Micro camper from Ranger service body

[Robertmangrum.rm]

Man that's gonna be a sweet rig. Did you ever get your solar sorted out? I have actually camin to position of a Victron solar controller. The Bluetooth feature does not work but the controller itself is fine. I think it will only charge 15 amps and handle a 100w panel. You are welcome to it. You can pm me and I can get it sent to ya. Also there is a local guy selling new 270° awnings her fro $300. Take offs of little tear drop trailer demos. I have tones of RV parts in my garage of mysteries and wonders haha. If you ever get close to Nashville your are welcome to come digging haha. I'm kinda a pack rat. I just can't throw away working parts.

 

[sgtsandman]

That's one beefy axle and suspension you got there!

 

[holyford86]

Man that's gonna be a sweet rig. Did you ever get your solar sorted out? I have actually camin to position of a Victron solar controller. The Bluetooth feature does not work but the controller itself is fine. I think it will only charge 15 amps and handle a 100w panel. You are welcome to it. You can pm me and I can get it sent to ya. Also there is a local guy selling new 270° awnings her fro $300. Take offs of little tear drop trailer demos. I have tones of RV parts in my garage of mysteries and wonders haha. If you ever get close to Nashville your are welcome to come digging haha. I'm kinda a pack rat. I just can't throw away working parts.

I think I did get the solar all sorted out, ended up going nuts on Amazon around black Friday and ended up with a pair of Renogy 100 watt panels, charge controller that can charge at 15 amps from the panels and towing vehicle at the same time or 30 amps from each individual source, and a bluetooth adapter for the controller, probably not the best stuff but the reviews were good, so I'll give it a try.

It'll be feeding 90ah of LiFePO4 batteries and won't be running much more than lights and possibly an ARB fridge I bought off marketplace cheap.

I'd love one of those 270 degree awnings but I currently have two 6x8 foot awnings to be installed on this when I build the rack. I also have a similar issue and can't toss working stuff, I've got a 20 foot container filled with parts...

That's one beefy axle and suspension you got there!

It's a 3500 pound axle that came from a collapsed camper at the junkyard, was shortened and sleeved. The leaf springs came from the truck the body was on originally and other than being rusty were in good condition. I think I'm going to add some lift shackles to it, just to bring it up a couple inches, weld on some shock mounts, and call it good enough

 

[Robertmangrum.rm]

I also have a similar issue and can't toss working stuff, I've got a 20 foot container filled with parts..

Man, I get it naturally, haha. My dad has a shed full of auto parts. Plus, an 86 Thunderbird TC, a 91 Aerostar, 97 Mustang, and 2 98 explorers sitting in the back field, haha. Of course, I've raided them for parts over the years.

 

[holyford86]

Man, I get it naturally, haha. My dad has a shed full of auto parts. Plus, an 86 Thunderbird TC, a 91 Aerostar, 97 Mustang, and 2 98 explorers sitting in the back field, haha. Of course, I've raided them for parts over the years.

I've also got 2 84 b2s, and 2 88 rangers in addition to the 86 ranger, 86 b2, and 98 ranger that have plates, haha

 

[holyford86]

Well, it's finally time for a substantial update here, my friend destroyer000 had some extra time this past weekend so we got some things done. He has a spool gun for aluminum and the skills to use it, neither of which I possess. First we made it a little easier and stuck the trailer on the floor and removed the old rack.

Then plates were added to the roof to both cover the old bolt holes and spread the load out.

Then we laid out the rack and test fit it, here you can see it mostly laid out.

A little bit of test fitting now

I didn't get a picture of it but we then finish welded it on the floor and welded it to the roof for good. The reason welding was chosen is to hopefully minimize leaks from holes in the roof.

And a better view of it attached

We then installed the solar panels and awnings. I like the look of it the way it is so I won't be painting the rack (or the rest of the box for that matter) and this is the finished product. (Yes, that's his early bronco in the background, haha)

Then we cranked it back up, got the shock mounts welded to the axle and installed the 33s to trim the side panels for clearance. The openings are slightly wonky because of the lower boxes but unless you know, they look fine, I'll be ordering some longer safe edge for the openings eventually.

Next on the list is cutting the holes for the windows, adding a small amount of structure to the doors, then installing the windows. While we're at it, some mounts for lights will be installed inside, then I can take it back home to clean all of the old sealer off and replace it, then wire, insulate, and finish the interior. The tongue will be getting replaced at some point as well. In hindsight we probably should have just built a whole new frame but here we are, haha.

 

[Roert42]

Looking pretty nice.
You could to insulate it at all?

 

[holyford86]

Looking pretty nice.
You could to insulate it at all?

Yes, it's going to have 1 inch rigid foam insulation on all sides along with a bit of dynamat or something equivalent to deaden sound a bit more. Then it'll get covered with paneling of some sort and plywood on the floor

 

[Roert42]

That’s what I had imagined.
Looking at your last pictures my first thought was of how hot it would get in the summer.

 

[holyford86]

That’s what I had imagined.
Looking at your last pictures my first thought was of how hot it would get in the summer.

There will be windows in both of the side doors and if it does get too warm, I've left enough room for a roof vent if necessary. I'd also imagine having the solar panels with an air gap underneath them should help with temps as well.

 

[holyford86]

Well, windows have been installed, at least the two I'm installing for now, I feel like I might want more light but I'll see once I'm done setting it up and using it. This weekend the hope is to get it wired and possibly start insulating as well.

 

[RobbieD]

Nice installation; the window looks great.

It's no fun cutting double metal like that. What did you use, jigsaw or a sawzall?

I think that a good powered vent installed where you left a space on the roof would get a good draft going through that thing, with the windows open.

 

[holyford86]

Nice installation; the window looks great.

It's no fun cutting double metal like that. What did you use, jigsaw or a sawzall?

I think that a good powered vent installed where you left a space on the roof would get a good draft going through that thing, with the windows open.

Neither, plasma cutter, laid it out, cut one hole, used it for a pattern for the other 3 pieces that needed to be cut. My friend destroyer000 is the one who helped me out by doing most of the work with the top rack and hole cutting on this project, he's the fabricator, I'm the wiring guy, and now is my time to shine, haha.

I do believe you're right, I may order some windows for the rear doors as well. I'm hoping it isn't too bad as it sits but I guess I'll figure that out soon enough. The big thing I'm worried about is I'd like some sort of vent that is low profile when closed, this thing is over 8 feet tall currently, haha.

 

[Jim Oaks]

You'll be bringing this to Kentucky in September, right?

 

[holyford86]

You'll be bringing this to Kentucky in September, right?

Although I'd love to be there I have other things going around that time, I'm pretty sad about it too, haha.