A folding wooden camper

[S. Heisley]

Don't give up now! You're almost there. The springs may make a big difference.

 

[Paintsalot]

Don't give up now! You're almost there. The springs may make a big difference.

Thanks Sharon- I need all the encouragement I can get about right now!!.
I’m taking a break today but I’ll be back on it this weekend for sure.
One of the side walls is hitting the support rail that holds up the roof so I’m going to have to move some trim… and the rail a little.
I hope that the springs are strong enough, they downsized the springs that they normally come with because my roof is only around 100 pounds.
One day at a time!

 

[Pmullen503]

That's pretty sweet looking.

 

[Paintsalot]

That's pretty sweet looking.

Thanks!

 

[Paintsalot]

The spring arms are on!! I’m spent from working all day, so not ready to test it yet, and glue is drying on support blocks. Maybe tomorrow.

I had to move down the roof support ledger just a quarter inch all the way around the camper so that it would be below the hinge line- it was too close.

Below- notice the fender washer against the cedar. It didn’t come with the spring arm kit, but because cedar is so soft I wanted something hard to protect the cedar. There’s a T-nut on the inside.

Below, I installed a cedar block to bring bottom of arm connector flush with roof face.

 

[TimC-TNT]

Very cool!

Are you going to have an attached step to climb in or use a portable step?

 

[Pmullen503]

The spring arms are on!! I’m spent from working all day, so not ready to test it yet, and glue is drying on support blocks. Maybe tomorrow..............

Fingers crossed. I hope the spring tension is good.

 

[Paintsalot]

Fingers crossed. I hope the spring tension is good.

I had a near “disaster” late yesterday. I had the arms on. I was trying to lean or tilt the whole trailer so I could get the roof up in the sloped ceiling of garage, and the hinges in the lift arms folded in a way I didn’t expect and the roof fell outward to one end. Yikes. I had some damage, but it doesn’t look major. The arms hit the roof trim.
In order to bring the roof of the camper down, I have to fold the arms at one end, but it means that the camper roof will temporarily be higher at one end, which is why having trouble with the roof of the garage. Hard to explain.
Here’s a picture right before I tilted it. I didn’t think about how the hinges could fold the way they did. Anyhow, I’ve got it back up now and no one was hurt.
The garage is really a bit too small for lifting the roof. I might be able to turn the camper around and do it that way. With the overhang, you see in the picture that’s the part that will hit the garage roof.
The plan is now just to get the roof down safely and slowly and then I’ll take it outside and test the lifting mechanism there instead. Rain today though.

 

[Paintsalot]

Garage section. The camper is supposed to fold towards the hitch side first where there’s a hinge connection once that is down. So you can see how the right side would hit the roof when I fold it.
I could take the wheels off and gain 6 inches or so, but I think I will just let the roof down and take it outside and then set it up where I’ve got all the room I need.

 

[Paintsalot]

Very cool!

Are you going to have an attached step to climb in or use a portable step?

Portable step.

 

[Paintsalot]

Augie our rabbit nearby.

 

[Elseanno]

Looking good! Looking forward to pics/videos of the finished product featuring proud Papa Paintsalot and his creation.

 

[Paintsalot]

Looking good! Looking forward to pics/videos of the finished product featuring proud Papa Paintsalot and his creation.

Thank you

 

[Paintsalot]

I asked a friend to help and we got the roof down and moved it outside.

I’ve had of trouble with the lifting arms. You might want to just skip the next paragraph or two if you don’t want any bad news… ha!

After we moved the trailer outside- We had some issues setting it back up- and the roof ended up falling down over the end. There was some damage to lifting arms. The pins that secure the lift arms weren’t secure enough, so the lift arm went past where it should. Later, I drilled some deeper holes that went through the support brackets into the wood so that the pins can’t come undone as easily.

A day later- my wife and I tried lifting and collapsing the roof again. We did fine the first time, but the second time the roof over-traveled just a hair as we were lifting the front arms and the back arms folded, so the roof crashed down again. Third time.
The elbow of one of the lifting arms got bent, but it’s still functional.
Very frustrating. The springs are too weak and barely assist the lift.

Possible Solution- upgrade springs, add locking pins to arm elbows.

 

[S. Heisley]

Without being there, I doubt anyone can offer suggestions.
However, when things go wrong, it's a sign that you're on the right track!
I have confidence in your future solution. This is just a small stumble in your progress.

 

[Paintsalot]

Without being there, I doubt anyone can offer suggestions.
However, when things go wrong, it's a sign that you're on the right track!
I have confidence in your future solution. This is just a small stumble in your progress.

Thanks for the encouragement.
Yes, I’ve been told that “if you haven’t stubbed your toe lately, then you’re not hiking enough.”

 

[Paintsalot]

I had an art exhibition at my studio this month- big effort- but am back at it. Working on cedar benches each side. In the middle will use 1/4” ply with 1x2 “cradle” below mattress. Watching weight.

I have both sides finished now, tomorrow I can add the 2 x 2 legs.

 

[FischAutoTechGarten]

Wow! That really folds to be compact! Nice work.

Yeah, sometimes weight saving measures come back to bite you.... and you begin to understand why folks opt for 'overbuilt' on occasion. You'll figure out the weak spots and make the appropriate adjustments/strengthening.

Thank you for your candor and showing us each step of the way. It's been enjoyable following this project.

View attachment 1954930
I asked a friend to help and we got the roof down and moved it outside.

 

[Paintsalot]

Wow! That really folds to be compact! Nice work.

Yeah, sometimes weight saving measures come back to bite you.... and you begin to understand why folks opt for 'overbuilt' on occasion. You'll figure out the weak spots and make the appropriate adjustments/strengthening.

Thank you for your candor and showing us each step of the way. It's been enjoyable following this project.

Thanks! Things are a bit on hold right now because the temperatures are down too low to do any gluing or painting outdoors.
I plan to take off the external lift arms tomorrow and ship them back to upgrade them to a heavier spring.
I’m building some simple stressed skin panels to go across the middle between the benches. In the art world, we call them cradled panels.

 

[Paintsalot]

Simple table top and mattress support.
One of three that span across from benches.