M1088 camper conversion

[ckouba]

Used my mad skillz at MS Paint to skin the cabin frame and approximate some windows. For some reason, this makes it look more manageable to me, and it's almost right at the target of what I drew up originally for the exterior dimensions:

There will be a window or two in the bedroom area, just haven't figured out where and what size yet.

 

[M1078MAN]

What's over hang from rear axle and what about overall height.. from the guy who does think about cab tilt

 

[ckouba]

What's over hang from rear axle and what about overall height.. from the guy who does think about cab tilt

Overall height is right at 12'. It varies a little from front to back but it's tough to measure exactly on a gravel pad.

The horizontal length of the lower tail section is 33". I forget the exact number for the upper section but I think the length is 80" from the end of the subframe rails to the aft vertical wall. From the center of the rear axle to the rear panel of the cabin is ~122" according to what I measured earlier this week.

 

[ckouba]

Did one more to get a better feel for things, and I'm actually liking it more and more:

This one is marginally more accurate. The floor in the cargo bay doesn't extend as far down as the initial sketch showed. It's 32" off the ground.

 

[M1078MAN]

So if you draw a straight line from the rear axle at the ground tire to the edge of the habitat, what's your departure angle, is that tail overhang going to restrict reasonable angle

 

[ckouba]

Axle centerline to aft end of cargo bay bottom is 74" and the floor is 32" high. The math makes for about 25° departure angle.

I know that's probably not impressive to rock crawler types, but it's miles ahead of the truck camper in the F350. I think it'll take me everywhere that I am interested in going.

 

[M1078MAN]

Axle centerline to aft end of cargo bay bottom is 74" and the floor is 32" high. The math makes for about 25° departure angle.

I know that's probably not impressive to rock crawler types, but it's miles ahead of the truck camper in the F350. I think it'll take me everywhere that I am interested in going.

Oh yeah, that's plenty, and if not, you can always skid plate it. " It will KILL, I mean, work"

 

[ramdough]

Axle centerline to aft end of cargo bay bottom is 74" and the floor is 32" high. The math makes for about 25° departure angle.

I know that's probably not impressive to rock crawler types, but it's miles ahead of the truck camper in the F350. I think it'll take me everywhere that I am interested in going.

Realistically, you have to decide how off-road you will go. My old Tacoma shows the scars of not having enough departure angle on its diy armored bumper. If you know you will never need it and never plan to do dunes or steep transitions, river crossings, etc.... do what you want. It is your truck for you to drive how you want.

Keep up the posts!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[MTVR]

Every RV has compromises but knowing what you want to have and where you will be taking it can give you the best out come and rig. Like you I am looking forward to the process.

Life-it's not just about the destination. It can often be more about the journey.

Amen!

 

[MTVR]

I don't know if you're planning any expeditions more than 30 miles from the address you've registered it at, but please be careful with that SP license plate. In order to obtain a Special Interest Vehicle license plate, you have to sign an affidavit containing an admonishment threatening a year in jail if you color outside the lines:

 

[chucky]

Axle centerline to aft end of cargo bay bottom is 74" and the floor is 32" high. The math makes for about 25° departure angle.

I know that's probably not impressive to rock crawler types, but it's miles ahead of the truck camper in the F350. I think it'll take me everywhere that I am interested in going.

Everything is looking good since your where your at in the build (me personally go ahead and bring the main frame rail all the way to the dovetail where ever you decide to stop it .So you could have 2 things you would really wish you would have done is a trailer hitch and a place on each frame rail for d-rings because there will come a day some one will need to pull you out of something or you will them either way it would be easy to do now not so much later !! Keep up the good work

 

[ckouba]

One of the jobs I was most intimidated by is now done. I have a passthrough.

Laser cut bulkhead panel:

Building it into a box for accommodating cab wall arc and thickness:

Committing to the concept and plan:

Roughed in, held by friction, some gaps to fill, but centered and level:

LOTS of crappy welding later...

From the inside:

Cleaned up, cover installed:

Exterior view, with cover in place:

Habitat-side bulkhead supports installed and bulkhead waiting for install:

Need to build a bit more of a tunnel forward from the habitat to shorten up the distance between the two bulkheads. I got the middle size of the accordion gasket and it's right at the max distance gap to make the stretch. Thinking to close it up by ~4-5" and we should be in good shape.

All in all, I was very nervous to take this step, but I think it's going to work out just fine.

 

[Third From Texas]

One of the jobs I was most intimidated by is now done. I have a passthrough.

NICE !

Yeah, I dread that as well (mostly because I am not relocating the spare and only have so much room). I haven't decided if I want to pursue a more compact airfilter solution. My fear is that once I do the hole, I'll want to change something. Same problem I have with the side door install (I keep eyeing three floorplans). I just need to commit.

LOL

 

[Mullaney]

One of the jobs I was most intimidated by is now done. I have a passthrough.

Laser cut bulkhead panel:

Building it into a box for accommodating cab wall arc and thickness:

Committing to the concept and plan:

Roughed in, held by friction, some gaps to fill, but centered and level:

LOTS of crappy welding later...

From the inside:

Cleaned up, cover installed:

Exterior view, with cover in place:

Habitat-side bulkhead supports installed and bulkhead waiting for install:

Need to build a bit more of a tunnel forward from the habitat to shorten up the distance between the two bulkheads. I got the middle size of the accordion gasket and it's right at the max distance gap to make the stretch. Thinking to close it up by ~4-5" and we should be in good shape.

All in all, I was very nervous to take this step, but I think it's going to work out just fine.

.
Wow! That is nice. Should make it nice to crawl back for a nap if you wanted to

 

[ckouba]

Today's work... Extension tacked:

Clamped in place:

Tacked in, cab at air springs inflated:

Burning it in:

Front wall is just about done now. It's been a good week for progress.

 

[bhound]

I gotta say i'm impressed with your build and can't waite to see what happens next!

 

[AllenF]

Great job so far keep the posts and pics coming.

 

[ckouba]

Need special hinges for the cargo bay to get the doors to open the way that I want them to. Got them built up today and clamped them in place for proof of concept:

Pretty stoked with how smoothly they work:

Open sesame!

Need to reconfigure a little bit but the concept seems validated.

 

[ckouba]

Proof of concept for boats inside the truck:

The lumber pieces represent the appropriate wall thicknesses and positions for the boat storage space.

In addition, I also built the left cargo bay door today and it went pretty well. Swings open easily, hinges work well, clearances work out well. It warped a little when fully welding (which was a bit to be expected) but I can sort through it with a little straightening work. No pics of that yet, ran out of time, but felt good to get one of them knocked out.

 

[ckouba]

It's been an incredibly productive last two days. After having built one door, the second went together in a flash. Next up was actually constructing the spare carrier concept which I've been brewing in my head since I removed the OEM gear. This also went together shockingly quickly, and even seems like it's going to work. To load it up, I grabbed one of the dead tires and a wheel so I'd have two to play with and loaded it up. All the space constraints and the geometries work out perfectly. I am still waiting to figure out what I messed up because it all seems to have worked out too well too quickly.

Talk is cheap, here are pics. I didn't take any of just the door being finished, but here is the pair of doors with the carrier and two wheels/tires in situ:

(left tire is clearly the one without air in it)

Pick up point:

What it looks like mid-loading:

The C clamps holding the assembly have been replaced with some welding at this point. The bay doors are somewhat in the way because the carport I'm building in is only so wide and they can't swing open any further.

All the clearances seem to be good and nothing is interfering with anything else. I have some more work to do for securing them when loaded, but the exciting thing is that the concept played out and looks like it'll work quite well.