Folding Foamie Camper a la Casita or Esterel in the Works

[OP827]

That is a one cool looking trailer. Best part is it gets big when in camp and low when in tow.

I am thinking of two 4" in the floor closer to beds as fresh air intakes. You already have the fan opening on the roof for exhaust. I would also have such vents that can be partially open and fully closed tight for travel mode.

 

[TinkerTailor]

Thanks for your thoughts on the vents, Oleg. I think I'll start there and then see if it seems to need any more later. Glad you like the look of it, too! Have a trip coming up in late July where we'll try it out.

 

[TinkerTailor]

Ok - some updates. I've installed v seal on a number of joints:

I also used this product: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08137FS6B?ps ... ct_details
to create a flexible drip edge that covers the horizontal joints between lower and upper walls. It just went on via the adhesive. Super easy, we will see how it holds up - it can always be easily replaced if need be.

I also made an aluminum drip edge for the joint on the doors and painted the trim on the opening windows to match the roof:

I thought I had 4 inch vents, but they were actually 3 inch. I put two in the sleeping area floor as suggested by Oleg as well as one directly under the spot the wood burning stove will go. I also put an additional vent toward the top of the base wall near the wood stove location. I figure this evens out the total vent area, gives me the option of even more fresh air intake near the stove, and also allows me to have some ventilation flow from low to high when the camper is folded up and stored. All have this type of closeable marine louvers on the inside (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08YNDHZN2?ps ... ct_details), with insect screen and normal louvers on the exterior.

Also put some supports in for the sofa/beds. Purchased and cut the plywood, got a memory foam mattress, fabric for cushion covers, etc., and purchased threaded pvc pipes with flanges and crutch feet for removeable legs on the beds. Need to assemble it all and try it out. Once beds are a go on to the collapsible sink/counter, spare tire (to be hung under the trailer) and it'll be useable.

 

[OP827]

I am interested to learn how well this gray weather stripping will hold its attachment to the wall under a rain and then hot sun. Some mechanical attachment like aluminum strip and screws might be needed later on, maybe?

 

[TinkerTailor]

Definitely will be watching. The drip edge needs to be flexible, so I thought I’d try it. I plan to put some screws in a few places to give a mechanical connection.

 

[TinkerTailor]

Ok - pretty much ready for summer (but not winter) camping (no wood stove or diesel heater installed yet). We have a trip planned next week.

Made a removable sink with a usb charged pump/faucet, salad bowl, drain out the bottom of the camper or into a bucket.

Also put in an outlet so I can connect the fantastic fan to a power source via the cable that is fun up the wall in a removable sleeve mounted to the wall with velcro. Also installed an AC power inlet.

no sew fleece curtains that go on/off with velcro, decided to use cots instead of building my own bed platforms (lighter weight by far & I can move them around/shift the arrangement depending on how many people are on the trip - couple different arrangements in the photos), got my mattresses sorted and covered in fleece to match the curtains. Kind of livable now.

 

[GPW]

Cots , great idea !!!

 

[OP827]

Looking great and lots of room!

 

[Terra6]

coming along nicely.
Cots are brilliant for lightweight.

 

[TinkerTailor]

Thanks everyone -

Leaving to try it out this week, so we will see how she works!

Just took it out for a pre-trip spin to see how she pulls. Pretty smooth I think, though I don't have much towing experience. Did some practice backing up. The tongue has enough room so that I can do a U turn with, say, three lanes or so's worth of road width. All good.

 

[TinkerTailor]

Took a while to get around to posting about the maiden voyage. It went well! Fun, short first family camping trip. We went to Anthony Chabot Campground which was really nice except for the abundant poison oak (cut back pretty well in the camping area and on trails, but pretty much covering the hillsides). Tough to keep two young boys from tearing through the woods, but we had a lot of fun riding bikes, making s'mores, doing a little fishing on the lake, etc.

One thing that I've ordered is a set of 4 bigger leveling bolt-on jacks because with the two smaller ones I took the camper definitely shook a bit when any of the 4 sleepers inside shifted in their bags.

Here it is hitched and ready to tow:

Set up to camp with nice lighting:

Another site shot:

Tearing down camp:

Storage/hauling of gear when folded up:

A few quick questions:
Do you leave vents open or closed when storing your campers?
Do you take out the mattresses?
Any general storage tips?

I bought a fabric pop-up cover that I'm going to use because we tend to get a fair amount of rain, and I'm planning to stash a Damprid canister or two inside between trips. Thanks to everyone for your support and ideas throughout.

Still to do, but no rush:
1. Install a support beam across the roof (on the inside) to prevent roof-sagging. Cut an optional support post that can be wedged in between the beam and the floor if camping when heavy snowfall is expected.
2. Make a folding heat shield for the wood-burning stove and burn in the stove itself.
3. Install the diesel heater and battery in the tongue box.
4. Possibly cut 6 inches off the tongue to make it easier to park on the street.
5. Install the bolt-on jacks.

 

[OP827]

Congrats on your first trip!

I leave vents open since they have fly screens and located out of the rain and potential critters access. Also have a small PC fan for toilet and it runs constantly on low RPM to slowly pull the air to outside.
The mattress and cushions are out of camper and stored inside home when the air gets humid. We live by the lake and have dew every night during summer time which also may accumulate inside of uninhabited camper. It depends what climate you are storing it in. If it is raining all the time and humid, then I would remove mattresses and pillows to avoid mold issues. If it is dry and cold, then it might not be necessary.
So far the camper was stored in garage as there is some work to do, but eventually I may store it outside and then will have to think about how to protect it from heavy snow load and weather and may need some cover.

For stabilizers I made these ones below, similar to valterra stabilizers idea. There are lots of videos of "diy rv stabilizers" on the net. These ones seem to work good, almost no rocking now, just a bit more work to put them up comparing to commercial lead screw action bolt-on units.
I had to modify the design by adding a cross piece due to my frame configuration, which actually added stability as well.

Happy camping!

Oleg

 

[TinkerTailor]

Thanks for your support, throughout, Oleg.

I appreciate the advice on storage. Your stabilizers look solid. Haven't had time to get mine on yet. I'll post when it gets some more use or I check some things off my to-do list, whichever comes first.

 

[TinkerTailor]

Hello all -

Quick update: Not much has happened with the camper since the first trip other than installing leveling jacks. I'll post some picks at some point, but there's not too much to speak of - I just ordered some bolted them on, more or less.

In the last few days I've started the process of getting the heating systems up and running. I have put the all in one diesel heater together and did a test run (not installed in the camper yet, just to try it out). I'll hopefully be able to install it in the tongue box this weekend if all goes well.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08RN ... UTF8&psc=1

I'm also going to try to burn in my gstove tomorrow, if possible.

https://www.gstove.com/

I'll be throwing together a folding heat shield with some corrugated metal roofing for when that is in use. Once that stuff is all in, I'll be ready to do an overnighter up in Tahoe.

The plan is to head up early with my older son, get to the mountain around opening, ride all day, then pop the camper up either in the parking lot or on a nearby mellow street, snooze, do a half day of skiing, break camp, and then head back home.

 

[TinkerTailor]

Burned in the gstove:

Here are some pics of the work on the diesel heater install so far:

Biggish hole drilled in the plastic/wood tongue box bottom for the exhaust outlet which gets hot.

Some adhesive, reflective heat shield laid down under the heater area.

Aluminum plate with a smaller hole for the exhaust installed.

The vent for the hot air to enter the camper and some plastic tubing to run wires for the heating controller and power cable installed.

Testing the heater and syncing the remote control.

 

[TinkerTailor]

Got the diesel heater mostly installed. Screwed into the tongue box with the air intake inside the box. I put a small vent in the box near where the air intake is so fresh air can come in. Kept the air intake within the box so that it doesn't have to work quite as hard to heat the air. Exhaust runs out the bottom and over to the side farthest from the intake. Still left to do: Pop up the camper, reattach the heater control panel via a longer thermostat wire, mount the controller inside the camper, and install the vent cover. Hopefully I'll get it this weekend. Also plan to make the fire shield and try a mini burn in the wood burning stove inside the camper just to see how she goes. Then we'll be ready for a snow trip.

 

[featherliteCT1]

Looking good!
My understanding is that the exhaust tube should slope downward, with no swan necking at any point, to make sure that the water produced by combustion can drain out the drain hole in the muffler. Otherwise, water will collect in the exhaust tube and create unwanted back pressure. I cannot tell from your photo whether there is continuous slope to the drain hole. If so, not to worry!

 

[TinkerTailor]

Thanks for the tip - I'll take a look and double check the slope. I suspect I'll need to adjust it now that you mention it but thankfully shouldn't be too difficult.

 

[TinkerTailor]

Finished the installation. Not pretty as I need to get a vent cover I like better and decide after a cold weather trip where I want to mount the controller on the wall and how to minimize visible wires, but the controls are inside, the heater is out in the box (you can still hear it, but it's definitely quieter), and it blows hot air inside on demand. Pretty cool.

 

[GPW]

Pretty warm actually ... Plus all that insulation... Well done !!!