How hard could it be? My home built pop-up camper project

otis24

Observer
Now that winter has rolled around I’ve found myself back in the garage working on the camper again. This week I installed a fantastic fan, insulated the roof, did some Inside trim work and started building out convertible beds for my kids. More pictures to follow this weekend

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What made you decide to go with the Fantastic Fan?

I've been looking a those and Maxxair Fans
 

calicamper

Expedition Leader
I feel like there isn’t enough creative self builds these days. So we’ll done!!!
Stick with it and enjoy it?
 
What made you decide to go with the Fantastic Fan?

I've been looking a those and Maxxair Fans

Honestly, I never really considered anything else. I have an uncle with half a dozen Airstream projects (no joke), and he’s put one in all of them. I figured if he likes them that much I should be happy as well.
 
I feel like there isn’t enough creative self builds these days. So we’ll done!!!
Stick with it and enjoy it?

Thanks for the kind words. While I don’t have close to the experience or time in the wild as most folks here, I like building things and this seemed like a fun project. It’s been a learning experience and I’d do some things differently if I did it again, but all in all I’m happy with it.
 

VanIsle_Greg

I think I need a bigger truck!
Looks great! Nice job, and I like the roof design. So much easier to do than a full lift roof, and probably just as effective overall. I like the raw aluminum, reminds me of my camper build!


:)
 
Looks great! Nice job, and I like the roof design. So much easier to do than a full lift roof, and probably just as effective overall. I like the raw aluminum, reminds me of my camper build!


:)

I’ve been watching your build. It’s looking good! You definitely have me beat on interior woodworking and buildout skills. The early frame build photos look eerily similar to mine.

I initially set out to do a regular pop top, but I thought too much about how to do it right. In the interest of getting it done I deferred to the angled roof design. I didn’t see a need for full head room throughout, knowing that I wouldn’t be integrating a kitchenette or toilet that would benefit from extra room up top.
 

otis24

Observer
Honestly, I never really considered anything else. I have an uncle with half a dozen Airstream projects (no joke), and he’s put one in all of them. I figured if he likes them that much I should be happy as well.

Now that you mention it I don't think I've ever heard anything bad about them.
 

VanIsle_Greg

I think I need a bigger truck!
I’ve been watching your build. It’s looking good! You definitely have me beat on interior woodworking and buildout skills. The early frame build photos look eerily similar to mine.

I initially set out to do a regular pop top, but I thought too much about how to do it right. In the interest of getting it done I deferred to the angled roof design. I didn’t see a need for full head room throughout, knowing that I wouldn’t be integrating a kitchenette or toilet that would benefit from extra room up top.

Cool. The woodwork was done by a friend of mine... and yeah the frame is pretty similar, so it must be a good design right? I can't wait to actually start using mine...lots to still do.

Nice work.
 
Made a bit of progress the last few nights.

First, here’s a (crummy) shot of the fantastic fan in place. For better or worse, I installed the old standard vent that this replaced really well. Getting it out wasn’t my favorite project as of late. E20FFE0F-EF02-439E-A882-78B5FF02BC45.jpeg
You can kind of see the foam insulation in the picture. It actually doesn’t look too bad as is. I may put a thin aluminum skin to finish off the underside of the top, or more realistically I’ll probably leave as is for awhile.
 

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