All Rights Reserved. With simple DIY we have created a beautiful truck bed camper for all the truck camping lovers. He even made sure to add extra insulation to the area underneath the cab-over bed. However, this truck bed design puts more emphasis on storage space. But it’s not like anyone can afford a purpose built truck camper. Table of Contents . Maybe you are not a big of an adventurous life! Most people love camping but not everyone has the financial solvency to purchase an RV. A DIY truck bed camper is the best option for those travelers who don’t want to pitch a tent or drive a huge trailer. So let’s get started, we have work to do! Now, this is the time to affix the frames and the roof. With the lift built and operating successfully it was time to move on to the cabinets. DIY Truck Bed Camper: Build the Ultimate Sleeping Platform for Truck Camping. Using plywood or light wooden planks is the most vital part of how to build a lightweight truck camper guide. I feel like we should make mention of the few truck specific things that we did to prepare Lando for the road before we wrap up this post. We needed the frame to span the entire width between the wheel wells so we maximize the little space we have for our drawers. Steps on how to make a Wood Truck Bed Tonneau Cover. *** Our rivets and our pop rivet tool were left over from the Amelia build, so we were fortunate to not have to purchase those tools again! When the glue dries, apply at least three coats of latex paint. This is a quick and easy way … Get All My Video Courses & Music For Just $7! After 3 weeks on the road in Amelia, we quickly realized that she wasn't going to be a long term fit for us. In Lando we're going to need to sleep with the windows and even the back hatch open for circulation, so we thought that it would be a good idea to have the netting. Feb 7, 2019 - DIY Truck Bed Camper! And to go camping in a truck camper would guarantee a comfortable and relax experience. Fortunately, there are a number of ways you can organize your equipment to make the most out of your truck bed. We attached the drawer fronts during a different step in the process, we will loop back to that shortly. Purchasing is not an option if you are looking for saving money. You can use 2×2 pine lumber (or according to the length and width measurements of your truck’s back portion) as the sidewalls or 1/8-inch hardwood plywood for keeping everything as light as possible. We constructed two cabinets and two middle support sections. Hey Friends! The driver side we left open because of a plan we will get to shortly. Did you enjoy this post about building a truck camper setup? Build a slot for storing a pre-charged battery and set up the wires that connect it to the tools and appliances. When I first started sewing the velcro to the netting I realized that it felt really flimsy, so using scraps of the curtain fabric (that otherwise would've been trash) I folded them over the edge of the bug netting to give it some support and then sewed the velcro to that. These bolts are there to hold the bed liner into place are very robust with plenty of extra threading. Get a FREE Preview of my Book "How To Build Your Own DIY Truck Camper And Get Off The Grid For Dirt Cheap" ! We just wanted to be sure we included the gear we used to help you on your quest if you needed it to. © 2021 - Outdoor Fact. Use as many nails and bolts as required because the frame has to be strong and durable. All it takes is to follow the five straightforward and quick steps listed below. Also, remember that your truck insurance company is unlikely to cover any damage done during the remodeling. A lot has changed for us recently, as I'm sure you've gathered. We cut the sides of the drawers with regularly spaced out dados (slots cut into the surface of a piece of wood) so we could add dividers to the drawers later once the whole thing was constructed. Whether you are having a budget problem or want something smaller than a travel trailer, you can consider a small camper on the back of your pickup truck. Apply a layer of PVC sheet on the walls and metal foil on the roof. Side note: we still needed to do small pilot holes into the metal. Matt lives in the UK, and they call truck campers there ‘demountable campers’. Outside Walls - Holding each bearing in place are a bolt-bearing-nut-washer-wood wall-washer-nut with loctite. Check out the lift in action: Truck Bed Camper Lift. The main heat is blown air heater off propane. Plus, some people don’t want to drive around with such a huge vehicle. After that, it’s sorting out the plumbing and electrical system of the vehicle. Put cotton and bubble wrap layers across the dimensions of the frame. The assembly is bolt-bearing-nut-washer-wood wall-washer-nut-bearing-nut with loctite. For the bottom of the drawers, we also cut a dado that ran along the bottom of all the drawer sides and end caps. These guys allow you to create threading in wood without ruining the threading if you ever need to remove the screw. This detailed step-by-step guide will provide you with everything you need to build the ultimate sleeping platform for truck bed camper - keeping you comfortable and organized on your next truck camping adventure. Camping in a pickup truck is one of the best ways to get off the beaten path and explore the outdoors. How to Build a Lightweight Truck Camper: Follow the Instructions. You can also connect the battery a mini solar system to have a steady power supply. But, truck beds can be a hassle to organize. Once we had the exterior pieces for the drawers cutdown we cut the slider rails for the sides of the drawers to match. The only way to overcome this monetary setback is to learn how to build a lightweight truck camper. We also painted the visible portions of the drawer system to show we care...a little. The bottom velcro just needs to hold the curtain against the wall when we're on a slant. Low and behold this 'Lil Taco was for sale an hour and a half south on the border of Georgia and North Carolina. See that wasn't so bad?! Then, attach the kind of fabric you want to attach – it could be bed sheets or canvas. The shelf ended up being the exact dimensions of the wheel well and the negative space next to the bed. Let us start with the curtains. Fancy isn't it?! : I wanted to make a camper bed with pullout drawers for my truck. The fabric that we used is the left-overs from Amelia's new cushion upholstery which happens to be Sunbrella fabric. But, without the rip-away screen we wouldn't be able to sit comfortably in our truck camper with the access door open. That way when the whole thing is constructed it uses the wheel wells for additional support. Unless you have a bare metal truck bed, the plastic lining along the inside walls of your bed will not be a perfect square. However, a new truck camper will set you back for several thousand dollars. Using 1/2" plywood we started framing out the bed platform/drawers. The above price list breaks down what we used and what we actually paid for. Pickup Truck Camping Guide. The cuts were easy using a metal cutting blade in a jigsaw! With only four steps, this is probably the quickest and easiest DIY homemade truck bed camper one can do. Owen behind the wheel of Amelia and me at the helm of Lando (the new Tacoma) we completed the drive south. Also, it is pretty inexpensive compared to purchasing a camper. Keep all the wires and receptacle under the truck bed. Once we had the bearings in we slide the drawers into place to determine where the metal rails needed to be attached. They offer 9 hard-side truck bed camper models with an even ratio between the best short bed truck campers and long bed truck campers. Cut the fabric into pieces in a way that it should overlap around the corners. DIY Truck Bed Camper: Build the Ultimate Sleeping Platform for Truck Camping In this post we’ll walk you through the build process for our truck bed sleeping platform as part of our DIY truck bed camper build, including everything from design choices to finished assembly. I also have a 230 volt 2 kilowatt electric element/fan heater, which is used on hook up only for morning warm ups and evening wind downs. The velcro was also leftover from Amelia and my dad’s office. When you carry nearly everything you own it feels important to do what you can to protect it. A DIY truck bed camper is the best option for those travelers who don’t want to pitch a tent or drive a huge trailer. A vinyl slider will be the right fit for the front window. At first, use a brush or paint roller to apply glue on the entire exterior. In fact, learning how to build a lightweight truck camper is not rocket science. By waiting until this step in the process we were able to be sure that the drawer faces were lining up perfectly with each other and the drawer frame. More typical are removable truck campers. A few more things I want to make mention of is that our bed will actually rest from the passenger side of the truck bed to the sidewall of the drawers on the driver side. Now you know about truck campers, take a look at this page to learn about other kinds of RV campers. In our experience bugs in the summer can really put a damper on a sweet spot. Also, you will get a steady supply of power for running your devices. You could also skip the DIY part and get It won't take long because this was the least amount of work we've ever needed to do to ready a rig for life on the road. 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