Weekend Car to Micro Camper

deaglan1

I am interested in a car to micro camper weekend set up for my car (Skoda Roomster) - several companies offer units that meet my needs. Essentially they provide a box in the boot that is set up in a couple of minutes to create a place to sit, a small table, a few storage spaces, and conversion to a bed at night. Basically, they consist of plywood, sometimes with a laminate covering, and a few cushions. No electrics involved. My immediate problem is that they seem to be very expensive for what they include (or maybe I am coming to grips with the idea that I am a miserable old miser).

Two well known UK providers are:

Amdro: http://www.amdro.co.uk/products-c-10.html?osCsid=8i21vl4jfp6e1e13qgus08rn91

Peakvanconversions: http://peakvanconversions.weebly.com/products.html


Just wondering has anyone had any experience with these car camper units? or know of cheaper alternatives? Or is it a case of build my own (which I could try, but I don't claim to have even good basic carpentry skills).

deaglan1

deaglan1 wrote: »

Or is it a case of build my own (which I could try, but I don't claim to have even good basic carpentry skills).

Looks like each unit is a bunch of squares and rectangles. Nothing overly elaborate. A kitchen company could probably kit a car out in an hour.

Or ring a local cabinet maker. The prices on the site linked (The first one) do seem a bit hefty.

bigroad

I have been looking at a few of these conversions and I have to agree,they are pricey.
Your Skoda is small so the best option is take out the back seats and set up a bed you can sleep in .
Sometimes moving the front seat forward .
Than in vest in a tailgate tent and and maybe a roofbox for your Skoda.
Can leave the tent on site if you want to go for a drive during the day and then reverse back to it when you come back.
All cooking and sitting in the tent.
Sleeping in the car.
Some food stuff on YouTube/Google.

deaglan1

Thanks KKV & bigroad. I like both of your suggestions. I got so tuned in to all of the DIY versions for stealth car camping on you tube that the idea of asking a cabinet maker or gettinga roof box and tailgate tent did not even enter my pea-sized brain (IQ equivalent to inferior form of pond life!!). I like the tailgate tent idea - based on my limited brain capacity, may I ask two questions: (1) should a fuse for boot light be removed or does an open boot have a negligible drain on the car battery? (2) I presume that there are tailgate tents and tailgate tents - any recommendations on a good model or who might sell these in Ireland? - I have never actually seen one.

kadman

They are pricey, because of the intricacies involved in getting a lot

precision happening in a small defined area, with fine tolerences.

I laughed when I saw the throw away comment " a kitchen company

throwing something together for you in an hour". get real.

Precision and cnc machining time, costs.

I speak from a hi level cad design/ cabinetmaker background.

deaglan1

Hi Kadman - thank you for your insight. I appreciate what you are saying. I just wonder though, that with the numerous video clips online of individuals attempting the DIY route (with varying levels of success) that these mainly "off-the-shelf" units of standardized dimensions for popular car models are overpriced "in the eyes of the general public," including myself. I would understand bespoke versions being pricey. Not trying to sound in any way facetious here - it is more to do with optics & ignorance in that it looks to me that there is a market there for a lower cost unit and that the current prices "seem" excessive, considering the materials being used used and the level of finish.

kadman

Hi deaglan1,

Fitted units for specific areas as in the case of campers and the like are expensive

because of a number of reasons. There is very little relationship between a kitchen carcase

and a bespoke made unit for campers. And these differences that add up the cost may not

always be evident as appears to be the case here. Just to mention a couple of the differences for you.

One would be the material choice, and another would be machining cost of differing materials.


It may not be obvious , but kitchen carcase material, and camper unit material, in top quality conversions

are as different as chalk and cheese. Namely in weight and composition. Camper unit material is lightweight

but extremely expensive, and not readily available from your local builders merchant. And costwise its

probably 10 times the price compared to a standard sheet of MDF when I last checked.


And if the units use any amount of solid surface material, then thats expensive, and so are the specific

machining tools needed.

I,m not gonna bore you any further with more details. Just google Corian and Vohringer, and you'll see where

i'm coming from.


If you got the skills and the tools of course you could save a few bob if all you want is a few birch ply boxes.

If you want a like for like result, then thats a whole other ballpark.

But go for it, the lads on Woodcraft will help you out all you need

Agent_47

Hi OP, a Glawning might be a better option for cooking and for chilling out in the evening. Would suit for a pet as well. https://www.glawning.com/

shaunr68

Great DIY job below from "Beyond the Van", packing a lot of facilities into a compact space. Something to whet your appetite.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wx20fr_J4PU

alastair

Free CAD software, birch ply, some aluminium corner profiles, maybe t-bar edging, and get a cnc outfit to cut the panels for you, to assemble and glue/screw together yourself. All do-able as a DIY project with big savings over off the shelf offerings. Generic kitchen units won’t cut the mustard for your needs, but appropriate materials need not cost the earth.

https://medium.com/@tristanbrotherton/the-making-of-a-tiny-camper-ee772fd64c86

kadman

alastair wrote: »

Free CAD software, birch ply, some aluminium corner profiles, maybe t-bar edging, and get a cnc outfit to cut the panels for you, to assemble and glue/screw together yourself. All do-able as a DIY project with big savings over off the shelf offerings. Generic kitchen units won’t cut the mustard for your needs, but appropriate materials need not cost the earth.

https://medium.com/@tristanbrotherton/the-making-of-a-tiny-camper-ee772fd64c86

Like I said your link shows the high precision equipment and tech know how,

to get a high class finish. If you got this area covered, then of course its

doable as a diy project,

Question is have you got the time to invest and . setup costs to make

a cheaper solution than is already available on the market. I doubt it.

Professional kits look professional when finished, because they have

professional input in all areas.

Might be a thread for woodcraft??

alastair

kadman wrote: »

Like I said your link shows the high precision equipment and tech know how,

to get a high class finish. If you got this area covered, then of course its

doable as a diy project,

Question is have you got the time to invest and . setup costs to make

a cheaper solution than is already available on the market. I doubt it.

Professional kits look professional when finished, because they have

professional input in all areas.

Might be a thread for woodcraft??

Access to CNC cutting is easy and relatively inexpensive. CAD software is free for providing designs to the CNC outfits. Assembly of the resulting flatpack panels is little more taxing than ikea assembly, if you lean on alu corner profiles and bonding. There’s really not a whole lot of set-up costs. Time is really the only significant cost, if you need to ramp up your CAD skills (and that’s not rocket science). The example I showed was undertaken by a novice, who managed (ugly bed liner paint choice aside) a pretty professional looking outcome.

kadman

alastair wrote: »

Access to CNC cutting is easy and relatively inexpensive. CAD software is free for providing designs to the CNC outfits. Assembly of the resulting flatpack panels is little more taxing than ikea assembly, if you lean on alu corner profiles and bonding. There’s really not a whole lot of set-up costs. Time is really the only significant cost, if you need to ramp up your CAD skills (and that’s not rocket science). The example I showed was undertaken by a novice, who managed (ugly bed liner paint choice aside) a pretty professional looking outcome.

Your example shown was undertaken by a novice.....who had FREE access to a high level of professional advice and machinery.

There are setup costs if the OP believes that there is a market for lower cost units, as he has expressed in his posts.

I know from experience that there is little markup in camper type unit design and assembly, relative to any other cabinet work. Kitchens being the most lucrative.

I personally would not encourage a novice to consider venturing into this arena to try to establish a lucrative business, because they feel that current asking prices are exorbitant. They are not.

But what do I know, I,ve only spent a lifetime in cad, and advanced cabinetmaking and joinery, and still learning.

For his own diy reasons , go for it.


3 cents done and dusted.

colm_mcm

It would be entirely possible to make 3 top hinged boxes that run the length of the load bay that sit side by side where a flat surface is made on the top for bedding. You wouldn’t have to be an expert by any means to do this.

We got the local hardware supplier to cut down sheets to the sizes we gave them, the cutting was very cheap as we got the sheets from them.



It’s only as complicated as you make it.

alastair

kadman wrote: »

Your example shown was undertaken by a novice.....who had FREE access to a high level of professional advice and machinery.

There are setup costs if the OP believes that there is a market for lower cost units, as he has expressed in his posts.

I know from experience that there is little markup in camper type unit design and assembly, relative to any other cabinet work. Kitchens being the most lucrative.

I personally would not encourage a novice to consider venturing into this arena to try to establish a lucrative business, because they feel that current asking prices are exorbitant. They are not.

But what do I know, I,ve only spent a lifetime in cad, and advanced cabinetmaking and joinery, and still learning.

For his own diy reasons , go for it.


3 cents done and dusted.

Well done on your expertise, but I think you’re being a tad sensitive on the matter. As already stated, CNC services are readily available to everyone, at reasonable costs. That the guy in the link used a mate’s CNC set-up is really a red herring - it’s affordable for the rest of us without that mate.

I’m responding to the OP’s original post - more affordable alternative approaches to off-the-shelf products. I think it’s a given that anyone intending to set up any commercial operation will have set-up costs - nothing unique in this scenario, but there’s really nothing expensive or challenging in going the CAD/ply/CNC/bonding route for a bespoke professional quality DIY one-off.

karmaan

PM me if you need any cutting done
its been said already here, but a few boxes with a coffin drawer pull out kitchen can be done for reasonable money.

deaglan1

Thank you all for your input, suggestions, & kind offers.