DIY Spacekap Camper Conversion

[kiar]

First post on expedition portal! Hi everyone

Been a long time coming to get to this point - I would say around 4 years? We’ve gone through the building process of an old G250 van, 1969 Glendale Trailer, and now this 2016 Spacekap Diablo we purchased back in May! Living full-time on the road has been such a dream and goal of ours for years. From mechanical issues with a vintage vehicle, to the never-ending repairs and renovations of a vintage trailer, we decided it’s probably best to get something tough and utilitarian that we don’t have to stress too much about. We’re both 4x4 enthusiasts and love to reach places off the beaten trail and really needed something capable. We came across the idea of a truck camper but were struggling to find something that fit our payload capacity of our f150. Then we discovered the Spacekap Diablo.

Being just over 6.5’, 725lbs, bear-proof, and built to last with the entire structure being fibreglass it was pretty instant how quickly we became inspired and eager to get our hands on a Diablo. We can finally see that goal of living on the road as obtainable. Over the past few months we were able to patch up small dents and cracks, and paint the cap to our liking.

We finally got it mounted on our truck yesterday on top of a platform i made with R15 foam insulation, 2x4s, and 1/2” plywood, so no headspace was sacrificed! We plan on living in this full-time in Canada so making sure everything is insulated is a must (along with a heater of course). The truck is a 2018 F150 5.0 Coyote with firestone airbags and 33” ko2’s.

We have a lot of things planned for this rig and are so excited to finally start our interior build. We’ll keep this thread updated as we go! Feel free to ask us any questions and we’ll get back to you

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[kiar]

Maxxair Fan is in! Time to work on electrical Goal is to get all electrical done this week so by next week insulation is ready to be put in! We’re planning on using rock wool, anyone else use this in their build?

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[ExpoMike]

I did a bunch of research on Rock wool. Some liked it, other found it would have an odor if got wet. Unless packed tightly, it would compress some on vertical walls, after driving for a while. I decided to go with 3M Thinsulate as it didn't seem to have any negatives from what I researched.

Really digging these SpaceKaps as a starting point.

 

[kiar]

I did a bunch of research on Rock wool. Some liked it, other found it would have an odor if got wet. Unless packed tightly, it would compress some on vertical walls, after driving for a while. I decided to go with 3M Thinsulate as it didn't seem to have any negatives from what I researched.

Really digging these SpaceKaps as a starting point.

I’ve heard a lot of good things about thinsulate! Only drawback is that the r-value isn’t the greatest


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[AnthonyMessere]

Looks great! I am currently in the market for a space kap or maranda to camper conversion. Any tips for the roof vent? Did you cut it in yourself or was there already a vent? Cheers

 

[garciaenriquegnz]

Can wait to see more pictures from your build, I have a Spacekap also and I'm waiting to get some time off to start building it.
Keep going !!

 

[kiar]

Looks great! I am currently in the market for a space kap or maranda to camper conversion. Any tips for the roof vent? Did you cut it in yourself or was there already a vent? Cheers

luckily there was already a hole from the previous person that had a standard fan in but i did have to make it slightly bigger with a jigsaw! tips i could give would be to take it slow with fibreglass to make sure it doesn’t crack and mount some wood with glue to the ceiling like i did for the screws to grab onto


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[kiar]

outdoor lights are in and so are the security cameras all around the rig. it’s looking oh so good so far

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[draku]

What brand/model are your security cameras? Love their small profile!

 

[kiar]

wow totally forgot to update this thread! It’s been just over two months living on the road full-time and our rig is still rock solid. We have a lot to do on the interior still but we just wanted to get out here (BC) as soon as we could from Ontario! We were incredibly lucky with the weather when travelling here at the end of october. Here are some photos of the rig attached to this reply. Can’t wait to finish the interior in a couple months and post some more photos once that happens

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[vintageracer]

With all the discussion in other threads concerning weights and overloading.

What's your rig now weigh with the SpaceKap installed and your improvements?

 

[Noahpan]

I'm building my spacekap conversion right now, and I have some concerns about sleeping in the cabover I would do a 4" memory foam mattress, but I'm thinking it might be a little tight.

 

[Noahpan]

I would build a platform out into the main area of the cap to get the length I need for the mattress. What are your plans for sleeping arrangements and interior layout?

 

[kiar]

I would build a platform out into the main area of the cap to get the length I need for the mattress. What are your plans for sleeping arrangements and interior layout?

we were originally going to do the same layout as you’re doing but decided to go in another direction as it is really tight up there and even with insulation the kap tends to have a lot of condensation in the cabover. We decided we’re going to do a slide out couch on the right side of the kap. Right now as our build is incomplete we’ve just been sleeping on a platform that goes across the kap on either side above the bed rails - once we build out our kitchen on the left side though that option is no longer available so we’ll be doing the slide out couch on the opposite side of kitchen. it would be pretty tight when the bed is extended but we’re short so we’ll manage and sleep vertically instead of horizontal


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[Noahpan]

we were originally going to do the same layout as you’re doing but decided to go in another direction as it is really tight up there and even with insulation the kap tends to have a lot of condensation in the cabover. We decided we’re going to do a slide out couch on the right side of the kap. Right now as our build is incomplete we’ve just been sleeping on a platform that goes across the kap on either side above the bed rails - once we build out our kitchen on the left side though that option is no longer available so we’ll be doing the slide out couch on the opposite side of kitchen. it would be pretty tight when the bed is extended but we’re short so we’ll manage and sleep vertically instead of horizontal


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Yeah that was my other plan, and then house all the mechanical stuff in the front of the cab over and build shelves in front of it for storage. I guess that's what I'll have to do, I'm just in the early stages right now. Just sucks because with that layout I'm going to lose the windows in the cabover. However it gives me a lot more room for storage