Construction Cost's Estimated

1: 40 2x6's fir, 30 1x6's yellow pine , ripped into 2x2's & 1x2's, frame construction $420.00
2: 9 sheets of luana 1/8" plywood sheating $ 90.00
3. 2 gals of outdoor Titebond yellow glue $ 85.00
4. 2 Hehr double pane living room area windows $82 each $164.00
5. 2 bedroom windows $60 each $120.00
6. 22" wide back door $220.00
7. Thetford cassette toilet $312.00
8. 3 burner lp gas stove, used but like new $ 10.50
9. 5 sheets of plywood to build box $200.00
10. 4 gals of Helsman outdoor varnish $120.00
11. Thetford hatch door, exterior door $ 79.00
12. Gimp or sometimes called welpping or corner bead... $ 30.00
13. 2 sheets of 3/8" plywood for bed area construction $24.00
14. 10 bulk wall recepticles (only used 5) $20.50
15. 5 sets of cabinet door hinges $25.00
16. Xtreme 55amp converter box, with battery charger & 12 volt $125.00
17. screws & 2 tubes of Liquid nail $23.00
18 cabinet latches $22.00
19. 2 sheets of 1/2" plywood & 3 more sheets of 1/8" Luana plywood $54.00
20. Misc screws and fastners $40.0
21. 30' 8awg battery cable $15.00
22. 36' 50amp power cord $42.00
23. 5 more tubes of Liquid Nail $20.00
24. 1x8's, 5 more sets of door hinges $63.00
25. 2 sheets of 3/8" plywood, screws, sand paper, Liquid Nail $93.00
26. 10 more cabinet door hinges and pull handles $43.00
27. dogbone cord 50amp to 30 amp $28.00
28. 2 ceiling lights, 12 volt cheap plastic white in color $17.83
29. 13" toshiba color tv from Best Buy $119.00
30. DVD player $25.00
31. J molding $30.00
32. Magic Chef 110 volt Fridge mod#MCBR415S bought at Home Depot $199.00
33. 1x8's x 5 $40.00
34. Emerson 700w microwave mod#mw8781SB bought from Target $49.99
35. 3 piano hinges, chrome plated, 5' long each $25.88
36. sink with faucet and all the plumbing, used, stainless steel double bowl $65.00
37. more glue, steel wool, sand paper $40.00
38. 2 spools of 16awg d.c. wire 350' spools, plus 10 tubes of Liquid Nail $110.00
39, 50' roll of 12ga 110 volt electrical wire $25.00
40. 3 12 volt flourscent light fixtures 8" double bulb $37.00
41. plumbing supplies, hoses, clamps, elbows, glue, etc $140.00
42. Stable Lift Jacking system....raises and lowers camper onto bed of truck $2,495.00
43. roof vent with built in fan $145.75
44. Carrier 13,500 btu A.C. unit with Heater option $533.00
45. Satellite dish, manual crank up style $216.00
46. table support collumn with base $18.00
47. outdoor porch light yellow lens $9.00
48. fiberglass suppies....to coat the inside of the propane tank box area $35.00
49. 10 more panels of 1/8" luana plywood $95.00
50. 110 volt breakers, wire nuts, ties, plastic loops, electrical tape $48.00
51. custom made cushions for couch area and battery box cover $387.00
52. clearance running lights on outside of camper $70.00
53. 12 panels of pink insulation board $10.99 ea $131.88
54. 4 sheets of 3/8" plywood for the roof $50.00
55. water fill, city water hose fill, and drain hook up brackets made of plastic $80.00
56. 2000 watt Vector inverter $230.00
57. 3 large deep cycle marine batteries $69.00 ea from Academy $210.00
58. 1 spool of 3awg battery cable, 25' long, from Tractor Supply $35.00
59. 1 pkg of 30 battery cable ends $12.00
60. Aluminum siding Arctic polar white 2" mesa 1score with pittsburg cut, plus
rubber roof, rubber roof install kit, all the aluminum corner molding, drip rail,
and crating charge of $155.00....
bought from The Metal Company (TMC) 5509 HARLAN STREET
ARVADA, COLORADO 80002 $1,796.32
61. Shipping charge, by DHL $185. 00, 1 crate 16' long, 2 tubes 16' long, and a 50lb box of
glue and tubes of caulk

Check out my Slide Show!

First campout with camper

on 6-18-07 i took my truck camper to the scales, it weighed 2600 lbs. So now i finally know the weight of this camper. Of course the Stable Lift system added 450 lbs to the weight of the frame. The A.C. unit weighed 110 lbs. I added 3 large deep cycle batteries and a 2000 watt inverter. Those 3 batteries probably added 150 lbs to the weight of the camper also. Also the shipping weight of all of the aluminum siding, edge molding, and roof materials was 400 lbs. So just those items added 1000 lbs to the frame work. Of course i put an oversized fridge in the rcamper also. This weight also included a 13" t.v., Satellite dish, and Receiver, plus the Thetford cassette toilet, and a microwave oven.

On 6-21-07 I took The camper out for it's first camping trip. I also towed a Jayco pop up camper behind it, Mother in law and Aunt's camper. Of course I drove thru some winding curves, up and down hills to the Lake. I was a little nervous due to the fact this was the first outing and I had to get use to the top heaviness of this camper. Plus I had my 6yr old grandson in the truck with me. I had added air bags to the rear leaf springs and this helped with the weight of the camper plus the pop up I was towing. Well everything turned out alright and we arrived at Lake Livingston whithin an hour from the house. I drove most of the way between 55mph and 60 mph. On the curves i had to slow down to 30 mph at times. WE camped out at Wolfe Creek Park on Lake Livingston, Texas, for 4 days, Family Reunion time. I got to say that the fridge i put in worked perfect. I had plugged it in a day before we left and then loaded it up with food. I kept it plugged into 110 volt until departure. I then plugged it into the inverter and it ran perfect. I ran it on the inverter for 4 hours and everything was kept cold and everything in the freezer was still frozen. I bought the fridge from Home Depot for $199.00. Well when I got Home Sunday, i was wore out and tired. I just let the fridge run on the inverter and the 3 deep cycle batteries. I wanted to see just how long it would run. Well it ran from 9am Sunday till Monday at 3pm and was still running when i unplugged it from the inverter. Everything was still frozen in the freezer and cold in the fridge. So i don't know how long it will run off of the inverter, but I am impressed so far. Also I installed a 13,500 btu Carrier A.C. unit on the roof and it will freeze you out, just like i like it. We had rain everyday while camped out and there were no leaks, another good omen. On Friday morning I was the short order cook. I cooked up a pound of bacon first and then when family woke up I was cooking them eggs and toast to go with the bacon. I was Yelling out the window, Order up, Dan's chuck wagon. I also had my coffee pot going, had to make 5 pots. Well we all had a good time and everyone that came up and looked at my camper was impressed. Most said it looked like a store bought camper and couldn't believe the detail. I had to give about 30 tours while at the camp site. I did some rough figuring and i would say that it cost me $12,000 in materials to build this camper. That does not include saw blades, drill bits, sand paper and other items you will need to have a finished product. But the one thing i can say, it was a rewarding project that kept me busy for about 8 months. I enjoyed the project and the Glen L camper plans were very well written.

Photos of Camper Launch

Removed garage door header to get camper out of garage/shop.


Jacking camper up - 4" at a time on concrete blocks.


Backing truck up - underneath camper.

Profile shot of camper on truck.

Another shot of camper on truck.

Front view of camper on truck.

Inside camper - view of A/C unit mounted on ceiling.

Interior - custom-made cushions and table.

Stable-lift jack system - assembly in progress.

Moving Camper out of Garage and onto Truck

Ok, I have now done as much work on the camper that i can do while it is in the garage. I had to tear the Header off the top of the garage door to get it to clear. I bought 15 3/8" wooden dowels, jacked the camper up and started to roll it out. I took 4 of us men to push and guide it while rolling it out. I was happy just getting it outside for the first time. But my neighbors wanted to see it on the truck. I had prepared for this day by buying 40 concrete blocks and 2 more bottle jacks. Well we went to work jacking it up 4" at a time and kept blocking it up till we got it high enought to back the truck under it. We let most of the air out of the back tires and i let all the air out of the air bags over the axles. This lowered the truck another 6". It took us 2 hours but we got it in the bed of the truck. As you can see i just had a Blue tarp on top to cover the holes for the A.C. unit, vent fan, and sat dish. I put the A.C. unit, sat dish, and vent fan in place the next couple of days. I included 3 profile shots of the camper on the truck. Of course i couldn't go anywhere with it on there because i only had 8ply tires and they would not support the weight. I took a photo thru the back door showing the A.C. unit from the inside of the camper, also the fan vent over the bed area, and to the left the sat dish crank. The next photo shows the cushions and small table I built. I didn't want a big table, this one is small and stores under the couch area in the storage bin. I had the cushions built for $400. Note the cut out cushion at the bottom right of the photo. This cushion can be pulled up by itself and then the lid to the thetford toilet can be lifted without having to move the 6' long main couch cushion. Then the last photo shows the Stable lift system mounted on the right side of the truck. In this photo you can see the hand cranks. I have not installed the motors as of yet or wired them in. I will have to post one more blog with photos of the lift system and more profile photos of the truck and camper. I also plan on going thru my notes and give a price break down of all the money spent on this project in case anyone else wants to know the cost. I had planned on building this thing on the cheap, but i got carried away. One thing led to another and before you know it i have spent about $11,000.00, but hey, it's not like your ever going to build one of these things again.

Siding Pics

First 3 pieces of siding go on.


Left side siding on, window openings cut-out.


Back wall siding - with openings cut-out.

Beginning of front-wall aluminum siding.

Front wall complete - clearance lights installed.

Used boat rub rail molding on corner curves.

Left side roof - glue rolled on.

Right side roof - glue rolled on.

Rubber roof glued on. Set to dry.

All siding on. Windows dry-fitted.

Corner molding and clearance lights.

Rubber roof on - and cut-outs for A/C and fan vent.

Aluminum siding goes on

I now have been working on the camper for about 6 months, the inside cabinet work is done, wiring done, and some of the plumbing. I have ran all the wires for the clearance lights that go on the outside of the camper and have insulated all the outside walls. So now it is time to put on the siding I ordered from "The Metal Company" out of Alvardo Colorado. I paid approx $1,800 for the siding, corner modeling, rubber roof, and the rubber roof kit. It cost me another $200 to have it shipped via DHL to my house. I ordered the siding with the Pittsburg Lock. You start at the top, putting the first sheet on which was a full 16' long. I used an air stapler, 1/8" staples, 1" long. After i got the first sheet up, and made sure it was level, the second sheet slides up into the Pittsburg lock and you staple it at the bottom and that holds it. I started on the right side and then did the left side. Then i used my router with a 1/8" flush trimming bit to cut out the window openings. I found out that if you route about 2 or 3' and then spray your bit down with WD 40 the aluminum will not build up in the bit. You can tell when the bit gets clogged because it will quit cutting and he have to stop and dig the aluminum out of it. But using the router bit made fast work of the cut outs. I then put the siding on the back wall the next day. Then used the router bit to cut out the doorway, propane tank door, and thetford toilet door access. Now I couldn't do the front until i put on the rubber roof. Before I spread the glue I shop vac'd the plywood roof and then went over every square inch. I found 4 screws that were not recessed to my liking so i reset them. I wanted a smooth roof with no bumps in it. I rolled the Rubber roof material up on the roof. I noticed that it had some waves in it. this was due to it being rolled up when shipped in a tube. So I let it stay up on the roof for 2 days and the memory lines were gone, it was now flat. I rolled it in half, right down the center of the camper. I then rolled on the glue with a paint roller like the instructions said to do. Well when i got this one half side rolled i noticed that the plywood had absorbed most of the glue. So I rolled on a 2nd thicker coat and that did it. I then folded the roof over on the glue and then folded the other side on top of the side i had just glued down. I then spread two coats on this side and rolled the roof back over on top of the glue. I let all the edges hang over about 3". I then got a large 4' wide shop broom and started working the air bubbles out, from the center to the outside edges. The job turned out perfect, and this was a first for me. It was fairly simple. I let the roof dry for 3 days before i did any more work. I then put on the front wall siding starting up on the roof just over the cabinets on the front wall and then wrapped around all the way to the box area. It took me two days to finish the front. I am slow but sure. Then i put the putty tape on all the corners and started putting on the corner molding. I bought the molding with predrilled holes every 4". I think i drove around 400 screws into all the molding. The molding process took me about a week to do. I would work on it a little each day plus i ran into a major problem with the corner bends. I tried making the bends myself but you cannot just make a bend with this stuff, it is aluminum, but still very rigid. I called around to machine shops and never could find anyone who had the right machine to make my bends here in the Houston, Texas area. Well I had to put my thinking cap on and i came up with the idea of using rubber boat rub rail molding. I got on line and found some J molding and ordered 10' of it for around $35. I had to wait another week for it to come in. Well it would bend but not very much so i thought of heating the rubber up to get it to bend around my corners. I put it in the microwave and kept pulling it out every 15 seconds until i found that if i heated it up for 2 mins it was flexible enough to work with. So I predrilled a bunch of holes in it, heated it up, then ran over and screwed it down while bending it around the corners while it was still hot. Once it cooled off it was very rigid again. It worked out perfect, as you can see in the photos. Actually you could do all the camper in this stuff and it would probably be cheaper that the aluminum modeling. After i got all the molding on, and of course it was backed up with 3/4" putty tape, I had to cover all the screws with a plastic insert molding. I bought 100' on line for $12.00. Took another week to get it in. After I got all the insert molding in the groves to cover the screw heads i started caulking. Now if you have never used the special RV caulk before you are in for a surprise. It has to be the stickiest caulk i have used in my life. It is a rubber based and it sticks even to grease, says so on the tube. Well it is hard to get off your hands too. I found that if i kept my hands soaked in Mineral spirits it would not stick as much to my fingers. So i had my hands soaked in mineral spirits for two days while working with this stuff. Well i got all the siding on and all the corner molding, it took me about 5 weeks due to having to order parts and wait on them to come in. See on going photos of this project. I will enter just one more blog after this that will show the finished project.