instructables
My Foam Built Micro Camper
by Todd W Meyer
I've decided to build a hard shell camping trailer that
will give me the maximum amount of interior room
possible and still fit in my garage.
I want it to be light weight, well insulated against the
heat and cold, and I want to pack as much function
and comfort into it as possible. I want to be able to
keep my camping gear right in the trailer in the
garage. When we decide to go camping it should take
a minimal effort to load and go.
I don't need a bathroom or a shower, the state parks
have those...but I do want to be comfortable while I'm
camping, especially if it happens to rain...
We've gone to the camper shows now for a couple of
years and all we see is over priced camping trailers
with too much stuff crammed in to a small space. You
can't even buy a basic floor plan without a bathroom.
We could go with a pop-up, but that's not much better
than tent camping and a good used one is $5,000+.
The decision has been made! I'm building a Foam
based Teardrop inspired micro camper.
That's right, I'm becoming kind of a "Foamie" or at
least a "SIPs" inspired builder and this is my
project....
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My goal is to keep the cost (including specialty tools)
to $3,500 or less and have the camper completed by
mid July 2016 for our annual family camping trip. This
is also supposed to be a hobby project that I enjoy.
OK, update - My original goal of mid-July 2016 has
come and gone. You can read about some of the
issues I ran into last summer centered around
ordering a custom built door in the project delay
section. I took several months off to fish, hunt and
spend time on other things since camping season
had really come and gone. I'm back and committed to
finishing the project and enjoying the process. The
new target date is to be done by Memorial day, 2017.
Again, thanks for hanging in there with me...
UPDATE 12/01/2018 I have been dealing with some
health problems over the past 2 years and have been
unable to work on the camper consistently. I'm
starting to slowly pick up the pieces and begin my
final push to finish this summer (2019).
12/19/18 - Things are moving once again on the build.
see progress reports below...
3/25/19 - Other than some touch up the painting is
done...
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Step 1: Choose a Trailer Frame to Build On.

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I decided on a 6' x 10' camper size. I'm going to need
a trailer frame to build it on. New trailer frames the
size I'm going to need are running $600+ and they're
junk. To find something solid I'm looking at more like
$800+.
The solution was to try to find an old camper with a
solid frame. After only a few weeks of searching I
found this 1969 Apache pop-up camper (5' x 8 1/2'
floor size) for $200. I had to travel 2 hours away to
make the purchase. The frame is in great shape and I
think I can part it out to make some of my initial
investment back. Thank goodness I made it home
with no problems at all with the trailer.
I've got what I need. Now I've got the whole winter to
get this thing reconditioned so that I can build on it.

1. The frame is in great condition

Step 2: The Deconstruction Process

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There are two ways to go at this point. You can demo approach, I learned a great deal from this process. I
the trailer or deconstruct it. If you demo it you can sorted the parts as I went.
save a lot of time, but forget about being able sell the
parts. Once I was done I took the big/scrap aluminum
pieces to the scrap yard and got about $90. Now I
Deconstruction is taking each part and component off have $110 into the cost of the trailer with a garage full
one at a time. I chose to go this route for two reasons, of parts still to be sold or recycled into this or other
first it allows me to sell more parts in the end, and projects.
second you can learn a lot about how they built it in
the first place. Since I am not familiar with RV
construction techniques I'm glad I chose this

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1. Finally... 1. OK, this is the under side of a 47 year old camping trailer. This is 3/4" un-treated plywood. It may have been
marine grade. But for all you people out there that say the under side needs to be... Probably not so much.

1. That's what I'm after...

Step 3: The Frame Reconditioning

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Once I had a bare frame it was time to get to work. I
used a grinder and power drill to take the surface rust
off. I spent probably about 3 - 4 hours total to get it all
to clean metal. I wiped the entire frame down with a
wet rag to prep for the primer. I used Rust-Oleum
Rust Reformer.
I re-packed the wheel bearings, that took about 60 -
90 minutes.
I put one coat of the rust reformer primer top and
bottom on the frame. If it was metal it got a coated. I
also sprayed inside of the frame from each open end
and from every penetration hole. (Side note here:
these old trailer frames often rust from the inside out.
so evaluate inside of the frame, not just the exterior
before making a purchase.) I did the underside first
and made sure to let everything dry down good
before flipping the frame over to do the top. I had
about 2 - 3 hours into priming everything. The
process took several days with the dry time.
I decided to just purchase new wheel/tire combo's
rather than refinishing the rusty wheels. NO GO. I
1 1
1. OK, lets see what's under there...
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found out after making a purchase (only to have to
return them) that my wheel is offset rather than the
new ones that have the hole dead center on the
wheel. That was the restoration God's saying NO
SHORT CUTS. So I had to sand down the wheels
use White rust reformer primer and using rust-oleum
paint I painted each with 2 coats of paint. I had at
least 4 hours into refinishing the wheels. That number
does not include the time running around purchasing
and returning my attempted store bought short cut.
The wheels took about 2 weeks with all the dry time.
You really want to let the primer and each coat of
paint dry down before applying the next coat.
I painted the frame with Rust-Oleum paint/ flat black. I
followed the same process as priming it. Same
amount of time spent.
Once everything had hardened up good I put the
wheels on, installed the trailer jack, took it off the
blocks, and that phase of the project was done.
1. Nice, that's what I'm after...
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1. Wiping the frame down before priming it.

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1

1. Re-packing the bearings...

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Step 4: Building the Deck/floor System

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I decided to build a frame floor system much like you
would for a house. I'm trying to keep the height down
so I chose 2x3's rather than 2x4's. The original floor
on the pop-up was just 3/4" plywood with an
aluminum edge cap. The ply wood hung out more
than 12" past the frame on both sides with no support
at all except under the door.
Using my drill press on a portable dolly I drilled holes
in the 3" frame. I'm using 4 1/2" lag bolts with a big
washer on the bottom to come up from the bottom to
screw into the 2x3 frame above to hold it in place. I
pre-drilled the holes into the wood to keep the 2x3's
from splitting out. That would have been a disaster.
black porch paint.
I ran the wire for the trailer lights through the trailer
frame. I used a drain snake to easily push the wire
through. I also ran 15/2 electrical wire in the same
way.
We cut the 3/4" plywood for the floor/deck and then
primed and painted the under side with 2 coats of the
black porch paint. Using construction adhesive we
laid the plywood floor boards in place (painted side
down) and then nailed them in place with ring shank
nails. Between the adhesive and the ring shank nails
that floor isn't going to come loose.

We primed all the wood - top, bottom, and sides, and

painted them the same way with 2 coats of exterior

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1. Dry fitting my lumber. 2x3's rather than 2x4's buys me some more head 1. Primer before paint.
room.

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1. Two coats of exterior porch paint. 1. Drill press on a dolly made quick work of drilling the 10 holes and
everyone was straight up and down...

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 1

1. This is how much I added to the frame up front. You need

to keep a balance. If you add to the back you need to add to
the front. You don't want the trailer load to be out of balance.
It won't pull right.

1. Note that the clearance in the front is much less than in the back. I did a lot of research on this. Believe me this 1. This is how much I added to the
is correct. Add 5 1/2" clearance over top and you are good on the wheel wells. frame in the back. Note the old
camper had the plywood hanging
out about half that much with no
support at all.
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 support at all.

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1. I used a plumbers drain snake 1. Rear lights wire

to feed the wire through the frame.

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1. Trailer lights rough wiring 1. The painted side goes down. Two coats of exterior porch paint. Go to
the deconstruction step and really look at the bottom side of the 47 year
old untreated plywood. This is probably overkill but better safe than
sorry...

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1. Construction adhesive and ring shank nails. This thing is going to be bouncing down the road. you don't want
things coming apart.

Step 5: Building the Wheel Wells

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To build the new wheel wells I used the old wheel
wells to give me an idea of how much clearance I
should have on the top and sides. I then looked
online at a lot of commercial RV's to see what they
were using for style and for the clearance front and
back of the tires. In the end I went with 5 1/2" on top.
You don't want tires to over heat on a long hot road
trip.
I made a cardboard template for the face of the wheel
well and played around with the look, size, and
function. You need to make sure you can get the
wheels on and off easily if you need to. Once I had
my final template I started cutting out my parts. I used
3/4" plywood.
We primed and painted the inside of the wheel wells
using the same paint and method as the under side of
the floor.
1. Use templates when ever you can.
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Since the inside of the wheel wells will take on an
extreme amount of water when traveling in the rain I
decided to coat the inside with Herculiner bed liner
material. The kit cost about $40. I don't want to skimp
and later have a water issue. This stuff will absolutely
do the trick. Just roll it on with a 4" roller. Use gloves,
and work in a well ventilated area.
Once the inside and both tops were done with 2 coats
of Herculiner I attached the tops. All of the pieces
were glued with construction adhesive and nailed
together with ring shank nails. I caulked the inside
seams around the top once the tops went on. They
were glued down to start with so no water is getting in
from there.
Step 6: It's Time to Gear Up

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In order to get started on the walls I needed to
purchase a few new tools. Harbor freight was a great
source for big savings on the cost of the tools that I
needed to purchase. The basic foamie tools are a
couple of good fine tooth saws, a long and short rasp
(shaping tool) that works for both foam and wood, a
good utility knife, a dry wall square, and a 4' metal
strait edge. On any building project you can never
have enough clamps, and you'll also need a Warner
250 wall covering perforator if your going to do a
canvas & glue exterior. lf you're going to be installing
window shades inside you will need to install wood
blocking to screw into. A hot knife is the best tool for
that job. It cost about $20 but it really saves a lot of
time and does a great job.
I hunted on the internet to find some good quality, but
low cost cargo doors. I got these for $35 for the pair
(free shipping)
I looked at the camper shows at what kind of A/C
1 1
1. I use the double edge saw most. I use the fine tooth side. Purchased
both at Harbor Freight. Both saws cost about $10 ea.
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units they were using in the commercially built
campers and how they had them installed. I found
that several had actually installed them wrong. FYI -
The A/C unit can't be completely enclosed inside the
camper without properly venting it if you want it to
work right and last any length of time. I chose a 5,000
BTU Kenmore, it cost about $115.
I needed the cargo doors, A/C unit, and windows
early on so I could plan my wall rough openings. My
windows ended up being back ordered. I should have
ordered them earlier... Since I plan to make my own
door I control the rough opening for that.
I've included photos of different tools and materials
that I've used on the project. I'll make notes on the
photos.
1. Some inexpensive hand tools is all you need. Go to Harbor freight.com
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1. Warner 250 wall covering perforator. A must

have tool.

1 1

1. 11"x28" Cargo doors. $35.00 for the pair "FREE SHIPPING" 1. Kenmore 5,000 BTU - $115.00

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Step 7: Build the "rough Walls"

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One of the first things I did was to get my shop area
organized. I build an assembly table using some saw
horses and 2x4'S. I replaced the top boards on 3 of
my saw horses with 6' - 2x4's. Then I used 10 foot
2x4's to make a 6' x 10' table frame.
Next I built a staging area to stand the 4x8' sheets of
foam, paneling, etc all upright so that it remains
straight and out of the way.
joining panels by gluing them together using gorilla
glue. Each of the rough walls will eventually be
trimmed down to the finished size and shape.
Once all of the rough walls have been sized and
shaped I'll be ready to go to the next stage of cutting
out penetrations such as windows, etc. and applying
the pre-finished paneling to the interior walls with
adhesive.

I'm building the walls in two stages. Fist I'll build my

rough walls by cutting the 4'x8' sheets down and

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1. 2" foam board temporarily sitting on the assembly table 1. Material staging area

1 1

1. A sharpie works best for 1. You'll need to support the panels when you making cuts
drawing cut lines

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1. This is my go to cutting tool. I can reach all the way across the 4' board 1. Using the Warner 250 I rolled the edge of the 2" foam panel before
to make a clean cut. applying the gorilla glue. When the glue goes into the holes it creates a
glue nail the further holds the material together.

1. Buy some paver stone bricks to use as weights to hold the seams 1. The table allows me to place The cleats to hold panels tightly together during
together the gluing process. You need a table...

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1. With cleats applying pressure from both sides the bricks keep the material from puckering up in the middle while 1. Final trim to get wall panel
the glue sets up. square

1. I made a 2nd. staging area for my rough walls.This is right behind the
table. Easy on easy off as needed.

Step 8: Begin the Final Phase of the Wall Construction.

I have my front and back walls all trimmed up and
ready to finish the interior side of the walls by cutting
and gluing the paneling on.
Today I went to the lumber yard to purchase the rest
of the interior pre-finished birch paneling. $38 per
sheet. Ouch... This is real birch not a particle board
sprayed it on my bondo mixing board and using a
bondo spreader l worked the material back and forth
until it was like peanut butter and the using the bondo
spreader l buttered the opening. To clean my bondo
mixing board and spreader I'll let the foam harden up
and it will peal right off. I'll come back and cut and
sand the foam to my desired rough opening.

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look-a-like. I've had 2 pieces in my garage left over
from another project for years. Back then I only spent
about $26 ea. It's just not an option to buy unfinished
birch and go through the steps of finishing it out
myself. I don't have the time or desire.
I spent about 3.5 hours redoing the 2 window
openings, and they are now a more snug fit. lessen
learned here, l should have just identified spots that
needed to be built up a bit and foamed them rather
than doing the entire surface.

For gluing the paneling to the foam walls I'm using Before installing the paneling I identified the locations
Liquid nails Paneling adhesive with a caulk gun and where l need wooden blocking so that l can attach my
adhesive applicator. The adhesive is a quick set so window shades securely. Using a hot knife for this job
be prepared to work fast. Once it was glued in place I is by far the best approach. l Cut out a 3/4" deep hole
put some weight on it to hold it down while the to receive the blocking and glued in the wood block
adhesive set up. Note: I left 2 1/8 inch offset on each flush with the wall.
side for the side walls to but into and 1 5/8 inch offset
on the bottom to clear the 2x2's. The last step in prep on the side walls before
paneling is to cut my support mini-beam pockets. I
I called again today to follow up on my windows and I made a 1 1/2' x 1 1/2" square jig block. I measure out
was told that the trim rings are finally in. I'm driving my center points and held the jig in place and traced
down next week to pick them up. A word of advice, it with a sharpie. I put the first support beam just
beware of Frank Bear and Vintage Technologies in inside the front and back wall. I measured from what
Union City, MI. My personal experience has been that would be the outside of the front wall and made my
they will tell you anything to make a sale. They have marks 2' on center. This gave me a pocket at 2', 4', 6'
been a nightmare to deal with. Update: The larger and 8' in addition to the pockets just inside the front
size trim rings that I've waited soooooo long for are so and back walls. I put both side walls on top of one
tight that they really don't even fit. I'm going to have to another and taped them together to make sure
file them down. Frank refused to do anything to nothing moved on me. I used my saw and a speed
resolve the issue or reduce the price. This just square to cut the edges of the pocket cut outs cutting
confirms what I said earlier - BEWARE. both walls at one time and making sure to cut plumb
and straight cuts. Once both side had been cut I cut
As I finish each wall I am dry fitting them to see what on a diagonal to each corner and then cut the back
needs tweaking. I then set that wall aside and move line with a knife.
on to the next. To establish and scribe the roof line I
used a long piece of 1/4 round trim I made my To panel the wall I just laid the 1st. panel over the
measurements and taped the trim in the center and at wall and lined up my bottom line and the outside edge
both ends. The trim provided the natural arc I'm then l scribed the top and cut it off with a jig saw. I dry
looking for. I just traced the trim with a sharpie, cut it fit it in place once it was cut and drew a line down the
off, and cleaned it up a bit with my palm sander. edge with a sharpie so I would know where to put the
adhesive.
Cutting out the window and cargo door rough opening
is time consuming. You have very little if any margin To install the 30 amp "electrical power in" hook up , l
for error on this. I used my saw and a dry wall knife used a 3" hole saw. l will have to wait until the
and cut well inside the lines and then worked the exterior wall is finished to install the weather tight
edges out until I had a perfect fit. I used a comb of my cover. l also had to install blocking for the cargo door
shaping tools, a long knife, and my palm sander. latches to screw into to. using the hot knife l cut out
the foam and glued in the 3/4" blocking.
After dry fitting the cargo door I needed to inset wood
on 3 sides so I can screw the cargo door in place at In final reparation of standing the walls l used Crack
trim out. I followed the same process for cutting my Shot high performance Spackle Paste to fill in any
rough openings and the gorilla glued them in place. I gaps, cracks, deep scratches, holes, etc. by filling
did the 2 sides first and after about 90 minutes I was them now l avoid having to do it when the walls are
able to reposition the wall on the table and do the top. up and its more difficult to see and work on the
defects.
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Page glue and canvas exterior finish

Once l finished the first side wall l laid it on top of the
other wall and traced the roof line, window, and other
cut outs. that just leaves the door rough opening to
measure and scribe.
defects. With the glue and canvas exterior finish
these type of issues may show, so better safe than
sorry when it comes to prep work. The spackle paste
goes on easy and quickly with a putty knife.

After cutting the window opening in the second side

wall l dry fit the window. I'm not real happy with the fit.
It could be tighter. I decided to add some material
back on and make the R.O. about an 1/8" tighter all
the way around. I just took a can of spray foam and

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Step 9: Preparing the Deck and Interior for Wall Installation

To prepare the deck for wall installation I first had tol used the excess plywood to build my drawer boxes.
clean up the wheel wells by sanding off any rough 19" W x 20" D x 6 1/2" H. l had some luan left over
edges and making sure everything was flush and from another project so l used that for the bottom. I
smooth. I had a bit of a lip on the tops of both wheel glued and nailed the boxes together. Once the glue
wells that had to come off. set up good l used a 1/4" round over bit in the router
to knock the edges off the top of each drawer. I then
Next I measured and cut 2x2's to be attached around sanded each drawer inside and out with the palm
sander.
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 sander.
the perimeter of the deck as a structural cleat for the
walls to but up and attach to. I then installed the 2x2's
To mount the drawers l purchased some 20" drawer
with gorilla glue and I used a 16 ga.nail gun with 2"
slides at Home Depot.
nails to fasten them in place while the glue set up.

l am running electrical to both sides of the bed where

I'm building a raised bed with 21 cubic feet of storage
I'm going to have a little built in night stand with an
(both front and rear) underneath. At this point I'll be
outlet for a phone charger. Since I've got to come up
doing all of my final layout work on the bed and
through the cargo bay with the wire l decided to put a
storage areas, and I'll cut and dry fit all of the
surface mounted outlet on each side just inside the
components.
cargo bay door. After l got them in l liked the location
so well l decided not to bother putting an outlet on the
I installed 12"x12" stick down vinyl floor tile to the
outside of the back wall like l had been planning to
floor area of the storage compartment. Total cost
do.
$11.25. This will make it easy to keep the storage
area clean.
I built the drawer fronts out of pine 1X10's that I
ripped down on the table saw. I attached them with
To prepare for the cabinets l added some base
liquid nails construction adhesive and 5 or 6 - 18
framing to support the cabinets and to give me
gauge 1 1/4" gun nails to hold them in place while the
something to screw into to hold them in place. l ripped
glue set up. I built the night stand boxes using some
down some 2x4s to make a straight 2x2. l ran the
leftover plywood, the finish size is 6" wide x 21" long
router accross the front edge to give it a trim profile. l
x 14" high. They seem high when you look at them
used gorilla wood glue and 2" nails to hold it in place
but the mattress is 6" high and a pillow is 3 - 4" high
while the glue is setting up.
so once the bed is made up they should be just right.
I put an electrical box in the face of each nightstand
l installed 12"×12" stick down vinyl floor tile up front
using a remodeling box, this will be perfect for a
for the floor in between the bed and cabinets inside
phone charger, or lap top.
the door.

I purchased some light weight indoor/out door

l cut a 3/4" sheet of plywood down to make two 11
carpeting at Home Depot to cover the plywood so that
1/2" x 8' planks. l then cut those boards to make the
the mattress isn't just sitting on plywood, plus there
framing for the front of the bed platform. There will be
will be about 7" on each side between the mattress
two pull out drawers in the center and a cubbie hole
and the wall. Once I've screwed the plywood in place
on each side. l used a jig saw to cut the openings.
I'll attach the carpeting and run it over the front 1" bull
The face board and drawer fronts will get stained.
nose and tack it on the underside. I used the cut off
material to cover both night stands. They turned out
I've decided to go ahead and do the final build out of
nice. My wife want's to be able to use the inside for
the bed and drawer assembly prior to attaching the
storage so I'll make a false bottom and a front divider
walls. I've used the table saw to rip down 2x4's to
to cover the electrical and a removable top for each. I
make 2"×1 1/2" studs. I'm using Liquid nails
installed 4 L brackets inside the bottom of each box
construction adhesive and 16 gauge finish nails to
prior to assembly. Once the walls go up I can push
secure the framing. I will screw the plywood bed top
them snugly into each corner and screw them in
down without gluing it.
place. I'll wait until they are in place to build the tops.
For the bed top l purchased two 4x8 sheets of 5/8"
l used 2 sided carpet tape on the bull nosing to hold
plywood. l cut them both to 33 1/4" x 77" which gives
the carpet in place. l stapled the underside of the front
me a 67 1/2" width. On the bottom side of the
edge with heavy duty 3/8th inch staples about one
plywood I attached 3/4" x 2 1/4" pine slats that l
inch apart all the way across the front. l then stapled
ripped on the table saw. l used liquid nails and 1 1/4"
all the way around the outside edge about 6 inches
nails that l shot in on a slight angle to be sure nothing
apart.
came through the top. The slats really firmed up the
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plywood and keep it from having any sag. I learned
this technique from going to camper shows and
looking under the beds and in the cargo areas. Most
commercial built camper use 1/2" OSB , l went with a
the 5/8" plywood.

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Step 10: Dry Fitting & Preparing to Attach the Walls

Once the walls were complete and work on the table the wheel wells need the framing belt sanded about
had gone as far as l could take it, it was time for a dryan 1/8th of an inch in spots to bring the foam wall
fit. l assembled the walls and roof beams and duct flush with the wood. The key here is to not drive
taped it all together. This gave me a dry run, and yourself crazy trying to get everything to fit perfectly, it
helped me find trouble spots that needed tweaking. won't. The fit and finish issues can and will fixed
during the exterior final prep phase. Don't get me
l had several beam pockets that needed to be cut wrong, you want to get it very close to where it needs
down a little deaper. l purposely errored on the side of to be at dry fit, just doesn't need to be perfect.
caution when l cut them in knowing that I could
always make them deaper later. Some points around

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Step 11: Project Delay

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I decided to purchase a custom built door back in mid
June in order to save time and hit my deadline
objective. That turned out to be a mistake. Vintage
Technology - Frank Bear is someone to stay away
from in my opinion.
My experience was that he will tell you anything to
make a sale. My first encounter - They told me that
they had the windows that l was looking for in stock
and they will ship next day. A week later l had to call
them asking where my windows are. l was then told
that they don't carry that size in stock but they could
have it in a week. A week later after l called back
because they did not call as they said they would l
was told it will be one more week. l finally got the
windows by driving down and picking them up.
While picking up the windows l made the mistake of
ordering a custom built door from him. he was very
convincing that the window experience was a fluke.
He convinced me that he would have my door to me
in 2 weeks. 3 1/2 weeks later l drove again 3 hours
and 40 minutes round trip only to have to reject the
door due to extremely poor workmanship. He said he
would have it rebuilt and shipped directly to me at no
additional cost, again 2 weeks. 3 weeks later l finally
got him on the phone after numerous calls went un
returned. I was told that he had just recieved the door
and if l wanted it l could come get it. l reminded him
that he had committed to shipping it to me a no cost
to me since l had taken a half day off work and drove
a considerable distance only to have to reject the
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door. He then told me if l want the door l can come
get it and hung up on me.
l'm a business owner, and l do small business
consulting work for a living. l assure you through all of
the Frank Bear ridiculous story telling nonsense l was
totally professional and always remained focused on
solutions, l can't say the same for Frank. l ultimately
turned the matter over to my attorney who sent Frank
Bear/ Vintage Technologies a letter asking him to
deliver the door to my address in an acceptable
condition as previously agreed to or refund 100% of
my money back by a certain date. ln the end Frank
refunded my money. l assure you, had l not brought
my attorney into the process l would not have
achieved the same outcome from this man.
Not knowing what the outcome would be on the door
issue the project was dead in the water. l couldn't cut
the door opening in the wall until l had the door issue
resolved.
l finally received a refund for the door in mid August.
l've decided to just build my own door.
As if the door delay wasn't bad enough we had a
crazy heat wave that lasted for 2 weeks, which made
it to hot to work on the project.
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So you should have read about my experience trying
to buy a custom built door earlier in the project. We're
going to suck it up and build our own. After much
research on the subject l have enough info to start
moving forward.
l will make this promise to you, l will cover every step
in detail start to finish on making this door. While
researching this subject l could not find the detailed
steps start to finish in any one place.
l've decided to make the door 26" × 54". The rough
opening needs to be 3" wider and 1 1/2" taller to
account for the wood framing material on both sides
and the top of the door. l used a very stout and sharp
butcher knife and my razor knife to make these
precision cuts. getting this rough opening cut right is
super important. My cuts turned out pretty good. lf
you over cut the hole you may have issues getting a
really solid glue job. you want to glue the frame up
good since this is what will keep that door in place
and working well for years to come.
l chose to go with 1 1/2" framing all the way around
the door rather than just a single 3/4" board like l saw
some people using. That door is going to be pretty
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heavy and l want some meat behind my hinges to
anchor it to. l'm not using 2x4s because they are not
stable. l need this opening to be precise and 2x4s will
bow and twist. l chose to use select kiln dried 1x3s
that l ripped down on the table saw to 2". l then glued
them together and nailed them with 18 ga. 1 1/4"
finish nails to hold them in place while the glue set
up.
Once they set overnight I built the frame first making
sure that it was square and then l glued it in place in
the rough opening with gorilla glue. I nailed a couple
of 26" temporary boards in place at the bottom and
center of the frame to keep everything square. Those
temporary boards will come out once the trailer is
completely framed/shelled. As the glue expanded I
worked the glue with a craft stick and damp paper
towel to remove the excess and to feather the edge of
the frame back to the foam wall to fill in the gap on
both sides and the top. By working the expanding
glue this way it save alot of time later and it makes a
stronger wal frame connection.
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Step 13: Cabinets & Drawers

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Before attaching the top of the bed platform and a lot of progress over the winte
standing the walls we stained the trim and drawers.
We put 1 coat of pre stain on and 1 coat of red Now that spring is here l moved the paint/stain lab up
mahogany stain on. We let the stain dry overnig to the shop.

After the stain dried down good we applied 2 coats of

polyurethane. l set up a paint lab in my basement
since the temperature outside was cold. I didn't make

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Step 14: The Roof & Ceiling

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For the roof supports I am bypassing pine 2x2's the top of the walls l used a small 3" hand plane and
because of how unstable they are. The last thing l sanding block.
need is to have roof issues because of twisting and
bowing supports. l decided to finish the ceiling by installing 5/16" thick
tongue and groove pine. l glued it and nailed it into
l am choosing instead to make a stable 2x2 by ripping the 6 wood roof supports. lt turned out great. The 1/4"
down 3/4" plywood. l cut twelve 1 1/2" × 3/4" pieces. l pine is light weight and it bent to follow the curve of
paired them to make my 6 roof beams. l glued them the ceiling just fine.
with gorilla wood glue and nailed them together with 1
1/4" nails. This makes a mini micro lamb beam. lt's l used a 1/4" round over bit on my router to round the
stronger than the pine and completely stable. roof edge all the way around. You don't want to have
any sharp edges or corners when doing a canvas and
I used 3/8" plywood for the roof material. l purchased glue exterior.
3 pieces. l ran them accross the top 4' x 6' for two,
and 2' x 6' for the last one. l used liquit nails l used a pole sander and 120 grit sandpaper to sand
construction adhesive to glue them down. l tacked the the plywood roof. You don't want to go to fine with the
plywood down with 1 1/4" 16 ga. gun nails on the grit because you're going to want your glue to grab on
outside edges of the wood cross beams and a few in to the wood and hold tight. Start sanding with the
the center. l also stacked bricks along the outside grain, then go cross grain, and hit it one last time with
edge and a few in the center to hold everything down the grain. You don't want any raised wood grain
firmly while the glue sets up. l then went around the showing through the canvas.
edge were the walls meet the top with the
construction adhesive and completely filled the gaps The next step is to dry fit the canvas and decide
like l was caulking it. l also did the same around the where to seam it. The canvas is 9' X 12' and has a
wheel wells as well as all 4 corners. seem running down the center at the 6' mark. I'll need
to wash the drop cloth and then cut the edge seams
l took my measurements for the ceiling insulation and the center seam out. This is the time to do lay-out
pieces and did a material layout. l determined that I on all the exterior pieces.
can do the entire job with two 4 x 8 sheets of 1 1/2"
foam board. l tell you this because l was able to find we polyurethaned the ceiling. We used a 4" roller to
two sheet of foam board each with some serious apply to material then back brushed it with a paint
damage along one edge. Home Depot gave me 50% brush. It took 45 minutes to do the entire ceiling. it
off on each sheet. That saved me $21 and l knew took almost an hour to prepare for the polyurethane
going in that the damage would be scrap anyway. l by taping plastic drop cloth to all 4 walls. As it turned
cut and labeled the 5 pieces. l used liquid nails for out, I'm not sure we needed to do the entire wall, but
paneling to adhere the foam board to the underside of sure as we hadn't we'd of had a wall drip issue.
the plywood roof. l braced the pieces for about 45 min Remember your working with a finished interior.
each.
We primed the plywood roof using an exterior primer.
l filled the seams/joints on the roof with gorilla wood also made sure to prime the edge all the way around
glue. Once the glue dried hard l sanded the seams as well.
with a palm sander.

To clean up the edge of the plywood where it meets

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Step 15: Attaching the Walls

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As final prep l used my shop vac to clean all the
areas that will be glued. l then took a damp cloth and
wiped down the same area. l taped off the finished
area inside with painters masking tape and news
paper so that when the gorilla glue expands it won't
make a mess. My wife helped me to glue and stand
walls. lf possible a third person would be a great help.
We used 2 bottles of glue and started with the long
drivers side wall. We each started laying down glue at
opposite ends of the wall and met in the middle. We
then set that wall in place. Laura held that wall while I
glued up the front wall track. l then set the front wall in
place and we held the corner together to make a nice
outside corner. l put bamboo skewers through the
front wall into the side wall to pin the corner together.
We then used duct tape to hold the two walls together
tightly. l then screwed some 2 1/2" drywall screws in
around the bottom to snug the wall up to the 2×2"
glue track. lt's not going to be perfect, don't worry
about that just get it all real close. Mine turned out
good. Next we glued and set the other side wall.
Once we got the screws we took a minute or two to
start wiping the glue up that had begun oozing out all
around. We then put the roof beams in and just taped
them in place to hold the walls plumb. Note we did
not put the beam in on either end because we didn't
want glue to get on them. Last we installed the back
wall the same way as the front. Using the bamboo
skewers woks great for holding the corners in place. l
cut them off to about 5 ". Once the glue setts up just
push them all the way in with a hammer. You will
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spend about an hour wiping off glue that expands out
of the cracks. The rest will get trimmed off the next
day when everything is solid. l waited about 4 hours
and decided to go ahead and glue up 4 of the 6 roof
beams. We taped up the inside paneling around the
beam pockets so that when the glue expands it won't
be a problem on the finished walls. Laura got inside
and l set a ladder up on each side of the trailer. l
glued each side of the beam pocket up, l coated 1
side and the bottom with gorilla glue and l put a shim
in each side to hold the beam tight against the 1 side.
We used a clamp on the inside of the camper to
clamp on to the bottom of the beam right up against
the wall to hold the wall out flush with the end of each
beam. Next day, time for clean up. The glue that has
expanded is now set up and rock hard. l used a
combination of tools to knock the glue off and clean
up all edges. See the photos, l used a saw, long
blade knife, a wrasp, palm sander and putty knife. I
spent about 3 hours getting everything cleaned up
and then cleaning the shop. l used construction
adhesive to glue the front and back beams in place.
Since both get glued to the paneling all the way
across l didn't want to deal with the mess of using
gorilla glue. Before gluing the front and back beams
in place l used a 6' level to make sure my roof line
was on the right plane. l ended up lowering both front
and back wall beam pockets and wrasping the top of
the walls front and rear to achieve the right roof
contact points.
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Step 16: Electrical & AC Unit

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l will try to picture the electrical rough in and trim out camp in State park campgrounds mostly and they
including extra info on the A/C. have power. l have designed the system with a 2
breaker electrical box. l have a 30 amp shore power
Sorry about this step, l should have done the A/C inlet on the side of the trailer that will come directly
step on it's own but l'm way to far in now to change it. into the box, from there the 2 breakers will feed AC
Still better to have all the info than not... power to everything. Note that with an adapter l can
run power in using a standard extension cord from the
Another key component is the AC unit. No one out house or where ever l may be. Also l installed GFI
there has really done any of the how to info or steps outlets in the cargo bay since l may have a cord
on A/C installation so l intend to cover it here. feeding something outside that could get wet. Safety
first...
l added a diagram showing the rough opening for the
A/C unit, and another for the A/C cover. l used left l purchased a Black+Decker power station. lt has a
over foam board to make the cover. l wanted it to be 900A jump-starter with built in cables, 120 psi air
strong but light weight. l used gorilla glue to fasten it compressor, 500W power inverter, and 12V /DC
together. l inserted bambo skewers to pin it together outlets and USB ports built into the unit. lf l do camp
and hold all the corners in place while the glue sets off the grid l can use this power station. If l want to l
up. l also taped it to keep the pieces held firmly can set it in the cargo bay and plug it into the outlet
together. lastly l placed bricks on the front piece for and with the inverter l can back feed power to the
added pressure. interior electrical outlets. Thats why l didn't bother
with a built in inverter.
Once the glue was dry I used a knife and putty knife
to take off as much dried glue as possible without Ok, A/C unit installation. I really struggled with how to
damaging the foam. l then used 120 grit sandpaper mount the unit to 1. make it sturdy and 2. make it
and a sanding block to sand all of the joints down and water tight. After all the stressing out l finally came up
round over all of the exterior edges and corners. A with the perfect how to. l took the expandable side
quick dry fit, and l'm pleased. attachments and hooked them in place on the side of
the unit and then using a knife l cut them both off at
Now the question is what is the best way to attach the the second seem. Using a grinder l cut the back side
cover to the trailer. l've decided to use a buckle type of the metal mounting bracket off which allowed me to
fastener. ln order to attach the hardware to the cover l get the unit into the rough opening but yet give me a
needed to in-set some 3/4" blocking on each side. l mounting surface above the rough opening to secure
used the hot knife. A little filler and sanding and it's the unit. l had to cut a 1 and 1/8th" by 16" piece of
looking good. 3/8" plywood to slide in be hind the top bracket to
flush the top and sides out. I inserted the unit into
Next l'll cover it with glue, canvas, and paint. place. The sides are an extremely tight fit and as you
can see by the photos the expandable material
Lets talk about the electrical. I'm not wiring it with a makes a nice flap. The unit is very secure, it isn't
built in inverter. The lights inside will be battery going anywhere. From here it's a matter of trimming
powered LED lights. I'll have the A/C unit with the fan the inside and spray foaming from the outside.
and l have 2 receptacles in the front and 2 next to the
bed, and then 2 more in the storage bay. l intend to

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Step 17: Body Work
l began on the exterior body work by sanding the 4
corners by hand. Using a mask and eye protection is
a must. l rounded the edge over just a bit to begin
with.
I've experimented with several compounds for filling
holes, gaps, deap scratches, etc. DON'T use a
drywall joint compound with wood glue mix. I tried it. l
saw that on a foamie blogg. That might work on a
craft project but not for this application. The Crack
shot spackling past is great for filling the deap
scratches and other smaller stuff. The wider gaps,
holes, etc will require spray foam. You'll nead a
bondo mixing board and bondo tools. Go to Harbor
Freight if you need to purchase the tools. Should be
less than $20. The way you work the spray foam is to
spray a small pile on to the bondo mixing board then
using a bondo spreading tool work the foam back and
forth and keep wiping it off on the edge of the board.
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You need to work it for several minutes. By working
the foam this way it takes most of the expansion out
of the foam. When you apply it DO NOT apply it like
drywall mud where you over apply and feather it out
in a larger circle around the fill spot. Just fill your spot
and keep it in a tight area around your fill spot. Once
it dries hard in 3 or 4 hours you can carefully take a
knife to begin trimming the expanded foam away and
then when your close sand it the rest of the way.
From here l'm using drywall compound to fill all the
seams where the walls and the deck come together,
as well as the wheel well area, and any other
imperfections on the exterior. Any inperfections will
show up through the canvas and glue. l used DAP.
DryDex. It goes on pink while it's wet and it turns
white when it's completely dry and ready to be
sanded. I've included some photo.
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Step 18: Final Trim Out Phase

We installed the interior trim rings for the windows. Great fit inside. It's going to be close on my final wall width as
to weather the screws reach or not.

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Step 19: Skinning the Exterior Walls

Rather than doing the poor man's fiberglass like l had
originally planned to, l have decided to skin the
exterior with 1/4 inch plywood which will basically
creat a structural insulated panel aka SIPs wall. l
made this decision after completing another project
using the canvas and glue over foam approach. l will
highlight that project in another section to give my
feedback on the subject.
l used Liquid nails to glue the plywood to the foam.
With a generous amount of adhesive the plywood
stays in place pretty good. l tape the edges down and
used finish nails along the bottom where l had wood
to nail into. l only had one piece that gave me any
trouble and that was probably temperature related.
The glue had not set up after letting it set overnight.
The manufacturer specs say it can take up to 48
hours in certain temps to really set up. l gave it the
extra time and had no issues.
After everything was solid l dry fit the windows and
cargo doors. l used a dremel to cut down any fit
issues.
The next step was to prime the wood. l used the
under layment plywood which has a very thin veneer.
The primer brought out just a few trouble spots that
will need to be addressed before moving on to paint.

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Step 20: Exterior Trim & Paint

Installing the exterior trim.

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Step 21: Canvas & Glue Over Foam Project
I built a Foam cover to go over top of the water
softener in my basement bar. I used scrap materials
left over from building the walls of my camper. I felt
that this project would give me a good test run prior to
tackling the exterior of the camper in the spring. Well
based on my experience with canvas & glue over
foam l decided to change the exterior of the camper
to 1/4 inch plywood skin over foam. The 1/4 inch
plywood is actually 3/16 as you probably know. My
reason for making the change to plywood? First, as
you can see if you've followed the construction
process, trying to get the exterior walls smooth and
blemish free is crazy labor intensive and in the end
probably impossible. Look at the photos of the canvas
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& glue carefully, you will see every imperfection in the
foam telegraph through the canvas. Second, there is
no way possible to make straight seams. The threads
of the cut edge of the canvas are also a real
challenge. In the end for me, I want my camper to
look nice. I know that people say that you can sand
out the seams, etc. Forget that, I have never seen
anyone post a close up picture of a canvas & glue
project. There is a reason for that. Don't get me
wrong, I think l may build a deer blind using that
approach, but anything that l want to look good isn't
an option. Hope this helps you...
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Here's the one I just finished, 1 3/4" foam encapsulated in wood. Took under a year from
conception to title. Weather was a big factor, wind would gust from out of nowhere while trying to
lay the fiberglass waterproofing layer.

Nice Job!
How is this holding up?

Nice Job! I'll bet it's quiet and comfortable inside with the foam and plywood combo...

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New to Instructables... Love your concept.. Thanks for the progress pictures..

I appreciate your thoroughness and the fact that you tried this technique on another project first. I'm
making a pop up camper and decided to do the lower part the way you did yours and then make
the roof so light weight with poor mans fiberglass that I can lift it by hand instead of putting a
complicated winch system in and have it sit on conduit poles. If the top doesn't look right, I can
always rebuild the top. Then I'll make foam inserts on hinges to fill the mid sections instead of
using canvas. It just needs to be big enough for one or two people tops. Just as long as the pieces
all fit inside and is low to tow, I think it will be great. I have to have mine done by the end of June. I
have access to a workshop until then. Wish me luck!! Thanks again for how thorough and careful
you were in your directions.
I commend you for all the time and effort on this proje t. It came out really nice. I was going to
make something similar until i did some.research. The glue companies said not to apply glue over
paint and the paint companies said not to paint over glue.
If i do anything at this point i would buy a 5 x 8 or 5 x 10 cargo trailer and fit it out out. They start
around $2 - $2.5 k.
Let us know how its doing after some use please.
I am currious. You use an old rusted frame that has to be reconditioned. Why not use a heavy duty
frame from harbor freight?
cost this was 200$ and then the parts and scrap would make it almost free- but then there is paint I
guess. How much is one at harbor Freight?
Those 4 X 8 frames at Harbor freight are no where near the quality of this frame and gear, and they
are much smaller too.
this is the craziest, hardest, most time consuming way to build an insulated lightweight trailer..
Sorry but this was crazy. and ridiculous. Too Many prefab materials out there to go this route.. trust
me
cost was the most important aspect of this project so labor hours didn't matter as much. why not
include a list of other options for prefab materials. That would make your comment more helpful.
I've been looking for sip panels at a reasonable price.....where are you getting them? Or are you
using another method? If so can yo it refer me to those plans...maybe you could send some photos
of your trailer. Thanks
Fantastic, step by step tutorial ! Thanks Todd.

What is the final weight of the camper? I want to build the biggest one for the size

I also would love to know your final weight. Given the vehicle I will tow with, the weight has been a
dealbreaker. Thanks I love this campef
I used liquid truck bed liner as my exterior final finish, it’s cheap ,easy to handle & quick to
install..my 3/4” ply floor was coated w/ 5 coats of bed liner that faced the road, ( buy it by the
gallon)..after I built the box body, I rolled 5 coats on outside roof & walls before I mounted door ,
Windows, power vent & roof rack. I used 2x3” wall/ceiling studs w/ 1/2” ply ext walls & ceiling,
where ply edges meet, I applied rubber tape to seal , capping with aluminum angle, my reason is
that water capilllaries thru edge joints left unprotected & unsealed, i’ve seen plywood campers built
without edge protectection (paint only) that were used & stored in the weather 100% of the
time,replaced roofs due to leaks/rot in a short time. Good build, Good Luck!
I have done many camper projects from the ground up. Currently have 2 going, one on a 5x8
chassis and the other on an 8x16 chassis. Been on them both too long, mostly because I
overdosed on insulin and took a bad fall resulting in multiple wrist surgeries to restore. I really hate
the stick frame construction because of the warping, splitting and other variations. I read every inch

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of this pin and saved it on my computer. I am going to do exactly what you have done with the
exception of the outer skin is .024 diamond plate in 3 colors. I will do the same as you, meaning
taking lots of photos and sharing it. I immediately realized that using foam and laminating it with
thin plywood would create stiff and flat panels. Thanks for stimulating my brain to use this
procedure, it actually makes the production faster and easier. The only thing I saw that gave me
pause was that it didn't appear to have a curved roof. Every camper I see here and every one I
have either built or repaired had a curved roof. Thanks again, you really expanded my thought
processes on my current build. I am not opposed to starting over.
The roof line does have a couple of inches of fall from the center to the front and back. There are
some good pics of that. The overall height of the front of the camper is still pretty low so the vehicle
will break almost all of the wind and the roof line will help with the aerodynamics. The trade off in
not putting all of the front and rear curved lines is a lot more interior room. Hope this helps...
I don't have any concerns about the walls blowing away/off. If you go look at all the photos and
explanation of the attachment process I think you'll see why. I have decided to glue 1/4 inch
plywood to my exterior and paint it. That will essentially turn my walls into SIPS (structural
insulated panels). Having done another project with foam, glue, canvas and paint I don't feel that I
can get the same quality exterior finish with the poor man's fiberglass.
I have been contemplating building a teardrop and like many other comments I find yours to be a
top notch job. Thanks for sharing the process you went through building it. I would like to know
what the final weight of the teardrop is. I drive a Honda CRV which doesn't have much in towing
capacity.
Thanks for the awesome instructable! I'd like to build my own "expedition vehicle" box on a truck
out of foam core and fiberglass, but I'm still looking for the right kind of foam and where to buy it.
PU rigid foam is said to be best for insulation and rigidity, but I find a lot of conflicting information
on that. And it seems hard to source here in Europe.
If you are going to build something out of foam that needs to have structural integrity you should be
using expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam panels. EPS is also a closed cell product which makes it
water proof and a great insulator.
I thought XPS was stiffer and more rigid than EPS?
And PU foam with higher density has even more compression strength (and shear strength). I
really need to find a table to compare the actual physical properties of the different materials.
They use EPS for building SIP's. You need both strength and the ability to glue it without having a
reaction to the adhesive/glue... I've found EPS to be the go to Foam for my projects
Sorry to hear about your injury - I hope it heals well. I'm interested
in the outside cladding and, personally, would like to try a thin sheet
of fibreglass. I know polystyrene foam and polyester resin don't play
nicely together. So I'd make the thin sheets away from the foam - maybe
on vinyl flooring laid on a flat surface or glass - then bring the cured
sheets and glue them to the foam. This would give strength to the
sandwich structure. I wonder if it would work?
The fiberglass cloth is not cheap and then to go through all of those extra steps and still have to
glue the fiberglass panel to the foam wall just wouldn't make sense to me. The poor- man's
fiberglass approach that I'm using is well tested. you may want to dig in and really research it.
Check out rowerwet on facebook and also on instrucables he builds boats and has done a
camping trailer. Good luck
Afaik you just have to use epoxy resin instead of polyester resin for styrofoam, because the
styrene in polyester resin will dissolve the polystyrene (ironically).

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I saw some on line while getting my glass cloth that was formulated to be used on polystyrene
foam. Check with the boat building supplier's cause I don't remember which one it was that was
selling it but remember that they had carbon fiber cloth.
Very nice work and clever solutions to problems as they arise. Hope your hand heals in a few
weeks.
I was concerned about the raw foam because in my experience it does warp and sag especially in
hot weather. However, you are cladding the inside with thin wood and cladding the outside. Now it
is similar to a Structural Insulated Panel, or SIP. I will follow your experiment.
Yes, it is the same building technology to SIP's. as soon as the 1/4" paneling was glued in place
the walls became super ridgid.
How's the outside wall surface finished? Great work!

As of right now it's still foam. I broke my right wrist and 2 fingers on my right hand 4 weeks ago. I
just have some final sanding and prep work to do before I can cover the exterior. I'm doing a poor-
mans-fiberglass with glue, canvas and paint. Once it's on and hardened the exterior will have a
very hard shell and be super water proof. I tried sanding with my left hand and it was a disaster. I
now have a few more divots to fill.
sorry to hear about your injury,guess you got some design time wether you wanted it or not!. I did
the roof on my campervan using a similar technique to what you are planning. I used some felt as it
stretches nicely to give a taut skin and sprayed on my polyester resin using a cheap eBay spray
gun for underbody sealant. The pressure forced the resin into the felt nicely and did not need very
much working in as the felt accepted the resin very well.
My top tip would be to carry out dummy runs on spare bits until you get what you are looking
for,too late to find out it's not working when it's on! Important to make sure foam and resin are ok
together!
Yep, I'm going to do the A/C unit cover first as a small and very manageable practice run. I'll be
using titebond II glue rather than resin. check out rowerwet on both instructables and facebook. He
has the "Poor mans fiberglass" instructable which has a lot of good information.
Just wondering about the a/c cover. Do you have vetelation for the heat and moisture to escape? I
didn't see any on the cover. Also, hope your injuries heal well.
The A/C cover will only be on during towing. I'll remove it when the unit is in use.

Oh I see. Thanks : )

Great Project! Where on Earth did you find a Hot Knife for $20? Closest I've found is $200 and it
doesn't hold a candle to the one you show!
Got the hot knife from harborfreight.com (130 Watt HD Hot Knife - $19.99) A must have tool if you
are going to be working on a foam project.
Hi Todd. Found it! Thanks! Appreciate the response!

You should enter this one in the #vanlife contest.

https://www.instructables.com/contest/vanlife/

It'd get my vote!

Thanks

Awesome project. Thanks for sharing. Hope your bones repair quickly, look forward to the next
installments

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Thanks

Maybe I missed it, but what kind of roll bars are you using in case of collision/roll-over?

Same as everyone else - nothing. Most camping trailers have walls built with 1x2"s or 2x2's and
have no sheathing other than thin light weight aluminum side panels and 3/16 paneling on the
inside. The structural 2" foam wall with the 1/4" paneling glued on the inside and the glue, canvas
and painted exterior hard shell will make my walls exceptionally sturdy, very energy efficient, and
super water proof. I'm pretty sure that only vehicles that you ride in while driving would need to
worry about roll over protection...
Regarding glue and canvas exterior finish ... What kind of glue? What kind of canvas?

Canvas drop cloths purchased at Home Depot and Titebond II for the glue. See #6 "Time to gear
up" section of my project for picks, etc...
This is just an exceptional how-to. I will be coming back to this for inspiration. Can't wait to see the
final product.
Man you make good stuff!

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