FG637 Camper Build

[Pauly1980]

Hi all.
I'm finally starting on building the camper to go on the back of my truck. The truck has been painted and fixed up and is ready to go.

I've managed to work out how to eek a 3.8m long x 2.3m wide x 2.1m high body on the back. I intend to make it out of 50mm coolroom panel with a 0.6mm skin. This weighs approx 409kg, whereas the fibreglass sandwich panel would come in at around 300kg. The biggest difference is the price. The frp panels will cost around $8500AUD and the refrigeration panels will cost around $2200. That extra money will pay for my entire solar system.

So my biggest hurdle at the moment, and the reason I am posting is that I'm having trouble finding doors for 50mm wall panels. Has anyone got any suggestions for doors that are available in Australia, left hand hinge with screen door?


Appreciate any suggestions.

Cheers,
Paul

 

[SkiFreak]

What is the skin of the coolroom panels made of?

If you have any trade related skills, an option might be to make your own door.
A little more complex if you want to include a screen door, but definitely not impossible.

Most people/companies that I know usually aim for a body width of around 2150mm for this kind of vehicle, as that is more suited to many of the Australian tracks.
It's your camper and you will make your own design choices, but you should take that into consideration, if you haven't already.

 

[Pauly1980]

What is the skin of the coolroom panels made of?

If you have any trade related skills, an option might be to make your own door.
A little more complex if you want to include a screen door, but definitely not impossible.

Most people/companies that I know usually aim for a body width of around 2150mm for this kind of vehicle, as that is more suited to many of the Australian tracks.
It's your camper and you will make your own design choices, but you should take that into consideration, if you haven't already.

They are a steel skin panel so should be pretty tough in the scrub.
I am a tradie and it wouldn't be hard for me to manufacture a door but I'd prefer to put my time and effort in elsewhere. I've got a lathe, mill, mig weleder etc at home so there isn't much I can't build. It's more about being as efficient as possible.

I did consider the width for a long time and it came down to a few factors. Firstly the side mirrors extend past that and I haven't had them hit anything substantial yet. Secondly going to 2.m allows me to mount 3 x 540W solar panels on the roof without overhanging. On my month long cave diving expeditions the solar is a real advantage, I will probably be running some pretty sizeable lithium battery banks as well which will allow me to run an A/C on the hot nights. Lastly it's a bit more space, it doesnt sound like a lot but when you calculate it out there is a lot of extra storage volume there.

 

[SkiFreak]

Most commercially available RV type doors are made for "standard" sized panel fitment, so it may be a challenge to find something "off the shelf" for a 50mm panel.
Have you investigated how they make the coolroom doors? You may be able to get something that is close to what you want and then modify it to suit.

 

[Aussie Iron]

2.3metres is certainly wide and it is often I am threading my mirrors between the trees as tracks are too closed in. When we initially had a 2.3m camper on we broke windows, thus we now have camp boxes. Probably you won't travel tracks that we would and all will be good. Enjoy your build.

Dan.

 

[seangrips]

Dan's right in 2.3m is wide, but for the 95% of the time i'm not battling narrow tracks, I'd rather have the width and I'm also not nearly as brave as he is. My trays 3.3m long which I thought was on the money for 60% of wheel base as your rear projection behind the centre of the axle. Check you lengths closely

 

[Pauly1980]

Dan's right in 2.3m is wide, but for the 95% of the time i'm not battling narrow tracks, I'd rather have the width and I'm also not nearly as brave as he is. My trays 3.3m long which I thought was on the money for 60% of wheel base as your rear projection behind the centre of the axle. Check you lengths closely

I've checked carefully with the size. with the 60% overhang from the back axle I'll be just inside that dimension. Won't be much room between the snorkel and the camper body but I'll live with that.
I have done my fair share of tough tracks over the years and I'm not really all that interested in the super tight stuff anymore. I think for now I'll get away with the size.
Thanks for the replies

 

[Peter_n_Margaret]

Another one to suggest that 2.3m is too wide.
I would also suggest you reconsider the panel selection. A steel or aluminium skin will be easily damaged (especially at 2.3m wide ) and when that happens it is not repairable. I am building another OKA camper as we speak and will use fibreglass sandwich from Yandina again, no question. It is just better and the polyurethane foam is superior both thermally and structurally.
Re the weight. Put a price on every kg. $50 per kg saved is not a lot to pay at the end of the day and with the skin, the product will also be far superior. 100kg is a huge penalty. A lot of diesel or water except it is all up high.
I will be making my own door from FRP sandwich. Flyscreen door is still being negotiated, but if it happens it will be a separate door opening inwards not outwards. Simple. May simply add another window somewhere and skip the flyscreen door.
The commercial offerings are junk (IMHO).
ps... use midge screen, not fly screen.
Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 motorhome

 

[Pauly1980]

Another one to suggest that 2.3m is too wide.
I would also suggest you reconsider the panel selection. A steel or aluminium skin will be easily damaged (especially at 2.3m wide ) and when that happens it is not repairable. I am building another OKA camper as we speak and will use fibreglass sandwich from Yandina again, no question. It is just better and the polyurethane foam is superior both thermally and structurally.
Re the weight. Put a price on every kg. $50 per kg saved is not a lot to pay at the end of the day and with the skin, the product will also be far superior. 100kg is a huge penalty. A lot of diesel or water except it is all up high.
I will be making my own door from FRP sandwich. Flyscreen door is still being negotiated, but if it happens it will be a separate door opening inwards not outwards. Simple. May simply add another window somewhere and skip the flyscreen door.
The commercial offerings are junk (IMHO).
ps... use midge screen, not fly screen.
Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 motorhome

Hi Peter,
what company is Yandina, can't find anything on google?

 

[Peter_n_Margaret]

what company is Yandina, can't find anything on google?

Composite Caravans | Queensland | Vanglass (vanglassrv.com.au)
They make a range of high quality fibreglass sandwich panel laid up wet-on-wet up to 2.5m wide and 11m long. They can also CNC cut it if you wish so it goes together like an IKEA flat pack.
Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 motorhome

 

[SkiFreak]

They make a range of high quality fibreglass sandwich panel

Personally, I am not a big fan of polyurethane as a core material for composite panels, as it is not normally considered to be a structural foam.
Wet on wet lay ups are usually heavier too, because the resin to glass ration is often higher.
In my opinion, there are better composite flat panel options out there these days.

 

[Peter_n_Margaret]

Closed cell urethane has about the best insulation (almost double that of EPS) for the same thickness and structurally there is little doubt about its benefits over EPS.
Vanglass do offer a PET foam sandwich for floors because of its higher crush strength. It is a tad heavier than the urethane.
Tell us about others?
In our fist (current) build (18 years ago) I used some sandwich that was not wet-on-wet. It was heavier than the Vanglass material and had a much higher tendency to delaminate. Once bitten,........ There is no question about my choice second time around.
Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 motorhome

 

[SkiFreak]

Tell us about others?

This post is not the place to do that.

 

[Pauly1980]

So I've been busy redesigning and have settled on the final size of 3700 x 2150mm. The torsion free subframe is almost complete now. Weighing in at just over 120kg and $2600 worth of aluminium.
I've decided to manufacture my own FRP/XPS panels due to cost and availablity. Once I shift the chassis out of the way I will be building a large vacuum bagging table to be able to laminate the panels. I have been lucky to find a supplier in Sydney to get all the fibreglass sheet, foam and glue from.

 

[Beardy]

Nice
I will be watching this build with interest. Have you designed your kinetic frame yet?