Homemade Overland Truck Camper Build | Start to Finish | Full DIY Construction

hi guys I'm Matt from the traveling together journal and this is my new Overland camping setup I built this custom hard sided popup camper on my four-wheel drive Toyota T100 complete with a solar system a water system an awning lots of storage a composting toilet and a queen-size bed this plan started off as fireside chat then became sketches that kept getting reworked and then eventually drawn in a 3D program called Tinker cat the end goal is a vehicle that performs on and off-road at least as well as our last build but will be much easier and more comfortable to use in hot cold windy rainy or populated areas thanks to the insulation accessible storage an indoor kitchen and toilet all things that we lacked in our last build we've removed the stock truck bed and rear bumper so that we can build a camper from the frame up so used our cheap Harbor Freight chop saw and cut all the steel to to the lengths that we need it to be and we're going to start with just getting some TS to hold our pieces together and then we'll move the tacked together frame around in order to get the easiest possible weld angles on each piece and we'll be welding all the way around each seam all right we got the center ladder all welded up now I need to make the mounts I got all my pieces of 3/16 in by 2 in flat bar cut to make the forward Mount and I'm going to go over to the truck and clamp everything in place and Tack it together then pull it back off the truck to fully weld the inside of everything so we got our pieces cut for the center mounts and just like the front mounts we are now going to tack them while they are in place on the truck and then we'll remove them fully weld them on the bench and then bring them back over here to put in place again AF mounts welded up and ready to be put in place tacked onto the subframe now we're putting together the sections they're going to go on the outside of the frame rail and sort of frame out where the wheel well will be I used some creative clamping and regularly checked the level to make sure I was getting these sections put on straight all right use the angle grinder to round off the corners on the back of the subframe here and then I've got these uh 1in flat bar pieces that all weld into place and bend around so that the corners on the subframe will match the 1in radius that I plan on putting on the camper all right so we got all the work done that we're going to get done with the subframe bolted in place so we're going to be taking it off the truck and maneuvering it around so that I can get some more welds on there well I finished grinding down all the welds on top of the subframe so I'll have a nice smooth surface to adhere the camper to so we've got our pedit rust lock 6980 we're just going to be putting that on with a 2-in chip brush and there you have it our steel subframe is primed and ready to go now we just need to build a camper the first thing we're going to be working on though is the mounts so I've welded these tabs in place on the subframe the sheet of plywood will go over the top of that and then we're going to be using these te- nuts as Fasteners they're going to be inside of the floor so they'll be sticking down through the plywood and I'm just always a little bit worried about the wood fatiguing over time with the stress so we've got 10 of these throughout the subframe and then I'm also going to be using these large Fender washers to help displace the load a little bit [Applause] more with the t-nut mounts all drilled in and dry fit we're now going to change gears a little bit and work on the internal framing each piece of so the frame is attached to the plywood with exterior grayed wood glue and counter sunk deck screws the frame members are attached to each other with wood glue and pocket screws so it was basically glue screw and repeat and the frame came together really nicely now I'm ready to turn my attention back to the mounts with the hardware removed I saturated the wood in epoxy resin and laid a piece of 6 oz fiberglass around the hole then the hardware was installed with the screws and the bolt is tightened into the t-nut from underneath to compress the hardware into the wood then came another coat of epoxy and fiberglass to seal everything up this was repeated 10 times one Mount at a time to ensure that all the mounts stayed aligned with the tabs on the subframe with that done I was ready for the top sheet of plywood this is the same 1532 in five ply underlayment that I used for the bottom sheet sheet it is attached using lots of wood glue and clamped in place while I fastened it to the frame with counter sunk deck SCS the center part of the floor is now ready to be filled with foam if we look back at the internal frame you can see how it separates the space between the plywood skins into eight separate voids I tilted the floor up on its side and filled the four passenger side voids then flipped it over and filled the four driver side voids the PO foam fo is a two-part polyurethane foam I measured out each part in separate measuring cups then poured them into a disposable cup for mixing the pore foam is still a new material for me to be working with and dividing the space I was filling into eight separate sections made me feel a lot more confident that I was completely filling each void and now we are ready to skin the outboard sections of the floor using the same 15 302s in plywood that I used used for the center portion to get a stronger joint between the center and outboard sections I used a router to create a 2-in wide lap joint in the plywood before attaching it with wood glue and counter sunk duck screws with the last of the plywood attached and the floor back up on its side I finished filling each of the voids with foam after trimming the excess foam and getting the floor bolted back onto the subframe I used a flush trim bit on the router to trim the floor down to the exact size and shape of the subframe now it's time to prep the floor for fiberglass by sanding it down nice and smooth and filling in any holes or cracks with epoxy and rounding off the edges with a 1/ 18 in router bit so that the fiberglass cloth can wrap around the edges epoxy and M Glass powder is mixed to create a paste that I use to coat any exposed foam This was later sanded down to create a smooth hard surface to Glass over I pre-measured and cut all of my fiberglass set it aside and coated the top of the floor and the edges in epoxy resin then comes the fiberglass cloth and more resin I use the same process of resin fiberglass and more resin on the outboard sections along with a little extra effort to get the corners to cooperate and I was pretty happy with the results after the res and cured I sanded down the edges and flipped the floor over to Glass the bottom side it was the same process as the top but with the added difficulty of working around the mounts I inserted the mounting bolts covered in masking tape to prevent getting resin into the mounts then carefully filled any Gap around each Mount before moving on to the fiberglass at this point the floor is completely coated with epoxy resin and 6 o fiberglass with two coats on the edges after sanding down the bottom of the floor with 0 grit sandpaper to rough it up a little bit it is ready to be attached to the subframe to prepare the subframe I scrubbed it down with soap and water and roughed it up a little with the scotchbrite pad and wiped it down again to adhere the floor to the subframe I used four tubes of coflex 252 with the floor in place I tightened down the mounting bolts until the SEO Flex was pressed out of the edges of the subframe and used clamps to compress the floor on the outboard edges now it's time to build some walls the external walls consist of 5 mm plywood and a 1x two Douglas fur frame I used pocket screws and exterior grade wood glue to join the pieces of the frame and more wood glue to attach the frame to the plywood when we look back at the frame you can see that this wall will have three voids to fill I used a bunch of scrap material to support the thin plywood so that it wouldn't bow out while the foam expanded and then with the wall in a vertical position I mixed and poured the foam to fill the voids with all the voids filled I trimmed off the excess foam and sanded it down flush then used a router with a 1-in radius bit to round off the corners that will be the front edges of the camper wall next came the fiberglass I used 6 oz cloth an epoxy resin to cover both sides of the panel once the epoxy cured I drilled out pockets in each of the four vertical frame members so that I could screw the wall to the floor once I got it in place with a subframe floor assembly pulled out away from the truck cab for better access and lots of scrap material staged to help me keep the wall vertical I used an epoxy paste and four pocket screws to attach the wall to the floor once the epoxy paste cured I could remove the clamps and glass the seam I started with a chopped glass epoxy mix to fill the joint this will add strength and create a radius that the fiberglass cloth can easily conform to so I'm not trying to shove the cloth into a 90° corner I used two layers of 6 o cloth the first being narrower than the second this lets me cover the edges of the first layer giving me a tapered thickness and fewer exposed edges to sand the outside seam also gets two layers of 6 oun cloth and we've officially attached our first wall the rear walls were built and attached using the same process I used two separate panels for the rear so that a gap could be left for the door [Music] the passenger side wall was also built using the same process it had the added difficulty of accommodating the wheel well but the benefit of having the rear wall to hold it vertical while I did the seam work the seam between the passenger side wall and the rear wall also got the chopped glass paste followed by two layers of 6 o cloth inside and out now we're ready to move on to the internal walls these are constructed of a single layer of 5 mm Plywood And minimal amounts of 1x2 framing with 6 o fiberglass and epoxy on both sides they are attached to the structure with pocket screws and all seams got the same treatment of chopped strand paste and two layers of 6 o cloth on both sides of every seam it was a lot of seamwork but it is what will seal all the wood and Hope hopefully create a strong lasting camper taking a look at the build plan this is where we are currently at all of the panels shown in pink are insulated and the light green is non-insulated inner walls the next thing we need to do is build this dark green panel this will be the countertops and the bottom of the cabover I'm building it out of 38 in plywood its overall length and width are 128 in by 75 in so I had to cut it out in three different sections and join them together to make the joints I routered 316 of an inch off of each of the joining edges to make a 2-in wide lap joint which I glued and clamp together starting with the section that will be our countertops then I glued and screwed on the framing for the cabover and then the forward panel for the cabover which angles in at about 9° on each side tapering the width from 75 in at the back of the cab down to 60 in at the front of the cab once the glue cured I coated the bottom in 6 oz fiberglass and epoxy resin then struggled to get my awkward creation onto the camber with a couple of clamps keeping things aligned I tilted the plywood panel up so that I could coat the top edge of the walls in glue before screwing the panel down down with counter sunk deck screws then I mixed up some epoxy chopped fiberglass and fumed silica to fill in all the joints then finished each one with a layer of 6 oz cloth now we're ready to start on the popup walls I started with the two big panels on either side since they didn't have any windows so they seem the easiest they are constructed using the same process I use for all of the other insulated wall walls each panel is attached to the camper with wood glue and counter sunk duck screws next I built the rear inner pop-up wall I needed to recess the window frame in the wall so the aluminum trim on the window won't get in the way when the popup is going up and down so I routered out lap joints in some 1 by tws and these became part of the frame for the insulated sections on either side of the window the edges of the 5mm plywood were sanded down and the corners of the wall were given a 1-in radius with the router so that I could glass over them easily the panel was put in place with wood glue and counter sunk deck screws then all the joints were done with Cho strand epoxy mix and a layer of 6 o cloth and the counter Toops were also given a layer of 6 o cloth and epoxy at this point now for the cabover walls I needed to make two more walls with Windows in them I followed the same process I used for the rear wall to create a recessed window frame with an insulated section of wall on each side but instead of routering off the corners I used a circular saw to cut an angle on both edges to accommodate the tapered shape of the cab over each of these sections was glued screwed and then glassed in place before moving on to the front wall no windows in this one just a simp panel with Douglas fur frame plywood skin and foam core but I did need to cut the edges to meet the angle of the cab over walls before gluing screwing and glassing it in place with the inner popup walls done I was ready to insulate the cab over floor the poe foam I've been using wouldn't work very well for this wide shallow space between the cab over frame so it was fortunate for me we finally got some XPS products back in stock here in California unfortunately it was only available in a 2in thickness I found a basic Handa cut through it pretty well so I decided to use that to cut the foam down to the thickness I needed using the cab over frame as a guide it took some effort but produced acceptable results I roughed up the factory finish on the other side of each panel with 80 grit sandpaper in hopes of getting a better adhesion then I coated the wood and the foam in epoxy and put them in place with weight on top to make a better Bond next came a sheet of 5 mm plywood I coated the foam and frame in epoxy thickened with fume silica to make it about the consistency of mayonnaise and I painted the bottom of the plywood with unthickened epoxy before putting it in place and applying weight to it I was satisfied with the result and after a bit of sanding I filled the seams with chopped Strand and epoxy paste and applied a layer of 6 o cloth and epoxy finally I added these little sections of 5 mm plywood they are glassed on both sides and glued screwed and glassed in place they will keep the mattress from sliding off the cab over provide some separation between our bed and cooking surface and act as a gusset for the popup wall that completes the cab over and thus the entire permanent structure of the camper looking at my drawing this is where we are at now and the next step is to build the popup walls the light pink areas are insulated wall panels and the red is window frame the insulated wall panels for the popup are built using the same process I used for all of the other insulated walls I've built so far the corners of the rear wall were rounded off with a 1-in radius router bit to match the corners of the lower wall sections and the popup walls going over the cabover were cut along the front and rear edges to accommodate the 9° angle of the cabover to build build the panels for the windows I started by cutting a piece of 5 mm plywood to size and cutting out the hole for the window the windows going in these panels are from an old camper shell so they are designed to mount in a thin wall like this making this part pretty simple but I still needed to add some framing to the panel for rigidity and to mount it to the other parts of the camper I ripped down a Douglas fur 1X two with a 45° angle to fit into the limited space around the window frame and make it easier to glass these were glued and screwed in place and some regular 1 by two was used to finish framing the forward insulated sections of each panel and the forward edges were cut to match the cabover sections then I clamped each section in place and joined them with wood glue and screws because the front panel doesn't meet the other panels at a 90° angle I couldn't just round off the corner with a router bit so it was just roughed out with an angle grinder and flapper disc before assembly after assembly I used a palm sander and sanding block to smooth out the final curve all the screw holes were filled with an epoxy fume silica paste and each seam was coated with epoxy and 6 oz fiberglass now for the roof I built this in three sections each one with a Douglas fur frame 5mm plywood skins and filled with polyurethane por foam then each section was put in place and attached with wood glue and pocket screws once that dried I rounded off the top edge with a 1in radius router bit then I glass the roof and over the seams onto the popup walls with epoxy resin and 6 oz fiberglass cloth to gain access to all of the inner seams between the walls and ceiling I remove the popup from the camper I used a mix of epoxy chopped fiberglass and fume silica to give a radius to the inner seam between the ceiling and walls and then I glassed the ceiling and all of the joints and finally I glass the bottom Edge which is now the top Edge since it's flipped over before shuffling it back up onto the camper to guide the pop up up and down I planned on using five drawer slides mounted between the inner and outer walls the drawer slides aren't quite wide enough to fill the 5/8 in gap between the walls so each one was mounted with a spacer and the form of a 16inch thick aluminum flat bar and attached with Loctite construction adhesive and number 10 pancake head screws to help me lift the popup I installed four gas struts two mounted as far forward as possible without interfering with the queen-size mattress and two at the far rear of the camper the forward ones are rated at 80 lb of lift and the rear ones are 60 I also put a couple of handles on the ceiling that make it easier to control the lifting and lowering of the popup and some draw latches to hold the popup in place when it's down to create a seal between the popup and the camper I added a piece of 1 and 1/2 in wide 11/16 in thick aluminum flat bar to the bottom edge of the popup using Loctite construction adhesive and number six Flathead screws counter sunk into the aluminum once that was completely cured I applied a dsh aped foam rubber seal with an adhesive backing to the top inner part of the aluminum flat bar next came a cap of 1 1/2 in wide 11/16 inch thick aluminum flat bar on top of the inner camper wall to install this I used VHB tape and counter sunk number six Flathead screws I didn't use the construction adhesive here like I did on the popup aluminum edging because it required a fair bit of cleanup once the excessive adhesive was compressed out and I wouldn't have access to the lower outer edge of this aluminum piece the VHB tape is a bit pricier than the cocking but clean and easy to use I can't really film The Seal in action so here is an attempt at illustrating the design there is a 5/8 in gap between the camper wall and the popup wall the aluminum flat bar sticks out a/ in from each wall so the two pieces of aluminum overlap each other with without making contact with the opposing wall and when the popup is fully extended the foam rubber seal is compressed between the two pieces of aluminum now we need to build the doors we need one for this storage space on the passenger side that I'm calling the utility hatch then we need an entry door on the rear and finally the big storage area on the driver side that I'm calling the surfboard hatch we are using the same process to build the doors that we used to build the insulated panels in the camper I started by cutting some 5mm plywood into the shape of the utility hatch door then used exterior grade wood glue and pocket screws to build and attach a frame of 1x two and 1x3 Douglas fur I used the 1x3s running from the hinge Edge to each of the latches to add some extra strength and key spots and so that I would have a large enough area with wood core to mount the latches with a top sheet of plywood glue to the frame I filled the voids with polyurethane por foam then cleaned up the excess por foam and glued in the last piece of frame and the final strip of 5 mm plywood then rent a router with a flush trim bit around the edges so that my door panel has a nice smooth wood Edge all the way around next I cut out the holes for the latches I'm using two compression latches to hold the door closed but the latches were designed to to mount on thin siding used in commercial RV construction so I made my own mounting hardware with some scrap aluminum now it's time to Glass the door it received a layer of 6 oz fiberglass and epoxy resin on all exposed surfaces to mount the utility door I used an aluminum piano hinge cut to length and attached with Loctite construction adhesive and number six Flathead screws then I installed some pieces of half inch aluminum angle these are installed with construction adhesive and number six pan head screws and will provide the compression latches with a needed purchase to pull against and compress the seal moving on to the entry door the build process was very similar except that I'm using a common RV entry door latch so instead of Simply using a 1x3 to mount the latch in I used a few 1 by tws to create the latch mounting area and added this plywood spacer to the side of the door since the latch was designed to be mounted in a thicker door then came the epoxy resin and fiberglass cloth to all exposed surfaces next I cut some pieces of aluminum t- section and drilled some mounting holes with a counter sync bit and mounted them around the edges of the entry door with construction adhesive and number six Flathead screws I set the entry door aside at this point and moved on to the surf hatch door obviously this door is much larger but it is built with a same process as a utility door 5 mm plywood cut to shape and a frame of 1x two and 1x3 Douglas fur join with wood glue and pocket screws then filled with pore foam before receiving the last bits of Framing and a strip of plywood to even everything out I decided to use an aluminum hurricane hinge to mount this door across the top Edge I cut it to a length a/ qu inch longer than the door and notched it on each end to fit with a slight overhang at the front front and rear to avoid water running into the storage space when the door is open then I attach the top side of the hinge to the camper with construction adhesive and number eight pan head screws and dry fit the bottom side of the hinge to the door so that I could test fit the door and make any adjustments needed a little sanding around the corners and it was ready for me to cut out the holes for the latches and coat it in fiberglass and resin before permanently remounting the to the door with construction adhesive and number eight pancake head screws next just like in the utility hatch I installed pieces of half inch aluminum angle around the inside of the storage area with number six pan head screws and adhesive I slid the door back on and everything seemed to test fit nicely at this point I decided this would be a good time to paint the camper before I added any more Hardware to work around I started by mixing a fairing compound of epoxy and in glass bubbles the glass bubbles thicken the epoxy into a paste and make it easier to sand once it's cured I applied it to all the exterior surfaces of the camper using a squeegee trying to smooth out the worst of the imperfections then came two coats of primer and two coats of paint I knew I wasn't going to put in the effort to make a super nice finish when I plan on thrashing this thing through the bushes anyway so I just went with some exterior house paint instead of something nicer and pricier the main point of the paint is really just to protect the epoxy resin from UV damage anyway the bottom of the camper and the floor inside each of the storage hatches got two layers of herculiner bed liner and an extra two coats inside the wheel wells and I added this brown stripe just to break up the tan a bit now back to the doors I wanted to keep the wood finished on the inside of the camper so the inside of the entry door got two coats of Spar urethane with UV inhibitors it won't protect as well as paint but will hopefully hold up well in the interior of the camper the entry door is mounted on an aluminum piano hinge attached with coflex 221 and number six Flathead screws the final piece of the entry door puzzle was a striker plate for the latch bolt to close against I built this out of some scrap 16th inch aluminum flat bar and glassed it in place the surfboard hatch door needs to be supported so it stays up when it's open to do this I mount to two gas struts I started by dry fitting the ball stud brackets with number six pan head screws with the struts mounted in this fashion I tested the door it opened and closed smoothly without being too much to close or causing the door to Spring open when you open the latches so with my mounting location finalized I remounted the ball stud brackets with coflex 221 and number eight pan head screws the compression latches were installed in the surf hatch and utility hatch door doors and an EPDM foam rubber seal with self- adhesive backing was applied to the aluminum trim to create a watertight seal now we're ready for the rear bumper the bumper is made of one and 1/2x 6 in C Channel I used an angle grinder with a cutting wheel to notch out where the mounts will go then welded the mounts onto the c channel going all the way around the seam then I notched out the ends of the c channel I originally cut the c channel 2 in longer than I wanted the bumper to end up being so that I could bend the center section of the c channel around these notched curves on either end once I was satisfied with the shape of The Notches I used a large C clamp to bend the protruding sections of the C Channel and hold it in place while I welded it to the curved notches to get the final bends I used a pipe wrench to apply a little leverage and finished welding the inside seams then I added a well to the outside of each of the seams and smooth it out with an angle grinder next I added some holes to mount the tail lights these aren't the best looking lights but they were cheap and easier to mount than the Sleek recess tail [Music] lights next came a big hole right down the center this is so that I can access the stock underbed spare tire carrier where I plan to continue stowing my spare tire at this point I used a flapper wheel on the angle grinder to knock off the rust and smooth it out with a palm sander before applying a coat of rum rusty metal primer and a top coat of rum stop rust enamel the bumper fit nicely onto the stock mounting points on the truck frame and the access to the spare tire carrier lined up as planned our Leisure or house battery is a 200 amp hour lithium iron phosphate battery from Le time it will be charged by the vehicle alternator and a 400 wat solar array from Scher to accomplish this dual charging design we'll be using a Renegy DC todc battery charger with MPP charge controller this unit will take power from the solar array or the alternator or both to provide the house battery with the best possible charge to use the power stored in the battery will run cable through a fuse block and then out to the various loads including fans lights a fridge and a water pump with this basic plan in mind I got to work mounting the house battery I screwed four footman's Loops into the floor and glassed over the mounting screws with chopped fiberglass and epoxy resin I decided to mount the battery on the floor against the forward wall of the camper to keep the weight of the battery low and forward and also because it will result in the shortest possible cable runs to minimize voltage drop I'll need to run wires from this area up to the solar array on the roof so I drilled a hole through my bed I'd remove the top layer of plywood and some of the foam core from the small section of the bed platform so that I could glass in a piece of PVC conduit then I cut a hole through the roof with a hole saw I attached the panels to the roof with seaflex 252 flexible panels generally aren't as durable as rigid ones but they have the advantage of being much thinner and lighter this 400 WT array from schaer weighs 30 lb less than my previous 300 watt rigid solar array next I installed a plastic through hole fitting in the hole that I had previously cut in the roof and sealed it with clex 252 once the cocking cured I cut off the excess through hole fitting Ren the wires and mounted a cable gland housing over the through hole next I wired the panels together using the included cable and mc4 connectors along with the branch connectors to wire the panels in parallel I mounted the DC todc charger right next to the house battery and continued working out how to run the other cables I cut a hole through the floor and installed another through hole fitting and crimped eye terminals onto some six gauge cable that runs from the starter battery under the truck and up through the through hole fitting into the DC to DC charger in the camper I used a bus bar to connect the Common Ground circuits and installed a fuse block that will feed power out to all of my loads now that I had my layout figured out I pulled everything apart and remounted it with seaflex 221 and all the hardware that penetrates the walls to seal out any moisture next I need to get the power out to where I want to use it starting with the seal I installed a plastic track to run the cables through then I Ren the cable and installed the lights and fans I also drilled holes to run cable into the storage compartments I installed cable glands in these holes with callex 221 sealant the cable can be passed through the gland then the gland fitting is tightened and an inner grommet gets compressed creating a seal around the cable I tidied up the cables with some of the spare plastic track I was using on the ceiling and cut a strip off of an old yoga mat to put under the battery when I reinstalled it all right so I haven't changed anything about the cab so we still have our old storage set up homemade center console and the storage area behind the driver's seat it was a good system it worked well for us but now this is going to be where I put the water tank so I'm going to pull this whole thing out and probably try to reuse some of the framing and stuff from this I cut down the steel frame from our old storage box to build a mount for our new 20-g freshwat tank after a coat of Rustoleum rusty metal primer and stop rust enamel it was ready to be installed the tank Mount is secured in place with three bolts that used to hold the rear seat in place and the bolt that holds the driver's seat belt to the floor of the cab I covered the top of the mount in foam rubber tape to avoid wearing through the tank which test fit nicely but before I put the tank in permanently I have a few more things to do in this corner of the cab I built a wood mount for the water pump that simply wedges into this corner and the pump is screwed down to the wood power for the pump comes from the house battery fuse block inside the camper it runs through the camper floor then through a wire gland in the back of the truck cab where it is hooked up to a switch mounted on the water tank Mount and finally hooked up to the water pump I installed the first couple of fittings on the bottom of the water tank then installed it in the cab of the truck I drilled a hole through the rear bumper and welded a mount on the underside so I could install a hose bib then I cut a hole through the camper floor and sealed it with coflex 221 and a plastic through hole fitting this is to supply water to the sink that I installed in the passenger side cabinet once I cut the holes for the sink and faucet I coated the exposed wood in epoxy resin and installed the faucet with its provided O-rings and the sink with siliconized acrylic latex around its mounting Edge and around the drain fitting the water coming out of the faucet will flow through two filters first a five Micron then a 002 micron filter this process will remove sediment bacteria cyst and viruses making clean drinking water if I had more space I could have just mounted the housings on cheap standard brackets but I don't have the space to access the mounting screws once the filter is under the counter so I made a bracket that I pre-installed on the filter housings then mounted the entire unit to the wall under the counter with clex to 21 and pan head screws these various components of the system are plumbed together with braided PVC hose and Barbed hose fittings we got our sink and faucet installed so you can hear the pump turn on and off as we turn the water on and off from the sink the water would run down through the drain hose and into our 5G gray water tank that way when we're doing the dishes little food scraps and stuff all end up in the tank and then we can shut off the valve and remove the drain hose and then we'd be able to pick up the whole tank and walk it off away from camp and away from any other campers in order to dump it out now I am going to install a toilet specifically the Nature's head composting toilet the package contained the toilet vent hose agitator handle power cord mounting hardware and instructions the first thing I did was attach the agitator handle which only required tightening one bolt then I test fit the toilet I got the toilet into the spot where I intend to mount it and I knew it was going to be tight but I think I'm actually a little too tight so I got a little bit of figuring to do to try to make this all work in the space that I have for it the first modification I made was to shorten the air intake fitting so I trimmed it down with an angle grinder and cleaned it up with a file next I used a bit of Leverage to bend the trap door hand handle a little closer to the toilet bowl I reattached the handle cover with some adhesive the exhaust fitting also needed to be trimmed down but I didn't want to get a bunch of plastic dust into the fan so I disassembled it before trimming it off there still wasn't enough room for the exhaust hose to come straight off the exhaust Port so I trimmed down a 90° PVC fitting that fits snugly onto the exhaust Port the toilet fit and operated correctly at this point so I marked off where I wanted the mounting brackets and secured them to the floor with coflex 221 sealant and the supplied Hardware when the toilet is in place it will be secured to the mounting brackets with one thumb screw on each side I Ren the wire to power the exhaust f it runs off of 12vt DC power and draws about 07 amps an hour I cut the supplied power core down a bit shorter crimped on some ring Terminals and ran the wire underneath the counter to the passenger side fuse block the exhaust hose still needed to exit the camper somewhere so I cut a hole in the floor behind the toilet I installed a through hole fitting in the hole with a generous amount of coflex 221 sealant finally I cut down the vent hose to an appropriate length for my application and attached my pvc elbow to prevent pinching or snagging the power cable I mounted it to the wall with some leftover cable track this also holds it in a convenient spot to grab the cable when plugging it in this is the process I will do to reinstall the toilet each time I empty the solids bin which should be about once every 3 weeks with two of us using it full time it's a bit of a task but not nearly as bad as hiking off and digging a hole every morning and that's not always an option honestly having a toilet would have been so handy during our Central America trip it may be the upgrade that I'm most excited about now I am going to install drawers in the the camper starting with the space at the front of the camper underneath the bed I am using scrap 3/8 in plywood left over from when I built the countertops and cab over I cut the material to size and use exterior grade wood glue and finishing nails to hold the pieces together I use scrap 5mm plywood to make the drawer bottoms and attach them with exterior grayed wood glue and Nails as well the drawers are mounted in the camper with drawer slides through bolted to the drawers and to the camper walls this process was repeated for each of the drawers in this area with adjustments made to the dimensions of each drawer to use the space best without encroaching on the electrical system next I wanted to have a couple of drawers under the sink I ran out of scrap 38 in plywood so I grabbed a dresser I found dumped in a parking lot and reused the sides of the drawers to assemble boxes that fit my space the sides are glued and screwed together and they already have a groove cut into them that fit the 5mm plywood I was using as my drawer bottoms so I just cut out the drawer bottom and glued it in place I screwed the drawer slides onto the sides of the drawer and thre bolted the drawer slides into the camper walls to hold the drawers closed while driving I modified some bolt latches and patches to fit in my tight space when everything seemed to be working properly I removed the drawers and coated them in a combination of leftover paint and polyurethane then I reassembled everything with coflex 221 cocking anywhere the hardware entered wood with the drawers finished up I turned my attention to the stove our two burer propane stove is a bit tired looking but the burners are still working well so I cleaned it up and replace the Rusted apart hinges with some random Hardware that I had kicking around the shop I didn't want to have to set the stove up or store it away somewhere every time we broke Camp so I dismantled the stove and used some scrap aluminum to add tabs off either side of the stove I then drilled a couple of holes through the driver side countertop and used epoxy resin and fiberglass to seal the wood and to install te- nuts in each hole I got a silicone mat to go underneath the stove to protect the countertop from wear or heat the stove can now be secured to the countertop with a couple of thumb screws and it can be easily removed if I want to cook outside or clean around the stove at this point I finally got around to coating the interior with polyurethane to provide some UV protection for the epoxy resin I also made a little rack behind the stove for our 1B Pro Bane bottles out of some scrap Plywood And 1 by two Lumber glued and screwed together these little eye screws with some bungee cord run through them hold the bottles in place and the rack is screwed to the wall with a little bit of soflex 221 around the screw holes I'm going to build an adjustable removable surfboard rack in the driver side storage compartment I started by building the mount that the rack arms will attach to I am using a piece of aluminum Extrusion that was previously an ARB awning Mount I cut the material to length cleaned up the ends drilled out mounting holes and cut holes for the mounting hardware to recess into then I dry fit the mounts in the camper before attaching them with soflex 221 and through bolting them to the camper wall next I use some bits of thin steel tubing and steel plate to build the rack arms the tubing was cut to length and cleaned up so that I could weld it to the small pieces of steel plate that I cut out with an angle grinder each plate was given four mounting holes before getting welded onto the tubing all of the rack arms were coated in rum rusty metal primer and enamel then attached to the aluminum mount with four bolts each the aluminum Extrusion holds the bolt heads so that they can't spin while allowing them to slide vertically this lets me add remove or adjust the height of the rack arms then tighten the nuts to secure them in place I used simple bungee cords to hold the surfboards onto the rack arms I stripped the plastic off of one hook on each of the bungees and reshaped it to fit snugly around each rack arm then I tacked it in place so that it won't slide or come off the arm each arm is patted with self- adhesive nital foam tape unfortunately the adhesive wasn't working great on the tight radius of the rack arms so I secured it with hook and loop AKA velcro double-sided strap I'm quite happy with my results the rack accommodates surfboards up to 6 and 1/2 ft long I can fit up to three boards with each one having its own rack for easy access or I can remove the fins and adjust the rack arms to accommodate more boards or to accommodate other equipment like snowboards or fishing poles having the Rack in inside the storage compartment allows me to securely Stow my equipment away from the hot sun scraping branches and sticky fingers while not tracking sand or snow into our living space this is definitely an upgrade from our previous setup next up on my to-do list is mounting and wiring a light bar Ox beam sent me this 42in LED light bar they call the 5D Pro I decided to mount it in my front bumper to keep it as discreet as possible so I remove the front bumper and use an angle grinder to cut out a hole in the bumper for the light to shine through I made a couple of Z brackets by welding together some pieces of angle iron these will give me an easy place to secure the adjustable mounting brackets that came with the light bar I test fit the Z brackets with the light bar and the bumper in place and when I was satisfied with the fitment I welded the Z brackets onto the truck frame I cleaned up the welds in the surrounding part of the truck frame and coated it in rusty metal primer and stop rust enamel the bumper and Grill were also painted black before I reassembled my front end my front bumper was already dented scratched and rusting so going into the project I wasn't really worried about making it look perfect the black aluminum frame on the light bar goes nicely with the black bumper and Grill and I'm happy to finally get rid of all that shiny Chrome on my front end wiring the light bar was super easy with the included wiring harness from from Ox beam I mounted the rocker switch in my Dash ran the wires through my firewall to the battery and plugged in the light bar at the other end the most important thing of course is how it performs the stock lights on this 29-year-old truck are pretty dim now this is with the stock brights turned on and now with a light bar we don't like to drive at night but we do occasionally get into Camp later than planned or start driving before the sun rises having this powerful light bar from Ox beam will help keep us safe on those occasions our entry door is pretty high off the ground so I'm going to fabricate an entry step I will swing down from under the camper pivoting on these brackets I'm welding onto the spare tire carrier crossmember I built the swing arms out of 1x 2 in steel tubing I Capa the ends with 1in flat bar and welded on tabs to attach the arms to the pivot Points on the crossmember these shorter sections are also 1X 2 in steel tubing and I capped those ends with onein flat bar as well before grinding down my welds and attaching them to the larger swing arms with modified hinges this should result in a level entry step if all my math is correct the step itself is a piece of 6 in x 1 in C Channel I cut a few holes down the center of the tread and used press sleeves and a hydraulic press to achieve a dimple die effect the idea is that we will be able to wipe our feet off on the step more effectively and have the dirt or sand fall through the holes instead of accumulating on the step I welded the step under the swing arm assembly and then welded these pieces of chain link onto the swing arms and onto the rear bumper mounts the chain links are attachment points for these support lines this is 8 mm double braided diema line I shrink WRA the ends and tied Boling to attach stainless steel carabiners the final piece of the puzzle was a couple of Bolt latches which I welded onto the swing arms the entire assembly got coated in Rustoleum rusty metal primer and a tan spray paint the swing arms are bolted onto the mounting brackets with a nylon washer between the arms and the bracket the daa support lines hold the Step at the desired height and shout out to Mrs Wright my high school geometry teacher because the step ended up nice and level obviously just buying a step stool would have been a lot easier but they don't work on a lot of uneven terrain and we don't camp on a lot of level paved surfaces I think I'll get better with practice but for now it takes me about 40 seconds to deploy or Stow the step it's stable and sticks out far enough behind the rear bumper to feel comfortable getting in and out of the camper so I'm calling it a success now I'm going to modify our ARB awning to fit under the back of the camper this is the ARB 2500 awning which is roughly 8X 8 ft I am modifying it to be 6X 8 ft I remove the canvas from the assembly and cut off the excess material I folded over the raw Edge on itself twice and taped it in place then I proceeded to hand sew the 8T long hem with a slip stitch next I shorten the aluminum Extrusion that mounts the awning onto the camper and holds the awning arms new mounting holes were drilled and the awning arms and endcaps were reinstalled stalled next I shorten the aluminum Extrusion that attaches the canvas to the awning legs I cut a small piece of the excess material to fabricate a bracket that allows the legs to fold into a stacked orientation so that both legs can fold up along the shorten Extrusion I shortened the awning bag and stitched it back together and used seaflex 221 to attach the aluminum mount to the bag then I used 1-in pan head screws and more Flex to attach it to the camper the canvas was reinstalled in the aluminum extrusions and secured with a screw in each Corner the modified awning deploys and stows in the same way as the original it's easy to do with two people but a bit cumbersome on my own I will continue to carry Stakes to guy out the awning as we did in the past but I also added these eyebolts to the rear bumper to use as guy points for when the ground is either too hard or too soft for Stakes well there you have it the complete build process for my new Overland camping rig if you have any questions leave them in the comment section down below and keep an eye out for my next video where I'll answer the questions I get asked the most until next time thanks for watching

Channel: The Traveling Together Journal

Views: 120,497

Keywords: homemade, home made, overland, overlanding, overlander, truckcamper, truck camper, diy, homemade overland truck camper, overlnd truck camper, overland truck camper, overland truckcamper, truck camper build, truckcamper build, homemade camper, 4x4, 4wd, home made camper

Id: VAvus1--lDE

Length: 54min 21sec (3261 seconds)

Published: Sat Feb 24 2024