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!
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.
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. 🙏
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!
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!
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.
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.
That's a really lovely compact travel cabin, the interior is particularly nice and the entire cabin looks to be beautifully constructed and fitted out! Setting aside one's time and labour, you couldn't really get much on the market for what it cost in materials, and with self building it may be built and fitted out exactly as you want it to be.
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!
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.
Use light gauge steel framing instead of wood. Steel framing is 70% lighter and 30% stronger than wood framing. There's an old video online of a light gauge steel framed house without sheathing, where the two-story house was literally rolled for destructive testing. No noticeable damage happened. A wooden two-story house would never survive being rolled.
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.
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.
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.
I did 3 vans and three or four slide in units. One slide in was all metal. I put $5.K into it and it still wasn't complete. I took it to a landfill and dumped it. My next one will be cedar and it will not be one unit. It will be 5 pieces that you store and then bolt together on the bed before I hit the road. I will film it and put it on YT. Who knows what the result will be. I have followed you since your element days and becoming a resident of S.D. I do think, however, that we try and put too much into our builds. I am taking the Lewis and Clark approach. They didn't have AC, fancy fans and stuff like that. Cheers!
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.
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.
I've thought about building camper similar to yours, but went a different rout with my build...Anyhow my thought on the flat font is to build a roof box/wind deflector. It would be strapped to the roof of the truck. Probably make it out of foam board.
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😊
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
This looks a lot like the one I built, but mine mounts to the bed and has a cab over and stands 9'4" to the top. It weighs 800lbs. as far as milage 9-12mpg. Good job on the build, thanks for sharing. I can't believe how close they look. Stay safe, thanks again.
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.
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.
Florida heat this summer has been brutal. Heat plus humidity. Seems like no one’s AC could keep up and keep us cool. Be aware, the older you get the harder for your body to cope with the temperature extremes. So if you are older, over 50/55/60 plan for that in your camper build. Dehydration/heat stroke/ heat exhaustion come on quickly. Can be deadly. Most of the deaths from hurricane beyrl in Texas were heat related. Last time I checked it was 36 people. Heat index in the Fl panhandle were in the 105 to 118 range this summer. Every day and night. No break from the heat. Hard to breathe for many people. Stay safe.
Hey. Nice camper. Nice Build. If you do plan to do another camper, take a look at the guy in Las Vegas videos. He has done eight (?) now. I have seen several of his builds and they are real nice. He likes to use cedar for its light weight.
Tundras payload... 610kg... 1300lbs so alot of trucks are useless with payload but towing is 11000lbs.. cant haul much more then a few people but can tow alot of weight
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'.
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.
Maybe not so much a wind deflector but alway can angle a solar panel off the camper down towards the truck extra solar and may help with the aero either way it’s bonus sun or bonus fuel saving
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
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.👍🏻
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
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?
Have you tried shade cloth? I wonder if you can keep it from flying away due to the winds of the desert. I'm glad I found your site and subscribed and will keep watching!
Damn. You did a good job but i might just get one of the pop ups you see made by over land or topo. Time is money. I wouldn't be using it as much as you seem to use yours. Nice set up. What did you use to treat the wood?
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?
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?
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
like the build, but worry someone could potentially lock you in, closing the tailgate, people using signal jammers now a days, it would give them enough time to steal everything but. any ideas on security or area control with this set up?
Very informative video. Nice job on the camper. I built our camper this past year, took six months to complete. You can see it on my channel if interested. Question - when taking longer trips, do we need to have some kind of arrangements in place for possible unforeseen truck repairs? I think it could be difficult to get a truck towed into a repair shop with a camper on it, and no jacks on board to remove it. Thanks.
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.
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.🌴
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?
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.
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
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.
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?
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!
Every time I see someone building something out of scrap, it deserves my respect. Great job and very well explained. 👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾
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.
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. 🙏
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!
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!
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.
Wind deflector with storage inside for your surfboard and other flat items accessed from a side opening door
It's a known fact that if you add flames to it you WILL be faster.... Great build.
*talent. Skill. Passion. Dedication*
I knew someone who used a snowboard as a wind deflector,just mounted it at an angle.worked good
Yes, slim potato head (UA-cam channel) did this.
@@Adam-ox6zy yes! That's who it was! Thank you
Absolutely excellent video sir and you share data up front instead if dragging on like others. Geeatly appreciate you sharing this data.
There's a whole lot of room over top of the cab........great for a sleeping space, or extra storage, (if you would built out over the cab as well).
I'm a big fan of overhead campers.
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.
That's a really lovely compact travel cabin, the interior is particularly nice and the entire cabin looks to be beautifully constructed and fitted out!
Setting aside one's time and labour, you couldn't really get much on the market for what it cost in materials, and with self building it may be built and fitted out exactly as you want it to be.
Excellent answers to questions I didnt even know to ask, logically arrainged. Thank you very much!
Nice to see this follow-up on the build. Looks so nice inside, professional 👌
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!
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.
Scrap yards have scales too lol
Use light gauge steel framing instead of wood. Steel framing is 70% lighter and 30% stronger than wood framing. There's an old video online of a light gauge steel framed house without sheathing, where the two-story house was literally rolled for destructive testing. No noticeable damage happened. A wooden two-story house would never survive being rolled.
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.
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.
those sound like great MPGs, my 3/4 ton,6.0L suburban averages 10mpg
Hey Nate ..... You did a GREAT job on your DIY camper unit !! 😎👌👍👍
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.
I did 3 vans and three or four slide in units. One slide in was all metal. I put $5.K into it and it still wasn't complete. I took it to a landfill and dumped it. My next one will be cedar and it will not be one unit. It will be 5 pieces that you store and then bolt together on the bed before I hit the road. I will film it and put it on YT. Who knows what the result will be. I have followed you since your element days and becoming a resident of S.D. I do think, however, that we try and put too much into our builds. I am taking the Lewis and Clark approach. They didn't have AC, fancy fans and stuff like that. Cheers!
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.
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.
I've thought about building camper similar to yours, but went a different rout with my build...Anyhow my thought on the flat font is to build a roof box/wind deflector. It would be strapped to the roof of the truck. Probably make it out of foam board.
OHMYGOSHHHH
I am soooo almost there. Skipped here n there but only so many hours in a day. Amen, Amen
I might have left the tailgate open and built it out farther.
Looks great thanks for sharing
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😊
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
Looks great. Much applause 👏.
This looks a lot like the one I built, but mine mounts to the bed and has a cab over and stands 9'4" to the top. It weighs 800lbs. as far as milage 9-12mpg. Good job on the build, thanks for sharing. I can't believe how close they look. Stay safe, thanks again.
Idea to up mileage abit maybe, an aluminum wedge attached top front level w cab top angled up to front top of box
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.
Kinda looks like a death trap. Almost all rvs have minimum 2 ways of egress, usually windows....
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.
Some may confuse it for a pipeline x-ray inspection rig😅 most of ours are made of fiberglass, and are the darkroom for processing the x-ray film.
Florida heat this summer has been brutal. Heat plus humidity. Seems like no one’s AC could keep up and keep us cool.
Be aware, the older you get the harder for your body to cope with the temperature extremes.
So if you are older, over 50/55/60 plan for that in your camper build.
Dehydration/heat stroke/ heat exhaustion come on quickly. Can be deadly.
Most of the deaths from hurricane beyrl in Texas were heat related. Last time I checked it was 36 people.
Heat index in the Fl panhandle were in the 105 to 118 range this summer.
Every day and night. No break from the heat. Hard to breathe for many people. Stay safe.
Hey. Nice camper. Nice Build. If you do plan to do another camper, take a look at the guy in Las Vegas videos. He has done eight (?) now. I have seen several of his builds and they are real nice. He likes to use cedar for its light weight.
Tundras payload... 610kg... 1300lbs so alot of trucks are useless with payload but towing is 11000lbs.. cant haul much more then a few people but can tow alot of weight
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'.
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.
Maybe not so much a wind deflector but alway can angle a solar panel off the camper down towards the truck extra solar and may help with the aero either way it’s bonus sun or bonus fuel saving
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
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.👍🏻
Congratz on the build. My only concern is being inside and someone closes tailgate, how do you get out?
Thank you for the break down! Trying to follow you folks doing this build. Money is a big thing!
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
Awesome job sir. Looks really nice. 👍
Thanks for sharing . You've done a fine job of building to suit your needs .
You have all that space over your cab though!
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
Have you tried shade cloth? I wonder if you can keep it from flying away due to the winds of the desert. I'm glad I found your site and subscribed and will keep watching!
Great job w/the build! Hope your recent travels have afforded you some surfing opportunities!
Damn. You did a good job but i might just get one of the pop ups you see made by over land or topo. Time is money. I wouldn't be using it as much as you seem to use yours. Nice set up. What did you use to treat the wood?
Looks like fun, I like building stuff.
Nice looking build Nate. Looks so awesome. 👍🙌 😊 🚐 🌏🧭
Very spacious-great job, Nate!👍 Happy Fourth!🎉🎉🎉🎉
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?
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?
Thank you for the video. Blessings to you.
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
You did great, what a good thing to be handy.
like the build, but worry someone could potentially lock you in, closing the tailgate, people using signal jammers now a days, it would give them enough time to steal everything but. any ideas on security or area control with this set up?
Very informative video. Nice job on the camper. I built our camper this past year, took six months to complete. You can see it on my channel if interested. Question - when taking longer trips, do we need to have some kind of arrangements in place for possible unforeseen truck repairs? I think it could be difficult to get a truck towed into a repair shop with a camper on it, and no jacks on board to remove it. Thanks.
You can get 3500lbs rated electric camper Jack's for 150 a piece at harbor freight
Seems pretty doable. Currently converting my Hyundai veloster
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
Throw one of your boards across the front at an angle, look cool
Without a cab over section i dont think i could deal
roof rac and old skake board deck ,mounted on front of rac
Would it be better to avoid electrical wiring would be going completely wireless using power stations solar power to charge all
I just came across your feed. We are in NM also. Where are you exactly?
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.🌴
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?
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 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.
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
Thanks for the video,
Question what is the size of your camper , L/L/W
Wow,you did a nice job!
Maybe you can build a foam nose for it for aerodynamics… just a thought 💭…
Great job 🙏🏻🙌🏻 definitely the way to go…
Good video. Cheers.
I would have gone with a higher height. Great job.
Stunning man!
Awesome job
Nice build. What are the dimensions?
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.
The fact that the tailgate can be closed and block the door while you're inside makes my claustrophobia flare up.
Great job! Thanks for sharing.
You go dude.😊
You have come a long way from the Honda to NV 200 to this ??
Nice work. Good video. But you are joking when you say "costed," right? I need to know that.
Use another big solar panel as deflector.
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?
Use your surfboard as a wind deflector... Better gas mileage and a place to store it. 😅
Nice build.
Are you still keeping it parked on the same private driveway? Not very stealthy 😂