Q for Mulgo (&/or HoHars): Lifting roof on converted 110s

Hi Mungo - answers to questions as follows:

I tried 2 sized beds in Sketchup, and the king single is probably the best fit. A std queen size will fit (you will find my mock up of that off to the side of the canopy in the SketchUp file) but doesn't give very much room to actually get in/out of bed.

No gas. All appliances will be Coleman dual fuel. I have an Engel vertical fridge, so that will be battery powered. Am planning to cook inside (vent with small fan for fumes/etc).

The dimensions of the canopy are as is. I don't want to modify it, it would be too much work. I could extend it upwards a bit, but the floorplan size would require major re-work.

The opening at the front of the canopy will lead into the cabin. I will remove the rear window of the LR cabin, and cut the back to make a sufficient size opening, although I can see a bit of crawling might be required! To join the canopy to the cabin, I will make up a flange and join with rubber strip to allow canopy and cabin to have a bit of movement.

Material - probably aluminium for weight. Rivets/Sikaflex to hold it together. I've got a TIG welder, but am concerned that corrugations + welded joints may come adrift.

The 'box' underneath is a hugely long drawer, in a separate compartment. I will need to fashion some way of getting things out of the end of it, in drawers probably. I have a couple of waffle boards that will go down there. Am thinking that all the 'dirty' stuff will go here, like snatch straps, oily spares, campfire tripod, etc.

I want to put a water tank underneath the canopy. I have enough space for around 120L, but might divide this into 2 compartments of grey water and drinking water.

http://gestaltn.ipower.com/Defender/CanopyOff130.JPG

Any more question, just ask away :)

ok so your bed goes up like ours does and we have a small ladder to climb in:)

Have you seen the thread on our camper build?

http://www.aulro.com/afvb/projects-t...per-build.html


Mrs ho har:angel:

Sure have. That's one of the threads that's inspired me to think that I can do it myself. Very impressive.

Is your frame all alloy? Looks like it is from the photos, but then I thought it might be galvanised. Any problems with welds fatiguing over corrugations?

Have you weighed your canopy? My base (empty) canopy is around 500Kg.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by spudboy

Sure have. That's one of the threads that's inspired me to think that I can do it myself. Very impressive.

Is your frame all alloy? Looks like it is from the photos, but then I thought it might be galvanised. Any problems with welds fatiguing over corrugations?

Have you weighed your canopy? My base (empty) canopy is around 500Kg.

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Frame is all alloy the walls are composite and no we have had no fatiguing at all and we have been over many corrugations:)

weight fully loaded with water/batteries/gas bottles/fridge/food...you get the gist...everything in 1000kg


Mrs ho har:angel:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by spudboy

Here's some mock ups of the canopy I've drawn with Sketch Up.

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Hello David,

Had a look at your planned canopy conversion and played around with Sketch-up. Below are some of my thoughts and suggestions.

As with any conversion it is important that we consider the weight distribution. The left and right side should be equal otherwise it is necessary to make complicated adjustments to the suspension.

You have the seating arrangement on the right side and most of the storage compartments and kitchen on the left. Most probably you will have more weight on the left side which could mean that the vehicle will lean to the left.
Suggest you put the seats on either sides and split the kitchen/storage as well.

Sleeping arrangement:
Although you mention in an earlier post that your wife likes to huddle up.... IMHO 1.06 meters is not enough width for a bed. I suggest you make the bed over the full width but move it closer to the front of the cabin which would give you space to climb up from the rear. If you need more space you could also consider to cut a 500x500mm access hole at the end of the bed so that you still have most of the bed at full width.

Access:
Don't know exactly at which height the bottom of the 'box' will be in relation to the front of the vehicle. The access hole seems to be bigger than the rear window of front cab, which would suggest that you have to cut the rear bottom part of the cab and then reinforce it to keep the strength - this might require an engineering certificate.
Suggest you put the spare wheels on swing away spare wheel carriers so that you could put an access door at the rear. This way you have easier access to the cabin than only through the cab.

Roof:
I would still go with the roof hinged at the front. Will be easier to hinge the bed to it an will most probably still give you enough standing height where you need it (i.e. you don't need full standing height where you want to sit.

Material:
Have a look into Aluminium Sandwich panels - very light in weight but strong and good insulation.

Anyway, these are some of my thoughts. At the end every conversion is something personal.

Let me know if you would like further input.

Already looking forward to see the photos of the finished product.

Cheers,
Daniel

Thank you for that well considered reply! I had not even thought of the differences in weight distribution with the layout of the seating.

Access hole at the end of the bed is an excellent idea, because our feet don't need full width, so that means the rest of the bed can be wider.

Where would I go to get aluminium sandwich panels? This sounds like composite panels I've seen in fiberglass, but made of aluminium.

I have re-jigged my sketches such that the two seats are now at the front of the canopy, when you come through from the vehicle cabin, on left and right sides.

I've also played around with the roof hinging from the rear (because I have more overhang at the rear, so it gives me more lift above the floorplan), but this is the opposite end to the seating so will have to re-think that.

Thanks for thinking about all that on my behalf. Experience make a lot of difference :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by spudboy

Where would I go to get aluminium sandwich panels? This sounds like composite panels I've seen in fiberglass, but made of aluminium.

I've also played around with the roof hinging from the rear (because I have more overhang at the rear, so it gives me more lift above the floorplan), but this is the opposite end to the seating so will have to re-think that.

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It is actually called Aluminium Honeycomb Panel. http://www.uesint.com/ had some last time I was at their shop - but cannot find it on their website, might be worth a call.

Attachment 18349

Very good for flat panels. You can also bend it, but you first need to cut a groove on the inside, so that you only bend the outside panel (if that makes sense). We use this for our conversions (i.e. pop up roofs where we cannot use the standard LR roof, and full camper conversions).
I would not go for the fibreglass material.

Send me your latest Sketch-up files if you need more input for the roof.

Cheers,
Daniel

Just rang UES in Adelaide. They have this sheet in 20mm thickness only.

1500 x 3000 x 20 sheet = $616 + GST, so pretty pricey, but high tech!

Is this the sort of stuff you could build say a bed base from, and it would be strong enough to support around 150Kg, or would it need framing/bracing to not bend/sag?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by spudboy

Just rang UES in Adelaide. They have this sheet in 20mm thickness only.

1500 x 3000 x 20 sheet = $616 + GST, so pretty pricey, but high tech!

Is this the sort of stuff you could build say a bed base from, and it would be strong enough to support around 150Kg, or would it need framing/bracing to not bend/sag?

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You probably could - need to look at the specifications. But might be a bit pricey for a bed. I would go for a bed frame and mdf cover.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by spudboy

Just rang UES in Adelaide. They have this sheet in 20mm thickness only.

1500 x 3000 x 20 sheet = $616 + GST, so pretty pricey, but high tech!

Is this the sort of stuff you could build say a bed base from, and it would be strong enough to support around 150Kg, or would it need framing/bracing to not bend/sag?

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Have a look at THIS site