#caravanbuild

[carolynscamper]

Framing

August 23, 2020

I went into this week hoping to tackle a short punch list and ended the week with a 95% complete frame. This type of progress gets me so excited.

I decided on vinyl peel and stick floor tiles for the floor. I want the tiles to be the flooring for our storage areas as well so I put it down before building the dinette and bunk beds.

Framing was fun. It take patience and precision but watching the puzzle come together was great. I have such an appreciation for good craftsmanship. I spent a lot of time making adjustments, re-measuring, and swapping tools to ensure everything fit as nicely as possible.

The frame is very light. It will be skinned by 1/8 plywood and then fiber glassed. The three combined will make a very sturdy and comfortable camper. The interior will have a layer of insulation. I haven’t decided on the interior wall panels yet. I will probably go back to Lowes to see and feel all the materials before making a decision.

Weight is on my mind this week. It’s really important that the camper stay under 2000 lbs. I have a 3500 lb axle rating but the Coleman camper manual suggests keeping the weight lower. Right now my weight sits around 300 lbs. I estimate that 1/8 ply, fiberglass, insulation, and walls will add 85-100 lbs based on the weights of those products and how much I think I’ll need.

Once the framing was mostly done I used painter’s tape to map out the floor plan. We’ll have:

Bunk beds for the kids in front

A small kitchenette

An outdoor shower

A dinette that turns into a queen bed

Some creative storage areas

You’ll also see a rectangle shape in the roof. That’s because I am engineering a pop-top roof similar to the European Eriba caravan. 

I am having minor surgery so I won’t be able to work on it that much this week. But I will get lay in bed and watch electrical and plumbing tutorials over and over and over again.