ITTOG's Truck Camper Build (was 6' x 12' Trailer Conversion)

[Deleted member 9101]

Hmm... Interesting. I noticed sluggish throttle while I was towing this past weekend. I just attributed it to the fact I was lugging 5,000 lbs behind me.

But, I wonder if it could have been the change in 'driving style'?

Like ITTOG, I have a daily commute of 60 highway / freeway miles and usually put my cruise on to and from work at 65 mph.

The truck "learns" that you don't drive aggressively, so it talyors it's self to a laid back driving style.

You can also clean your MAP sensors. I usually notice a difference after I clean all three of mine.

 

[Todd n Natalie]

The truck "learns" that you don't drive aggressively, so it talyors it's self to a laid back driving style.

You can also clean your MAP sensors. I usually notice a difference after I clean all three of mine.

I'll do that as well. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[ITTOG]

It was a very productive weekend. I completed all of my rework and finished most of the bracing. In fact, what you see on the truck is complete minus a flip up part of the bed and the part that will hang down off of the back that ties the camper into the bed of the truck. When that part is complete the tailgate will be removed as it will be in the way. Right before putting it on the truck I weighed it. It is currently at 314 pounds. I think I will at least be at 500 pounds when done.


I have 1 7/8" of clearance between the top of the cab and the bed platform of the camper. It will raise a little, maybe 1/16", once I put a seal between the truck bed rails and the bottom of the camper. I am also thinking about putting angle iron on the bottom of the camper. I haven't done that because it will add 50 pounds to the camper weight. The angle I plan to use is 3/16". So I am undecided at the moment. It would help me anchor it to the truck though.




The wide part in the center here will be where the door goes. Once I get the bottom part built I will cut the bottom horizontal bar for the door.


My front vertical brace was designed to match the angle of the cab. I think I got pretty close. The angle it creates with the next brace is going to make it hard to put the skin on, given it is a rigid skin. I tried it with cardboard and even that was difficult. The purpose of the angle is to help with wind resistance. An angle like this will push the air out, instead of it meeting a blunt wall.


Determining how to anchor the camper to the truck and prevent having too much weight on the truck bed rails has been difficult. I have thought of numerous different options and not sure what would be best. The most direct option would be to drill holes through the bed rail cap, three each side. However I prefer to not drill holes in the bed rail caps. I have talked to a few people that did that with bed racks for RTT's and the metal started to crack. So right now I am leaning towards using the front bed bolts and the bolt that is for the tailgate straps. Both can be seen in the two pictures below circled in green. In the first picture there is a red dot on the bottom rail of the truck camper. This is the approximate horizontal center of gravity. This is without the rear bottom section of the camper. Therefore the true CG will be further back, which means I want to reduce the weight on the bed rails both in the front and the back.


For the front I plan to put a 18" wide piece of steel plate across the floor of the truck. I plant to use the flat plate to help disperse the weight across the front part of the bed. It will have two braces coming down from the truck camper rails on each side. For the back it will be a single piece of steel flat plate on both sides of the truck camper and tie it into the tailgate strap anchor. I may bolt it to the truck bed where the hole can be seen as well.


EDIT: I will need to take the weight off the back as well so I will have to take that plat to the floor of the bed or maybe the bumper as well.

I would love to get peoples thoughts on the current plan and if you can think of a different, or better option.

 

[ITTOG]

I was able to work on the rear wedge of the camper over the weekend for a few hours. Before starting I wanted to ensure the truck was level so my wedge is straight. The offroad levels on the dash are helpful to get you close. Then I put a level in the bed to fine tune it.


Lots of clamping before welding. It always seems to take twice as long to do a task than it should. I guess if I didn't care if it was square it would be quicker.


My design was to angle up from the end of the bed to the end of the camper. However, as I was mocking it up I decided to increased the length of the floor of the truck/camper by 1'. Thus I will have a 6.5' floor and the angle will go about 17" more horizontally and 20" vertically.

 

[1000arms]

I would love to get peoples thoughts on the current plan and if you can think of a different, or better option.

It was a very productive weekend. I completed all of my rework and finished most of the bracing. In fact, what you see on the truck is complete minus a flip up part of the bed and the part that will hang down off of the back that ties the camper into the bed of the truck. When that part is complete the tailgate will be removed as it will be in the way. Right before putting it on the truck I weighed it. It is currently at 314 pounds. I think I will at least be at 500 pounds when done.


I have 1 7/8" of clearance between the top of the cab and the bed platform of the camper. It will raise a little, maybe 1/16", once I put a seal between the truck bed rails and the bottom of the camper. I am also thinking about putting angle iron on the bottom of the camper. I haven't done that because it will add 50 pounds to the camper weight. The angle I plan to use is 3/16". So I am undecided at the moment. It would help me anchor it to the truck though.


The wide part in the center here will be where the door goes. Once I get the bottom part built I will cut the bottom horizontal bar for the door.


My front vertical brace was designed to match the angle of the cab. I think I got pretty close. The angle it creates with the next brace is going to make it hard to put the skin on, given it is a rigid skin. I tried it with cardboard and even that was difficult. The purpose of the angle is to help with wind resistance. An angle like this will push the air out, instead of it meeting a blunt wall.


Determining how to anchor the camper to the truck and prevent having too much weight on the truck bed rails has been difficult. I have thought of numerous different options and not sure what would be best. The most direct option would be to drill holes through the bed rail cap, three each side. However I prefer to not drill holes in the bed rail caps. I have talked to a few people that did that with bed racks for RTT's and the metal started to crack. So right now I am leaning towards using the front bed bolts and the bolt that is for the tailgate straps. Both can be seen in the two pictures below circled in green. In the first picture there is a red dot on the bottom rail of the truck camper. This is the approximate horizontal center of gravity. This is without the rear bottom section of the camper. Therefore the true CG will be further back, which means I want to reduce the weight on the bed rails both in the front and the back.


For the front I plan to put a 18" wide piece of steel plate across the floor of the truck. I plan to use the flat plate to help disperse the weight across the front part of the bed. It will have two braces coming down from the truck camper rails on each side. For the back it will be a single piece of steel flat plate on both sides of the truck camper and tie it into the tailgate strap anchor. I may bolt it to the truck bed where the hole can be seen as well.


EDIT: I will need to take the weight off the back as well so I will have to take that plat to the floor of the bed or maybe the bumper as well.

I would love to get peoples thoughts on the current plan and if you can think of a different, or better option.

I removed your photos from your post to make it easier to read. The photos are useful and appreciated, but, the text/photo layout was hard to read.

You have done a lot of work/rework, and likely learned a lot in the process.

With your, understandable, concerns regarding the bedrails supporting the weight without cracking/..., I wonder if you might want to extend the frame to the floor and skin the frame to seal it like a slide-in-camper, instead of sealing the frame to the truck-bed?

Or maybe make adjustable footings on the floor, combined with bolting the frame to the bedrails? To spark ideas, you might look at: https://www.mcmaster.com/threaded-feet/

Hopefully other forum members will chime in!

 

[ITTOG]

I removed your photos from your post to make it easier to read. The photos are useful and appreciated, but, the text/photo layout was hard to read.

You have done a lot of work/rework, and likely learned a lot in the process.

With your, understandable, concerns regarding the bedrails supporting the weight without cracking/..., I wonder if you might want to extend the frame to the floor and skin the frame to seal it like a slide-in-camper, instead of sealing the frame to the truck-bed?

Or maybe make adjustable footings on the floor, combined with bolting the frame to the bedrails? To spark ideas, you might look at: https://www.mcmaster.com/threaded-feet/

Hopefully other forum members will chime in!

I think I have the rear support figured out now. The bottom of the wedge extends 4.25" past the bumper and I am planning to create a brace from the hitch to the bottom of the wedge. If I don't like that then I will look at supporting on the bumper. If I do the bumper support option it will have a 1/4" thick piece of rubber on the bumper to prevent direct metal on it.

Thank you very much for the thoughts though.

Sent from my Pixel 3a XL using Tapatalk

 

[1000arms]

I think I have the rear support figured out now. The bottom of the wedge extends 4.25" past the bumper and I am planning to create a brace from the hitch to the bottom of the wedge. If I don't like that then I will look at supporting on the bumper. If I do the bumper support option it will have a 1/4" thick piece of rubber on the bumper to prevent direct metal on it.

Thank you very much for the thoughts though.

Sent from my Pixel 3a XL using Tapatalk

You are welcome!

How are you healing?

 

[ITTOG]

You are welcome!

How are you healing?

Excluding nerve damage, almost 100%. The nerves are about 75%. Doctor expects a full recovery though and said the nerves could take four to six months.

Sent from my Pixel 3a XL using Tapatalk

 

[1000arms]

How are you healing?

Excluding nerve damage, almost 100%. The nerves are about 75%. Doctor expects a full recovery though and said the nerves could take four to six months.

Coming along!

 

[ITTOG]

Before I could create the wedge frame that goes across the back I had to cut the frame piece from the top that is in the doorway. It was a bit heavy but I got my band saw attached and was able to make a square cut using it.


It wasn't long until I had the four angled parts of the wedge cut. I was tired of getting scratches in the paint so I took the time to tape the area. Not too concerned about the scratches but why make it worse when simple measures can protect it.


The outside part of the wedge has been tack welded and here I am working on aligning the center part of the frame to ensure I have a square door.


I bought this tab off of Amazon. I am using it to attach the wedge to the truck.


It will connect to the bolt pictured. It is used to attached the tailgate straps. If you look closely you can barely see the tab peeking through.


A few glamour shots after getting everything tacked in place. I have a lot of welding and grinding to do given the entire wedge is only tack welded and the back part of the frame is tack welded as well. After that is finished I will start placing my weather stripping where the frame sets on the truck bed rails and between the frame and the wedge so I can finalize the fitment/positions of my connection points to the truck.





I took the time to remove the plastic cap off of the bed rail to see what it looks like underneath. I didn't really find any benefit to removing the cap versus leaving it attached. Not to mention it was a pain in the but to remove. So I am leaning towards leaving the caps on. The camper will be attached to the forward bed bolts and using the tailgate support bolts. I will also either use clamps or bolts along the edges for additional support. I am planning at least eight attachment points. This should be more than enough. I will also have weight relief for the bed rails in the front and in the back. With Independence day coming up it is time for a break in the build but I am excited to get it completed. Getting close.

 

[ITTOG]

I saw another build on here that identified the time spent on the project each time there was an update. I liked the idea and thought I would share it as well.
Date: July 11, 2020
Time: 9 hours
Total Time to Date: 74 hours
Rework: 0 hours
Total Rework to Date: 24 hours

Today was a weld (5.5 hours) and grind (3.5 hours) day so nothing fun or new to show. I am getting a lot better at prettier welds, as long as I don't burn through. Fixing holes makes the weld pretty ugly. All the spots/bumps is from grinding nearby. The burning metal hits the frame and sticks. I just leave it because the sand blaster should be able to knock it off. A few examples of good welds, a bad weld, and a grinded down weld.


The good news is I got the camper frame completed except for the flip up bed section. I am waiting for my order of tubing to come in. I completed most of the welding on the wedge but it got up to 95 today and after 9 hours of work I was dehydrated and tired. The being tired was to be expected but I drank about 240 ounces of water (yes I keep track) and 32 ounces of Gatorade throughout the day so I was a bit surprised about being dehydrated. Next weekend I will finish the welding on the wedge, build the flip up bed, and build the door.

Given there aren't many pictures, this is spending to date. Anything listed but without a price has not been purchased, and may not ever be purchased. Just ideas or waiting to be purchased.

 

[jmnielsen]

Interesting build. Any reason why you double up on steel in some areas or have lap joints instead of just using one continuous piece? How do you plan on skinning the area between the vertical support and the angle support near the truck cab?

I've done some truck camper design and run some FEA on the designs and am always curious why people chose to build something the way they did.

 

[ITTOG]

In the beginning I couldn't decide if I wanted one continuous piece for the cab over or not. The thought for two pieces is it would be easier with shorter pieces from a handling perspective and from a welding/heat/warping perspective. I had basically decided one continuous piece but when I cut it I forgot so it is basically an error. It will work fine as is though. In fact, if I would have used one piece I still would have had to double it up some for my flip up bed, in order to anchor it in the flat position.

Yeah that is going to be tough. I used some artists paper (it is a big roll so I cut out an 8' long piece) to build a template this weekend. The problem is it when you put the skin on the angled section some of it has to remain straight for the bottom bar on the camper and when it angles it moves up so you have to add material in the middle. So not sure yet. I am thinking I may fiberglass that section. If not, then I may change it to a straight vertical bar to make it easy. The reason I made it angled was to match the cab and help reduce wind resistance. Once I have the frame finished I may cut some plywood and skin the front and first few feet of the camper with it straight and angled in. Then drive the truck to see if it is noticeable on wind noise and mpg's. So the answer may just rely on testing results. If the difference is negligible then it will be much easier to have it straight up and down. Of course the other complication in this area with it angled is you also have to tie in a small roof portion where it is angled in. So a lot of fab work in this area. The other reason I did it this way is because it is different and that makes it personal. But it may not be worth it in the end.

Thanks for the questions and reviewing the build.

 

[dreadlocks]

holee crap, I just found your build and love it, but very much regret scrolling through it quickly.. I think I passed out somewhere on page #4 and everything been woozy since.. glad ur okay and starting making more progress on the build, I dont think imna ever look at my angle grinder the same ever again..

 

[ITTOG]

Thanks for the sentiment. Hopefully you have recovered and the wooziness is gone. LOL.

At first I wasn't going to post pictures of the accident but thought if I could remind people to be careful it would add value. So you will probably be safer with your grinder in the future now.