Jig clamping strips of 1/4 inch thick by 1 1/2 wide pine into curved ribs.
Camper
Jig clamping strips of 1/4 inch thick by 1 1/2 wide pine into curved ribs.
Side and front plywood have ribs attached, and are being glued at the corners.
Side and front temporarily clamped. Interior joints have been glued.
View from the rear. Sides and front, but no roof yet.
Roof temporarily in place. The roof plywood was clamped to curved ribs to get that curvature.
A temporary clamp keeping the roof and wall joint aligned while the glue dries.
Clamping gussets inside to strengthen the camper, and hold things together. Notice the canvas strip already glued into the roof / wall joint.
With the roof and 3 walls in place, we have temporarily put the camper shell on the truck.
The camper temporarily placed on the truck. As planned, my hair brushes the ceiling.
Clamping up a window frame. The window frames have an inside rounded rectangle to fit the purchased RV windows. The outside of the frame is a square edge rectangle that is glued into the wall of the camper with canvas+glue strips.
Temporary fitting the window frame.
The window frame after being glued in from the inside.
Test fitting the window. The outer layer of canvas has not been applied yet.
An early stage of assembling the cab-over. It was more or less curved and glued in place. Note the top corner has not been glued down.
The door was built on a flat surface. A series of ribs strengthen the door and help to keep the door more or less flat. This door layout is not ideal. I will redesign it next time, and probably use thicker ribs for a flatter door.
My first plan was a double rear door giving a full 48 inch wide opening. That was wider than necessary. Also, I needed a wider rear bulkhead to give the camper more lateral stiffness. Note the thick bottom strip to stabilize the rear.
The widened left rear bulkhead. I eventually added more gussets. Next time, I make the rear bulkheads stiffer with more diagonal ribs, and more gussets at the corners.
Measuring the rear canvas. The canvas is being held in place with duct tape prior to being glued in place. The door was fitted before the outer canvas was applied. I think I installed and removed the door 4 times.
The camper shell sitting in the shop. Rear canvas has been glued on, as well as some of the side canvas. The door was fitted earlier, and removed so I could glue on the outer canvas covering.
Clamps holding the outer canvas covering in place while the glue dries. The entire back surface of the canvas is covered with glue, and pressed against the plywood.
The outer canvas has been applied to the walls and roof, but the rear bulkhead is still bare plywood. The door hinges will attach to the raised blocking on the right, rear bulkhead.
The cab-over is done, and the whole thing has been covered with canvas plus glue. The clamps are holding down some stubborn bits around the window opening.
View of the inside, right, rear bulkhead with the door attached and open. At this stage the camper was fairly complete. Since this picture was taken, I've added many triangular gussets. Also, the camper now has removable interior cabinets and a sleeping bed.
The right side, interior, mostly finished. Many gussets were added at the top and bottom. Originally, I used camper-top clamps to attach the camper top to the truck bed rail. However, camper top clamps are odd, so I switched to C-clamps that I think are stronger, more secure, and easier to used.