The Reality of Building a DIY Truck Camper
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 13 มิ.ย. 2024
- In this video I answer some frequently asked questions about my DIY truck camper. I discuss the homemade camper's cost, weight, and fuel economy. Was it worth it for me to build this little home on wheels?
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Common misconceptions about aerodynamics is that the tapered shape should be at the front. If you want to improve mileage it is more effective to put the tapered shape at the rear. The big flat space at the back just creates a low pressure region that holds the truck back. As a guy with an Ambulance.. I have an 8'x10' flat wall at the back of my rig. I am happy to get 11.5 and if it is a 12 mpg tank, I start racking my brain as to what I did differently.
Hi Nate, glad to see your truck worked out. Remember me, the guy in California with the same truck 8 foot bed? I wound up keeping it. we have the best years for chevy trucks! Keep on truckin, stay safe!
Looks like a cool setup! Congrats! I’ve been living in my Truck Topper Camper for about 9 months now. One thing I love about my setup is the pass-thru window. I just slip from the cab straight into the camper area. I wanted a stealth setup, as I often visit family in the city and needed a free place to snooze for the night. 😁 Great videos!
Around here, I drop off used oil, paint, etc, at the local hazardous waste drop off (free). They weigh your vehicle when you go in and leave, I have been doing this for years to get the weight of my vehicles and trailers for free, (I am frugal). Get your base weight with a full tank of fuel, and anytime you want to weigh anything fill your fuel first.
Interesting build, it's good to see videos of what other people come up with. The problems they encounter and how they overcome them. My thinking is maybe a bit different than most in that my first concern is efficiency and fuel costs are major in that calculation. For example, I used to own a 1989 Nissan D21 Hard Body pickup, a 4x4. On the highway it got 25mpg. Off-road it did great even at high altitude. Did so with a shell on it, 25 gallon aux fuel tank and a full bed of gear for a five week trip across the Western US. I've often thought that something like that with the pickup bed removed would be a good platform to build a light weight dedicated camper. That is, cab on chassis approach rather than slide-in. Probably aluminum frame rather than wood or steel. Possibly a Ford Ranger would do well. Right now, it's just thinking and making vague plans.
Well that was pretty thorough. There's a Canadian guy (Slim Potatohead) who used an old snowboard or something like that for a deflector for his fiberglass camper trailer and he noticed a difference - just as you did with the shell on - the wind didn't get caught by the tailgate and make the engine work harder. Nicely done.
For anyone who adds a slide-in camper to their truck - I highly recommend taking the truck to a nearby CAT Scale, once with the cargo bed empty and a second time with the camper installed.
If you have been guessing the weight, you may be surprised - not always in a good way.
For anyone wondering, it costs about $14 each time at a CAT scale. If you go back within the first 24 hours of the initial weighing, it costs less for the subsequent weighing because they're designed for semi-trucks which get weighed frequently.
Naw I don't guess.
It's a known fact that if you add flames to it you WILL be faster.... Great build.
I've been remodeling mobile homes for about 5 years now. Everything from demo to electrical framing and flooring. My best advice I could give you for the camper builds in the back of the trucks is try to make the front a little more aerodynamic maybe try steaming and bending wood and putting very thin plywood or fiberglass and mold the front to say the roof of the truck and your gas mileage will be almost the same as it was stock I'll be keeping an eye out for your next build. 🙏
THANK YOU!!! You very succinctly and intelligently answered every question I had. I have a '97 Chevy K1500 with the shorter 6.5 foot bed and I am wanting to build a camper or something. I don't think I'll live in it but I will be doing extended camping trips. The weight was the biggest hurdle for me with my truck being a half ton. You did an excellent job building that. Only thing I'd of done different is put an angle on the front and used that space for storage. I understand your constraints though. Great job!
Nice to see this follow-up on the build. Looks so nice inside, professional 👌
I remember years ago in the uk my dad used to have a wind deflector for pulling a caravan. It used to clip into the roof rails. Funnily enough I hardly see them these days.
Thanks for sharing . You've done a fine job of building to suit your needs .
Great job! Thanks for sharing.
Hey Nate ..... You did a GREAT job on your DIY camper unit !! 😎👌👍👍
Thank you for the break down! Trying to follow you folks doing this build. Money is a big thing!
I’m using a 2006 single cab Chevy Silverado 1500 with the little 4.3 V6. My camper is a Capri Cowboy, similar in shape to your DIY build. My fuel mileage is 11.5 mpg on the low side to 12.5 mpg on the high side. I had to remove the tail gate, rear bumper, Reese hitch and corner jacks to keep it under the truck rating. Very impressive camper you have built. Like you I have a small ac, MaxxAir fan and a couple 12 volt fridges. All powered by 400 watts solar, 300 amp hour LifePo4 and inverter. I really like the simplicity of your power station too. Great job!
You did great, what a good thing to be handy.
Awesome job sir. Looks really nice. 👍
Stunning man!
it came out great!
Great job 🙏🏻🙌🏻 definitely the way to go…
Wow,you did a nice job!
You go dude.😊
Very cool!
Nate you build a nice little homemade camper just build you a little bit of a wedge and I'm sure of what you said you'll get at least another mile per gallon if that's worth it to you you learned a lot on building this your next build is going to be amazing😊
Great build 👍👍👍👍
what a great video - great content
I knew someone who used a snowboard as a wind deflector,just mounted it at an angle.worked good
Yes, slim potato head (TH-cam channel) did this.
@@Adam-ox6zy yes! That's who it was! Thank you
Great job w/the build! Hope your recent travels have afforded you some surfing opportunities!
Nice looking build Nate. Looks so awesome. 👍🙌 😊 🚐 🌏🧭
Nice build.
Nice! After having seen the build and you in it I think v2 may benefit from a roofline that is pitched lower at the cab side and higher in the back. This gives more headroom in the sitting area and better wind flow when driving. Hope you do a v2 at some point. These builds are fun.
More aerodynamic with the bed topper camper. Totally agree. I know people who drive with their tailgate down to eliminate the wind drag it causes. Going around the cab into the bed and hitting the tailgate, I think creates some kind of "wind-drag" (for lack of a better word).
Lowering the tailgate actually hurts fuel economy. With the tailgate up, you create an "isolated vortex" of swirling air in the bed, and the majority of the air goes over that (think of an invisible camper shell, basically). With the tailgate down, the air goes down after the roof and hits the bed, causing more drag. So yeah, have the tailgate down if you're hauling lumber or whatever, but otherwise it should be up at all times.
I think the only efficient way to make it aerodynamic is to incorporate a counter-levered truck cab hangover with a rounded front edge in the next one you build it would give you a little extra storage as well. These are all good skills, you have the basic knowledge to build a cabin from scratch if you ever purchased some land or you could just build a base for this build to rest on to give you a cabin.
Nice break down on your camper build. I’m getting ready to build a 16x24 shed/shop and my budget I’m shooting for is $5k…now I’m thinking 🤔 I might be spending more.
Hey Nate if you are ever out my way, you know you’re welcome.👍🏻
Very nice
Checkout ENDGAME camper builds for inspiration for the next build.
He helped Nate with this build! Advice anyway
Value for money is unbeatable and the skills to do a good job are invaluable but after three years living in my custom built Promaster ($92,000) I like standing up in my 12 foot home.
Very well done in any event.
Very well done, especially the interior looks like a studio apartment. Yeah, you could possibly gain another 2 miles per gallon making it aerodynamic 'wind deflector'.
Very clear and informative. Thanks! I’ve been wondering about you in the camper in this awful heat we’ve been having in the Bay Area. Is your A/C keeping up with it?
Awesome stuff. My guess for the wind deflector idea is don't overthink it. Should just be a big Styrofoam column cut in half and slapped up there on the front. Then just coat it. Shouldn't take long nor be expensive. See if it makes a solid 1 mpg+ difference or not. Anything fancypantsy would require some Aerodynamics Engineers spending WAYYYY too much time to figure out. lol
Cool build. The problem to me as far as costs are concerned will always be the V8. I live in a short wb high roof Promaster that is fully built out and I get 20mpg. I’ve been very impressed with the pentastar V6. If I was getting 12mpg I wouldn’t travel nearly as much I do and that expense would be discouraging for me. If I want to do limited truck things the odd time I can just hook up a utility trailer. I’d take fuel efficiency over 4x4 any day but I don’t venture into the wilderness often.
Another idea to (maybe) improve aerodynamics is to add a roof-top storage box above the cab section of your truck. You would gain much needed storage space too.
If you ever were really bored...You could go to the local dump weigh the truck with the cap And google the weight of the truck from factory ..dont forget the fuel weight too
roof rac and old skake board deck ,mounted on front of rac
I really like the look of it. How do you get out if the tailgate is up? Also, I'm thinking of doing something similar but with access to the front/cabin, not sure if possible
Looks like a very clean build. Reusing what's on hand, having friends and neighbors donate their unused or lightly used extras. Always good options, saved me lots of money on my last build. My only question, from what I can see on this video. What do you do if someone shuts your tailgate while you're in the camper? I've been in some strange neighborhoods and have friends with twisted sense of humor. So closing the tailgate, trapping the door closed, would be a real possibility. I saw no other opening big enough to get out through so what's your options if this happens?
Seems pretty doable. Currently converting my Hyundai veloster
Use another big solar panel as deflector.
Hey Nate nice job yet I've been watching you for over a year now building stuff as long as the square you were there what is the outside diameter up the DIY truck camper
Nice job on the build Nate…. I have one concern though.. And you may have already thought of this or had someone else bring it up. If you are in your camper sleeping and someone shuts the tailgate, How are you gonna get out?
You can get 3500lbs rated electric camper Jack's for 150 a piece at harbor freight
Has it concerned you at all that someone could close your tailgate and you're trapped in the camper? You could probably punch out through the AC hole, but you'd be pretty exposed.
In a previous video he tested whether he could open the tailgate from inside by reaching through the window on the door….it was possible.
@@botcat Thank you.
Saw another diy video and he made a Dutch door for this situation.
@@jonnytsunami8593 thanks.
Satellite Beach - Indian Harbor
🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥
Wow, You Sure Know Your Stuff, Congratulations. It Looks Great!! Question? Do You Cook In The Truck?? I Just Found Your Channel And I Will Be Back. Thanks From San Diego.🌴
How do you get out if your door gets blocked or someone intentionally blocks it?
And also the aerodynamics, or lack thereof.
When your saving over 2 thousand or more on rent utilities... fuel cost is much easier to sleep on.
Do you sell these units?
I'm not clear but could you run that ac daily without problems catching up to recharge battery?
How much time does it take to recharge your batt after using the ac all day?
Thanks I live in a van since 2016
820lbs in real money is about 372kg.
That’s excellent. You could hang that off a bongo van just about.
In fact I have look after a dude in hospital that was 400kg!!
I am not confident on the waterproof aspect of the build. 60 mph wind driven rain is a tough thing to overcome. I hope for the best however am doubtful.
I've been wanting to mount my max air fan vertically like that, and have been paranoids that its not made to function that way. Do they all work both ways or did you buy one that is specifically for vertical mount?
How do you deal with security with that fan so close to the inside door handle and lock? Seems like someone could break in through that fan fairly easily?
Not much different that a regular camper door or home
Quick question on the door... if someone were to come along and raise your tailgate, would you be locked inside? Maybe a thief as he rummages through the inside cab? Not sure if you can reach out that little window to lower your tailgate.
In a previous video he reached out the window in the camper door and opened the tailgate
Nice build. If you’re living in this camper full time, where do you store your four jacks?
Thanks! They fit snugly in the bed just above the wheel wells
i had to nurse a 2006 2.2 turbo transit home from valencia,spain through france to york uk.French toll roads are probably the best roads i've driven.i kept my speed to 58mph and managed to get 56mpg.if i got the same mpg as your camper i think i'd cry and stop driving 😂
Diesel vs petrol, fuel is far cheaper in the US. Imperial gallon is 20% larger than a US gallon. So not quite as bad.
@@Sonofsun001 diesel costs more on this side of the pond,but but far more economical, my wife changed to a diesel car and saves £140 a month just on the drive to work and back.
@@sean-jorvikvanlife it's very different here in North America. In much of Canada diesel costs more per L than gasoline, which eats into the fuel savings. It's hard to find diesel cars here, VW and Chevy were basically the only affordable diesel cars, and neither have sold them for a few years. They also cost thousands more than the gasoline versions. Most people buy hybrids or EVs here if they need to save fuel, aside from big trucks.
🤘
👍👍
Are you still keeping it parked on the same private driveway? Not very stealthy 😂
I see someone can walk up and close the tail gate and then what ??
How do you get out ??
It’s a cool setup but the cost on these things alaways add up
😊😊
Fyi the empty bed is bad on fuel economy because of the tailgate. It acts like a parachute. That is why the topper improves the economy.
Fyi incorrect. Look up any aero video comparing gate up to gate down and gate up is better it creates an air pocket and doesn't act like a parachute
@jerrypollock4471 Sure, okay, buddy. Just ignore the REAL WORLD experience. It's weird that, as he stated, all he did was add a topper and got better MPG. So your argument suggests that adding WEIGHT made it better. It's not the obvious change in shape. 👍👍👍👍🤣🤣🤣🤣
Oh, and Tesla Cyberyruck must be the exception to your rule. The memo on a tailgate having no effect got lost over at Tesla, I guess.
what happens if someone puts up your tailgate while you’re inside?
Earlier video - he shows he can reach via the door portal to unlock
If someone closes your tailgate while ur inside how will you escape?
I can open it from the inside. My arm fits through the door porthole window.
@@ElementLifethat's good, I was getting claustrophobic thinking about it!
👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
No windows?
There's one window at the back, beside the door.
You'll eventually get trapped in there when a bad ass kid puts that tailgate up while you're sleeping one day.
You could do this for a living
The AC sticking out in the back is hilarious. All that is missing is a front yard with grass and a yellow "Don't Thread On Me" flag
Permitless carry in FL so it's a given
@@mrmotofyfor Florida, it's better to carry a Howitzer cannon just in case
honestly for no more interior space than youhave there that is quite a bit of weight. In your next build you should try cladding it in something lighter.
Did you not watch the build?
now we know how much it costed. XD
if you look it up, in some specific cases, the word costed can be used in a correct way, but not in the way you used it here. you speak well otherwise, so it was hella odd that you didn't simply tell us how much it COST! haha. but hey, awesome little dealio right there for sure, thanks for sharing.
You been getting dummer over the years! Keep it up!😁
Oh snap i got first comment lol!
Hi Nate
Does he ever interact with his comments ?
@@CMF_1 Yes, HE does!!
@@lesleyhughes3174 thank you
"how much it costed"
happy to see I wasn't the only one who commented on this, lmao. costed is a word, but it's a specific and rare case usage, and the way he used it was of course wrong. costed me a bunch of time having to look it up. XD
No doubt nerves. Simply because Nate knows at least one comment will be just like yours.
I’d pay him to build me a camper if I wanted one, your nitpicking notwithstanding.
Funny how I noticed that, too, but didn't feel the need to correct him...
@@DanRather_ I didn't say that I didn't have time to write a comment correcting Nate. I said that I didn't feel the need to do so. 🙂🙄
are you still with your girlfriend? nice truck camper
If that's all you are here for, go back and catch up, to find your answer. Missed a few!!
Lol my 89 ranger would get about 22 mpg with that camper setup
Why not just build it in the rear of the truck instead of having to get lifts?
Are u married?😊