Folding Foamie Camper a la Casita or Esterel in the Works

[OP827]

You have a stove with fire view and this diesel heater, that will keep you warm all night, this is very nice!
How loud is that diesel heater pump clicking from inside? I am also considering this kind of heater, but never seen one in person. Thanks for sharing your progress!

 

[TinkerTailor]

Nice one, GPW - I like it.

Oleg, it is definitely audible when you are right there with the heater. It didn't sound nearly as loud when I ran it in the tongue box. Hard to say as I haven't slept with it on a quiet night - I installed and ran it midday with passing cars occasionally and a five year old boy playing in the trailer, so there was ambient noise. Maybe a catalytic heater if you're sensitive to noise? Cost more than a Chinese diesel heater, though.

Hope to get it up to the mountains soon...

 

[OP827]

Thanks for sharing your experience with diesel heater so far. Catalytic heater still requires fresh air ventilation for safety and I would not be feeling safe sleeping while it is on than with a diesel heater in outside box like you did. Having the diesel heater located in tongue box appears logical.
Did you do anything with the fuel pump to make its clicking less pronounced, like hanging it on rubber bands or sound proofing it otherwise or it is all as is from a factory?

 

[TinkerTailor]

Hi Oleg -

I didn't modify the fuel pump attachment. I'm going to wait and see how it is overnight and then will go from there.

I opened up the machine to take a look inside before installing it, and the pump is attached to the side by means of a pretty thick, heavy rubber bracket. I'm not sure if that's standard on these or not, but it does look to me like it should provide some sound damping as the rubber is not at all resonant. Not sure, but I bet some people probably install the pumps on the models that don't come preassembled with metal brackets direct to a hard material and then get some amplification. We'll see how it goes.

I do like that the gas, etc., is not in the living space, though there could still be issues and so I'll always have a carbon monoxide detector running, of course.

 

[TinkerTailor]

Ok, so the wood stove install is done. Made a heat shield with corrugated metal roofing and heat resistant tape. I put an aluminum angle across the bottom of both sides for more rigidity, but the upper part was still a bit floppy and flexible, so I put threaded inserts in the walls and can stabilize it with bolts to the walls. A heat resistant mat underneath with a hole cut to allow air in through the marine louver vent under the stove. The stove is screwed into the floor with brackets that are loose enough to have some play for when the chimney is installed.

Got a vent cover on the diesel heater inlet.

Put screws in the wall to hang the carbon monoxide detector and an thermometer that tracks indoor/outdoor temps (outdoor sensor hangs outside).

Officially ready for a snow trip as soon as life allows...

 

[OP827]

Some hooks on the wall to dry winter clothes while the wood stove is running would be useful and when stove is out of wood, then the diesel heater will keep the camper warm an entire night. It is practical and more reliable than just one heat source. Wood stove should be good for venting the trailer and keeping it dry. That is a clever setup, now I think I get why you did it this way.

 

[TinkerTailor]

Yes Oleg - that is the plan, precisely!

I have one of these that I'm going to install for hanging things to dry:

https://onesanhome.com/products/nordic- ... brack-hook

Other than that, ready to rock!

 

[TinkerTailor]

Finally got the camper up to the snow in Tahoe! It went super well. Tried both the gstove (wood stove) and the diesel heater. Both worked great.

We were plenty warm inside. It got down to 10 degrees outside, so pretty cold. I hardly used any of the juice in my battery pack, so I've also ordered a 350 watt handy heater to have yet another option with a built in thermostat for taking the chill off while asleep. Not necessary, but only 20 bucks, so what the heck.

On the way up we towed it through rain and then snow on Donner Summit. Took it slow - no chaining up (AWD Honda CR-V tow vehicle), but it kept me on my toes! Camper got filthy, but only a tiny bit of water intrusion. I'm going to make a foam seal to stop the gap across the front between the camper and the roof skirt. That should fix that. Return trip was sunny with clear roads.

It was just my oldest son and I (only room for two in winter conditions when you're cooking, eating, etc. inside). We camped in the ski area parking lot. In the a.m. a worker told us no camping there for future reference, but there are plenty of spots to boondock near there for one night at a time, either on the side of the road when it's not snowing & there won't be any snow plowing happening, or around the way at a trail head.

Super stoked!

Here are some shots from the trip:

I took my Coleman propane stove but didn't need it; cooked everything on the gstove (just heated up pizza and sausage biscuits in the frying pan, so nothing crazy). That is pretty cool. Going to leave the big camp stove at home next winter trip and just take a tiny, folding backpacking burner to heat water for coffee while breakfast heats up on the wood stove.

Views from inside:

Hooks installed for drying stuff:

New stabilizers worked a charm:

One issue that has come up with my design is that the force of the gas struts has pulled the screws loose on one of the hinges connecting the front top and base walls. I'm going to put some struts with less force on and also replace the wood screws holding all the hinges with nuts and bolts for firmer support.

UPDATE 3/20: I've bolted the hinges through the wood framing and then filled/patched/painted the holes I had to drill in the foam walls from the side in order to put the nuts and washers on. Super solid now and all good!

 

[TinkerTailor]

A few additions to the trailer:

Added a folding/swinging tongue so it can fit in more parking spaces:

Pretty easy. I used pieces of a plastic cutting board to shim the extra space left in the 2" X 3" hinge kit when installed on my 2" X 2" tongue.

Added 100 watts of solar up top:

And I modified a cot by taking off the legs and then used some EMT tubes to set up a bunk bed that runs across the camper from side to side. This allows for more bed arrangements.

 

[OP827]

Awesome!

 

[TinkerTailor]

Thanks Oleg! Just looked at your thread again after a long while - over the top workmanship!

OK, so I am going to perform major surgery on the camper. After finishing it, I mentioned that I thought a clamshell design would be safer when raising and lowering the roof and walls. I have had one or two sketchy moments while popping up/tearing down, and given that I want to be able to use the camper even when I'm no longer able to manhandle it, and also to have it be safer and easier since I am sometimes setting up in snowy conditions, I'm going to convert it into a telescoping camper like a Hi-Lo, Alaskan, etc. except that the clearance gap in the front and back will be big enough for me to push the front up into place, and then walk around to the back to push the back up into place before pinning it in position with bolts. The camper is light enough for me to simply use muscle power, but I could also use a jack. (I could also potentially put the jack in the center of the roof inside, under a beam, and then raise the whole top assembly as the Slidavan does, but I don't think my design is well enough balanced for that.

The lowered camper will be significantly higher in tow mode than currently, but it will also mean that I don't have to tear down beds, sink, etc., and that it will be far easier to pack for a trip in low mode. The front will be 5' high, and the back will be 4' (with the height of the trailer it'll be about 6'6" or so in front.

The following image shows the original design (as constructed) above, and then the profile of the new, telescoping design in tow mode. When popped up I will be losing about 4" or so of height to account for the overlap of the top and bottom structures. Still plenty of headroom, though.

Here is my To Do list, which may or may not make complete sense to anyone else:

- Cut current roof skirt flush & connect front/back wall to sides as well - total gap 3 3/8" (needs 3" for lifteing procedure so we are good)
- Attach side walls to sides of roof - 1/2” gaps
- New front wall w/ 1” foam covered with 1/8 ply
- Back wall will need 1x strips added to widen it by 1 1/2" - PMF around the corners of the upper wall and paint
- 1x skirt/lip around roof
- Add 2 2x beams across (and under) roof w/ 1/2-3/4” arch to prevent sagging
- PMF the exposed areas of new sections of roof and paint
- Add folding aluminum hooks on front that will swing up to temporarily support top structure while raising it until it is pinned in place with bolts
- Drill for the bolts to pin top in up position
- Add latches to hold in down position
- Add 2x wings under chassis to support top in down position
- Narrow lower doorway by adding strips of wood (1x?); narrow the lower door and seal; upper doorway and door remain the same

Thoughts, advice? Dead thread?

 

[OP827]

This surgery should be doable.
Here are some ideas for roof lifting (switch on subtitles and auto-translate to English):
https://youtu.be/F5H06frLoDk?t=1252 - the assisting struts could be inside in your build case.
https://youtu.be/hpu-ezNsoTQ - one of the ideas to lift the roof, a very simple lift to build, but could be modified/changed to four cables going from the rod to each of four corners to make it fully stable from back to front.

 

[TinkerTailor]

Thanks for chiming in, Oleg. I will have a look at those videos - thank you! Always appreciate your input!

I have a few days off, so the surgery began today. I purchased lumber, resawed it to 2 " to match the wall thickness, took the roof off, removed assorted hardware that will no longer be needed, added two curved 2" X 3" beams to prevent sagging (which worked nicely) and trimmed off the 10 " skirt from the roof. I also moved the tongue box forward a few inches to allow for the top assembly to be raised and lowered with sufficient clearance so as to not scrape the box. All went smoothly.

Tomorrow I will take off the walls, lengthen them by adding the resawn lumber to the ends, and will then join the walls to one another and to the roof using screws and glue. After that I'll need to do some spackling, rout the edges of the roof with a roundover bit, and add some reinforcement where the top will be pinned with bolts to the base when the camper is set up, then I'll apply PMF to the newly exposed areas and paint.

 

[TinkerTailor]

Ok, the rebuild is pretty much finished with the exception of some more weather stripping and drip edge installation. It has been a success and what was a folding foamie modeled on an Esterel type design is now a telescoping hi-lo foamie. It raises and lowers on linear actuators which can be seen in the interior photos below. The install of the actuators was pretty easy, with a simple rocker switch (no additional electronics necessary). The four actuators finish extending/retracting at slightly different times, but pretty close to one another and it doesn't cause a problem because my tolerances were relatively generous. It was a fair amount of work, but I'm happy with the result. The camper could be used in its low, tow mode as a long teardrop. When raised it is a standie. A big advantage of the new design is that nothing (beds, sink, etc.) needs to be taken down or stowed prior to lowering the camper into tow mode, and packing the camper with supplies is much easier and more convenient. Much quicker setup and teardown times. The downside is that it is taller and less aerodynamic in tow mode (I haven't towed it yet).

Basically I took off the roof and the old folding walls , extended the walls a bit (with timber and foam) to allow clearance around the internal base, fastened them together, added the roof, put in supports for the upper assembly to rest on when in tow mode, modified the doors appropriately, and put in the linear actuators and the switch. Below are some photos. Stoked on the results so far! It is not pressing, but I think I may put in a stronger, wider axle at some point for additional stability given the additional height in tow mode. Any suggestions on that (wide axle addition to a harbor freight 4X are welcome.

 

[Pmullen503]

Very nice. That's a great idea to be able to use it as a "long teardrop". For those nights when you get to the campground late and just want to sleep.

 

[OP827]

That was quick, congratulations! By looking at the overall shape I feel that such substantial frontal area might potentially cause some instability on higher speeds, just my opinion. How does it ride on the road?

 

[S. Heisley]

Congratulations on making your innovative camping trailer a success for you!

 

[TinkerTailor]

Many thanks all round!

Oleg - I haven't towed it yet. I am assuming it will be much more noticeable than it was before, but when I am towing i always have a cargo box on top of my TV, which is higher than the trailer, so I am hoping it isn't too bad. If it is a problem, then I will knock a bit off the front face by adding a bevel of a foot or so on that side of the roof, which wouldn't be a terribly difficult modification. I'm hoping that's not necessary, though.

 

[OP827]

Many thanks all round!

Oleg - I haven't towed it yet. I am assuming it will be much more noticeable than it was before, but when I am towing i always have a cargo box on top of my TV, which is higher than the trailer, so I am hoping it isn't too bad. If it is a problem, then I will knock a bit off the front face by adding a bevel of a foot or so on that side of the roof, which wouldn't be a terribly difficult modification. I'm hoping that's not necessary, though.

That sounds like a a good plan. The reason I was concerned is I had such issue with my manufactured fiberglass trailer. It could start oscillating at higher speeds. Strong wind or big trucks could also induce that.

I think such hi-lo design is one of the most practical ones due to an easier setup and must be the most waterproofed among other lifting roof designs.

 

[TinkerTailor]

Dry indeed - we have been getting a lot of rain, and it is bone dry inside whether in the up or down position. Definitely happy about that. Have a snow camping/ski trip planned for later this month. Looking forward to it!