My late Dad was a Sheetmetal worker all his life and he was excellent at his work. He would have been extremely proud of you and your skills and work. Well done.
Thank you for wearing safety glasses. Your setting a great example to the people. Most people don't wear them & they will get a sliver of wood/medal in there eye & then there spending thousands of dollars & time @ the ER. Your a leader of the pack. Great job & Thank you very much, "Chris"tina from Missouri
Easily one of the most practical, inspirational, intuitive, and instructive videos on UA-cam. Gotta gitterdone on an older (mature) Chevy 1/2 ton. Thanks!
"If it's not one thing or another!", Now this creativity has me wanting to contruct my own travel trailer with the exception of the trailer frame, tires, & suspension! Thanks DualEx for all your DIY's projects w/basically detailed instructions!
NEW SUBSCRIBER, and excited! I don’t know where you have been. I’m 64 years old and pretty darn handy. We grew up dirt poor that’s probably why I know how to work on stuff. I love what you said. I didn’t know anything about XYZ till I started doing it ..something along that line. Superior teaching skills. Learning to do stuff yourselves is sometimes finding the right person on UA-cam that can teach. I just started learning how to rivet and work with aluminum… It is surprisingly forgiving and easy to work with. Thank you and I’m looking forward to learning a lot from your videos, my friend.
I find your method of brazing the joints with the aluminium filler rods to strengthen them in addition to the riveted 'L' brackets to be quite inspired thinking! Your method of filing a vee channel at the joints to allow a greater bonded surface area is also very clever. Likewise, cutting a channel in the sheet metal to bend it rather than shear it gives a stronger, waterproof and neater result. Your meticulously precise detailing and suberb craftsmanship are evident in everything that you have done and are a joy to see. You inspire your viewers to construct for themselves and give excellent and informative information. Thank you for taking the time to produce excellent videos, I will use your riveting and brazing technique in the fabrication of my amphibious bicycle camper (including the use of Sikaflex to bond the sheet aluminium to the frame before it is riveted).
they make an acid flux for the alum soldering that when properly applied it really makes it go easier and a better bond, I'm a retired machinist/repair guy and we had the expert come out back in the day and demonstrate the way to make sure the customer had best possible product, no call backs
HF has a decent air gun for pop rivets not too expensive, they hold up pretty well, mine is about 15 years old and still no sign of quitting. saves your fatigue factor on the big jobs
DANG! YOU ARE SO SMART, I TELL YOU, EVERY WOMAN NEEDS A MAN LIKE YOU, AND IF NOT LIKE YOU, BE STRONG AND COMPASSIONATE LIKE YOU AT WHATEVER THEY DO WELL, WOW! KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK, YOU GOT ME SMILING 😃 😊
Great job and great job videoing it👍 I’m 65 and grew up broke…if we didn’t get resourceful …stuff didn’t get fixed. Verrrry smart riveting And brazing everything. You could “get by” by just brazing. That unit will last long long time. My friend, I’ll be building one and will be using used van rear windows, and pick up truck rear windows… Solid tempered glass. Thanks for being thorough in the brazing process. I was wondering how long you heat before applying the rods. Thankssssss - smart, resourceful kid you are. 👍👍👍🇺🇸👮♀️ You also taught me how to bend the diamond plate and keep it square
This is exactly what I've been looking for to fabricate a lightweight topper for my work truck. Thanks for making this vid; you've got a new subscriber.
It's a little more expensive, but using huck bolts instead of rivets would make it a lot stronger/more rigid. Curious as to how you intend to mount the camper frame to your box - stake hole pockets, or clamps to the bed rails? Also, maybe consider some sort of foam or rubber gasket between the camper frame and your bed rails.
I’ll take a look into the huck bolts. Thanks for the tip! I’m going to be starting off with truck bed “C” clamps and eventually using bolts to hold the camper down to the truck bed
I love seeing POC in this space. We are magical and can do ANYTHING! Your builds are by far the most creative in the DIY camper/van/RV space. Keep shining my man!
I wasn’t familiar with “POC”. Then I got it. I agree with you 100% about POC being in this “space”. Please encourage all POCs to jump in and have fun and learn. I don’t think America is racist, I believe there are racists in America. Have a great day and again, great comment.
I began to love your work from the beginning. Remember to put a rubber seal between the truck n camper. You can also bend your tubing 90 by cutting a 45 then bend it like you did the metal siding then add a 90 to the inside like you did. I was also thinking of getting a older 8ft aluminum camper n cutting it down. I have a truck like your's.
I am planning to build a tiny home on a one ton flat deck. I found your channel and I am impressed with your work. I used to be a welder 50 years ago and I plan to use a tig, but your gas technique looks good. Good luck in the future.
Just a small tip. Next time you can cut it all in 90 degree angle like you have done with the roof. That will allow to hide the L brackets in side the tube and then you work your magic welding. Not only only will look industrial perfect but will be much stronger
Hey man, I probably know the type of rooftop tent you are gonna build. I would suggest getting on Amazon and buying one of those cheap dual-power tig welders. You don't need a lot of power, just run it off 110 at your camper and go in there and weld it up from the inside. That brazing rod is not gonna hold any amount of weight. To "weld" something you need to melt both joining metals together. Using that torch and brazing rod is simply melting the rod and not the joining structures so it's just gonna crack apart over time. What is saving you, is that you did a good design using the aluminum sheeting and bending it around the corners so that is what is actually holding it all together but even that will eventually start failing under load as the rivets will flex and loosen. You really should get one of those cheap tig welders and just run it off 110, even if you have to borrow an outlet somewhere. You have the basic frame built, so you can just go somewhere with power and weld it up with a small welder and will let you learn a new skill. If you don't actually weld it, what will most likely happen, is the joints will slowly flex and start coming apart because of the weight up there on the rooftop tent. Without the tent, this would probably work fine for a no-weld toper, but once you get everything up there and then you are climbing in and out it's gonna put a lot of flex on those revits. They will last for a bit but I doubt it will last long term. You really need to weld this if you want it to last. Aside from that, it's a nice-looking design.
Sika actually have a glue that you can use to fix the aluminum panels. It really sticks! Your videos come sent to me - want to do a project and this is ideal.
Man I’m a contractor been running a company for 8 years and I have to say your work is very very clean!!!! Keep it up and if your interested in building houses and wanna learn some great advice from Larry haun and the you tube channel essential worker!!!
Hello Dualex, you are an amazing builder, and I love following you because I am always fascinated. You are so smart. You have a Blessed talent. Be safe, and I pray that you have gotten vaccinated, for yourself and for people like me. God Bless love 💕❤️🙏🏾☺️
the biggest issue I see being possible is water proof-mess, especially now that you're up north and will have snow/ice to deal with. But looks really nice so far.
Love this idea! Don't know if you were planning on doing it but you should also "weld" the corners to help support them since they were cut. They will be the first tings to go after some time. Keep it up and can't wait to see how it turns out
There is a video on UA-cam that compares these brazing rods. You should watch it and see what to use. The harbor freight rods used here we're good, compared to others, but I believe the Hobart ones were the strongest when compared to other brands.
Fantastic job working around the limitations of tools at hand! I've been thinking about making a camper for my truck and decided to check out how other people have gone about it. Your video is my favorite so far on this topic.
This thing is ausome so far , what kind of gas is that is it Mapp gas and what kind of rods do i ask for .Do you think it would tackl light Guage steel the same or not hot enough. I can't believe it's so light . Cant wait to see next video going to look for it now thanks for sharing Dale
Dude!! Very impressive! Your understanding of the geometry involved in building the frame and bending the diamond plate so it fits exactly right is impressive. Great start to the build. On to the next video. Thank you!
Great work...I've been watching and scheming my own DIY build watching every imaginable type of (heavy'ish) material and then thought "why not make the frame out of Al tubing or beams?". Thank you for showing me it's in fact, possible.
This build is incredible! Pure genius! And you’ve done a beautiful job with the videography and editing. I have to admit that I watched your final walkthrough video first so I know how it ends. Amazing!
Dude you're rad seriously you pull out these videos and that's exactly what I want to do to my Tacoma I have an off-road Tacoma and I mean I'm a born Carpenter I'm a master Carpenter but I'm a general contractor also I do every phase and what impresses me about you is you don't do what a lot of UA-camrs do to where they have a lot of dead time and I know from studying it that that keeps the audience on the 5 to 8 minutes for the video for most of the money making you put that 5 to 8 minutes or whatever you do to use you state the facts about the weight about what you're learning about everything that's important and you keep to the important s*** any fast forward through the grind and I dig that about you anyways look forward to your next ones peace out my brother
WOW! this looks awesome!! I can see you incorporating aluminum in future van/camper builds. Hey, we saw how your progression with wood turned out so it’s only natural to move onto aluminum. At least to keep weight down, if nothing else. AWESOME JOB!
You are fantastic! I will try this out too, thank you so much! I love how you use the file in one direction. So many guys do the filing back and forth, your technique is great.
Weights a huge thing when it comes too canopies and draws it amazes me how many people use wood. I’ll be doing drawers in my wagon soon and I’ll be using 2 good quality canvas bags with a sheet of checker plate on gas struts. Not sure how it’ll go. If it works out I’ll get a video of the finished product.
Very nicely done. I built an aluminum no weld camper using t-slot aluminum aka 80/20, expensive stuff but very strong. Had I seen this video first, I would have used your method.
My late Dad was a Sheetmetal worker all his life and he was excellent at his work. He would have been extremely proud of you and your skills and work. Well done.
For all you know your dad could have hated the guy. TF you talking about 🤣
@@amgel7772090 what a stupid comment. Thank God you didn’t know my Dad because he would have said you’re thick.
@@amgel7772090 aww someones in pain. Still trying to bully to feel better? This isnt high-school aj. . Mind your kids
@@amgel7772090 brother not all are like you... God bless you
Thank you for sharing Bev.
You aren’t even done and this is already the best build quality of a removable truck bed camper I’ve seen.
I believe YOU can do anything. Looking forward to seeing this through.
This young man is amazing
Thank you for wearing safety glasses. Your setting a great example to the people. Most people don't wear them & they will get a sliver of wood/medal in there eye & then there spending thousands of dollars & time @ the ER. Your a leader of the pack. Great job & Thank you very much,
"Chris"tina from Missouri
Easily one of the most practical, inspirational, intuitive, and instructive videos on UA-cam.
Gotta gitterdone on an older (mature) Chevy 1/2 ton.
Thanks!
"If it's not one thing or another!", Now this creativity has me wanting to contruct my own travel trailer with the exception of the trailer frame, tires, & suspension! Thanks DualEx for all your DIY's projects w/basically detailed instructions!
NEW SUBSCRIBER, and excited! I don’t know where you have been. I’m 64 years old and pretty darn handy. We grew up dirt poor that’s probably why I know how to work on stuff. I love what you said. I didn’t know anything about XYZ till I started doing it ..something along that line. Superior teaching skills. Learning to do stuff yourselves is sometimes finding the right person on UA-cam that can teach.
I just started learning how to rivet and work with aluminum… It is surprisingly forgiving and easy to work with. Thank you and I’m looking forward to learning a lot from your videos, my friend.
I really enjoy watching this.young man remodeling these vehicles. He is so creative in everything do, it's amazing.
I find your method of brazing the joints with the aluminium filler rods to strengthen them in addition to the riveted 'L' brackets to be quite inspired thinking!
Your method of filing a vee channel at the joints to allow a greater bonded surface area is also very clever.
Likewise, cutting a channel in the sheet metal to bend it rather than shear it gives a stronger, waterproof and neater result.
Your meticulously precise detailing and suberb craftsmanship are evident in everything that you have done and are a joy to see.
You inspire your viewers to construct for themselves and give excellent and informative information.
Thank you for taking the time to produce excellent videos, I will use your riveting and brazing technique in the fabrication of my amphibious bicycle camper (including the use of Sikaflex to bond the sheet aluminium to the frame before it is riveted).
they make an acid flux for the alum soldering that when properly applied it really makes it go easier and a better bond, I'm a retired machinist/repair guy and we had the expert come out back in the day and demonstrate the way to make sure the customer had best possible product, no call backs
HF has a decent air gun for pop rivets not too expensive, they hold up pretty well, mine is about 15 years old and still no sign of quitting. saves your fatigue factor on the big jobs
I'm so happy to see you switching to a different medium material.
DANG! YOU ARE SO SMART, I TELL YOU, EVERY WOMAN NEEDS A MAN LIKE YOU, AND IF NOT LIKE YOU, BE STRONG AND COMPASSIONATE LIKE YOU AT WHATEVER THEY DO WELL, WOW! KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK, YOU GOT ME SMILING 😃 😊
80/20 for the win. Lot easier and even more configurable for this purpose.
Yaaaaaassss!
Super talented individual and I know I'm a crashman and I know I'm a crashman 50 years
Seeing a new upload from you made my morning.
Also, love that smaller circular saw, looks super useful
Is it a circular saw or a grinder/angle grinder
Your can do attitude is evident!!! So glad to see young men "stretching" their wings and broadening their horizons and building up their skill set!!!
When you said 50LBS ......that definitely makes me rethink getting a fiberglass shell.......btw The dog in the video is essential. Lol DIY mascot.....
Great job and great job videoing it👍 I’m 65 and grew up broke…if we didn’t get resourceful …stuff didn’t get fixed. Verrrry smart riveting And brazing everything. You could “get by” by just brazing. That unit will last long long time. My friend, I’ll be building one and will be using used van rear windows, and pick up truck rear windows… Solid tempered glass. Thanks for being thorough in the brazing process. I was wondering how long you heat before applying the rods. Thankssssss - smart, resourceful kid you are. 👍👍👍🇺🇸👮♀️
You also taught me how to bend the diamond plate and keep it square
loving the chill music
damn... this is giving me ideas.. a bed frame made out of 1x1 aluminum with a geometrical design
Love this, I've built 3 wooden campers. 2 tow campers and one truck camper. I'm about to start my 4th and I may just go Aluminum! Great job
This is exactly what I've been looking for to fabricate a lightweight topper for my work truck. Thanks for making this vid; you've got a new subscriber.
Nice..... always a pleasure to watch and learn from someone who's learning as well as teaching.....easy on the 👀 too 😏
It's a little more expensive, but using huck bolts instead of rivets would make it a lot stronger/more rigid. Curious as to how you intend to mount the camper frame to your box - stake hole pockets, or clamps to the bed rails? Also, maybe consider some sort of foam or rubber gasket between the camper frame and your bed rails.
I’ll take a look into the huck bolts. Thanks for the tip! I’m going to be starting off with truck bed “C” clamps and eventually using bolts to hold the camper down to the truck bed
Nice tip.
Nice build of a camper shell- should get years if service!
A "little" more expensive
I love seeing POC in this space. We are magical and can do ANYTHING! Your builds are by far the most creative in the DIY camper/van/RV space. Keep shining my man!
I wasn’t familiar with “POC”. Then I got it. I agree with you 100% about POC being in this “space”. Please encourage all POCs to jump in and have fun and learn. I don’t think America is racist, I believe there are racists in America. Have a great day and again, great comment.
I really liked you before this video, but you learning to braze just moved you up to top of the list. Excellent.
Showing how creative you are is exceptional. Just from taking some courses and now offering others to learn. You are amazing!
I began to love your work from the beginning. Remember to put a rubber seal between the truck n camper. You can also bend your tubing 90 by cutting a 45 then bend it like you did the metal siding then add a 90 to the inside like you did.
I was also thinking of getting a older 8ft aluminum camper n cutting it down. I have a truck like your's.
well done thats alot more work than most people know
This is just what I would like to build for my Tundru!
Dude is slick...so much talent. Great work
Dude thank you! I’m considering trying to build a truck camper next.
I am planning to build a tiny home on a one ton flat deck. I found your channel and I am impressed with your work. I used to be a welder 50 years ago and I plan to use a tig, but your gas technique looks good. Good luck in the future.
Just a small tip. Next time you can cut it all in 90 degree angle like you have done with the roof. That will allow to hide the L brackets in side the tube and then you work your magic welding. Not only only will look industrial perfect but will be much stronger
I love binge watching his videos because i am learning a lot..
Hey man, I probably know the type of rooftop tent you are gonna build. I would suggest getting on Amazon and buying one of those cheap dual-power tig welders. You don't need a lot of power, just run it off 110 at your camper and go in there and weld it up from the inside. That brazing rod is not gonna hold any amount of weight. To "weld" something you need to melt both joining metals together. Using that torch and brazing rod is simply melting the rod and not the joining structures so it's just gonna crack apart over time.
What is saving you, is that you did a good design using the aluminum sheeting and bending it around the corners so that is what is actually holding it all together but even that will eventually start failing under load as the rivets will flex and loosen. You really should get one of those cheap tig welders and just run it off 110, even if you have to borrow an outlet somewhere. You have the basic frame built, so you can just go somewhere with power and weld it up with a small welder and will let you learn a new skill.
If you don't actually weld it, what will most likely happen, is the joints will slowly flex and start coming apart because of the weight up there on the rooftop tent. Without the tent, this would probably work fine for a no-weld toper, but once you get everything up there and then you are climbing in and out it's gonna put a lot of flex on those revits. They will last for a bit but I doubt it will last long term. You really need to weld this if you want it to last.
Aside from that, it's a nice-looking design.
Sika actually have a glue that you can use to fix the aluminum panels. It really sticks! Your videos come sent to me - want to do a project and this is ideal.
Nice work. Really like the folded corners and pop rivets are very underrated.
Brother, you are talented as hell , Man I’ve been watching you for a long time now and brother you continue to Impress me. Keep it up
I love the intelligent forethought to your design. I look forward to seeing your progress.
Looks nice. You have the most creative mind.
You, my dear, have amazing sic skills…already I can’t wait to see the next videos! It turned out better than I imagined, great job!💕
Sweet. Great job. I am wanting to make an overlanding camper.
Thanks for showing your technique.
You amaze me, young man! I believe you can do ANYTHING (any skill at all) you put your mind to.
🌞🌛⭐✌💛
Smart. Looks alright in my book. can't wait to see where this goes!
Man I’m a contractor been running a company for 8 years and I have to say your work is very very clean!!!! Keep it up and if your interested in building houses and wanna learn some great advice from Larry haun and the you tube channel essential worker!!!
This is borderline genius. I have a couple of projects in mind that will go next level with this technique. Great stuff!
Hello Dualex, you are an amazing builder, and I love following you because I am always fascinated. You are so smart. You have a Blessed talent. Be safe, and I pray that you have gotten vaccinated, for yourself and for people like me. God Bless love 💕❤️🙏🏾☺️
Awesome!!!! My son n law is a welder. I think he would have enjoyed welding those pieces together.
the biggest issue I see being possible is water proof-mess, especially now that you're up north and will have snow/ice to deal with. But looks really nice so far.
Awesome, I was thinking of building one , although it will be taller, and cover it with 1/4 inch or 3/8 plastic.
I'm surprised you don't YET have millions of subscribers...some day you will!
Cool build. Good on you for tackling a material you aren't familiar with.
This is my first time that I see your channel, you are professional. Good job thanks for sharing.👍👍
Love this idea! Don't know if you were planning on doing it but you should also "weld" the corners to help support them since they were cut. They will be the first tings to go after some time. Keep it up and can't wait to see how it turns out
And of course we all want to know what brazing Rod you used and where did you get your Aluminum from?
You can find Alumiweld rods at Harbor Freight. Similar brands at other hardware stores.
There is a video on UA-cam that compares these brazing rods. You should watch it and see what to use. The harbor freight rods used here we're good, compared to others, but I believe the Hobart ones were the strongest when compared to other brands.
Dude, your desire to learn and creativity is inspiring. Love it! Keep up the badass learning and growth brother!
Nice been waiting.
You are so talented, you never cease to impress. 👍🏾👍🏾
My favorite DIY builder. Great work man.
Hey, that’s a great idea for the truck! Keep your creative juices flowing…👍🏽
you're a worker bud, and I enjoyed watching you do this
Nice workmanship ! Love the comments ! Good luck !
I really enjoy your videos. Thank you for sharing a part of your life with us b
Fantastic job working around the limitations of tools at hand! I've been thinking about making a camper for my truck and decided to check out how other people have gone about it. Your video is my favorite so far on this topic.
This is freaking fresh AS hell
This thing is ausome so far , what kind of gas is that is it Mapp gas and what kind of rods do i ask for .Do you think it would tackl light Guage steel the same or not hot enough. I can't believe it's so light . Cant wait to see next video going to look for it now thanks for sharing Dale
Nice work. Easy chillin' sounds
Keep on truckin' !
Peace
I was just thinking you're missing a trick with not utilizing space above your truck cab and then you mention the roof tent. ⛺ Good work my man!
Dude!! Very impressive! Your understanding of the geometry involved in building the frame and bending the diamond plate so it fits exactly right is impressive. Great start to the build. On to the next video. Thank you!
Great work...I've been watching and scheming my own DIY build watching every imaginable type of (heavy'ish) material and then thought "why not make the frame out of Al tubing or beams?". Thank you for showing me it's in fact, possible.
Thank you for the inspiration to try something new as I an planning something like your build on my Jeep Gladiator.
This build is incredible! Pure genius! And you’ve done a beautiful job with the videography and editing. I have to admit that I watched your final walkthrough video first so I know how it ends. Amazing!
Great job. Would of added self tapping pan heads to the angle brackets.
Man I look forward to seeing your videos bro. Thank you for all your help
Dude you're rad seriously you pull out these videos and that's exactly what I want to do to my Tacoma I have an off-road Tacoma and I mean I'm a born Carpenter I'm a master Carpenter but I'm a general contractor also I do every phase and what impresses me about you is you don't do what a lot of UA-camrs do to where they have a lot of dead time and I know from studying it that that keeps the audience on the 5 to 8 minutes for the video for most of the money making you put that 5 to 8 minutes or whatever you do to use you state the facts about the weight about what you're learning about everything that's important and you keep to the important s*** any fast forward through the grind and I dig that about you anyways look forward to your next ones peace out my brother
WOW! this looks awesome!! I can see you incorporating aluminum in future van/camper builds. Hey, we saw how your progression with wood turned out so it’s only natural to move onto aluminum. At least to keep weight down, if nothing else. AWESOME JOB!
Dualex we’ve been waiting and anticipating!!! Perfection, can’t wait to see the rest of the series! Well worth the wait 😁
You are fantastic!
I will try this out too, thank you so much! I love how you use the file in one direction. So many guys do the filing back and forth, your technique is great.
OMG!!! I love, love, love this.
Keep up the great work! Watching with great interest and you work away through your projects.
How is this holding up? The weld/brazings, joints, etc. after use travel and stuff?
Nice! I've been contemplating a DIY camper top for my truck made of wood but after seeing this I may use aluminum instead.
I am inspired. Amazing talent.
Love everything about your videos. Thanks for putting yourself out there!
Bud, you are Awesome, what a Marvelous job. My respects to you Sir. It Even is a complement to your nice truck. Wow
Nice. I think this is what I have Ben looking for
Great job looking forward to the next phase to see how it all ends up .
This is going to be so sick. Can't wait to see more
I'm always impressed with what you do!
You are Amazingly talented!!!!👍
Well done Sir!
Weights a huge thing when it comes too canopies and draws it amazes me how many people use wood. I’ll be doing drawers in my wagon soon and I’ll be using 2 good quality canvas bags with a sheet of checker plate on gas struts. Not sure how it’ll go. If it works out I’ll get a video of the finished product.
Nice work and the corners look real nice.
How have the brazed joints held up over time?
Ahh I’m so happy I came across your channel!!!
Very nicely done. I built an aluminum no weld camper using t-slot aluminum aka 80/20, expensive stuff but very strong. Had I seen this video first, I would have used your method.
Wow! Awesome approach. It’s cool you work out of a storage unit also. I’ve been thinking of doing that!
Nice angle on your approach!
Can’t wait to see the finished look 👏👍🙌🙏