Very nice, super professional looking. Maybe a short on how you designed the roof. The struts, their placement and ability to support and lifespan. Roofs seem like the hardest part of these builds.
Thx. I ripped all the "studs": 1.5"x1" for the sides, and 1.5"x1.5" for the roof. So the sides are insulated with 1" foam board, and the roof with 1.5". Creating straight studs was the most frustrating part of the build. Dig through lumber piles to find straight 2xs. Then watch the piece you're ripping warp like crazy as it comes off the saw. 1" aluminum square tube would be much easier if you know how to weld it.
Hi there! I'm just starting to build a topper for my F150, and I'm planning to use XPS foam board with carbon fiber for the roof. I noticed that you mentioned having a problem with roof bow, and I would greatly appreciate any advice you can offer: 1. My intention in using XPS foam and carbon fiber is to avoid using an aluminum frame. I have already tested the strength with two layers of carbon fiber and found it to be sufficient. However, I'm unsure if I should add an additional reinforcement beam to prevent bowing. What are your thoughts on this? 2. I've sourced some foamular 600 XPS board, which has a density of 60 psi compared to the standard 15 psi for 1" thickness and 25 psi for 2" thickness. It is also 60% heavier than the 15 psi option and comes at double the price. Do you think it's worth investing in the higher density board? Thank you for your insights!
FWIW, I'm not actually experiencing roof "bow", just waves in the Filon due to thermal expansion. First, I'm not a licensed engineer, so take this all with a grain of salt. But I have built a lot of things with CF... I don't think you'll have much bow with a full carbon fiber over foam roof. Done correctly, it should be super strong and lightweight. If I were doing it I would create an outside wood frame around the foam, to provide an edge for hardpoint mounting and attachment, and then CF over all that. (1.5" foam works pretty well with 1.5" lumber) From a structural standpoint, I believe there's more benefit to thicker foam vs denser foam. Depending on what thickness CF you go with, you might have more shear strength in the CF than the foam anyway. Just make sure you get a good bond between the foam and carbon fiber to avoid delamination.
That is amazing and I love how you made this video, so direct and to the point. What would you estimate was you cost? Only curious because the ones available for purchase seem crazy $$$ My dream would be to build this type of thing using aluminum framing and exterior panels and then carbon fiber interior panels with CC Foam as the insulation. then 1-2 residential solar panels on top.
$8k plus a year of my time (including CAD design time). So with your $20k figure I made about $6.00 an hour :) But the camper I wanted didn't exist, and I'm retired, so I built it. No regrets
Would you be willing to share a bill of materials with links to where you bought all the parts? (It would make it easier for the rest of us who also want to lower our carbon footprint by doing something similar)
Good suggestion. The sheet below lists the major components. Note that I'm not recommending or promoting any of these items, they are just what I happened to use. Lots of other parts not listed, including lumber, foam, etc. Let me know if this works and/or if you need something else: docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1jAc85O-LVSRMvM4bGibV2-yBYA1MEJRw5si_RK1Tw1k/edit?usp=sharing
so now you have a camper on a pickup that can't leave the city limits? did you read about the canadian who tried to drive from winnipeg to chicago and had to leave it somewhere in minnesota and rent a car to get the rest of the way?
FWIW, just took the truck and camper on a 2,000 mile trip from Colorado to Oshkosh and back. Last fall took the truck and four adults (no camper) on a 4,000 mile trip from Colorado to the east coast and back. In February took the truck on a 2,000 mile trip from Colorado to Phoenix and back. Didn't need a tow, and didn't "abandon" the truck on any of those trips. Cross-country charging definitely needs to improve dramatically. In the mean time such trips require some planning and patience. These are early days.
Hint, OP/Believe not every anti-EV story you read. Or any 'news' for that matter; unless you believe that J. Biden got more black votes than Obama, or COVID was just about a disease or---or the last two hundred years of the Press lying to us. Hey, I also own an EV
![DDG & G Herbo - Nosey [Official Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/I9Ra0Zc2NlQ/mqdefault.jpg)
Well done!
Thx!
Best build yet. Congrats sir! Would love to see utilization videos later.
Thx! I'll try to get some out. Have a cross-country trip planned for July (Oshkosh Airventure!)
Dont suppose youd give me these plans?
Very nice, super professional looking.
Maybe a short on how you designed the roof. The struts, their placement and ability to support and lifespan. Roofs seem like the hardest part of these builds.
Thx. I'll think about how to share some of that information, but I'm sure there are a million ways to do it.
Awesome video and camper build! Would love to see a video of you camping in it and how it all worked out real time! Cheers.
Thanks. I'll try to do that. I'm planning a cross-country trip with it in a few weeks.
This woodworker, furniture maker[retired] and an EV owner--applauds your fine build
Thx!
How wonderful it is! The thing I wanted to make.
Very cool project Ken!
Thx!
What did this cost you to build?
Great Build. I assume that the walls were nominal 1x2 which allowed 3/4” hardboard insulation in the walls. How thick was your roof insulation?
Thx. I ripped all the "studs": 1.5"x1" for the sides, and 1.5"x1.5" for the roof. So the sides are insulated with 1" foam board, and the roof with 1.5".
Creating straight studs was the most frustrating part of the build. Dig through lumber piles to find straight 2xs. Then watch the piece you're ripping warp like crazy as it comes off the saw. 1" aluminum square tube would be much easier if you know how to weld it.
looks amazing
Hi there! I'm just starting to build a topper for my F150, and I'm planning to use XPS foam board with carbon fiber for the roof. I noticed that you mentioned having a problem with roof bow, and I would greatly appreciate any advice you can offer:
1. My intention in using XPS foam and carbon fiber is to avoid using an aluminum frame. I have already tested the strength with two layers of carbon fiber and found it to be sufficient. However, I'm unsure if I should add an additional reinforcement beam to prevent bowing. What are your thoughts on this?
2. I've sourced some foamular 600 XPS board, which has a density of 60 psi compared to the standard 15 psi for 1" thickness and 25 psi for 2" thickness. It is also 60% heavier than the 15 psi option and comes at double the price. Do you think it's worth investing in the higher density board?
Thank you for your insights!
FWIW, I'm not actually experiencing roof "bow", just waves in the Filon due to thermal expansion.
First, I'm not a licensed engineer, so take this all with a grain of salt. But I have built a lot of things with CF...
I don't think you'll have much bow with a full carbon fiber over foam roof. Done correctly, it should be super strong and lightweight. If I were doing it I would create an outside wood frame around the foam, to provide an edge for hardpoint mounting and attachment, and then CF over all that. (1.5" foam works pretty well with 1.5" lumber)
From a structural standpoint, I believe there's more benefit to thicker foam vs denser foam. Depending on what thickness CF you go with, you might have more shear strength in the CF than the foam anyway. Just make sure you get a good bond between the foam and carbon fiber to avoid delamination.
Thanks for sharing this! I was a little surprised you used wood and not aluminum to save weight but I guess wood is cheaper/easier/more sustainable?
Yes, wood is all those things, and I have the shop to support wood construction. And I don't know how to weld aluminum!
👍️👍️👍️
Do you have a cad file for this that you would share?
I'm still considering my options, so probably not ready to share the file for free
That is amazing and I love how you made this video, so direct and to the point. What would you estimate was you cost? Only curious because the ones available for purchase seem crazy $$$
My dream would be to build this type of thing using aluminum framing and exterior panels and then carbon fiber interior panels with CC Foam as the insulation. then 1-2 residential solar panels on top.
Just over $8k. If you can weld aluminum, that would probably be an easier way to go.
@@kjhall80550 wow that is amazingly cheap, I see these for $20+K
$8k plus a year of my time (including CAD design time). So with your $20k figure I made about $6.00 an hour :) But the camper I wanted didn't exist, and I'm retired, so I built it. No regrets
Where do you get the canvass topper ..
Thx
I bought the vinyl coated polyester material online from mytarp.com. Then cut and sewed it together as shown in the video.
Thanks for sharing,great head work!!!
Thx!
how much does it weight?
Just over 700 lbs.
Would you be willing to share a bill of materials with links to where you bought all the parts? (It would make it easier for the rest of us who also want to lower our carbon footprint by doing something similar)
I have a spreadsheet with that info but don't know how to include it in a reply (sorry, I'm a youtube noob). Any suggestions?
@kjhall80550 You could copy the cells to a Google Sheet and make access to "view only" available to anyone
Good suggestion. The sheet below lists the major components. Note that I'm not recommending or promoting any of these items, they are just what I happened to use. Lots of other parts not listed, including lumber, foam, etc.
Let me know if this works and/or if you need something else:
docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1jAc85O-LVSRMvM4bGibV2-yBYA1MEJRw5si_RK1Tw1k/edit?usp=sharing
@kjhall80550 This is great! Thank you for sharing the build
ok so he bought an F150 lightening electric pickup. what else to you need to know to skip the video!
so now you have a camper on a pickup that can't leave the city limits? did you read about the canadian who tried to drive from winnipeg to chicago and had to leave it somewhere in minnesota and rent a car to get the rest of the way?
FWIW, just took the truck and camper on a 2,000 mile trip from Colorado to Oshkosh and back. Last fall took the truck and four adults (no camper) on a 4,000 mile trip from Colorado to the east coast and back. In February took the truck on a 2,000 mile trip from Colorado to Phoenix and back. Didn't need a tow, and didn't "abandon" the truck on any of those trips. Cross-country charging definitely needs to improve dramatically. In the mean time such trips require some planning and patience. These are early days.
Hint, OP/Believe not every anti-EV story you read. Or any 'news' for that matter; unless you believe that J. Biden got more black votes than Obama, or COVID was just about a disease or---or the last two hundred years of the Press lying to us. Hey, I also own an EV