Flatbed Camper Build

 My Flatbed Camper Build

 

I've wanted to build a flatbed camper for quite a while now, but 

 I was putting it off until I retired.  Well, I retired in June, 2022 and

the following day, I went to work.

Bear in mind, I started researching everything over a year in advance and I started ordering the aluminum, the flatbed tray and all the components 6-8 months 

in advance and I'm glad I did, because some things had significant delays, especially the aluminum and truck tray.

I know that the method I used to build this camper (aluminum

tube framing) creates a lot of thermal bridging, but my existing

camper is built in a similar way and it's never been a problem.  This is a

method I felt was well within my skill set, whereas, laminating my own panels

and attaching them to angle aluminum, would have been totally new to me.

Here are the stats:

2004 Dodge Ram 2500 5.9L Cummins Diesel

Truck and Tray Weight: 7,120 lbs.

Camper Weight (fully loaded): 2,520 lbs.

Total Rig's Wet Weight: 9,640 lbs.

11.85 Average MPG (fully loaded)

Build Cost to Date: $35,760.00* (camper only)

*Although I kept a very detailed ledger of my expenses, further explanations are

needed, so here they are:

a.) The $35,760.00 is for the camper build as well as the aluminum truck tray;

b.) Cost also includes an all aluminum winch bumper and 12,000 lb. winch;

c.) Some specialized tools I needed to buy are included in the cost estimate;

d.) In many cases, I ordered extra quantities (raw aluminum, wire, paneling,

fasteners, sealants, adhesives, etc.) so that I was sure I would have

enough.  My cost estimate above includes these "over orders" that I

made, so the actual cost is somewhat less than the figure above.

e.) I also included the cost of some other items that aren't camper specific

i.e. Kuat dual ebike carrier rack, travel expenses to pick up the truck

tray in Idaho, battery tender and Ride Rite air bags to bolster the

truck's suspension.

Here are my build photos .

This is my rig on its maiden voyage.  I took it on an 8 day trip to Tecopa, CA, Death Valley

National Park and Goldfield, NV.  I put 960 miles on the odometer and the whole rig

performed flawlessly.

This dual-zone fridge is a game changer.  You can set it so that both sides are fridges or

both sides are freezers or one zone each.  It's so nice to have ice in my cocktails in the evenings.

This little side cabinet has a little safe mounted on the top shelf and can 

also house some larger items in the lower portion.

Under the seat Porta Potty storage as well as a deep drawer under the table platform.

Under the right dinette seat is storage and a propane line for my Wave 6 catalytic heater.

I also have USB, USB-C and 12 volt plugs above the dining table.

Several people have asked me what the wire thing is that's mounted to the ceiling.

It's a hat holder.

My daughter made me the Bigfoot prayer flags hanging above the window.

Here's a view from the entry door.  My mattress is in as well as some cabinet doors.

You can also see the dinette cushions, which I also made thanks to some YouTube videos.

The dinette is finished with Formica's "Boomerang" pattern for that vintage look.

The dinette also breaks down to become an additional bed.

Here's a view from the bed.  I put a coat of linseed oil on all of the wood surfaces and I

have the wood facades mounted on my milk crate drawers.

I also started adding some decorations like the prayer flags and decal boards.

I carpeted and trimmed the electrical cabinet and also mounted a CO

and LP gas detector as well as additional vents and 110v outlets.

Here's the exterior propane cabinet.  It's large enough for the propane bottle

oils & fluids, air compressor, tools, fire extinguisher and my smelly old

favorite kerosene lantern.

There will be a real queen-sized mattress in the sleeping area, which is a big upgrade for me

from the straight foam mats I've always used in the past.

I'm very happy with the way this turned out.

I chose to use milk crates as drawers because they're straight-sided and can

be easily removed for cleaning, loading and unloading.  I'll get matching crates

and wood facades to make them look better.

I got the flush-mounted extra deep sink and stovetop installed, as well as a large,

deep drawer on a full extension slide.

Now to start building the galley's cabinetry.

The large aluminum box is the propane cabinet that's access is isolated to the outside

only.  This is for safety reasons.

My rooftop solar panel array.

A note on the solar: I had all of the solar and it's components purchased

through, and installed by Zero Declination in Reno, NV.  This was not cheap by

any means, but their team really knew what they were doing and they use only

top of the line components.  I feel confident that this system will serve me well and

be more than ample for my needs in the years to come.

A closer look at the wiring by Zero Declination in Reno, NV.

Inside are two 100 amp hour Battle Born lithium batteries, Victron solar controller, Victron

DC to DC charger and a 2,000 watt Renogy inverter, along with all of the connections,

shunts, fuses, etc.

I built this cabinet to house all of my electrical/solar components and it'll be where my fridge sits.

I put some exterior turnbuckles on the corners for some added peace of mind.

All of the interior mounting bolts lined up magically.

I needed some extra blocks under the jacks, but it worked.

Hey, it's going to fit!

It's time for the harrowing feat of loading this bad boy onto my flatbed tray.

This was a lot more unsettling than it looks...

As of October 31, 2022

I've cussed a lot during this build as you can probably imagine, but never as

much as I did when I built this drawer.  In fact, I built the first drawer, glued it and reinforced it

only to find out that my measurements were WAY off (I mean not even close).  Anyway, I 

measured very carefully a second time and built it again.  Even with the correct measurements,

it was still a bitch to get it correctly mounted on the drawer slides (the beer that's pictured

definitely helped me keep my sanity).

Oh well, it's in now and it'll provide a ton of storage.

Under this dinette seat is where my Porta-Potty will be stored.

I'll also have room in this cabinet to store a few other things.

Toilet door closed.

I have a ton of "under the bed" storage, which I'm sure I'll be able to fill up in no time.

I plan to put the bed panel on some heavy duty struts.

Under this seat will be storage and where I'm going to mount my heater.

Here I have the raised table platform in and the table mount attached to it.

This is going to be a very comfortable dinette for two...

I made aluminum frames for the dinette seating and mounted them to the

reinforced walls.

This is some tough flooring and I'm sure I'll never be able to wear it out.

More paneling and recessed lighting.

Yay!  My coin roll vinyl flooring is now in and I think it looks great.

Here, I've also reinforced the rear wall to which I'll mount my dinette and seating.

You can also see my huge Arctic Tern rear window, which will give

me a great view while sitting at the table.

Here's my smaller Arctic Tern window.  This will be above my 12 volt compressor fridge, 

which will sit on a cabinet that'll house all my electrical components.

I got one of my large Arctic Tern window installed.  This will be above the sink and the stove.

I also got a lot more paneling done and made some switch panels for the electrical.

She's really shaping up.

Paneling's done in the cabover...finally.

Paneling is time consuming and exhausting, but the ceilings are even more so.

With the help of my daughter, I got both cabover windows mounted,

Another view of the cabover window and entry door.

Finally got the door mounted.

I made this cabinet large enough to not only hold a regular-sized bottle

of propane, but other "smellables" like kerosene, diesel,

motor oils and fluids, etc.  It's completely sealed off from the 

camper's interior.

My vented propane cabinet.

I have a new respect for electrical engineers.

I'm wiring 5 different zones of interior LED lighting, 2 different exterior LED zones, as well 

as multiple USB and 12 volt cigarette lighter plugs throughout.

Wiring can get pretty confusing...

More wiring

As of 09-02-2022

The MaxxAir Fan is mounted.

This is an over-the-bed roof vent/escape hatch.  It'll also allow me rooftop access to

maintain my solar panels, etc.

This extrusion allows for the insert of a Keder Welt onto which I'll attach 

awning material for a lightweight shade option.

A close-up of the awning extrusion.

I plan to have 400 watts of solar panels mounted between the roof vents.

A view from under the cabover part of the camper.

Lots and lots of rivets met their fate on this project.

So, I forgot to cut the radiuses in the door and one window, so I had to weld in some

radiuses and then use the dreaded Bondo to smooth it all.  I had a funny feeling that 

I'd have to use Bondo at some point because I knew there would be mistakes.  Luckily,

these mistakes were minor...time consuming, but minor.

Jerry can holders from AT Overland.  These are great!  They're robust and offer a lot

more security than many other brands.

A view from the driver's side.

This cabinet will house my propane, tools, fluids and misc.

Trim details.

The jacks are mounted and extended for more stability while I'm

building it.  

The aluminum extensions on the jacks were necessary so that I'd have

enough room to back my truck under the camper when it's raised up.

Riveted trim over the seams.

Skinning the cabover.

I used this 30 inch Harbor Freight sheet metal break to bend some of the trim 

on the odd angles i.e. the departure angle and the slope on the cabover.  It worked 

great, although I would have loved to have had an 80 inch break...

The departure angle is skinned and riveted.

I should be noted that, on the recommendation of a professional camper builder, 

I used mostly Olympic Tri-Fold rivets and they weren't cheap.  At $1.58 each I definitely

felt it in the wallet.  Plus, the rivet shaving tool was almost $400.00!

The sub-floor is in and polyurethaned.  I poured rain three hours after I had applied

the polyurethane, but I guess it was dry enough, because I had no issues with warping

afterwards.

Framing on the cabover portion.

Skinning the cabover.

I can tell you this, moving, cutting, fixing and mounting large, bulky sheets of aluminum

under the hot August sun is NO FUN!  

Tackling the skin.

An interior view.

I had to use this tarp to give me some shade to work under.

A rear view...looking out the rear window.

I'll have a two person "booth-type" dinette under that big window.

Interior view and propane cabinet framing.

Driver's side skinning.

This section of skin was the most difficult to fit because of all of the weird cut outs,

but it also turned out to be the best seam that I got on the entire project...

Go figure...

I'm going to love this big window.  For the main portion of the camper, I bought really nice

windows, made by Arctic Tern.  Since windows are the way in which you interact with the

outside world while you're in the camper, I splurged on them and I have no regrets.

Framing for the MaxxAir over the dinette.

The departure angle proved to be one of the biggest challenges of this build and to be

completely honest, I didn't need a departure angle, but I love the way they look on campers.

These beefy aluminum braces are for the Jerry can mounts on the rear of the camper.

The propane cabinet will be completely sealed and vented to the outside

to prevent any gas/fumes from entering the camper.

The framing is almost done and it was a tone of work.  Each piece had to fit into place and

most of them required numerous trips to the saw.  My knees paid the price for all of the up and 

down and in and out of the camper during this part of the build.

Here's the basic frame.

The cabover portion begins.

Starting the uprights.

Checking the fit and it looks great!

Floor panel with departure angle.

AND SO THE BUILD BEGINS...

I have to admit, after starting to build this first panel for the floor, I though to myself, "crap, 

what have I gotten myself into."  I've said that a lot throughout this build, as it's a much 

bigger challenge than I ever thought it would be.

Although I have absolutely no regrets on taking on this project, I can also say that I'll never

do this again.

So, the first phase of my build was to get an aluminum flatbed tray for my truck.

This is a Hillsboro tray and I bought it from Idaho Trailer sales in Buhl, Idaho. I can't

say enough good things about Idaho Trailer sales.  My bed came in when they said it would

(still a 6+ month wait), they had it completely installed in four hours and even though the 

price had gone up since I had placed my order, they honored their original quote.

Yes, I drove 8 hours each way to get this bed, but it was still cheaper than my local dealer

quoted me for the exact same bed.