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Anyone built their own camper on the back of a truck bed frame?

handloader90

handloader90

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Tossed around the idea of building a teardrop from some online instructions then figured it would probably be easier to just pop the box off of my truck, build a flatbed and fit some plywood skinned with aluminum or some kind of ABS plastic or something.

I've been watching a lot of overland stuff lately and it's really got my wheels turning...

Just curious if anyone has done anything like this. Not looking put a functional sink or stovetop or anything crazy in there.

I've got a '79 K20 and figure I could get away with something that's about 10 feet long, about as wide as the cab and not much taller than the cab. Could sleep 3-4 by using x2 cots and x2 hammocks inside and run a propane buddy heater for heat when it's cold out.
 
I just found a good camper shell on craigslist for dirt cheap so I'm gonna pick that up and run that until I get it figured out.

I want to build a flatbed at some point and would like to build something off of that.

I'll look around for one of the cucv pieces but i dont know how successful I'll be at finding one or what someone would ask for one of those.
 
They are way out of price range for me but looking at them the shell looks like it's doable if that's what you're set on.
 
I know of one C30 pickup a guy had,he took an old tow behind "Scotty"camping trailer similar to a tear drop style,and mounted it in place of the flat bed it had originally--it looked almost factory built,the wheel wells on the trailer aligned with the truck's rear dual wheels,and he said it rode very good,and had good stability...

I've seen some factory built GM truck/campers,one was posted on here for sale about a year ago--a guy we used to set up next to ,to sell stuff at an auto parts swap meet had a nice 1966 GMC C-30 factory camper with a 427 tall block & SM465 factory...thing was awesome!..

scotty camping trailer.jpg
 
It would be way easy to build a camper box off of a flatbed especially if it's mainly just for sleeping in. I think it would be cool. Just gotta make sure you don't get it too heavy and make it a little aerodynamic on the front so it's not like a straight up vertical wall above the cab. Google homemade camper or homemade toyhauler and there's ton of cool ideas from guys converting box vans and utility trailers.
 
Truckman4life said:
It would be way easy to build a camper box off of a flatbed especially if it's mainly just for sleeping in. I think it would be cool. Just gotta make sure you don't get it too heavy and make it a little aerodynamic on the front so it's not like a straight up vertical wall above the cab. Google homemade camper or homemade toyhauler and there's ton of cool ideas from guys converting box vans and utility trailers.
Click to expand...
I know it may be reinventing the wheel but I know I can build the flat bed and the camper deal within my budget and make it how I want.

It would literally be a storage and sleeping quarters, that's it. Nothing fancy.

I would like to make something modular where I have a functional bed with some stake pockets or something similar where I can pop in the "walls" and have the roof and back side with the door link in to eachother and use some kind of rubber strips to seal it up so rain doesn't get in and heat doesn't escape during the cold months.
 
I've been thinking a flat bed with a cube that could be fork lifted off and on when needed. Then the flat bed is useable for other chores.If no forklift maybe a pulley setup or six pac camper style jacks. The CUCV box would be perfect with an air dam on the part above the cab.
 
handloader90 said:
Now that's slick!
Click to expand...

Simple, effective, and pretty cheap to build. I've got more pics in my 82 crew cab build (to not thread jack too much) and have a couple more pics on my computer from heavier setups. Learned about this design when I was working in the oilfield and just shrunk it down for light duty work.

If using this design a strong metal skid at the bottom of the cargo is necessary. The winch attaches to the front of the skid and will pull on that.
 
Consider the simple options before tearing into tons of work for something that may or may not turn out well.

DIY-truck-camper.jpg


A few examples come to mind:
  • Even with a flat bed, a pickup camper should work - just rig up a new mounting solution. Should be able to find one cheap if it needs a little work. Little things like storage, potty, doors, windows, heater, etc., etc. are already done and will make a big difference when you're out there.
  • Likewise a small pop-up camper could probably mount to a flat bed (sans suspension) if you can find the right size. It would be great to mount sideways so the beds go to the left and right, with door at the back of the truck, but that would require a smaller than standard 8' box. Plus, the total width of your beds can't be more than the total width of the camper (closed) unless somebody's invented an overlapping bunk sort of design. If you have all of 10' and can mount the top of the (closed) camper as high as the truck roof, the front bed could open over the cab and it would be very spacious.
  • A roof top tent can offer lots of sleeping space and there are many mounting options. Mount right to the flat bed, build a rack for it and store your stuff underneath or go whole hog and mount one on top of a service bed. Need more space, get 2.

Look for a local RV salvage place. A good one will have all the windows, doors, cabinets, whatever you need. And if you do DIY a whole camper, you can cover it with normal aluminum RV siding.
 
Well someone beat me to that camper shell about a week or so ago.

I'll keep looking around and see what I come up with. If I can find a reasonably priced "slide-in" camper option that isn't trashed then I'll go that route and come up with some mounting options for when I go flatbed.

Thabks for everyone's input, pics and ideas in this thread. Especially the don't reinvent the wheel ones lol.
 
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