Ot Ph Camper Idea Ot

[pflaming]

On a different thread "out and about" a comment was make about putting a small camper on a PH. This is a stick and canvas design I have in mind. I have built the top, did it for the BBQ last April. If one made the uprights out of light tubing, and a good cross bar, then a 10' aluminum boat could go on top and hardly be noticed. 

 

Pull up the sides, slide out the beds, drop canvas or netting on the sides and . . . Nice papa, grandson get away vehicle.

 

Now add a tear drop behind or a small boat and one could be quite independent. Maybe even cross country. 

 

One could use army cots for beds and lighten the rig. Cut the legs off and turn the cots upside down . . . 

Under the beds, the bed floor is open for supplies. Tail gate is down, open the read doors on which are hanging the cooking utinsels and basic cooking needs, spices, etc.  Then a 10' x 10' pop-up cover and . . . 

 

I was offered 10 grand for the truck today but got plans for it. 

 

[Merle Coggins]

This guy built a pretty interesting camper on a later model Dodge truck. It was pretty cool.

 

 

[41/53dodges]

OK, I want it!

[Jeff Balazs]

Merle;

That is very cool. A pop up version of that would be really sweet.

My friend Jon builds off road vehicles. He is doing a pop up sleeper conversion right now on an old Marine Corp ammo trailer. Those trailers have a ton of space between the wheel wells......so it is getting an actual double bed mattress!

 

Jeff

[HanksB3B]

It would be nice to get a look at some of the older military trucks pictured on VintagePowerWagons site and from other resources like this WW2 Dodge Motor Pool and produce a wood framed canvass camper shell for our trucks.  Hey Jeff what are you doing after you finish your truck?  

 

 

Hank 

[greg g]

I guess my question, other than that would be a nice project, is why not just tow a small popup?  I like the idea of a self contained vehicle,  but the aspect of breaking camp every time I want to run to the store, or take a trip around the area doesn't make a lot of sense to me.  I could see putting the shell on the truck, maybe make it do double duty as a boat canoe kayak rack and maybe emergency accommodations, But I like the idea of leaving the sleeping cooking equipment at camp while treking around the area.  Small popups can be had repetitively inexpensively, and re canvased or re screened  for not a lot, and they already have the refrige, storage, and sleeping places.

[Jim Shepard]

I've often thought about a teardrop trailer.  One would be relatively easy to tow and would be self-contained. One would also be "period-correct" for one of our trucks.  There were many of these trailers around in the late 40's-early 50's.  My wife and I rented one a couple of years ago from a company out here that still makes them and we decided we're a little too old to be crawling around on our hands and knees getting dressed and getting up in the middle of the night to find the pottie...   

Edited July 28, 2013 by Jim Shepard

[pflaming]

The best part about the tear drop is the mini-kitchen on the back, about the rest I agree. A pop up would work well. My tent camper would be for short overnight fishing trips. I could open out one bed or two, I'm off the ground and have enough height in the 'tent' to stand. But that is future, got a significant project to tend to for now.

[Jeff Balazs]

Paul I agree with you about the kitchen part on a teardrop. When I was in the scouts we had a very similar version of these kitchens made of plywood. They were portable and would be set up on a tailgate or they had a set of legs. Seems to me you could make one fairly easy. I looked at a early teardrop a few months ago. They look neat but that crawling around stuff is for the youngsters.

 

Jeff

[Scruffy49]

I may still have chuck box plans around here... if not, here you go...http://www.chuckbox.org/plan-your-camp-kitchen

 

Scouting is a dirty word these days Jeff... which is too bad, most of the time I found it worthwhile. Was kind of bored after making Eagle at 15 though.

[Jeff Balazs]

Scruffy;

Those kitchens are cool. Wouldn't take too much to make them look correct for the period. If I was going to do a camper or something like this I think it would be much neater to have it look like it was made back in the day. There is a scene in the movie the Rounders where Henry Fonda is cooking up breakfast under a canvas fly on the side of their Pilothouse.......gotta love the simplicity of that!

 

Scouting was great for me. It is a shame when a few bad eggs ruin things for the majority. It is still a good program....it just depends more on the quality of the local individuals running things.

 

Jeff

[pflaming]

I've got some highway driving to do so I wanted something to cover the bed. This is held on by four pegs that go into the rack posts. I may hinge one side later, but  I will paint it tomorrow for now and use it. Should I want a 'sleeper', I can put longer legs on, raise the top, etc.

 

 

 

Edited June 30, 2018 by pflaming

[MBF]

That looks good Paul.  I remember an uncle of mine built something just like that back in the 60's on a Chev stepside.  Nice job-if you're not over 6' tall you could probably sleep in it with some ventilation and a way to open the tailgate from inside.   Mike

[Desotodav]

Well done Paul. I'm wondering though, how do you find the time and energy to work on all of these projects of yours?

[pflaming]

Desotodav: " . . . how do you find the time and energy to work. . ." I get up early every morning with a list of things to do, I have a very understanding wife, great forum friends, and I believe in a great God. 

 

I had a complete mental shut down about three years ago. For 10 months I seldom left my chair, hated to go outdoors, and wanted solitude. My doctor insisted I see a Psychiatrist who put me on Zolum. One day I started doing things on the truck that did not require any money and took a lot of time, i.e., patina. My shop and my vehicles are my therapy. I love the solitude and I love to see something cast aside brought back to usefulness.

 

Enough of me, got to paint the top in the morning, then cut out a floor board from my parked 87 T-Bird and fit it into the suburban so I can use the bucket seats, then . . . maybe find a dilla to raise.

[48Dodger]

Paul, having met you a few times...I can't imagine you sitting around in solitude. You are a ball of energy.

 

With that new rig deal, I wanna nickname your truck  "Good Medicine"......

 

48D

[Jeff Balazs]

Nice job Paul Looks like you are on the right track with this design. Since you have started this thread I have been giving a lot of thought to building a removable wooden camper for mine. It is a ways off but it sure would be fun to have a funky little rig to take some road trips with. My brotherin-law has utility trailer that is built with a Pilothouse short bed that he want me to take ......so maybe a camper for sleeping and the trailer for a camp kitchen and hauling a cartop skiff.

 

Have fun with it.

Jeff

[William Davey]

Since this is already and OT thread, I'll digress a little.  My dad made our first camper in the back seat of his 51 DeSoto 4-door.  He cut out the braces for the rear window shelf and built a plywood bed from the back of the front seat about half way into the trunk.  The bed was up on legs in the front with plenty of storage below and also storage in the trunk at the foot of the bed.  He wrapped window screen around the rear window inside trim (valence?) and screwed them back in place.  Gave us ventilation with the windows down and bug protection too.  We went camping several times in this rig and i'll never forget the good times.

[P15-D24]

It would be nice to get a look at some of the older military trucks pictured on VintagePowerWagons site and from other resources like this WW2 Dodge Motor Pool and produce a wood framed canvass camper shell for our trucks.  Hey Jeff what are you doing after you finish your truck?  

 

 

Hank 

Pilothouse truck brochure shows both a hard top with canvas sides/back and flip down seats, or a "package canopy body" (all canvas) as factory options.  

[pflaming]

Ops, wrong color! 

 

[DJ194950]

Can you give it some "patina"?

[Scruffy49]

This guy built a pretty interesting camper on a later model Dodge truck. It was pretty cool.

 

 

 

That truck made the Colorado Sweptline Cruise this year.

 

Paul, hit up Pacific Fabrics, they usually have bright blue marine grade vinyl that would look great on your bed cover. Flat black to match your tires would look good as well.  Now you need a couple Huffy Cranbrook beach cruisers in blue and cream on the lid... You did say you have grand kids if I remember correctly (my photographic memory is now about as accurate as an early Polaroid that was stored improperly)...

[pflaming]

1. The pics in the above post are of the unit to which I referred in my first post. It is well thought out idea.

 

2. I painted my new top a satin black which looks great . Then today I bought a surf board. Tomorrow I will mount it. It will eventually go in the suburban. Once mounted I will take better pics (to be continued)

 

 

 

[Scruffy49]

That works too. I like it.

[Desotodav]

I was at a car show yesterday and spotted a couple of nice looking coffee trucks. My mind went back to this thread from 2013 when Paul was discussing plans for his camper/truck canopy.

Neither of the trucks I saw were MOPAR's, but I found them quite interesting and thought they might provide some ideas for all here....