The Memorial F150 Craptor. A semi foamie camper shell camper

[dbhosttexas]

Okay bed rust treatement done, painted etc... Not pretty but sealed from further damage so we are good.

I also after LOTS of nasty effort got the old Ebay nerf bars off. The fasterners were just as rusted as the tubes. Got new ones coming from Summit but apparently UPS does not know how to deliver things on time, or even within a couple of days of on time... Go figure.

I am busy tonight after sundown so I won't be doing it then, but tomorrow I will vacuum the truck bed yet again, and then lay out the mattress and water tanks to be sure of my layout ideas. If I am good with the passenger side bed / day bed idea then I will start the frame build and try to con someone into helping me get a couple of sheets of XPS to get this done. Need to go to the thrift shops and find some king size sheets as well...

It is coming together, but I still have 3 months before the day it has to be ready to hit the road. I do NOT want to be here for the big dates. Her B-Day, Thanksgiving, our wedding anniversary, Christmas, my B-day. They all happen between from the 2nd week of Nov to the 2nd week of Jan...

[RJ Howell]

On your door/hatch handles: Mine connected to a rod in the middle. Mounting a handle on that connection could work, right? Also a simple lock for once inside. Hook n Eye is about as simple as it gets.. Toughest thing is lifting the tailgate once inside thought.. Look at some sort of strap, you'll be happy about not having to bend all that way to grab it.. I certainly was!

Coming along there!

[dbhosttexas]

On your door/hatch handles: Mine connected to a rod in the middle. Mounting a handle on that connection could work, right? Also a simple lock for once inside. Hook n Eye is about as simple as it gets.. Toughest thing is lifting the tailgate once inside thought.. Look at some sort of strap, you'll be happy about not having to bend all that way to grab it.. I certainly was!

Coming along there!

Mine is outfitted with T handles on both sides of the hatch unfortunately. I think if I went with a T handle lock assy with a longer square shaft, I could add an L handle one on each side to twist, and i could fab up a flip down stopper to keep it from rotating while I am in the camper. , and I don't see lifting to be the problem so much as pulling the hatch down / closed. Honestly if I had any brains I would figure out a way to build a rear wall / door assembly that replaces the hatch. But it would look funnier than I want to put up with in transit...

I need to call the mechanic and insure there are no hangups with the engine yet.

Longer term, I am going to go with a build like yours. I just want to get out there NOW. This was the fastest way I could think of doing it short of replacing my truck outright... I will be heading out late fall / early winter, so AC is not a concern at least... Until next year that is.

[dbhosttexas]

Due to weight, and space concerns, I will start going through my camp kitchen stuff, and pare it down to what I need, and minimize any not likely to be used surplus. I.E. taking my bigger CI skillet and leaving the smaller one at home. Taking the SS family cookset that has a lid that can double as a skillet, and never uttering the word skillet in relation to that set again, bottoms are too thin, but that cook set has important size pots for making things like heating up canned soup, making pasta, and sauce etc...

When I hit the road I am hoping to maybe run into some of you fine folks. I am going solo, and I have no idea how to cook for one. It is bad enough at home. So if you see me, I'll whip up some of our famous Mexitalian spaghetti. Yeah you read that right, Spaghetti thus the italian, with a mexican twist. What can I say, I'm a Texan! We can share a camp fire and some camp fire stories, I can even butcher trying to play my guitar!

[dbhosttexas]

Laid out the mattress, and the water tanks. Set up the cushions on top of the port o potty to test height, so L shaped bed platform it is. Straight down the middle would be easier, but would not give me enough room to move around. The L configuration allows me to move around, almost standing, okay yeah hunched over but at least I have room to sit up and stretch. IF I drill and through bolt the camper to the bed rails, I can get rid of the clamps. Not sure that is the best idea though...

So for nowI sacrifice about 1" of room to the clamps.

Now I have a problem. I need to transport 2 sheets of XPS foam and 1 sheet of 1/2" plywood from Home Depot to the house. Will wait to the weekend and try to get a friend to volunteer in exchange for pizza and beer if that still works. Was a lot easier when we were in college to bribe friends with beer...

I am going to do something dumb at first though. I am going to build a box.. A cube really. 20x20x20 out of PMF and nothing else, and strength test it with my fat behind. I suspect I know what the results will be, but I need to see.

I want to not have to have the added weight of the wood if I can avoid it. I am driving a half ton truck with a 150lb hunk of fiberglass on the bed and a 350lb driver. Weight issues are a major concern.

It is possible I will instead opt to go with aluminum framing, riveted together, and then filled with PMF. Again I am shooting for maximum strength for minimum weight.

[JasenC]

Happy little mistakes like happy little trees I guess it's my own sort of artwork maybe Bob Ross would be proud.

I'm sure he would.
I think I've seen everyone one of his shows.

[dbhosttexas]

Hit the engine compartment with a ton of Foamy Engine Brite today, Looks like it took care of what little dust / oil there was up there, and took care of a few mud dawber nests...

Got the rest of the mounting hardware for the old set of step bars removed, installed the passengers side new step bar, and the brackets for the drivers side. I am 1 1/2" flat washer, and 1 1/2" lock washer away from being able install the bar on the drivers side. Apparently they included 1 too many 3/8" pairs and 1 too few 1/2" pairs...

So the drivers side step bar should be on it tomorrow. Still no foam board. Ugh...

[dbhosttexas]

Took the dog to the vet for his surgery today, had a tumor removed from his hind leg, he's too old to benefit from chemo and it would make his life miserable but the tumor was starting to bug him so we had it removed... I thought the vet would keep him overnight, but nope. so I have been babying the pooch. Maybe camper progress tomorrow. Maybe not...

Oh, I did get the HD winch bumper ordered, cruising for a coupon from Harbor Freight. Looking to pick up a ZXR 12000 winch to replace the Engo E9000. I've never been comfortable with a 9K winch. Definately want a 12K, not sure about the HF solely because of the limited amount of cable it can spool out. Would prefer 100'...

[dbhosttexas]

No foam yet, but as soon as the heat of the day is done, I am going to get out to the shop, and make my cuts / start joinery for the top of the bed frame. I will be doing half laps so they are glued up, so that there is no interference with the screws that will hold the uprights in. So the idea is to set up the top, corner uprights, and inside edge of bottom loosely, make measurements to the wheel well, and then finish the outside bottom and supporting cross / upright pieces.

Once the main platform size / shape is there, will extend cross bed , may build it as a second cabinet that will attach to hold the water tanks and electrical center in a separate compartment from the water obviously...

The off road / winch bumper for the truck has been ordered. Nothing super fancy just a DV8.I get really worried with only a 9K winch that is my Engo E9000, which is more appropriate for a Jeep than a full size pickup. But my old winch mount would only support 9K winch...

Not going super high dollar and watching sales / coupons, Most likely to go with a Harbor Freight Badland ZXR 120000 to serve my recovery needs. I don't anticipate extreme need, but doing things like pulling stormfall logs off of trails, or short pulls after slipping off of rut tops of logging roads is what I have in mind.

Engine order has been placed, and paid. Now we wait delivery and install. I am working on making sure the truck is at 100% before I hit the road. That will take a bit. But I figure a 19 year old truck at 100% with a comfortable micro camper and paid off sure beats a brand new truck with a note...

[GPW]

" But I figure a 19 year old truck at 100% with a comfortable micro camper and paid off sure beats a brand new truck with a note..."

[dbhosttexas]

" But I figure a 19 year old truck at 100% with a comfortable micro camper and paid off sure beats a brand new truck with a note..."

Mind you, long run, part of me still wants to follow suit with RJ Howell and do a flatbed conversion / foamie pop top overlander build. Probably not a verbatim copy mind you, and most likely do an aluminum structure that can handle my weight for the overcab sleeper... But this fall / winter trip season has got to happen and I have too much to do to get the conversion done by then. I have a stupid dent in the truck bed on the passenger side where the basketball hoop that used to be next to the driveway apparently rusted out and fell against the truck. I am NOT going to fix that.

Yeah, Long term, Aluminum flat bed, aluminum framed foamie pop top for one + pets. At that point, design in a pass through so dog can go between cab and camper on the go...

[dbhosttexas]

The off road bumper arrived shipped via UPS. First UPS package in about 2 years that actually showed up on time. Funny thing is, tracking on this package avoids the Houston warehouse. Go figure.

There is some kind of respiratory seasonal crud that is running around that I managed to get. I'm going to sound fatalist here sorry, but while I am not actively seeking my end, seeing my wife again would not be a bad thing. Again not looking to cause anything, But unless you have been through losing a spouse you love as much I I love my wife, you just can't understand what I am going through...

[dbhosttexas]

Temporary pause. It looks like I came down with COVID, so not doing anything other than trying to not die, and let's see if I can get better... Got the prescription, taking my meds as prescribed, yay I get to medicate me and the dog... Ugh

[GPW]

DB, get well soon !!!

[dbhosttexas]

DB, get well soon !!!

I am high risk due to my weight, I am on the antiviral meds and responding well. I feel a LOT less junky today but still going to allow myself time before I start pushing again.

I did make an executive decision on the design and implementation. I wanted a covered area I could enclose , I was thinking a 10x10 awning on the side of the camper, but ways to mount that are minimal, an EZUp wouldn't fit under the hatch of the camper shell, they don't go high enough, so intead I opted for an Ozark Trail camping tarp shelter I figure sling it over the camper shell, guy out those ends, set up the poles, guy them out, and then guy out the remaining corners... Should work in most conditions I am likely to see except for beach. Need to figure that out...

Anyway like this... You might have to copy / paste the youtube link. Why forums can't standardize embedding youtube I will never know...

[youtube]https://youtu.be/ytR0oEFC3Vk[/youtube]