Vintage Inspired travel Trailer

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Hello Tnttt community!
The time has come to get this build out of my head and out into the world!

Over the last 6 months, I have been dreaming, and scheming and designing a Travel Trailer for our family!
I have been camping since I was weeks old, and luckily, my wife and son are now both hooked! We have been avid tent campers but the time has come to upgrade!

I have a goal of getting this thing built in time for my 40th birthday.
The year of my 40th, I'm aiming for 40 day and 40 nights camping! (I feel like there may be a movie reference missing here!)

From day 1 build has a few criteria:

• Queen or larger fixed main bed.
  Sleep 2 adults + 2 kids comfortably
  Full standing height
  Budget: $10,000 USD
  Complete by Jan 2025.
  3.5 season capable. (We try to winter camp a few times a year, no bugs!)
  No inside cooking space.
  Under 5000lbs
  Fit on old 1971 Skamper frame.

The foundation for the build is an old 1971 Skamper Pop Up that has been in the family, since 1971!

Stay tuned as I chronical our adventures with this build here on tnttt as well as YouTube! (Channel details to follow!)

 

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The Donor

So, since the inception of this project, the plan was to use the chassis from a 1971 Skamper Pop Up Camper.
The camper was last used roughly 20 years ago... and since its last use... it has been parked behind the barn.

Needless to say, it has seen better days! It sat here for so long, it sank into the mud.

It took some digging and convincing to get this free from the mud!

There was a fleeting moment where the plan shifted from rebuild to refurb...
Then we tried to open it up...

(To Be Continued!)

 

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The Donor (part 2)

There was no way now this was going to be a refurb...

We barely needed a hammer to rip this all apart!

The floor on the other hand... that took some work, and some thinking outside the box!

Luckily, my family supports the project! Today, my dad was helping with the demolition. He never said it, but I got the feeling there were some mixed emotions here.
On one hand; This was a wedding present from his favorite Aunt/Uncle, and our family has many memories of using this camper as I was growing up! I even remember helping my parents replace the canvas some time in the mid 90's!
On the other hand; his son (that's me!) wanted to preserve a family tradition and start new traditions with his new and growing family... and I want to do it TOGETHER with my dad!
There were certainly some emotions at play that day!

 

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DONOR - Part 3

It was a long day, but in the end, we liberated the frame from the rot, and had a foundation to build upon!

Stay tuned! More progress to come!

 

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The PLAN

Now that we confirmed the frame was "ok" to use... it was time to get serious about a plan!
It was a long winter waiting for things to thaw enough to liberate the frame, so I had plenty of time to dream up different plans and sketches.
Some were great, some... we "mis-calculated"...

By the time I got to VERSION 4, I had a layout that was practical, now I just needed to settle on a "shape".

I really like the look of the old CalCrafts, Scotties and Shasta's and such... so the large radius back end was the direction I was headed!
I was playing with the design in SketchUp one day, and that's when I FOUND it! I found a way i could make the profile work for head room, AND overall length!

(To be continued...)

 

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The Plan - Part 2
After much deliberation, and trial and error, A plan was coming together.

This layout had storage, sleeping for 4, a pull out kitchen, and should be light enough to meet my goal!

It was time to make a mockup... so I bought the cheapest panels of ply I could get from Menards, and built a mockup in the garage!
This mock up was actually really helpful! I laid out the beds and walls and it was quickly apparent that it was going to be cozier then we thought!

 

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The Pilgrimage

Forth of July weekend, 2023
It's HOT! And I'm getting antsy... I want to keep progressing on the build, but the frame is still up at the family property, 3 hours away...

I've got a free Sunday, so it is time to make the pilgrimage. Roughly 3 hours from home base, is a mecca that any TNTTT DIY'er should visit at least once in their build... all they over in White Pidgeon, Michigan, a hop skip and a jump from the RV museum of course I am talking of Botrangers! This is a RV Surplus "store" full of bits and bobs for any and all RV builders. There are doors, windows, panels, switches, sinks, lights, cameras, ovens, jacks, fabrics, mattresses, toilets, fans, fasteners, frames, you name it, they have it! I planed on a 4 hour visit... the first hour I just walked though the aisles, the different buildings... awestruck... speechless! Why does this have to be so far away! If you are familiar with the Habitat for humanity RE-STORE, this is the RE-STORE for RVs!

Anyway... once I finally centered myself, and got to task, I ended up finding a set of 6 matching windows ($40 each), a door ($150), an emergency exit window ($52), and a set of luggage doors ($90), all for well under what I was expecting/budgeting!

 

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The Puzzle

Turns out making the mock up had a second advantage! Now that I had the profile I wanted, and the windows, doors and luggage doors, I could finalize my design.
Using the Plywood templates, I was able to layout all the windows and doors and find a final design that suited the floorplan.

After tinkering for a while, I finally had a layout that worked, and looked good too!

With the scraps I had from the plywood mockup, I threw together some storage carts to hold the windows and doors until it was time to use them.

 

[pchast]

Great find!

 

[KCStudly]

Entertaining so far, and well written. I'll be watching.

 

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Sanity Check

Spent some time out in the garage today working on some design elements. I have been back and forth a few times on just how thick the walls need to be. I am trying to design to my windows... and... it's not as easy as I thought.

I have a full post on this adventure here: https://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=75800

The quick summary, looks like I am planning on 2" thick walls!

 

[Bezoar]

Looking forward to seeing your build! I'm just going camping for the first time in my 4 person standie. There aren't that many of us on this forum!

 

[RBB]

...in my 4 person standie. There aren't that many of us on this forum!

"Standie!"

I Like it!

 

[ScottM-TNT]

Nice, I look forward to following the progress.

 

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Good As NEW!

Had a chance to work on the frame over the weekend. Managed to fully clean, grind, and sandblast the old frame. Luckily all the rust was surface rust, and it cleaned up pretty well.

Once the frame was clean, I wiped the whole thing down with alcohol and then painted it.

I used POR15 on the frame.

POR15 is NOT cheap ($60/Qt), but in my opinion, WORTH EVERY PENNY! I was really happy with how well it coated and how easy it was to apply.

I managed to get 2 coats on the frame with ONE QUART. Once the POR15 dried to tacky (approx 2hrs as suggested on their site) I applied 2 coats of rattle can Black Implement paint. (1 can each coat)
This is the spray paint I used for the "Top Coat": https://www.acehardware.com/departments/paint-and-supplies/spray-paint/general-purpose/17072

For the springs, I applied 3 coats of Engine Paint. (Found this as a recommendation online somewhere...)
Here is the paint I used for this: https://www.acehardware.com/departments/paint-and-supplies/spray-paint/hobby-spray-paint/1498161
For the axel, I applied one coat of POR15 then one coat of Engine Paint, just because...

We also worked on the suspension. The 50 year old shackles and bushings were well past their prime and seized up, so we broke all that loose and rebuilt that.
Finally, just for fun, we weighed the frame. Turns out the 1971 Skamper FRAME weights almost exactly 150lbs!

Frame: 150lbs
Axel: 25lbs
Springs: 12.5lbs each (2)
Wheels: 25lbs each (3)
That puts my total weight so far at: 275lbs My goal is Under 3000lbs loaded, so it looks like I have a good base!

It is going to be a few weeks before I get back to the frame, in the mean time, I need to make some key design decisions, mainly... FLOOR.
We have a few boxes of TEAK hardwood floor that we could use. I am worried about weight with this option... it is nearly 250lbs for the floor if we use the teak hardwood.
The other option is commercial grade linoleum tiles... I like the black and white checkered look... this costs more (as the teak is FREE) but it weights less!

Open to suggestions!

Cheers!

 

[Bezoar]

The teak sounds amazing, but as you said it would add a lot of weight. I bought a sheet of vinyl flooring from Menards - one of the big box stores may have the checkerboard you are looking for at a lot less weight.

 

[terrymorse]

I need to make some key design decisions, mainly... FLOOR.
We have a few boxes of TEAK hardwood floor that we could use. I am worried about weight with this option... it is nearly 250lbs for the floor if we use the teak hardwood.
The other option is commercial grade linoleum tiles... I like the black and white checkered look... this costs more (as the teak is FREE) but it weights less!

Open to suggestions!

Suggestion it is, then.

When we were deciding on flooring for our Little Guy 5-Wide, I heard several folks recommending against tiles or planks, which can separate from the flexing that a trailer does. Also, don't adhere the flooring directly to the plywood sub floor, as it needs to move with the flexing trailer. The prevalent recommendation was to use a floating single sheet, which would not separate or bubble from flexing.

We went with a piece of remnant vinyl sheet flooring from Home Depot -- $20, with foam underlayment underneath.

 

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The First Journey
May 17, 2024

Has it really been almost a year since my last major updates? Well I am happy to say I have put almost 150 miles on the camper since the last update! Well... I say camper... it is still just a frame.

I finally moved the project from my dad's 40' x 60' climate controlled shop with 20' ceilings... to my 1950's 2 car garage with 7' ceilings, 6' door and no AC.
This saves me a 3hr commute every time I want to work on the project, and makes its very cramped for the build.

I CAN report that the frame tracked and pulled nicely behind my Subaru Ascent, doing 80mph past 6 Flags Great America!

The tires showed no abnormal wear after the tow, and I learn that I need a larger drop hitch for my car. The Subaru Hitch is VERY high, it looks like I will need a 4" drop for my frame to sit level.

Now that the frame is right out my back door, I should really be able to get moving on the project! It's not like having a baby due at the end of the month is going to eat into my free time or anything!

 

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Free Time?
Memorial Day, 2024

So...
[youtube]9JxhTnWrKYs[/youtube]

The plan was always to build for a family of 4... the family is now complete... time to get cracking on the project!

 

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The BUILD... Finally!
June, 2024

The BUILD has finally begun. I have a quite a few decisions to make yet, but wood has been cut, glued, and mounted to the frame!
From the beginning, I knew i needed to have a minimum internal width of 75". The plan is to have all the beds configured "East/West", and I am aiming for a full size QUEEN.
This meant I needed to add to the frame I had. I mounted some 2x4s to either side of the frame with construction adhesive and 1/4"-20 Carriage Bolts. I also painted the bottom side of the 2x4s with a fence and siding paint that I found in the "reject" pile at Menards. $10/gal for a $60+ can of paint!

The primary wall sheeting will attach to the OUTSIDE edge of these 2x4s.
This adds 3" to my frame and gives me just enough wiggle room to squeeze a 75" mattress in there!

The keen eye will also notice the double 2x4s attached to the bumper. This angle should match the angle coming down from my rear curve, giving me a solid place to attach the roof.

I have always loved to tinker with electrical, and this project will be no different. There will be some under body lighting on the camper. Red/Amber/White.
Red for low light clearance, and to protect the shins when walking around after dark!
Amber for some actual lighting for the inevitable case where the kids loose something under the trailer.
White for "work" lights if needed after dark!

Finally, I added a jack to the front "A" Frame. I picked up a Ultra-Tow XTP Fast Action jack from Northern Tool. I like the "fast action" feature that plays well into my "quick" set up time. Simply pull a pin, and "push" the jack down with my foot, lock it in place and give it a few cranks, and the trailer is level! No more monkeying around with cranking a jack for 5 minutes to get it to drop 15"!
https://www.northerntool.com/produc...k-2000-lb-topwind-a-frame-mount-bolt-on-47344

I still have one more week of Paternity leave, so I am hoping to get wheel wells and deck mounted to the frame! Stay tuned!