Over the top teardrop

[schnottus]

I started this build in November so a bit late in starting a build journal, but i wanted this camper done for this summer so ive been too busy building to post. Now that I'm putting the finishing touches on this week I'll start documenting the build here. Hopefully I give some useful ideas to others on this site where much of my inspiration for this build came from.

Why over the top? Three reasons.
1. I wanted to use the best materials and techniques while making this that one could reasonably afford.
2. My wife said the things I make are a bit over the top when i told her about the design.
3. After she said it was over the top i thought of the perfect graphic for the side. I still need to find a graphic designer to pretty this up before i get it printed:

[JasenC]

Interested to see what you've built

[schnottus]

I wanted something rugged for when we go canyoneering and adventuring down rough roads out west. Some of my desired features were:

Offroad capable, with equal or better ground clearance than my 4runner.
Roomier than our two person tent (Im very tall and always in need of more leg room)
Powered vent fans, our tent gets very humid/drippy on humid nights in Wisconsin.
Uses same tires as tow vehicle so we only have to carry one spare, also contributes greatly to offroad capability and looks.
Roof rack for carrying kayaks.
Plenty of storage.
Somewhat aerodynamic, should fit largely behind the 4runner so gas mileage doesnt get too bad.
Low maintenance
Good looking.

[schnottus]

Initial sketch, I deviated a bit from this particularly in the hatch and interior ahelf dimensions

[JasenC]

It's a challenge if you're not vertically challenged. I'm trying to keep mine with in the dims of my truck as well and still have room to stretch, out and sit on a short convertible sofa bed. An inch can make a big difference in this small of a space.

[schnottus]

Frame materials:
I struggled to narrow this down. I am tig welding my own frame so no mateerial was out of question. My considered options for the frame:

Aluminum
- expensive
- pushes the limits of my 200a tig welder since id probably be using 1/4 aluminum in the frame rails
- i am not nearly as good at AL welding as steel
- prone to fatigue/cracking at welds over time, lower frame should probably be huck bolted

Steel
- cheap (sort of, the price doubled with covid since the last time i bought steel)
- easy to work with
- can be trail repaired or fixed just about anywhere
- i have lots of random sized steel already for gussets, etc

Stainless steel
- very expensive
- more challenging to source in the dimensions required
- more difficult to weld (need back purging)

Even ignoring cost, steel came out as the winner just for the availabilty, strength, and ease of working with.

[schnottus]

Took about a month to weld up the frame, and then another couple weeks to sort out suspension issues and paint it.

After researchimg what others used, and doing some math, I went with 2x3 1/8th inch steel tubing for the tongue and frame perimeter, 1.5x3 14 gauge frame cross members, and a mix of 14 and 16 gauge 1 inch square tubing for the upper frame (the thicker tubing in places that support roof rack mounts).

[schnottus]

I seem to have lost a lot of my frame welding pictures, but one thing worth mentioning is that i bought an Evolution cold cut metal saw which is awesome. Unlike my 14inch abrasive chop saw, when you cut steel it generates almost no grinding dust or sparks and leaves an incredibly straight clean cut thats ready to weld. Well worth the money.

Saw cut:


Finalizing tongue dimensions, making sure nothing hits 4runner when backing up at sharp angles.

[QueticoBill]

Nice looking. Are the tongue 2x3s on the flat?

[Capebuild]

but one thing worth mentioning is that i bought an Evolution cold cut metal saw which is awesome.

I also bought an Evolution saw when I was building my frame. Yes, really great product. Nice clean cuts and no dust.

John

[JasenC]

Love those cold cut blades.

It's shaping up nicely.

[schnottus]

Ive never had a trailer with springs that didnt bounce and perform poorly on rough roads, so i decided to try Timbren axleless suspension. After a ton of reading, and talking to the folks at etrailer, i went with these parts:

Timbren ASR1THDS03 axleless suspension
(qty 2) Dexter 84656UC3-EZ hub/bearings
Dexter K23-086-00 left brake assembly with parking
Dexter K23-087-00 right brake assembly with parking

This was supposed to give me three things:
1. parking brakes
2 4inch lift
3. ability to run 6 on 5.5 pattern 4runner wheels.

Unfortunately the 4 inch lift of the timbren suspension interferes with the parking brake lever on the dexter hubs.
Fortunately I ordered this from etrailer, I needed to either ditch the 4inch lift, or the parking brakes. I opted to get rid of the lift and etrailer support was amazing to work with, I was able to exchange just the spindle portion of the suspension for the non lifted version (ASR1THDS01 I think) and now it all works well together. Its actually rather fortunate this happened since the camper sits higher than expected and would have been too tall.

Parking brake interfering with timbren lifted spindle:

[schnottus]

I also bought an Evolution saw when I was building my frame. Yes, really great product. Nice clean cuts and no dust.
John

Yeah, I could never get a perpendicular cut with my abrasive saw, and angled cuts were out of the question. This was definitely one of my favorite tool purchases last year. No more filling gaps with the welder

[schnottus]

Floor plate.

I actually made the floor plate in a huge vacuum bag setup. Roughly 8ft by 5ft sandwich construction, 1/8 baltic birch plywood on both sides of some 1.5inch xps foam all joined together by rolled on epoxy. It was kind of a pain to bag and vacuum a panel that large so future panels like walls are all made with the gravity method (just set a bunch of heavy things on it). The bottom of the panel (exposed to exterior) was then fiberglassed in 7oz cloth and painted with some rustoleum epoxy paint for uv protection of the epoxy. i wrapped the fiberglass up the sides of the panel so the foam core would be watertight but stopped at the top (interior floor). The top got a coat of stain and then a few coats of automotive 2k clear coat for a very durable high gloss look.

Fiberglassing panel:


Clear coated floor:

[JasenC]

The floor came out awesome, looks like a bar top.