Framing A DIY Wooden Truck Camper: Lightweight, Inexpensive, Simple & Strong!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 2 ก.ค. 2024
- This is a tutorial about framing and building your own lightweight wooden truck camper! This is a simple and effective camper build anyone can do, perfect for first-time builders. In this video, we'll talk through the design phase, what materials to use, how to build the frame, and how to finish it cleanly.
When it comes to building a DIY truck camper, there are endless ways to do go about it, but not all of them yield great results. To develop the best method for framing my homemade truck camper, I consulted with cabinet builders and contractors in the design phase and narrowed in on a few critical secrets to making the camper lightweight, super strong, and water tight, without spending a lot of money. In the end, I was able to build this homemade camper for under $1000. It's lighter than most fiberglass frames, has more space inside, and it's better looking, too!
Chapters:
0:00 Intro
0:35 Staying Light
1:29 Framing Material
2:47 Dimensions
4:08 Window Placement
5:07 Door Frame
6:40 Siding
7:05 Pro Tip - Bungs
#diy #truckcamper #vanlife #woodworking #camping
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Hi Mike. Alfred here. Just wanted you to know that I like the job you did. Excellent job. Your camper build inspired me to build one of my own. So I did. I built a wood frame with 2" foam insulation, put 1/2-inch plywood on the outside and then I wrapped the entire thing with aluminum. I drive 2006 Toyota Tacoma crew cab 6ft box. If you care to see let me know. Love the name you picked for it 'Maxi pad'.
Finally a guy that tells it straight with NO BS. I am planing to build a camper for my 2 door short bed (6' 6") truck. I am impressed with your honest video. I am looking for plans as I need someone with more knowledge than I have.
I'll never understand the TH-cam algorithm. This should have a million views. Great vid! 🤙
I guess it is only 9 hours old. Ha ha. Loved the planning for this build!
SO fired up to hear this feedback! Thanks for checking it out!
So true- admired your short videos as well. Please keep the vids coming!
Love this guys delivery....great videos
@@dirtbagdopamine7964 you’re definitely gonna blow up man. I love your channel. New fav!!
The" Maxie pad" that's funny. Great job ! Nice truck cap.
Love this framing guide. I wanted the build one of my own and kept thinking I needed to use something like aluminum tubing and channel for weight reasons, because I knew typical 2x4 pine would be too heavy for my purposes. I'm not a carpenter, so the though of using a 2x2 hardwood as the basis of framing hadn't even crossed my mind.
Enjoyed your video, thanks for posting 👍
Strength and light weight are so important. Good Job.
That is a fantastic camper build. You've inspired me to build one for my old tundra. Looking forward to your next videos.
Such awesome feedback, so great to hear. Feel free to hit me if you have any questions or want to bounce around ideas!
I ripped my studs down to 2x2s. 3/8"ply outside, 1/4" ply inside.
I really dig your build. Looks nice.
Except he used the wrong wood,it's nor hard,it's soft wood!
Great video, thanks for dropping the knowledge bombs on us! Love that raw wood finish look, especially with the counter sink plug holes, edging, the port hole windows and the damn sturdy doors. Came out super unique. Thanks again for the pro tips
Dude! I've been researching building a truck camper for my Tundra and this is the video I've been needing all along. Thanks for doing all the hard work. Cheers!
Very nice!! Looks comfortable and water tight. Great job 👍
Thank you for the advice about prioritizing window spacing 💚 And, yes, the naysayers are something...maybe a challenge to us to keep moving forward with our decisions 💚
Excellent build Cornholio.
The Max E Pad. That's awesome! Nice job!
Excellent video. Thanks for the detailed information.
Thank you for filming this project- I am going to Alaska and considering building my own camper- haven’t much experience in carpentry, hopefully it will turn out ok
Awesome, great built.
Nice video man, thanks for the post/ mini lesson for everyone. Nice solid box!
That's really cool ! Nice !
so much good info here. i had a pen and paper ready the whole time
You're right about sheer strength. Campers/Trailers are subject to continual shifting and hurricane force winds.
Thanks for the inspiration to build a truck camper. Just started my project you had some great ideas.
Dude you rule. Pure genius
So many great points to help me out. Thank you.
Looking to build a camper for my truck! Really liking your videos and clear explanations! Keep it up! 👏
Awesome, thanks for the feedback! Let me know if you're looking for any aspect in particular, happy to try to make a vid around it.
Awesome dude! Thank you!
Sweet build.
You did a great job. Well done !
Thanks! Truly appreciate the feedback!
Nice work!
Thanks for the detailed breakdown this will help me a lot. going to try and build a canopy/topper soon. I want to be able to remove it easily.
Nice! Glad you're finding it useful. There are plenty of ways to make this design more easily removable, too. Mine's removable, but it's a process because it's bolted in and the double doors need to be removed. So using clamps instead of bolts, and an easily removable rear door would be a step in the right direction. Get creative, I'm sure you'll nail it!
Nice job on the build and the video.
Solid vid man seriously well done ✅
That is a great video, thank you for sharing it,, I really learned a lot from it,, thank you
Aaaa-- he said BUNG! lol Great vid! I've really wanted to do something similar. My truck is short stepside so finding something is next to impossible.
Great video man! Nice camper!
Stoked to hear it, thanks!
Very rad camper. Agree on the 2x2 poplar (I believe that is softwood though). There’s also aluminum tubes but that is more expensive. I really like how charming this looks.
Botanically poplar is actually a hardwood, yet it is one of the softest woods out there. The terms "hardwood and softwood" are misleading. Not sure who thought it would be a good idea to use this confusing way of defining trees, but that's how it is.
Awesome Job! Very Nice! I have a '93 Nissan Hardbody Pickup I would like to do this on.
I like the port holes. When the weather is bad you can 'batten down the hatches'. ;-)
I dream about builds. It's a good past-time! I need to save up for a van and many years of travel with a decent rig, but I've look at full size vans but recently at the small vans or what some call micro-van. I think I can make it work. One thing is how to store propane for a van, and many RVs and such have a compartment that is sealed from interior but with a door, and vents on the door, to the outside.
If I plan on using propane quite a bit for years then it would pay in the long run to do propane storage the safest way.
Awesome bro I'm going to do it
Nice build. Great tips. Just subd.
Noice! But on the real, excellent tips and explanation. Thank you.
My first thought was that it looks sick and I wondered if I could fit my 8’ Larry in there. Then 3:30 came around and I’m officially inspired.
Have you thought about putting a wind fairing on the front?
Thank you Sir
Subscribed solely because of the cornholio part…
Well done!
Hell yes, glad I'm not the only one who appreciates the great beavis!
@@dirtbagdopamine7964Do you still need tv for your bung hole? 😂
Idk why people say to use 2x4's, if you've ever gutted and rebuilt a pull behind camper they are framed with 2x2's, trust me, that's what I do for a living., literally we buy old pull behind campers gut them and rebuild, redesign the floor plan and rebuild them, but we rebuild them to better than new condition and do things that the camper builders don't do, we use Flex Seal on all the gaps instead of Seam Sealer and we paint the roofs with truck bed liner before we spray the body color on so if it gets caught in snow or hail it's more rugged and can take more plus it adds to the insulation, we had a couple send us a video of their camper in a hail storm in Western Iowa 3 weeks ago and commented how well the roof held up.
Great ideas thanks! I hope your still doing that and I wished I could find a old over the cab slide in truck shell but they are hard to find! I've got a 94 Dodge RAM 2500 but maybe one show up one day before its to late. Have a great day buddy!
@@Tommy-rr7ez Yep still doing it, I just bought a 20' camper for myself along with a 73 Ford Torino Wagon that I'm going to paint on the same color scheme to make it look like a set.
@@TheREALOC1972 Thats awesome buddy! I had a I think it was a 71 Torino but I don't think I ever heard of a Torino Wagon. I know one thing I never could get traction cause there was no weight in the rear. You going to pull the camper with the wagon?
@@Tommy-rr7ez Yep, that's why I bought it, so I could travel the country on my vacations and when we go to car shows and stuff like that we can just stay in the camper.
@@TheREALOC1972 Thats the way to do it! The costs of rooms and having to eat out especially with a family is out ragous and your setup will pat for itself and yall can enjoy yourself more. I'm proud for yall buddy!
Good luck bro ! I have a 2001 Tundra I want to do something like this to. I thought Wood might be to heavy. Gas wise. I built a cool swimming pool using Recycled fence post and pallets It came out awesome I'm in year 4 and its still super solid. waterfall and all. However I'm not as confident building with wood on my truck . Ill keethe good workp watching . until it sinks in my ADHD head of mine !! Keep up the good work ! Love this channel. Im glad im jumping on early on. Andreas
This is great. God bless you✝️
Love this! Currently researching building a truck camper build of my own and this had great info! I am curious though, how did you weatherproof it?
dude, i think i saw you a couple weeks ago heading east on the 512. would love to build one of these!
Thank you for this awesome video brother you got a new subscriber! 2 questions, how much would you say material and all cost, other question does it way down on your tank, taking up fuel quicker?
Hey man! Could I get a complete materials list of the lumber you used and needed please!
I saw you this evening in the Fremont neighborhood
Hey Mike, is that plywood on inside of side walls, then screwed on plywood for outside after wall was up in place?? Nice, like weight being light!
Water proofing , weather seals and such
Really enjoyed watching this. Great content. Just an aside, in the UK a Maxi-pad is what incontinent ladies wear in their old age.😅
Prety col camper. I would like to kwow what type of varnish or paint did you use, Thank you
Can you tell me where you got that black exterior corner trim please?
Can you do a video talking about how you wired your electric set up? I’m not understanding how you’re getting your alternator to run everything #imanewbie
Not sure if someone asked this yet or not. But I was wondering if you added any type of insulation or wood stain/sealer. It looks bare
Impressive. What more can I say?
Great video bro. Subscribed and liked. Trying to get u out there. Much appreciated.
Nice
Thanks man!
@@dirtbagdopamine7964 i hope this year 2023 you reach 1000 subscribers bro i wish 😇😇
So I'm basically trying to build something VERY similar but on a bigger truck. I wanted to sleep E-W and was thinking with my current width across my rails being 72" I could use 2x6 for bottom peace along the rails and set 2x2 on the outside so I keep the interior space?? Would this work you think?
How are the roof rails attached. Thanks
Simple & Thoughtfully Designed! 🧰🛠
Quick question, what glue did you use?
This is freakin awesome! Is it insulated?
Why not use 2x2 cedar? Lightweight and bug resistant. Otherwise love your build. Would diagonal supports increase strength?
Do you have a build thread online or more pictures of your design drawings?
Great video, very informative. What did you use for waterproofing the exterior?
Thanks for the feedback! I used Sparvarathane on the exterior walls because I wanted to keep the wood grain finish. I was skeptical but it's actually held up pretty well, possibly because I put 4+ coats on. I thought I'd need something burlier for the roof, but still wanted the transparency, so I initially use fiberglass and polyurethane resin thinking, 'it works on surfboards." That was a mistake. It ended up delaminating in a few places, so I sanded it down and used the roll-on Flex Seal. Two coats and believe it or not, it works great! Put two coats on before winter, and will probably add another next year. The only downside it's black, so it gets hot, but they make a white and a clear now as well. Enjoy the build!
Right brilliant, mate, liked & subscribed. I have an old F150 XL- 6 1/2 foot bed that I wanted to build a high cap on. Same height as the truck cab would be 22" above the truck rails at the front of the bed & 32 inch above them at the rear. I have a popup fiberglass truck cover to sit on top. My biggest concern was the weight and I was trying to figure what wood could I use. You've given me the answer. However I was going to use 1/4" plywood with solid plywood corner braces on the inside of the frame thinking that this would afford all of the strength required. I would only have roof cross pieces at each end, and another about 2' from the front of the bed due to utilising the height effectively when I raised the fiberglass cover up (it raises about 28 inches). Do you think this would work okay? Do you recommend a glue? Is glue superior to construction adhesive in your opinion? Ta-
Hey buddy I hope you get this cause it's been a year! I hope even more you got your Lil truck camper done and you've been out having a great time! But you gave a great idea with your fiberglass popup truck bed cover for on top. There higher on one end to give head room and light but strong. I just want to tell you I preciate you telling us buddy! I hope you figured out bout what type adhesive is best by now. Take care my friend and always be a Happy Camper!
What did you do for the roof?
You mentioned 3/5 exterior plywood- is that correct? It looks more like 3/8 or 1/2. I really like the light weight design / simple design - thanks.
Doh! You're right, I misspoke! The plywood is 3/8", not 3/5". I'll make a note correcting that in the description. Thanks for the catch!
What the power system you using for lights and stuff
How did you make the top water proof
had me at maxi pad
hi great vid! i have a huge question for me! if i build something like this, could i potentially use the extra space from the popped rear door/flap of the bed? and extend the build to it? or is there anything wrong with that? a tipp would be so cool!
Hey there! I’ve been on a truck camper binge for a while and on one vid it was explained that if the camper goes beyond the tailgate that “by law” the rear of the camper must have working brake lights installed to be road worthy.
But if the camper fits inside the bed with the tailgate closed then you don’t have to worry about that since the truck’s brake lights are enough on the road.
Hopefully this answered your questions!
Yes besides the lights he told you about, a lot of time when you go longer in length than the bed you will take weight off your front wheels and you never want to do that. It can be done but if you have a short bed that means a half ton or less vehicle. If you do or have done this you need to beef up your suspension to be able to handle the overhang. Sorry I just now seen video so it's been a year and by now your sitting on a beach in your fancy Lil camper having a big Ole time I hope! Have a great day!
What is the trim on the corners? Great build
That’s what I came to ask as well! Cool build, came away with several nuggets to use on mine
Men built this world and Men should always run it!! Subscribed lol. Timmy C Arizona
By men do you mean humans? Are you trying to sound like a misogynist? Is that a cool thing to joke about in your social circles?
Seems fitting that an import truck is hauling an oversized maxi pad.
cornholio! lol
No build is complete without a little beavis!
Bruh! Popular is not a hardwood!!😂 and he had the mask crew helping him 😂😂😂😂
Is it possible to make one of these out of pallet wood
You can but a lot of pallets are a true hard wood to handle the weight put on them so you would have to be cautious to how much weight you are adding. But then again if you have a 2500 or 3500 truck you shouldn't have a problem. Now get at it and let me know when you get finished!
If you got nothing else from this video, remember to "glue as you screw." 😅
Ok i liked the video because of the i am corholio bit
What’s your thoughts on a short bed Tacoma? Should I build mine to over hang the tailgate and sides… I’ll most likely just drop my tailgate and not take it off. I’ll sacrifice the back up camera cause I ain’t no b****
What a missed opportunity to talk extensively about bung-holes as The Great Cornholio.
Best comment yet. My bung-hole cannot wait!
😂
If your ever in Mississippi give me a shout I wanna build one but I have zero help
1:50 Three fifths plywood?
He corrected it when someone else pointed out this same thing. He said he mis-spoke and it was actually 3/8
I built a wooden camper for my truck too, no pattern or plan.
Yo… is that Lake?
What the hell is 3/5ths plywood?
Popler a hard wood lol ya right bud
How much does it weigh?
200 lbs without the double doors. About 240 with them included.
@@dirtbagdopamine7964 200pounds !!! Wow that's Lite Camper ! 👾
Popular wood is not hard it is soft and weak not saying it not going work for what you used it for but I am an arborist so I do know my wood I would not let the poplar wood get wet or your going have issues
Agreed! I'm a Carpenter of 30 years,I'd never used popular
Use cedar next time-light and water resistant. Strong enough for these things.
Botanically speaking, poplar is an angiosperm, which is referred to as hardwood. The
Popular is definitely a HARDWOOD
Wouldnt hurt to do a poormans fiberglass to seal it
What did the build cost my man?
Just under $1k for the frame, insulation, and interior/exterior siding materials, but I did used some recycled lumber and windows. Altogether with the portholes, auxiliary battery and fan, came in at around $1500 total.
I'm a Carpenter, WTF IS 3/5ths PLYWOOD? 😆💯
It's a secret and we cant tell you and we had to have a long talk with him bout letting it slip!! Oh yeah he won't be doing that no more! He meant to say 3/8. Have a great day!
"It's imperative that you pay your buddies in beer". Wise words, my friend, wise words that get too little attention😂😂
Poplar wood is considered a hardwood