I got an itch that needs scratching, I want to build and overland camper for my Ford F150. I've got a lot of hurdles to overcome though. I only live in the US part time for work, I have a day job which I need the truck for, I have a family, and I don't have hardly any disposable income! Even so, the allure of an overland camper is overwhelming.
With all of the said issues, I do have some things going for me. I'm a carpenter by trade so I know how to build and can "value engineer" what ever build I decide to do. I am often out somewhere digging & collecting minerals so It would save me some money as I would use it instead of staying in motels and it would allow me more time at the dig sites.
This itch happened because for the past 2 days I've had a nasty cold. I melted into my bed and watched a lot of overland camper builds. This was time well spent as I picked up several great tips as well as pitfalls to avoid.
One of the first tips I liked on a buildout was swapping the tailgate portion of the bed liner with stainless steel sheet metal so it could be used as a preparation surface or just a flat work surface. Flat surfaces are talked about often and needed as much as possible according to overlanders.
Another tip, and one I am most likely going to incorporate no matter my build, was to leave about half of one side of the truck bed open. Like this.
This was a great idea for many reasons. It would allow you to sit up on your sleeping bed. You could add in runners(supports) and plywood to make it into a full bed if you want to which is what I am going to do. Having that half space open would allow me to still put large tools in the truck like a table saw. It would also allow the use of a cassette toilet. If you are unfamiliar with it, this is a cassette toilet.
This toilet can be stored under the bed or in another location. They are very compact and convenient, especially late at night, when it's cold or raining.
Next thing is food storage, preparation & cooking. One thing I've learned from my wife is Japanese use these tiny gas powered stoves to cook on.
These are great and I prefer them to the larger, double burner propane stoves. They can be run on butane cans or any size propane can. The propane cans can also be used for space heaters.
Then there's refrigeration. This is a bit of a dilemma for me. I'm usually not more than 1 or 2 days away from any civilization, but with the coming apocalypse that could change. For now I think what will work for me is a small cooler box put in a space that has been outfitted for a future small refrigerator box, essentially a powered cooler. That way if I do want to add refrigeration I can one of these.
Lighting isn't a big deal because everything is LED now, low voltage, low power consumption. However, so as not to put any drain on my battery I'm looking at power stations.
The great thing about the power stations is I don't need to wire up a solar set up. I can simply put a 100w solar panel anywhere and plug it into the power station. If I was planning on building a tiny home then I would have to go the other route of an extra deep cycle battery, converter, solar set up, fusebox, etc. For camping though, these power stations will do the job. They can also be charged via you 12v cigarette lighter or a regular 120v house outlet.
I will however hardwire a few places in the truck, front, back and sides. That way I can plug in the power station to the hardwire and then use any of the outlets.
Shower! This is really important. As I am out digging and playing in the dirt I get really dirty. I can't go 2 days without a shower so having one is pretty important. There are two ways to do this. One, you can get a jerry can with a hand pump and hook a spigot up to it like this.
Or go with a pressurized PVC pipe system. It can be straight or U-shaped with an air spigot on one end and a water spigot on the other. Fill it up with water, close it, pressurize it with an air compressor or eve a bike pump and you've got running water.
Add in a collapsable, plastic sink and you are set.
That takes care of the core necessities inside, but another common need is shade. In one of the buildouts I referenced above and will link the video to below, this guy came up with a great solution for an awning. Run 1.5" tubing with 1.25" tubing inside that will extend out with your canopy. Provides a super sturdy canopy. Or I can just bring along my pop up canopy.
Now on to the frame. There are a couple of issues I have.
- My truck has a short bed which limits my space so every inch has to be thought out.
- I only have 1500 pounds of carrying capacity so I have to build light which means plywood with little to no framing or aluminum. I am leaning towards aluminum because I need to haul lumber, mouldings & sheet goods for work so I need a sturdy roof.
Since this will be my first build I'm not going to go too wild. Just simple, useful and light as can be. I probably won't be able to start until Feb. of 2022. That will give me plenty of time to plan everything out properly and cut it all once. It's going to be a fun project and I'll be sure to post it to HIVE.
If anyone out there has any experience with builds I'd love to hear about them.
Here are some of the videos I found useful and pulled the screenshots from.
Super DIY build with lots of good ideas.
Awesome aluminum pop-up camper build.
The perfectionist build.
That's it for now. Gotta go blow my nose again.