F-150 SuperCab V-8 4X4
Firestone Air Bags
Homemade Tie Down Mounts
Equal-i-zer WD Hitch

Posted By: Jfet on 09/22/13 10:01am

Update! Installed a aluminum roof skin.

We ended up buying a 21 foot long 103" wide coil of 0.040 aluminum, hoisted it up on the camper roof using some pulleys fastened to the house roof joists, and unrolled it using my wife's clever idea of c-clamps right after the leading edge of the coil. Every 340 degrees of unrolling we would move the c-clamps to a new position and this kept the coil from uncontrolled expansion. Worked so easy!

We first put down a layer of Tyvek on the plywood roof...more to act as a barrier for anything in the plywood that might attack the aluminum...although the plywood is only exterior marine grade and not pressure treated. The interior of the camper has a full moisture barrier on the warm side consisting of aluminum foiled 2 inch polyisocyanurate insulation with all seams sealed with aluminum tape.

We only bonded the aluminum for about 2 inches on the top around the edges with Sikaflex 252 (aluminum to plywood bond). After that dried for a week, we bent down the edges of the aluminum and Sikaflex 252 bonded it to the aluminum sides, along with some screws (with rubber washers). The top flat part of the roof has zero holes. The curved part I sectioned with a jig saw into 1.5" cuts and then bent them down and Sika'd them along with an insane number of screws...which actually looks kind of cool. The bend is very smooth.

When all cures, we are going to coat the roof and side flange/screws of the roof with 2 part spray raptor coat to give it a little bit of protection and improve traction and appearance.

I am quite pleased with our roof...probably good for 20+ years.

[image]

Posted By: GHCreekside on 09/23/13 10:46pm

Very cool! Also living in Washington I can appreciate the beauty of that solid roof with no holes. I am interested to see how all your vents and things work out if they're not going through the roof.

2006 Dodge 3500 QCLB SRW 4x4 5.9 Cummins
2002 Bigfoot 1500FS

Posted By: Jfet on 09/27/13 09:02pm

GHCreekside wrote:

Very cool! Also living in Washington I can appreciate the beauty of that solid roof with no holes. I am interested to see how all your vents and things work out if they're not going through the roof.

Thanks. All of the vents and the ducted air conditioner come out from the sides. We plan to use small brushless DC fans to assist airflow on the upper refrigerator exhaust vent on the side. The bathroom also has a fan assisted side vent.

We finished cleaning up the squeezed out Sikaflex 252 from the curved section and are prepping things for a coating of 2 part U-Pol Raptor truck liner (the roof and edge trim).

[image]

Posted By: kereams on 09/27/13 11:09pm

Amazing work! I am envious of your skills. It looks beautiful.

*2011 F350 SRW CC/LB/PSD - Mods: Custom overload springs with custom early engagement blocks~Firestone Airbags~Hellwig Big Wig Rear Sway~Rancho RS9000XL~Bilstein Steering Damper~19.5" Hankook DH01'a on steel wheels.
*2012 Chalet Ascent S95R Camper

Posted By: sabconsulting on 09/29/13 11:03pm

Wow, that is such a neat job on the folds around the curved edge.

Fantastic.

Steve.

'07 Ford Ranger XLT Supercab diesel + '91 Shadow Cruiser - Sky Cruiser 1
'98 Jeep TJ 4.0
'15 Ford Fiesta ST
'09 Fiat Panda 1.2

Posted By: Jfet on 10/30/13 03:46pm

Another update.

We built a plastic paint booth around the camper and primed the corners and roof (after sanding and cleaning the bare aluminum). We then coated this with U-Pol Raptor tintable truck bed liner (2 part urethane epoxy type) which we colored to match the paint we will eventually use on the sides.

It went on rather nicely, especially around the curved trim and the quick mount holes for the camper jacks. This weekend we are going to primer and paint the rest of the camper.

[image]

Posted By: Explorer1016 on 10/30/13 05:13pm

Jfet,
What type, model and manufacturer did you choose for the air conditioner?

2008 Host 300 Super 'C'
2008 Ford F-550 Chassis
Diesel
4x4
Lariat crew cab
20' enclosed car hauler/garage
'87 Jeep rock crawler
Turbo'd

Posted By: 69 Avion on 10/30/13 05:28pm

That is looking awesome. I can't wait to see it finished.

Did you ever consider leaving the sides natural aluminum?

Ford F-350 4x4 Diesel
1988 Avion Triple Axle Trailer
1969 Avion C-11 Camper

Posted By: Jfet on 10/30/13 06:52pm

Explorer1016 wrote:

Jfet,
What type, model and manufacturer did you choose for the air conditioner?

It is the Danby DAC6011E 6,000 btu

I had a thread about it here: http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseac........d/tid/27004676/srt/pa/pging/1/page/1.cfm

69 Avion: We wanted to paint the aluminum to match our sailboat. Also, I am not real sure about how exposed aluminum works...ie do you have to polish it often and does it scratch up easily? Anyway, we are painting it so that is water under the bridge.

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