DIY OFF-ROAD CAMPER BUILD. The new Expedition Camper project build.

How's it going everyone? Cappy here, 410 Expedition. I know a lot of you have been waiting a very long time for this video. In this video, we're going to talk about the new trailer build that I've been working on on and off here and there and it's time we talk about it. So first off, our idea is that we're going to take the rooftop tent off of the JK that Tracy and I had built. I'm going to use the top portion, the top of the clamshell and the tent material that's going to be mounted on top of this trailer so that the purpose is that we can stand inside the living quarters in the back of the trailer. So let's walk around and let me show you what we've done, what I've done so far, and what the plan is. So in the front here of the trailer, we've got the main living part. In the front, I'm going to have a 26 inch by, I believe it's going to be 3 feet here, the box in the front. This is where my door's going to open and it's where the medics slide out. My kitchen is going to be here on a double slide I haven't finished yet, on a double slide system for my stove. Hello guys! My smallest pants. There'll be a double slide system here where my stove is going to come out and maybe just a little bit of a countertop. This way when I'm in here, even though the tire's going to be here, it'll be a nice work surface here as well. And when this opens up, I have access to all of our dishes, our cookware, and our utensils. This is where that small window will be. It'll be a tinted window, which is the same type of window that we put on the van lights, or on Sprinter vans. On the inside, you can open it, there'll be a small screen to give you airflow in here. So that's the intention here, is my work space and my kitchen space for my medics. On the opposite side of that box will be my power management system, with a shelf to put tools or whatever I need in the front to get easy access. On the other side, I have the same opening compartment, which is below the front bench. That's where I can get my wheel locks, my locks, our camp chairs, maybe an extra little folding table, can be stored on the exterior, oh sorry, on the other side of the trailer. Now let's talk about the length, the width, and the height of the trailer. The trailer itself, from the back bottom to the front, will be 8 feet. Okay, and then the height of the actual trailer itself is 4 feet. The front box is going to be a 2 foot box up to 3 feet up here. And the width is going to be 55 inches wide. The reason why we did 55 inches is because the rooftop tent itself was built 55 inches wide in aluminum, and I wanted to keep that width. Secondly, it's exactly the width of a double bed mattress. It's 55, well 54 inches, and it gives you room to pack some material like the bedding, whatever, in on the side. So 55 inches is the perfect width for this trailer. Now I know what you're all saying. Okay, Cathy, it's all looking good and everything, but what are you putting it on? Well, here it is. Last weekend, we built the chassis with a frame and put all of that onto here. I have my son's friend who's a welder, and he's a good welder too. I went and bought all of the steel from a steel supplier in Calgary. I gave them all the dimensions that I needed. Everything was pre-cut for me, and they did a bang on job. So all I had to do was weld everything together and then I gave it a few coats of Easy Liner Spray. Again, this frame is 8 feet long by 55 inches wide, and I installed a pair of equalizer torsion axles, and they are 3,500 pound rated. Now these torsion axles come standard with a 5 bolt pattern on a 4 1⁄2 spacer. So it's a 5 on 4 1⁄2. Jeep wheels are 5 on 5 as we call them. So I got these adapters, which is also an inch and a quarter spacer to fit a 5 on 5 bolt pattern. My plan is to install the KO2s that I had on the Jeep, which I knew I'll have a dirt track. These are still in great condition, and you know what? Let's reuse them. These are 33 inch tires. All I have to do is find some steelings. Just some 17 inch wheel size Jeep bolt pattern. So if anybody out there has an extra set of just inexpensive steelings, please reach out to me. I'd be interested to talk. So at the front, as you notice I have it in a triangle format. By the way, this is a 2 x 2 x 1 1⁄8 wall welded square tube. This is what we used. Strong enough, sturdy enough. The reason why I decided to put this underneath the main chassis is to give it a lot of that tongue weight strength. I didn't want anything flexing to happen because of the first trimmer. I did a single bar going all the way to the back, and it bent. So we had to weld a gusset underneath the center bar to keep it from flexing any further. I installed a 2 inch hitch mount on the front of the trailer. The reason why I chose this and not the standard 2 inch ball type of receiver is because I want, and I'm going to install a max coupler, a 6,000 pound rated max coupler because you get that tri-axis rotation in every possible way. So if the trailer was to flip on its side, I don't damage the receiver or the 2 inch ball because then you're screwed, and you're up in the trails, and you have no way of holding that trailer up. With a max coupler, you'll get 360 rotation, you'll get a nice articulation up and down, and of course your side to side. So I've had that in the EH2. I loved it. It's quieter than your standard 2 inch ball because when you're riding, you get that vibration jumping noise on the 2 inch ball. This has a much quieter ride. And when we get to camp, I can remove the pin, remove that receiver here, no one can steal my trailer because they have no way of hooking up. So that's the reason why we have this installed at the front of the trailer. And now today's mission is to get this painted as close as I could the same color as Mando, as the Jeep Wrangler. And the color I chose is called Shadow Mountain. Kind of a cool name, I like that. So we're going to give it its first coat, we're going to see how it dries, see how it looks, and see if I have to modify it, maybe go back to the paint store. Now the paint that I used is there, and it is a semi-gloss exterior paint. I tried to get a full gloss, but for an exterior paint they don't offer that, so I got a semi-gloss. So I'm trying to get more of that professional glossy look on the trailer. Trying to break away from it looking like it's actual wood or drywall. But you can't get away from that texture, which I think is going to give it a pretty good rugged look anyway. So, that's today's mission, is to get this exterior done in a Shadow Mountain paint. I'm really loving this color. Just to give you a reference to my skin tone to this Shadow Mountain Gray. Okay, so I've got the first coat of paint around the entire trailer, except for the front here. The box here is going to be black, and this is going to be hidden anyway, so I'm not going to waste any paint on doing the front here. Everything else is going to have black doors, so black accents, black accent trim, but I'm going to seal all the joints with. I'm going to get some 45 aluminum cut right here to protect this and protect here. Overall, I'm loving the look of this color. I'm already seeing a little bit of white that's popping up because it's only the first coat, and I'm seeing some little imperfections where there might have been a hole or something that did sand all the way through. I hate painting. It's my least favorite thing to do in any project is paint, and Tracy knows that. So, I'm learning as I go here with painting. I'm going to seal the imperfections, let it dry, fix them, give it a second coat, and it should be good. I'm already seeing a little bit of gloss to it, which is nice, but it's not going to be a reflection, but I think it's going to look just perfect to match the Jeep and the black accent trims on the Jeep. The trailer is going to have all that same imperfection. Okay, now let's talk about the interior of the camper. I will do a final interior reveal probably at the Alberta Overland Adventure Expo in September. I'm not going to show it yet, but I'm going to do the final reveal at the expo. Then I'll have a video for you when it's done because I think it's going to be done around that time, right before we leave. I think we're going to be cutting it close on the time. But let's talk about the interior. So, as you can see here, we have a U-shaped bench, okay? The intent of this is that we can sit inside the camper with the rooftop open. What I plan on doing is using the top portion of the rooftop tent that we built, take the bottom off, use the top portion, hinge it at the front, and it's going to have the tent material so we can pop the tent up and stand inside freely and have all that movement. There'll be a table here on a couple of pivot legs so the table will be at a certain height and it's going to pivot down so that it makes the platform here to make this into our sleeping space. So, a couple of purposes there. Now, if the winds get really, really high and it's just where you don't want to tear the tent or it's just too much wind, we can still close the top and still sleep in here like as if it's a teardrop trailer. But more of a mobility to sit and sleep in here if you want. The door is going to be at the back here so it's going to be at an angle system so the top is going to go up and it's going to release the bottom part and there'll be either a step or two, I haven't decided yet, maybe one step, because I'm going to have a 24-inch clearance on this, a 24-inch height, two feet of height. Underneath these benches of course will be some storage space on hinges so on this side and this side and that way we can store more of some clothes or boots or shoes or whatever we want and just tuck it away nicely. The interior of the entire trailer is also insulated with a three-quarter inch foam insulation with the reflective side to keep the trailer nice and cozy, cool in the summer and warm in the winter. I'm not installing a heater in this because I don't plan on doing too much of winter camping in this unit. If I want I'd probably get a buddy heater just to keep the area space and then just go to sleep. Now as you can see all the way along here, I've chosen a two-by-two wooden stud system. The reason why I did that is we can drill the holes through the studs and do all of our wiring to keep it all tucked in a way so when I enclose everything you won't see any exposed wires anywhere. On the back here is where I'm going to be able to manage all of my lights, my interior lights. I will have three sets of LED light strips in here and I'll have some exterior working lights and I'll be able to control that and see my battery. I could charge a couple of devices here and use a 12-volt plug over here. So all of that is going to be mounted right back here so I can keep an eye and monitor all of our power. The second coat of paint is on. It's dry and it looks awesome. I can actually see a slight reflection of my hand which is what I wanted. I wanted a gloss look, a professional look but it's the best that I could get. Then I installed my marker lights. I've got my forward embers, I've got my red at the back here and I've got some LED, I guess around work lights. One here for the pullout, one up here, this side here and I have a matching one on the other side. I can flip a switch on the inside of the trailer and have some working lights. I have a fourth light that's going to be installed on the working area where the battery management system is going to be on the other side. So there you have it. This is where I'm at now and we'll keep doing some more videos as the build process continues. Thanks for watching and have a great day.