Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

As I talked about in my other thread, I am building out a Hi Top camper shell camper instead of doing the wide body / king bed build I was working on. I no longer need a king bed, and I am needing to get things done faster so want to simplify and make as many steps as easy as possible.

The truck is a 1/2 ton F150 with not the full payload package, but many of the options, HD springs, trans cooler etc, just not the funny 7 lug axles / wheels. which is efectively the same payload as a 1970s 3/4 ton but we won't go into that...

Anyway in order to keep weights reasonable, especially since I am bringing cast iron cookware, and 4 7 gallon AquaTainers for my water supply. I am needing to figure out some ways to do the build light. I was thinking of the cabinets that I want to have enclosed and use as a bed frame / storage bench. Oh just see the tons and tons of builds on Youtube, you know the setup I think. Anyway I was considering using 2x2 framing and filling the void with foam and doing a PMF wrap on the assembly. I am thinking this would be lighter than plywood, but is it strong enough?

I am a very substantial man weight wise, at current 390lbs, so I need to be sure whatever structure holds my bed can hold my fat butt. I seriously doubt an all foam / PMF structure can hold it, but will the wood frame / foam / PMF do the trick?

Also is there any concern with mounting my charging center / inverter therein a foamie cabinet?

My electrical / charing center should look like...

ATEM POWER 12V 20A DC to DC Battery Charger with Solar Input MPPT Controller for Lead Acid, AGM, Gel, Calcium, Lion Batteries, Multiple Protection Design On-Board Charger. Yes I know Renogy is the preferred brand of many, but I have had Atem Power devices in the past and had good luck with them. And I do not need a 30 amp which is the smallest Renogy offers. I am basically powering a 12v fridge, a CPAP machine, my laptop, and USB chargers NOT all at the same time.

And a 110V inverter.
GISIAN 500W Pure Sine Wave Power Inverter DC 12V to AC 110V Inverter
I know it is a cheapie, I have a 500w modified sine wave inverter already but don't want to subject my laptop to it... And yes it IS more than the 300w solar suitcase can do, but I am figuring spreading the load should suffice. I might have to chage laptop on the generator if need be... (Laptop charger pulls 240w max).

These days you can buy structural foam , so so dense you can drill and tap it ...

GPW wrote:These days you can buy structural foam , so so dense you can drill and tap it ...

Got details? Google search points me straight back to XPS and similar... I know I wouldn't want to plant my fat behind of XPS edge wise...

I am mostly trying to keep weight down so I can improve my ability to haul important things like fuel and water.

I'll check with my friend who used some of the rigid foam ...

Please so. Since my truck is a 1/2 ton I need to be careful about weight.

DB, yes weight is always a consideration ... Back in the late 70's we were doing "Kustom van" conversions...and 1/2 ton vans quickly exceeded their gross vehicle weight with all the "additions" ... and that was before adding the passengers , food , etc.

GPW wrote:DB, yes weight is always a consideration ... Back in the late 70's we were doing "Kustom van" conversions...and 1/2 ton vans quickly exceeded their gross vehicle weight with all the "additions" ... and that was before adding the passengers , food , etc.

Ah yeah, well with all that heavy woodwork in those things... I oh so remember the 70s van craze. I was too young to be involved, but I remember seeing the Dodge "Street Van" package brochures when my parents were looking to trade in their Dart...

DB, doing those "conversions" required plywood, lots of heavy carpeting along with all the other niceties to go along , ... and the weight added up quickly ...

Sadly , I remember doing a conversion on a half ton van for a customer who insisted on really decking it out , and I argued he would be way over his gross vehicle weight , but he insisted. Later on he stuffed his family into the Van for a "Van run" with friends... Driving high speed , a tire blew out , flipping the van and killing him and his entire family ... After that I quit doing van conversions ...

And then foamie trailers came along ...

Exactly my point. My winch already adds to the weight on the truck, as does the camper shell. I will be carrying 28 gallons of fresh water in the water carriers, 5 in the toilet. So that is 33 gallons of water. I am going to round up to add the weight of the vessels as well and say that is 270lbs right there. Mattress 27lbs, propane tank 37lbs full (20lbs +17lbs for the tank), so you see where I am going with this.

If I recall from the door jamb sticker, I have the 5.4L 3V XLT 4x4 with 3.73 gears towing package, and air bags under the rear end.. Factory payload is again if I recally right somewhere near 2300lbs. Some of my upgrades improve the safety of that number but legally cannot up that number. I.E. running load range E tires instead of load range D, upgraded dimpled and slotted rotors etc... The whole idea was to make the truck handle payload as safe as possible over as varied a terrain as possible.

Some things I am struggling with though.

#1. Awning / Canopy. I want to mount a DIY awning, a long one to the passenger side of the truck. But the shape of the rise in the roof does not allow this. Need to figure out a way to do it. Until then I have to use my 13x13 EZ Up canopy, those are heavy.
#2. Gray water. Not often needed to be captured, but when it is, it adds weight.
#3. Recovery gear. I have a reasonably full off road recovery setup chains, straps, pulleys, D rings etc. This adds weight. And a weighted winch line drape.

The 63qt fridge when loaded adds weight etc...

My cookware for camping leans toward Cast Iron, although I do have some stainless steel. But the 10" skillet, the CI flat plate / griddle add weight and no I am NOT going to do an aluminum / teflon griddle...

Not sure if I mentioned it above, but I wanted to actually downsize my tires from 35x12.50/17 to 33x12.50/17 to get rid of a rubbing issue. Never had a problem with 33s... Well BFG All Terrain TAs in 33x12.50/17 load range E are something like $419.00 each at Discount Tire, or $298.00 each on Amazon.

So I went with Amazon.

And they shipped them, one at a time. For all 5 since I wanted a size matched spare. Now I have to take the truck, AND the tires in to get them mounted and balanced.