Foamie truck camper build!

[seanc]

I put down 3 thin layers of cotton t-shirts and titebond on the mirrors and let them cure for a week. They were ROCK hard. When you tapped the unsupported part of the mirror (the cutout for the OEM mirror, where there is no foam backing) you could feel the whole mirror ring.

48 hours ago I painted them with Gripper.... Now they are very, very soft. They went from feeling like fiberglass to feeling like cheap cardboard.

like I said, it is extremely noticeable because there is NO foam backing the PMF in the mirror cutout.

Has anyone else dealt with this?

I am planning on finishing them with spray truck bed coating: http://duplicolor.com/product/bed-armor-truck-bed-coating-aerosol

[dales133]

Great idwa.
Id keep them as removable as possible as they stick out quite a bit and will likely get damaged by someone

[GPW]

This stuff dries SLOW !!! Latex/Acrylic products require a good week of drying to fully harden .... be patient ... and support your PMF .... By itself it’s not so much , with backing , it’s SOLID !!! It’s like a system , a symbiotic relationship between old T-shirt , glue and foam ...

[seanc]

GPW - I am moving in 6 days, so going slow is not an option! The mirrors stiffened up significantly when I moved them from outside (sunny, 100 degrees) to inside next to the A/C (70 degrees)...

Here they are with Gripper and a coat of truck bed liner. Honestly, they look a lot cleaner than I expected. I'm planning on gluing/sealing them with RTV silicone. They are already held on with a very tight friction fit. bumping/hitting them when walking by makes the entire mirror assembly collapse at the "elbow" without affecting the coupling of the OEM and tow mirror.

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[KCStudly]

Nice job!!! To the casual observer those are OEM. Mint.

[GPW]

Yes , they do look quite NICE !!!

[seanc]

updates!


I have been living in the camper full time since the end of August I am in the bay area, so the weather is mild and the ocean side parking is too good to shell out money for rent!


I sewed a little wall organizer to hold my 5v batteries, headlamps, etc. Turned out great! Next time i'll buy a sewing machine instead of doing it by hand

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I built a pair of small two way speakers in the truck. All gluing, staining, soldering the crossovers, and final assembly took place in the camper. They're powered by a 12v, 50 watt 2 channel amplifier which is wired to the starter battery OR runs off of 8 AA batteries.

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I built a pair of swing arm lamps out of pine and copper mugs from goodwill. They draw 5 watts each and are wired to the starter battery.

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[seanc]

Here is a recent shot of the interior.

I installed a pergo floating floor, bought a sewing machine and reupholstered the cushions, and made "skirts"' out of drop cloth to hide the under cabinet areas.

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[GPW]

Sean, that’s really Great ...

[ghcoe]

Handy.

[pchast]

Nice work!

[kudzu]

Thanks for the update. The camper looks rather inviting. You've made some nice additions. Love the lamp. And talk about a "tiny house". So glad it's serving you well.

[rruff]

I have been living in the camper full time since the end of August I am in the bay area, so the weather is mild and the ocean side parking is too good to shell out money for rent!

Nice camper! Where are you parking and how much does it cost? Also, how is your skylight working out!

[John61CT]

Sorry if I missed it, how/where do you get full-length sleeping?

[seanc]

@rruff - The parking is free. I have half a dozen or so curbside spots that I frequent. They are mostly in light industrial areas, ideally near an unsecured wifi connection. There are 1,000's of people sleeping in vehicles in this town, from sedans to 40' RVs. The only attention I get is from people asking "hey, did you build that thing? Can you tell me a little more about it?" Living in the camper wasn't my intention, but it's been a fun adventure and I'll probably stick it out until the weather gets crumby next Fall. The skylight occasionally drips in heavy rain when I am parked completely level. It doesn't keep me up at night.

@john61ct - The middle of the sitting area fills in to make a bed that is approximately 6' by 4'. I am 5'10" and sleep diagonally.