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You could probably put an access hatch as the ventalation hatch for the inside of the cabin so you can access the garage storage from the inside of the camper easily.
Very interesting build and modifications. With how mechanically savvy you are, might I suggest a 1st gen Cummins manual 4x4 to tow with. You would definitely get 15mpg or better with your camper. My 91 gets 25 mpg unloaded. I think the early Ford IDI diesels got pretty similar mileage to early Dodges though not quiet as good and definitely down on powers vs. the Cummins.
Where did you come to in Rhode Island?! *Update, Saw your video that you're working on the boat remake here in Bristol! :) Some nice areas around. Could think about making a maiden voyage over to block island. Its about 30 miles from Bristol on the water, 12 of those are on open ocean. Nice ride through the bay and under the Newport bridge. Bring a bicycle or moped to get around over there.
100%. RVs, camper trailers and caravans are designed to fall apart. There are a few YT channels that detail how quickly they deteriorate with normal use. Three years, though, is an exceptional effort. I couldn't believe that garbage they had the audacity to call a floor.
Peter, I hope you see this: I've long felt that what's *really* needed isn't yet more campers with sleeping space, since lots of people have van builds, rooftop unfolding tents, or like me, can fold down the back seats of the car to make a bed. What we need is a trailer with all the stuff that won't fit in a car, or most vans: A shower/toilet combo with grey water tank & water heater, a compact washer/dryer combo, and a kitchenette with mini fridge and microwave. The water heater, fridge, and heating element in the dryer can potentially run off propane to reduce electrical load. Somehow despite the obvious value to people who already have sleeping setups in/on their vehicle, nobody makes an amenities trailer like this!
There are custom trailer manufacturers who would be happy to build this for you but of course you need plenty of money as soon as you say the word "custom".
@@pinocleenhave one in my car if I fold the rear seats down. Van builds also have a bed, a little table, and for that you pay a steep penalty in mpg. I don't want to haul around anything I don't use often. If I can detach everything and leave it at home, and drive my high mpg Volt mostly on electric power, and use it as sleeping space when camping (and run everything off the big 16kwh lithium battery) then the trailer can be much smaller/lighter since it doesn't need any indoor space except the shower. The weight savings of leaving out the bed, seating, table area means I can tow it despite my car having a pretty meager tow limit.
You should look into the quarter-turn and half-turn fasteners that race cars use to hold on panels for the wheel fairings and garage access door. They hold panels on at 200+mph so they should be fine at 65.
Dzus Fasteners. They use them on Air Force engine panels for quick access too. I used to work on c-130s and c-141, those fasteners will hold up over four hundred miles an hour. 😊
Why do I feel like this is how NASA would design a tiny home? Just think about it, an access panel that never exceeds wind forces of 65mph that is able to withstand 200+mph winds. Not saying it is bad or anything like that, its just designed to never fail!
He makes it look so easy and inexpensive, while I'm stuck wondering how much it would cost to get half to the specialized tools and rent the work space he used to build it.
Hey, you should look into local maker spaces. If you're an adult, able to drive, and sometimes able pay a small fee you can often join a space with a significant number of tools. The one near me is donation based, free to use, and has hundreds of tools. It recently reached the point it has its own little self serve material store. They also have classes teaching people how to use their tools. Just looking at what it took to make this *most* maker spaces will have all of the things you need. Maybe excluding a few smaller things and in many cases materials.
The first thing you do is try, and along the way you get what you need. Everyone knows that you pick up a tool or two with every project, so you are probably only a dozen projects away from having most every tool you will need for the rest of your life.
The trick is to go one bite at a time, and avoid overly nice $$$ like the plague. Little skills add up, and most name brand tools aren't worth the price for you.
Agreed - you would definitely be one of the fellas who'd be better off buying a pre-built camper. Self-build isn't for everyone, and he never said it was.
Harbor freight is great for tools you plan to use just for a couple builds or to get to know how to use the tool, because they are cheap and may not be the best most of the time they will get the job done for ya
Definitely in the build-not-buy category on these things. I spent a summer building one in college after a disastrous night riding out a west Texas thunderstorm in a one man tent. I built the thing around an old CJ frame my dad had and an old danger ranger camper topper I snagged for $100. I chopped the CJ frame right behind the front leaf spring hanger and added a tongue. Built the frame out if 2x2 and 1x2 square tubing and lined the outside and bottom with 14ga sheet metal. Stuck a window unit in the front and Insulated it with foam boards and canned sprayfoam. Lined the inside with 1/2" outdoor plywood and upholstered the inside of the topper with canvas. Slid in a twin mattress, added a couple extended trailer jacks as stabilizers and called it good. Was it uglier than sin? Yes. Could I drag it damn near anywhere, unhook it from my JK, and have an air conditioned place to sleep ready in under 3 minutes? Also yes.
Airstream trailers are over priced junk, just like 99.9% of every other trailer out there. They too eventually leak, fall apart and need expensive repairs. Those repairs tend to be way more expensive and intrusive then other trailers due to the way they are made.
I'm glad you focused on lightweight. I see people build these things with lots of lumber and drywall and tile and quartz countertops and I think "you're burning so much fuel carrying that stuff around"
I think that everytime I watch a vanlife build where they're putting wood paneling on the walls and ceiling, solid wood cabinets, butcher block countertops. All on top of the weight of the batteries, water tank, a/c in some cases. Kinda doubt a lot of them have any payload left after all that.
The aerodynamic drag is something that a lot of people don't take into account when they buy campers. You can get really small full sized campers that are technically able to be towed by just about anything but above 40 mph or so it's primarily the aerodynamic drag that you're dealing with and that's going to be pretty similar no matter what length a full height camper is.
Might be a good modification to enclose the front storage to make it more aerodynamic while also making it more functional by adding shelves and mounting points for tools. May have to change where the air conditioner goes or come up with a ventilation channel for it
@@answerguru It's in a VERY small minority. There are a handful of manufacturers that build a quality RV. Casita also builds exceptional quality small trailers. And of course when You get into the custom diesel coaches, aka Bluebird, Prevost, Newell, etc with MSRP's well into the six to SEVEN+ figure range, You get what You pay for. The overwhelming majority of RV's are built so shoddily and with such terrible materials, they'd make Mobile Home manufacturers of 40 years ago blush. You're literally better off throwing gasoline on a pile of money and burning it than purchasing 97% of the ones made.
@nickguer2160 I do. If You're handy, build out a box truck or a step van, or even a commercially available enclosed trailer. Any of which are more structurally sound and built with better building practices than any RV, short of the ones with a Seven figure price tag. If You want a turn key SMALL RV, that ARE built well, look at what Casita has to offer. They are very solid and have an excellent resale value..
I would strongly recommend trimming those bolts under the water tank so that they're flush with the nuts, because even on-road you might hit a bump or pothole, if one or both of those catch?.. Best case they bend and spark, worst case they somehow hold and damage the mount.
The correct fix is a carriage head. The way it is might actually be illegal or citationable. The issue is if you run over someone this does *acres* more damage than 'not a 2" spike.' Aside from hitting something that grabs it and rips out the whole tank.
I can't. It's a manufactured approach to video that RUclips has basically forced upon all creators to ensure decent monetization. Same with the stupid clickbait thumbnails and titles. Admittedly, Peter is very good at editing this without compromising the content of his video, but the amount of trash on RUclips because of their policies stings when I see these types of edits. Good content can be introduced without shock value, but try making that fly on RUclips these days - you can't.
@@cudak888 If that destruction had been why I clicked on the video, or the title had been sensational, I definitely wouldn't have posted the above. I appreciated it because I got a little unexpected shock, and he immediately told the whole story of it, instead of burying it later in the video. And I totally respect that.
For the long run I'd definitely recommend covering the underside with something for longevity, like rust preventative coating or something more than just wood stain
When I saw the foam I thought you were going to go the "poor man's fiberglass" route which is foam covered with canvas and wood glue. It's actually a pretty popular building technique with diy campers.
I have owned several RV's and built out a couple van campers and one GMC Suburban Apocalypse Camper that was just unstoppable. I also built a little pull behind like the one you just built and I did it on an old boat trailer. I like boat trailers because of the length. The shorter they are the harder they are to back up. The longer trailer tongue is much better and you get the benefit of more Interior space and front deck space. I had a generator box on mine. I built it out of insulation foam covered in epoxy and fiberglass then faired, sanded and painted. I like that you epoxied the plywood floors. That pressed wood floor was the absolute worst choice. Can't believe the builder actually used it. In mine I used aluminum with a vapor barrier and ply over top of it with Commercial grade, click lock vinyl flooring, it was great and cost me nearly nothing. I think the entire floor cost me about maybe $300., pre Covid of course. I didn't have solar panels, but planned on adding them later. Just a generator and 2 12v Marine batteries and a Marine distribution panel. It didn't have a toilet but a Porta potty. And a shower inside and outside, with a 40 gallon SS water tank under the sink cabinet. The coolest thing though was the little gas fireplace that I built from a Buddy heater. It stayed nice and toasty. Loved that little camper. I used to tow it behind the GMC Apocalypse mobile. Carrying kayaks on top and my Apocalypse Mountain bikes. Now, I'm trying to find an older Toyota Hiace 4x4 Van, for my next camper build, to tow around my little self built sailing Catamaran. There's always something cool to build if you just put your mind to it!
I’m sure he’s aware there are better products, I think half his goal is to be as frugal as possible and use stuff he has lying around, like normal rivets and white vinyl that he has used on other projects.
@@JimYeats Exactly. He gets close many times to saying this without actually saying it "build it as frugal as I can with what I have and still be better than the last guys attempt" His workaround solutions were very clever.
I think your build was intelligently built. The foam, though quick is a great insulator. The aluminum skin offers great protection and should be water tight. My only complaint comes from the wheel wells are half covered. This is a dark secret in campers. 90% of camper manufacturers are SCAMMERS!. The things are built as cheaply and as quickly as possible, to the point that 5 years is how long they will last. Good campers are more expensive and hard to find ... or you build them. Fiberglass campers tend to be some of the best in the industry.
I made a utility trailer with the same kind of aluminum. I dipped each screw threads in silicone and put a dot where I was going to screw. That's a more permanent solution. I also siliconed each lap joint. It's dry to this day. I put it on a harbor freight trailer frame. My wooden break looks the same as you used.
On the bottom of the trailer you should have also sealed it (leave the sides free in places for drying out), and add tar paper as protection against gravel and stones getting kicked up
9:30 lots of AC units are actually designed to have water splashing around in them. They already have condensation that drains during normal use and often they put that drainage in line with the fan to blast it around and help improve the thermal transfer.
Yeah, they're designed to have water in the pan and being splashed by the fan into the heat exchanger. They aren't designed for constant 60mph wind blowing into them.
People take 1 + years to build campers like this, you guys do it in 10 days. I'm amazed at how skillful you guys are at building stuff. Great videos, Thanks!
I am in the middle (actually about 80% complete) of buikding a bicycle camper and it has been a process...about 6 months of design work, and a couple months of building as I am disabled and can only do a couple hours at a time. The entire camper is also built with rigid foam insulation, and while I wanted to do an aluminum frame, it was too costly so I made a wood skeleton. The skeleton doesnt do much but hold the laminations in place for gluing. There is a steel tube frame under the floor with flip down support legs. I think I have nailed the design but only testing will let me find out. I plan to take it on a ferry to a remote island in August or September for 2-4 weeks as a first test. Oh, my bunny will be coming too. The whole camper is tiny...7×3x4. So far around 80lbs "dry". Currently designing an awning made from carbon fiber tube and PVC boars. The camper is shaped like a honey bee abdomen...I would have liked to make it even more aero, but it would have made the build so much more difficult. I think I have come up with a name and logo, too..."Shell-bee", since it is a bit like a turtle shell as well. It will be painted in a tan color with black tiger / bee stripes to help camoflage it so I can more easily stealth camp. I can fit about 300w of solar, already have a 24v battery bank shared with my ebike. Still havent done plumbing or electrical but days away. Made a braking system but havent decided if I want cable, hydro, or some type of electeonic actuator to tie into my bike's braking system. My ebike is only 250w motor currently, so 300w of solar would practically let me ride all day long with my small battery bank (360wh right now but expanding it). I have designed a water filtration system, but not yet fully settled on heating / cooling. Thinking thermoelectric might be an experiment to try in such a small space. This whole build and deaign process has been lots of fun and am learning a lot. I just did "poor man's fiberglass" to finish the outside, but may eventually fiberglass it. I figured I would see how this poor man's fiberglass goes for a year or two, how it is to maintain, and then decide if I should fiberglass it or not. The whole build should come in well under $1000, including solar. But mostly because I have been hoarding bits and bobs since I started the design. If I had to buy everything new, it would be more. Most of the cabinets are also being made from foam board lamination...1×2 lumbar frame, foam board, and laminated in wood veneer. The lamination makes it much more rigid, especially if you do both sides.
Add plastic banding into the foam just gluing it in slits cut into the foam board going one way on each side also using less thick and bubble wrap between foam boards with plumbing Romex also between. Just what's in my head about how my build will go.
Love your videos Peter. I have years of experience living in small spaces. I loved your tiny home that you built but I could tell you wouldn't like it. It takes years to learn what's good and bad. Thank you for sharing your adventures!
Hey Peter, Cool Video. I work at a Civil Aviation Electronics company and if we put antennas on aircraft we always use Sealant, put in a painting pan and painted on the surface with a paint roller. i had a camper recently, the also use something like that, but cheaper. just a 2k sealant. maybe you could use that information. For the rivets also you can use the sealant and just squirt it into the hole😵 before putting a rivot in.
We bought a Prolite light weight camper in February 2020. It has everything we need and no more. We tow it behind an Outback. I was expecting some construction quality issues, but so far about the only thing that has failed has been a propane regulator (twice!). It got us through 2 years of restrictions where campgrounds were open but hotels had serious restrictions. A great investment! -- except it cost significantly more than this mini-camper. (And I won't get into the (now fixed) low clearance issue that broke the holding tank drain while boarding a ferry).
bed liner is your friend, yes it will add weight but applied to the underside it will prevent corrosion and water ingress, you also need an earth strap this will stop your frame from galvanic corrosion
Should have asked around to people who have built campers. One idea I'd like to see implemented is like your awning. Except it stretches to all 3 sides of the camper. Then with snaps you attach canvas to create a tent all around. Doubling the size. you have a canvas with plastic flooring you roll up an place in tubes under the camper. You could get a full size tent that uses a zipper to attach to the trailer.
Beautiful work. I am building an NV200 camper but was planning something similar to this based on a boat trailer. I hope you don't mind, I am possibly going to steal some of your fantastic ideas for my conversion.
Thinking about those access panels, etc, maybe an aviation twist? Use camloc fasteners (like used on engine cowls, et al) to hold the panels on. Then you only need a flathead screwdriver to pop it all apart :D
Mr Peter! You missed brakes in your camper for safety when driving, either mechanical system which is common or combination of electrical & hydraulic system, so when you brake your car the camper also brakes automatically so it won't push your car forward 😂
I live in a 17ft camper full time and can confirm while some things are built poorly alot of the issues you had are from lack of maintenance by the previous owner. But that plywood floor was just a bad choice by the manufacturer. The floor in my camper is built much like a boat and is fiberglass top and bottom filled with foam insulation.
You could put some soft suspension for the camper so when it’s on the ground the wheels hide behind the wall but when you jack it the suspension opens up and drops the wheel down below the wall so you don’t have to cut it
My buddy drug one up. He tore it down to the frame. Rebuilt and painted it and rebuilt the whole top. Funny how he did it with airtools and the missing nitrogen bottle from the airport. He didnt know till I told him we couldnt find the bottle thats missin from the big hangar when we were workin on a plane
If you're going to go for a micro camper, get a properly made commercial one. There is a company in the UK called freedom caravans that make a good few models, but i knew a guy who got a freedom jetstream and the whole thing is essentially a fibreglass shell. After he got it, he gutted the insides and redid all the internals.
In the industry since 2007. RVs took a massive hit due to government tarriffs (good ideas that were poorly executed), COVID shutdowns, and a number of foreign companies buying out American ones. Most RVs, now, are junk. Making your own is the best way to ensure 1. You get what you want 2. The build quality is good. 3. The quality of your materials is top notch. Plus it's fun! Thanks for making this video. Such a great example and build.
You could use those crazy car bonnet clips for the acess hatch, it'd still open the same way unless you put a hinge on there, would just mean that you could gain access without a drill or screwdriver. A really impressive build friendo!
Great job Peter, I know you had a 87% chance of success. As far as the fenders, you didn’t specify if it had trailer brakes. If so be careful on hills/down mountains as no direct air movement from a large fender may overheat them.
You can see the unbraked wheel hub at 2:14. Braked hubs are much bigger to fit the disc or drum assembly inside them. Peter says that the unit weighs less than 1000lbs so no brakes are needed. Regulations vary but unbraked trailers are generally permitted up to about 1500lbs or 2000lbs loaded weight, depending on country and state.
I’ve got an old trailer from the sixties that is like a paper bag in the rain but real plywood and framing materials have kept it pretty solid! Good materials are a game changer!
As someone who's always been interested in micro campers i really appreciate this video showing how cheap theyre made 😂 the only way i think one would be worth it is if you got it super cheap to rip apart and just use the frame like you did.
friendly advice for the vinyl weatherproofing, don't let it get **too** old or it'll be a huge pain to take off. I'd just err on the side of caution and pull it a little early, still good for years though.
Yeah, that gray water tank is going to be problem. I would say there shouldn't be anything hanging below the axle. That gray water tank is only inches above the ground. You're going to hit something with it for sure.
Peter, could u make a inverted wing plane, aka have the plane the right way but have the leading edge be the flaps? and so on i always wondered if it would work but i don't have enough smarts and time
You could tow this thing with a Toyota Sienna mini van no problem. Thank you for actually focusing on keeping weight down, I see so many builds where people aren't mindful of weight and It's always on my mind.
I really like the build. You can probably take out the wheel without cutting the trailer, if you jack it high enough. Also make sure you have at least some tongue weight, once you fill the rear storage space with heavy stuff, such as a paramotor.
You can make the trailer water tight for long time you use skiaflex. I used to work in a rv building plant. And they sealed everything with that stuff and it commercialy aviable
I used to buy and sell campers from an auction when I was young. I always thought "One day I'm going to find a good one and keep it so I can modify it into a tiny home!" Now I own my own house, and I still really like the idea of a custom tiny house. In reality, they suck, but can't help but loving the idea!
i found the best way to make any kind of camper is to use EPS foam to make the shape thern wack fibre glass or PMF over it ,can knock it up in a weekend
Aero surfaces on the bottom might help with efficiency? also protect the flooring from water splashing, abd it seems like a simple thing to do. sone foam underneath, if it gets damaged by road debris, its no big deal.
Peter, I have a suggestion. In order to drive more views on your channel, but with less work for you, create some "clip shows". This involves editing your old footage to package it in ways that are more appealing to your audience. I am thinking of things like "My 5 craziest planes" or "All the ways I could have died" or "My biggest failures", etc. The idea is that these are short interesting videos full of eye candy and cool ideas, just the things that you are best at.
This is inspiring....and you DO make it look so easy. "Oh, I'll just weld it together." When will you ever do a dog video? Do you design and build things for the dog(s) too?
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nice
You could probably put an access hatch as the ventalation hatch for the inside of the cabin so you can access the garage storage from the inside of the camper easily.
Where's that 4th of July video?
I'm waiting for giant firework, I wanna see what you've done this time
Big firework
Very interesting build and modifications. With how mechanically savvy you are, might I suggest a 1st gen Cummins manual 4x4 to tow with. You would definitely get 15mpg or better with your camper. My 91 gets 25 mpg unloaded. I think the early Ford IDI diesels got pretty similar mileage to early Dodges though not quiet as good and definitely down on powers vs. the Cummins.
Where did you come to in Rhode Island?! *Update, Saw your video that you're working on the boat remake here in Bristol! :) Some nice areas around. Could think about making a maiden voyage over to block island. Its about 30 miles from Bristol on the water, 12 of those are on open ocean. Nice ride through the bay and under the Newport bridge. Bring a bicycle or moped to get around over there.
As someone has been in the rv industry for less than a month, I can confirm they are constructed out of cardboard and no 2 pencils.
They're sketchy AF. I drive an 18 wheeler and being around them on the interstate makes me very uncomfortable.
100%. RVs, camper trailers and caravans are designed to fall apart. There are a few YT channels that detail how quickly they deteriorate with normal use. Three years, though, is an exceptional effort. I couldn't believe that garbage they had the audacity to call a floor.
Houseboats are the same crap construction quality, the only thing that elevates them above RV quality is the fiberglass hull.
Even the RVs that cost over $800,000 look like they've been wired by a green apprentice
Caravans are very sketchy as well I’ve only seen 2 caravans that have a box section frame, the rest are all made out of angle iron
1:35 "I dont think I could sell this and feel good about myself" respectable mentality, I wish more sellers thought like that
Those are the people that should be making business
Get out of my head Get out of my head Get out of my head
ugh
Raaaaaaaaaah
I swear I see you in every single comment section like how similar can people's tastes in videos even be!
Peter, I hope you see this: I've long felt that what's *really* needed isn't yet more campers with sleeping space, since lots of people have van builds, rooftop unfolding tents, or like me, can fold down the back seats of the car to make a bed. What we need is a trailer with all the stuff that won't fit in a car, or most vans: A shower/toilet combo with grey water tank & water heater, a compact washer/dryer combo, and a kitchenette with mini fridge and microwave. The water heater, fridge, and heating element in the dryer can potentially run off propane to reduce electrical load. Somehow despite the obvious value to people who already have sleeping setups in/on their vehicle, nobody makes an amenities trailer like this!
A portable W&D is just really heavy/expensive/more prone to breaking than the typically fragile RV appliances.
Hampture God Has Spoken!
There are custom trailer manufacturers who would be happy to build this for you but of course you need plenty of money as soon as you say the word "custom".
Now just add a bed to it?
:p
@@pinocleenhave one in my car if I fold the rear seats down. Van builds also have a bed, a little table, and for that you pay a steep penalty in mpg. I don't want to haul around anything I don't use often. If I can detach everything and leave it at home, and drive my high mpg Volt mostly on electric power, and use it as sleeping space when camping (and run everything off the big 16kwh lithium battery) then the trailer can be much smaller/lighter since it doesn't need any indoor space except the shower. The weight savings of leaving out the bed, seating, table area means I can tow it despite my car having a pretty meager tow limit.
You should look into the quarter-turn and half-turn fasteners that race cars use to hold on panels for the wheel fairings and garage access door. They hold panels on at 200+mph so they should be fine at 65.
Dzus Fasteners. They use them on Air Force engine panels for quick access too. I used to work on c-130s and c-141, those fasteners will hold up over four hundred miles an hour. 😊
Why do I feel like this is how NASA would design a tiny home? Just think about it, an access panel that never exceeds wind forces of 65mph that is able to withstand 200+mph winds. Not saying it is bad or anything like that, its just designed to never fail!
@@williamknox4303Never know might want to sleep in the tiny home in a tornado with 200mph winds ;)
@@TC-yx2ss Fair enough.
@@williamknox4303 Overbuild is best build.
He makes it look so easy and inexpensive, while I'm stuck wondering how much it would cost to get half to the specialized tools and rent the work space he used to build it.
Hey, you should look into local maker spaces.
If you're an adult, able to drive, and sometimes able pay a small fee you can often join a space with a significant number of tools.
The one near me is donation based, free to use, and has hundreds of tools. It recently reached the point it has its own little self serve material store. They also have classes teaching people how to use their tools.
Just looking at what it took to make this *most* maker spaces will have all of the things you need. Maybe excluding a few smaller things and in many cases materials.
The first thing you do is try, and along the way you get what you need. Everyone knows that you pick up a tool or two with every project, so you are probably only a dozen projects away from having most every tool you will need for the rest of your life.
The trick is to go one bite at a time, and avoid overly nice $$$ like the plague. Little skills add up, and most name brand tools aren't worth the price for you.
Agreed - you would definitely be one of the fellas who'd be better off buying a pre-built camper. Self-build isn't for everyone, and he never said it was.
Harbor freight is great for tools you plan to use just for a couple builds or to get to know how to use the tool, because they are cheap and may not be the best most of the time they will get the job done for ya
Definitely in the build-not-buy category on these things. I spent a summer building one in college after a disastrous night riding out a west Texas thunderstorm in a one man tent. I built the thing around an old CJ frame my dad had and an old danger ranger camper topper I snagged for $100.
I chopped the CJ frame right behind the front leaf spring hanger and added a tongue. Built the frame out if 2x2 and 1x2 square tubing and lined the outside and bottom with 14ga sheet metal. Stuck a window unit in the front and Insulated it with foam boards and canned sprayfoam. Lined the inside with 1/2" outdoor plywood and upholstered the inside of the topper with canvas. Slid in a twin mattress, added a couple extended trailer jacks as stabilizers and called it good.
Was it uglier than sin? Yes. Could I drag it damn near anywhere, unhook it from my JK, and have an air conditioned place to sleep ready in under 3 minutes? Also yes.
This is why Airstreams are so expensive and why like 75% of all the ones ever made are still registered. It's ridiculous how well made they are.
Even the older ones still live on the roads
It is actually just bwcause of all that formed aluminum they use...they are worth more in scrap than most campers people buy are worth new.
They were made from recycled aluminium from the IIWW airforce.
They are not well made lol.
Airstream trailers are over priced junk, just like 99.9% of every other trailer out there. They too eventually leak, fall apart and need expensive repairs. Those repairs tend to be way more expensive and intrusive then other trailers due to the way they are made.
I'm glad you focused on lightweight. I see people build these things with lots of lumber and drywall and tile and quartz countertops and I think "you're burning so much fuel carrying that stuff around"
Valid point
It hurts my brain the kind of dumb bullshit they put in pre-made campers now. While still being at their core trash.
I think that everytime I watch a vanlife build where they're putting wood paneling on the walls and ceiling, solid wood cabinets, butcher block countertops. All on top of the weight of the batteries, water tank, a/c in some cases. Kinda doubt a lot of them have any payload left after all that.
@@stacymcmahon453 That's very kind of you, assuming they are complying with max Gross Weight or Max towing weights.
He is an RC aircraft builder and expert.
I can't imagine what they could have done to that little camper in three years to degrade it THAT BAD. 😭
Unsealed OSB is what they did wrong. That stuff is the worst excuse for plywood yet invented.
@@jrrarglblarg9241 yep, there's the point. It's just designed to rot
@@jrrarglblarg9241my 6 x cargo trailer as what looks like OSB but was told it’s suppose to be water proof? Hope so
They didn't do anything it was just it was built extremely poorly with low quality materials
Probably used as a meth lab or somethin
The aerodynamic drag is something that a lot of people don't take into account when they buy campers. You can get really small full sized campers that are technically able to be towed by just about anything but above 40 mph or so it's primarily the aerodynamic drag that you're dealing with and that's going to be pretty similar no matter what length a full height camper is.
We had a folding camper whenI was a kid. It had the (horrible) canvas slide out side beds but oddly, it increased our van’s mpg by about 25%!
Might be a good modification to enclose the front storage to make it more aerodynamic while also making it more functional by adding shelves and mounting points for tools. May have to change where the air conditioner goes or come up with a ventilation channel for it
if you're building them yourself you can account for that, partly
This entire video doesn't just apply to "micro-campers", it applies to ALL RV's.
Not all. I love my 2014 Taxa Cricket. Any thing that old has a few issues, but it’s been rock star overall.
@@answerguru It's in a VERY small minority. There are a handful of manufacturers that build a quality RV. Casita also builds exceptional quality small trailers. And of course when You get into the custom diesel coaches, aka Bluebird, Prevost, Newell, etc with MSRP's well into the six to SEVEN+ figure range, You get what You pay for.
The overwhelming majority of RV's are built so shoddily and with such terrible materials, they'd make Mobile Home manufacturers of 40 years ago blush.
You're literally better off throwing gasoline on a pile of money and burning it than purchasing 97% of the ones made.
All RV's you aren't willing to pay a high to luxury price for. There are some high quality models but they cost a pretty penny.
@nickguer2160 I do.
If You're handy, build out a box truck or a step van, or even a commercially available enclosed trailer.
Any of which are more structurally sound and built with better building practices than any RV, short of the ones with a Seven figure price tag.
If You want a turn key SMALL RV, that ARE built well, look at what Casita has to offer. They are very solid and have an excellent resale value..
I would strongly recommend trimming those bolts under the water tank so that they're flush with the nuts, because even on-road
you might hit a bump or pothole, if one or both of those catch?.. Best case they bend and spark, worst case they somehow hold and damage the mount.
I freaked out when i saw those threads hanging down! 🤣
The correct fix is a carriage head. The way it is might actually be illegal or citationable. The issue is if you run over someone this does *acres* more damage than 'not a 2" spike.' Aside from hitting something that grabs it and rips out the whole tank.
Car seam sealer might be a bit better than just vinyl tape alone and some more rear lighting doesn't hurt.
bro built a boat and still doesn't understand what water can do to equipment
I appreciate the shock of the camper being ripped apart, and then the immediate reveal that it was on purpoose.
I can't. It's a manufactured approach to video that RUclips has basically forced upon all creators to ensure decent monetization. Same with the stupid clickbait thumbnails and titles.
Admittedly, Peter is very good at editing this without compromising the content of his video, but the amount of trash on RUclips because of their policies stings when I see these types of edits. Good content can be introduced without shock value, but try making that fly on RUclips these days - you can't.
@@cudak888 If that destruction had been why I clicked on the video, or the title had been sensational, I definitely wouldn't have posted the above.
I appreciated it because I got a little unexpected shock, and he immediately told the whole story of it, instead of burying it later in the video.
And I totally respect that.
Careful look at the clip showed it couldn’t be an accident, which made me more interested to see what the deal was
For the long run I'd definitely recommend covering the underside with something for longevity, like rust preventative coating or something more than just wood stain
When I saw the foam I thought you were going to go the "poor man's fiberglass" route which is foam covered with canvas and wood glue. It's actually a pretty popular building technique with diy campers.
it was good enough for the Wright Brothers and the Piper Cub, good enough for me.
Water is really good at wicking, you'll probably need to seal even those horizontal seams
I have owned several RV's and built out a couple van campers and one GMC Suburban Apocalypse Camper that was just unstoppable. I also built a little pull behind like the one you just built and I did it on an old boat trailer. I like boat trailers because of the length. The shorter they are the harder they are to back up. The longer trailer tongue is much better and you get the benefit of more Interior space and front deck space. I had a generator box on mine. I built it out of insulation foam covered in epoxy and fiberglass then faired, sanded and painted. I like that you epoxied the plywood floors. That pressed wood floor was the absolute worst choice. Can't believe the builder actually used it. In mine I used aluminum with a vapor barrier and ply over top of it with Commercial grade, click lock vinyl flooring, it was great and cost me nearly nothing. I think the entire floor cost me about maybe $300., pre Covid of course. I didn't have solar panels, but planned on adding them later. Just a generator and 2 12v Marine batteries and a Marine distribution panel. It didn't have a toilet but a Porta potty. And a shower inside and outside, with a 40 gallon SS water tank under the sink cabinet. The coolest thing though was the little gas fireplace that I built from a Buddy heater. It stayed nice and toasty. Loved that little camper. I used to tow it behind the GMC Apocalypse mobile. Carrying kayaks on top and my Apocalypse Mountain bikes.
Now, I'm trying to find an older Toyota Hiace 4x4 Van, for my next camper build, to tow around my little self built sailing Catamaran. There's always something cool to build if you just put your mind to it!
You should have used closed end pop rivets. They're made for applications like roofing and boats where they need to be waterproof.
I’m sure he’s aware there are better products, I think half his goal is to be as frugal as possible and use stuff he has lying around, like normal rivets and white vinyl that he has used on other projects.
@@JimYeats Exactly. He gets close many times to saying this without actually saying it "build it as frugal as I can with what I have and still be better than the last guys attempt" His workaround solutions were very clever.
I think your build was intelligently built. The foam, though quick is a great insulator. The aluminum skin offers great protection and should be water tight. My only complaint comes from the wheel wells are half covered.
This is a dark secret in campers. 90% of camper manufacturers are SCAMMERS!. The things are built as cheaply and as quickly as possible, to the point that 5 years is how long they will last. Good campers are more expensive and hard to find ... or you build them.
Fiberglass campers tend to be some of the best in the industry.
the awning over the AC unit is going to trap hot air exhausted from the unit.
not sure if that's going to be an issue but something to keep in mind.
Maybe a pop up vent in the top of the shroud?
Awesome rebuild. So...please don't forget to take the XPS foam box off the A/C. Put a reminder inside on the control panel.
This is the most Peter Sripol thing ever
I made a utility trailer with the same kind of aluminum. I dipped each screw threads in silicone and put a dot where I was going to screw. That's a more permanent solution. I also siliconed each lap joint. It's dry to this day. I put it on a harbor freight trailer frame. My wooden break looks the same as you used.
On the bottom of the trailer you should have also sealed it (leave the sides free in places for drying out), and add tar paper as protection against gravel and stones getting kicked up
He coated both sides of the exterior grade plywood with epoxy. I'd have used marine grade plywood.
2 heavy@@greggv8
1:38 " I don't think I can consciously sell such a piece of crap to someone and feel good about myself." 2:05 Says the guy with a Yugo in his shop!
9:30 lots of AC units are actually designed to have water splashing around in them. They already have condensation that drains during normal use and often they put that drainage in line with the fan to blast it around and help improve the thermal transfer.
Yeah, they're designed to have water in the pan and being splashed by the fan into the heat exchanger. They aren't designed for constant 60mph wind blowing into them.
People take 1 + years to build campers like this, you guys do it in 10 days.
I'm amazed at how skillful you guys are at building stuff. Great videos, Thanks!
I am in the middle (actually about 80% complete) of buikding a bicycle camper and it has been a process...about 6 months of design work, and a couple months of building as I am disabled and can only do a couple hours at a time. The entire camper is also built with rigid foam insulation, and while I wanted to do an aluminum frame, it was too costly so I made a wood skeleton. The skeleton doesnt do much but hold the laminations in place for gluing. There is a steel tube frame under the floor with flip down support legs. I think I have nailed the design but only testing will let me find out. I plan to take it on a ferry to a remote island in August or September for 2-4 weeks as a first test. Oh, my bunny will be coming too. The whole camper is tiny...7×3x4. So far around 80lbs "dry". Currently designing an awning made from carbon fiber tube and PVC boars. The camper is shaped like a honey bee abdomen...I would have liked to make it even more aero, but it would have made the build so much more difficult. I think I have come up with a name and logo, too..."Shell-bee", since it is a bit like a turtle shell as well. It will be painted in a tan color with black tiger / bee stripes to help camoflage it so I can more easily stealth camp. I can fit about 300w of solar, already have a 24v battery bank shared with my ebike. Still havent done plumbing or electrical but days away. Made a braking system but havent decided if I want cable, hydro, or some type of electeonic actuator to tie into my bike's braking system. My ebike is only 250w motor currently, so 300w of solar would practically let me ride all day long with my small battery bank (360wh right now but expanding it). I have designed a water filtration system, but not yet fully settled on heating / cooling. Thinking thermoelectric might be an experiment to try in such a small space. This whole build and deaign process has been lots of fun and am learning a lot. I just did "poor man's fiberglass" to finish the outside, but may eventually fiberglass it. I figured I would see how this poor man's fiberglass goes for a year or two, how it is to maintain, and then decide if I should fiberglass it or not. The whole build should come in well under $1000, including solar. But mostly because I have been hoarding bits and bobs since I started the design. If I had to buy everything new, it would be more. Most of the cabinets are also being made from foam board lamination...1×2 lumbar frame, foam board, and laminated in wood veneer. The lamination makes it much more rigid, especially if you do both sides.
Add plastic banding into the foam just gluing it in slits cut into the foam board going one way on each side also using less thick and bubble wrap between foam boards with plumbing Romex also between.
Just what's in my head about how my build will go.
Love your videos Peter. I have years of experience living in small spaces. I loved your tiny home that you built but I could tell you wouldn't like it. It takes years to learn what's good and bad. Thank you for sharing your adventures!
I've considering building my own micro-camper so this is kinda fun to watch.
Hey Peter, Cool Video. I work at a Civil Aviation Electronics company and if we put antennas on aircraft we always use Sealant, put in a painting pan and painted on the surface with a paint roller. i had a camper recently, the also use something like that, but cheaper. just a 2k sealant. maybe you could use that information. For the rivets also you can use the sealant and just squirt it into the hole😵 before putting a rivot in.
You made a very nice camper. Just make sure that you can anchor it down should you encounter a violent storm.
I think when your door is effectively invisible and you just have a compartment behind a wall it's called a smuggling compartment not a garage.
This camper is so awesome. New to this channel and so happy it exists, it’s so good! Peter is an incredible engineer.
We bought a Prolite light weight camper in February 2020. It has everything we need and no more. We tow it behind an Outback. I was expecting some construction quality issues, but so far about the only thing that has failed has been a propane regulator (twice!). It got us through 2 years of restrictions where campgrounds were open but hotels had serious restrictions. A great investment! -- except it cost significantly more than this mini-camper. (And I won't get into the (now fixed) low clearance issue that broke the holding tank drain while boarding a ferry).
Well done, and in ten days no less (give or take). Considering I'm just finishing up my build on year three I'd say you did very well.
Been around construction since I was a kid what would help you is pvc caulking cheap flexible and fast water sealer
My dude could casually open a business in boats, planes, or houses its crazy
bed liner is your friend, yes it will add weight but applied to the underside it will prevent corrosion and water ingress, you also need an earth strap this will stop your frame from galvanic corrosion
It looks like Toby is right at home in the tiny camper. This one looks great.but boy oh boy the 6k spent originally was about 5,5k too much.
Should have asked around to people who have built campers. One idea I'd like to see implemented is like your awning. Except it stretches to all 3 sides of the camper. Then with snaps you attach canvas to create a tent all around. Doubling the size. you have a canvas with plastic flooring you roll up an place in tubes under the camper. You could get a full size tent that uses a zipper to attach to the trailer.
Beautiful work. I am building an NV200 camper but was planning something similar to this based on a boat trailer. I hope you don't mind, I am possibly going to steal some of your fantastic ideas for my conversion.
Thinking about those access panels, etc, maybe an aviation twist? Use camloc fasteners (like used on engine cowls, et al) to hold the panels on. Then you only need a flathead screwdriver to pop it all apart :D
Praise Dezus! they also make little eared ones for tool free opening.
Mine have finger nuts, don't know what they called, but you don't need a screwdriver. I'm surprised he didn't use something like that.
Mr Peter! You missed brakes in your camper for safety when driving, either mechanical system which is common or combination of electrical & hydraulic system, so when you brake your car the camper also brakes automatically so it won't push your car forward 😂
That thing is AMAZING!!!! GREAT WORK!!!!!
You need bigger tail/Stop lamps and put them up higher. Or maybe just add them to what you have midway up.
Needs more lights and dot reflector tape 😊
That thing is sweet! Mad respect for the engineering you put into this. One of your coolest projects yet.
Wiw, definitely one of the cleanest (from close up) builds ive seen on RUclips in a while. Keep up the Great work.
I live in a 17ft camper full time and can confirm while some things are built poorly alot of the issues you had are from lack of maintenance by the previous owner. But that plywood floor was just a bad choice by the manufacturer. The floor in my camper is built much like a boat and is fiberglass top and bottom filled with foam insulation.
Please be careful about how you load that camper, Peter. There is huge potential to get tail heavy. Nice build.
You could put some soft suspension for the camper so when it’s on the ground the wheels hide behind the wall but when you jack it the suspension opens up and drops the wheel down below the wall so you don’t have to cut it
My buddy drug one up. He tore it down to the frame. Rebuilt and painted it and rebuilt the whole top. Funny how he did it with airtools and the missing nitrogen bottle from the airport. He didnt know till I told him we couldnt find the bottle thats missin from the big hangar when we were workin on a plane
If you're going to go for a micro camper, get a properly made commercial one. There is a company in the UK called freedom caravans that make a good few models, but i knew a guy who got a freedom jetstream and the whole thing is essentially a fibreglass shell. After he got it, he gutted the insides and redid all the internals.
Lol you bought a really expensive small trailer frame 😂
and then he cut the tounge off, might as well have just bought an axle and some steel and welded up a custom frame
In the industry since 2007. RVs took a massive hit due to government tarriffs (good ideas that were poorly executed), COVID shutdowns, and a number of foreign companies buying out American ones. Most RVs, now, are junk. Making your own is the best way to ensure 1. You get what you want 2. The build quality is good. 3. The quality of your materials is top notch. Plus it's fun! Thanks for making this video. Such a great example and build.
Its a good day when you see destruction in the first frame of a peter video
For your hatch with a screw, you could use Velcro around the perimeter of the hatch. And then a small door latch on top and bottom to lock it in place
Buy: motor boats with 10 engines
Cry: Micro Camper
You could use those crazy car bonnet clips for the acess hatch, it'd still open the same way unless you put a hinge on there, would just mean that you could gain access without a drill or screwdriver. A really impressive build friendo!
He really bought an axle for 6k...
At 14:50 Add a fire extinguisher in there kinda like the school buses!
They have U shaped Air conditioners that have no air pass thru between inside and outside.
You still don't want Ram Air water blasting into the works.
It might’ve been a big investment, but just look how happy all those all those dogs are. 10/10 den
Great job Peter, I know you had a 87% chance of success. As far as the fenders, you didn’t specify if it had trailer brakes. If so be careful on hills/down mountains as no direct air movement from a large fender may overheat them.
You can see the unbraked wheel hub at 2:14. Braked hubs are much bigger to fit the disc or drum assembly inside them. Peter says that the unit weighs less than 1000lbs so no brakes are needed. Regulations vary but unbraked trailers are generally permitted up to about 1500lbs or 2000lbs loaded weight, depending on country and state.
True, I didn’t look that closely just watched while I was putting my kid down for bed.
I’ve got an old trailer from the sixties that is like a paper bag in the rain but real plywood and framing materials have kept it pretty solid! Good materials are a game changer!
Well this is not that bad of a very tiny house
that is really awesome. i need to build something similar. my father-in-law gave me the frame to his old pop-up camper. so, demo is already done.
Nice demolition
As someone who's always been interested in micro campers i really appreciate this video showing how cheap theyre made 😂 the only way i think one would be worth it is if you got it super cheap to rip apart and just use the frame like you did.
At this point he just needed to buy a small trailer.....
friendly advice for the vinyl weatherproofing, don't let it get **too** old or it'll be a huge pain to take off. I'd just err on the side of caution and pull it a little early, still good for years though.
iv got a pile of crap lying around wanna give me 6k for it
Yep. You could have bought a 8x10 trailer for $1500 and found the doors and windows on market place. Great video as always!
For a camper that looks like it was used for questionable purposes, you did a good job fixing it. 8/10
2:06 as someone from ex-yugoslavia RESPECT for the YUGO !!!
Yeah, that gray water tank is going to be problem. I would say there shouldn't be anything hanging below the axle. That gray water tank is only inches above the ground. You're going to hit something with it for sure.
This is a beautiful end result. Just cant get over the empty space on top of the awning and how its thirsting for more solar :)
You can hear him chuckling under his breath during the sponsorship section. I love it.
Curious about moisture and rain. Don't you need a vapor barrier? How's it do in a downpour?
I don't know much about campers but you have the correct truck! I love my 4RUNNER!!
I bought a camper in 2019 an this video frighten the hell out of me
lmao the drone tree trimming at 16:13
For the toilet... put water in, use, then flush... The bit of water in first help move everything down. And looking good!
Always be careful with cutting before bending. Coming from that industry I can say that it heavily decreases the strength
Oh cool! This is the camper I saw you buying metal for!
11:53 nicest smile
16:15 trimming the tree
:D
Peter, could u make a inverted wing plane, aka have the plane the right way but have the leading edge be the flaps? and so on i always wondered if it would work but i don't have enough smarts and time
You could tow this thing with a Toyota Sienna mini van no problem. Thank you for actually focusing on keeping weight down, I see so many builds where people aren't mindful of weight and It's always on my mind.
I really like the build. You can probably take out the wheel without cutting the trailer, if you jack it high enough. Also make sure you have at least some tongue weight, once you fill the rear storage space with heavy stuff, such as a paramotor.
I love the vertical stabilizer, 10/10 143% gas efficiency
Build a spring loaded cover for the AC that auto closes with air flow in motion
You can make the trailer water tight for long time you use skiaflex. I used to work in a rv building plant. And they sealed everything with that stuff and it commercialy aviable
I used to buy and sell campers from an auction when I was young. I always thought "One day I'm going to find a good one and keep it so I can modify it into a tiny home!"
Now I own my own house, and I still really like the idea of a custom tiny house.
In reality, they suck, but can't help but loving the idea!
i found the best way to make any kind of camper is to use EPS foam to make the shape thern wack fibre glass or PMF over it ,can knock it up in a weekend
The camper looks great! You should consider spraying the underside with bed liner, and give it some extra protection.
Aero surfaces on the bottom might help with efficiency? also protect the flooring from water splashing, abd it seems like a simple thing to do. sone foam underneath, if it gets damaged by road debris, its no big deal.
Peter, I have a suggestion. In order to drive more views on your channel, but with less work for you, create some "clip shows". This involves editing your old footage to package it in ways that are more appealing to your audience. I am thinking of things like "My 5 craziest planes" or "All the ways I could have died" or "My biggest failures", etc. The idea is that these are short interesting videos full of eye candy and cool ideas, just the things that you are best at.
This is inspiring....and you DO make it look so easy. "Oh, I'll just weld it together." When will you ever do a dog video? Do you design and build things for the dog(s) too?