2020 Ram 5500 DIY Composite Panel Camper Build Thread

[RAM5500 CAMPERTHING]

Understood. I wasn’t clear. The higher end fords/rams have a ton more sound deadening in them. Iirc a XL model will be about 1200#s lighter than a lariat trim level.

I was also disappointed in the noise in the f550. But that 10 speed transmission was sooo nice.

Oh I see. Yeah, that makes sense

 

[svinyard]

How has the Airhead worked out? I noticed the chute-flap doesn't fully retract for #2. Do you have to place a "coffee filter" down on there before dropping a deuce? Just wondering what the nuances are. I've got one I'm ordering for our little pickup camper (Scout Kenai). Just want to go in eyes-wide-open lol. Sounds like its not very gross to empty and can still work well for long weekend trips right?

My toilet finally arrived, after an 8 week wait because of the Rona.

I think a sign of getting old is when one gets excited to receive a freaking toilet! Hahaha

I went with the AirHead composting toilet. Many have asked why not the Natures Head. The Airhead is better for a wetbath, much better sealed, has a residential style seat for my large butt, easier to service fan assembly (mounted away from water in said wet bath), and the pee container can be removed without messing with the solids tank. Both are good options, but if you watch any of the 100s of videos on YouTube comparing the 2, all of them give the nod to the AirHead.

 

[RAM5500 CAMPERTHING]

How has the Airhead worked out? I noticed the chute-flap doesn't fully retract for #2. Do you have to place a "coffee filter" down on there before dropping a deuce? Just wondering what the nuances are. I've got one I'm ordering for our little pickup camper (Scout Kenai). Just want to go in eyes-wide-open lol. Sounds like its not very gross to empty and can still work well for long weekend trips right?

It showed up last week after an 8 week wait

Haven’t really installed or used it yet

 

[svinyard]

Gotcha. I saw a video where a guy "tested" his by just mounting it in his bathroom and running the vent/fan hose up to his bathroom ceiling fan lol. Said it was good to test it out first. Fwiw the unit needs to twist a touch to remove the head etc. I'd be interested in how you mounted it so the logistics of removing/dumping it work well.

Beauty of the rig you've built there!!! That's the dream man.

It showed up last week after an 8 week wait

Haven’t really installed or used it yet

 

[svinyard]

Hey another quick newbie question about mounting heavy-ish stuff to the composite walls/ceiling.

1- How is it done? Do you just find some metal backer plate and then bolt through the wall and through the backer plate with some fancy sealant? I watched some of your videos...is there one that shows how you would mount something? Part of me wants to mount some L-Track like the Sprinter vans use...or a shovel mount etc, but I'm not sure how to mod things with the composite without breaking down the wall.

2- What about mounting something small on a wall like a paper towel holder or a 3in ceiling vent? Would I just screw it into the wall with a wood screw? (I'm guessing not...)

Thanks for any advice here.

 

[Todd n Natalie]

Because I’m fancy, I just adjust the idle speed right on the dash with mine. True story

#2020stuff #noyellowcableneeded

When I'm feeling fancy, I can adjust my idle speed with my right foot.

 

[RAM5500 CAMPERTHING]

Hey another quick newbie question about mounting heavy-ish stuff to the composite walls/ceiling.

1- How is it done? Do you just find some metal backer plate and then bolt through the wall and through the backer plate with some fancy sealant? I watched some of your videos...is there one that shows how you would mount something? Part of me wants to mount some L-Track like the Sprinter vans use...or a shovel mount etc, but I'm not sure how to mod things with the composite without breaking down the wall.

2- What about mounting something small on a wall like a paper towel holder or a 3in ceiling vent? Would I just screw it into the wall with a wood screw? (I'm guessing not...)

Thanks for any advice here.

Scroll up ?

 

[svinyard]

Scroll up ?

Thanks

So...glue? TC Korapop adhesive must be some tough stuff. I wonder how that works long term holding some weight without the plywood baseplate. Sounds like you def put some weight on it. Not sure that would work for mounting some L-Track....but maybe it'd be perfect if I used/glued decent length pieces. Interesting. Thanks!

How'd you hold the angle-bracket in place when you were letting it dry? (I've never used the adhesive)

 

[rruff]

So...glue?

Not expert advice, but... the foam under the skins is the weak link, and it probably has ~100 psi strength. The skins and glue are *much* stronger. So if you spread out the forces to where you have ~10 psi or less I think you'll be safe. It's easy to meet that. 1 sq ft is 144 sq in, x 10 = 1,400 lbs. The wood creates a solid base for spreading out the forces, and it's the most weight-efficient material (stiffness/density) for doing this.

 

[svinyard]

Very cool. It makes when you talk about distributing the load via the wood backplate. Sounds like just straight up gluing the bracket to the wall works well for a certain degree of load as well. That's good news. Pretty easy to glue stuff and it sure beats drilling holes into the camper!

 

[RAM5500 CAMPERTHING]

Sounds like just straight up gluing the bracket to the wall works well for a certain degree of load as well. That's good news. Pretty easy to glue stuff and it sure beats drilling holes into the camper!

Thats what i'm thinking. As long as the pieces of angle are big enough and distribute the load well enough, good to go.

I want to avoid plywood at all costs in this entire build.

I want nothing inside this camper that can be effected by moisture/mold that i need to constantly worry about

 

[RAM5500 CAMPERTHING]

The wood creates a solid base for spreading out the forces, and it's the most weight-efficient material (stiffness/density) for doing this.

That's debatable. TC calls for 5/8" plywood as their suggested method for attaching cabinets to their camper bodies. 2 pieces per cabinet (top and side)

5/8 plywood is pretty dang heavy, especially if using decent marine grade, as you should with something like this

This is probably twice, if not more, the weight of aluminum angle pieces.

 

[rruff]

The cabinet itself is usually a stiff piece; I guess the plywood is attached to the wall (rather than just gluing the cabinet to the wall) so the cabinet is removable?

Plywood is ~0.55 g/cm^3 vs 2.8 for aluminum, so aluminum is ~5x the density. Aluminum has ~6x higher modulus (stiffness for same dimensions), but if you are looking at flat backing plates the stiffness increases with thickness to the 3rd power, so a plywood plate with 2x the thickness of the aluminum will exceed it in stiffness and still weigh less than half.

You can certainly use aluminum though if the numbers work out.

 

[Victorian]

That's debatable. TC calls for 5/8" plywood as their suggested method for attaching cabinets to their camper bodies. 2 pieces per cabinet (top and side)

5/8 plywood is pretty dang heavy, especially if using decent marine grade, as you should with something like this

This is probably twice, if not more, the weight of aluminum angle pieces.

We are currently doing testing on foam core/plywood for furniture construction... Weight and material choices are always a big talking point...

 

[skirunman]

Hey another quick newbie question about mounting heavy-ish stuff to the composite walls/ceiling.

1- How is it done? Do you just find some metal backer plate and then bolt through the wall and through the backer plate with some fancy sealant? I watched some of your videos...is there one that shows how you would mount something? Part of me wants to mount some L-Track like the Sprinter vans use...or a shovel mount etc, but I'm not sure how to mod things with the composite without breaking down the wall.

2- What about mounting something small on a wall like a paper towel holder or a 3in ceiling vent? Would I just screw it into the wall with a wood screw? (I'm guessing not...)

Thanks for any advice here.

In talking with Andreas at TC the key is to eliminate point loads. I'm planning to do this for my upcoming build.

1) Something light with small cross section that I may want to remove: a good 3M double-sided tape, like a coat hook or towel rack.
2) Something light not removable, Korapop PU adhesive, maybe with a screw or two to a fix while drying.
3) Something medium to heavy with large cross section, Korapop PU adhesive with spacer to allow for correct amount of glue, use for cabinets.
4) Something medium to heavy with small cross section, should be attached through FRP tubing you design into the wall (see photo), like L-Track for hanging stuff on back wall. If really heavy add steel plates to tap into with bolts and spread weight across multiple tube sections, like for a spare tire.