Hi all. I am building an overland camper from a 1968 M416 military trailer, and I wanted to see what ideas you all have for the roof and side skins.
This trailer has 40-inch tires and I am building it to be pulled behind my 1978 Toyota Land Cruiser, which is also on 40-inch tires and it is set up for 9/10 rock-crawling trails. Since it needs to be extremely tough for the abuse that it will see, I have opted to go with a steel frame above the bed. This frame holds up the rooftop tent, and I want to cover it with something lightweight without having to build additional support into the frame.
I initially thought about using camper siding, but I quickly realized that I would need something solid behind it to attach the siding to. Otherwise, I am concerned that it would just flap in the wind while driving down the highway. I am thinking about going with 14-gauge sheet metal, which would add about 125 pounds, but I wanted to see what you all thought.
I am sure that I will have more questions along the way, as I have never built a camper before and really have no idea what I am doing. Any advice that you have would be greatly appreciated.
If you would like to check out the first build video that I created, feel free. I have a very small YouTube channel that I started a long time ago as a place to store VHS videos. Over the past couple of years, I have regained interest in posting videos, so I started sharing more of my projects. It has now become a place to document some of my progress. The videos are very amateur, but I hope you enjoy following along.
Thanks in advance!
Mike
This trailer has 40-inch tires and I am building it to be pulled behind my 1978 Toyota Land Cruiser, which is also on 40-inch tires and it is set up for 9/10 rock-crawling trails. Since it needs to be extremely tough for the abuse that it will see, I have opted to go with a steel frame above the bed. This frame holds up the rooftop tent, and I want to cover it with something lightweight without having to build additional support into the frame.
I initially thought about using camper siding, but I quickly realized that I would need something solid behind it to attach the siding to. Otherwise, I am concerned that it would just flap in the wind while driving down the highway. I am thinking about going with 14-gauge sheet metal, which would add about 125 pounds, but I wanted to see what you all thought.
I am sure that I will have more questions along the way, as I have never built a camper before and really have no idea what I am doing. Any advice that you have would be greatly appreciated.
If you would like to check out the first build video that I created, feel free. I have a very small YouTube channel that I started a long time ago as a place to store VHS videos. Over the past couple of years, I have regained interest in posting videos, so I started sharing more of my projects. It has now become a place to document some of my progress. The videos are very amateur, but I hope you enjoy following along.
Thanks in advance!
Mike
