Craig Systems Shelter Camper Build

[Hoefler]

I have a shelter that have been saving for a camper build. Unit fits perfect in the back of a Deuce or 5-ton. I will be using in the back of my M36A3. This truck is a little longer which will allow me to have room on back for hauling stuff. Have just begun gutting the metal rails on floor. Have a few fabricated items done for construction of bathroom including the shower pan, front and rear walls and door. For windows, I have secured several Dometic units that have built in shades. Will start putting it all together in the next few weeks.
The nice thing about this sort of camper is it will fit on my truck or a typical equipment trailer. She has tow rings all around and a set of three skids on the bottom which makes it super portable.
Pete
Pictures show inside of enclosure, front bathroom wall, door wall of bathroom, side of enclosure and window.

Pete

 

[Danger Ranger]

Im in, this should be good. You have some good looking trucks, so I hope this matches.

 

[moving chicane]

The bathroom wall and door look very interesting. Do you have some details on them? opcorn:

 

[Hoefler]

I did the layout using autocad. Spent a bunch of time designing this thing and am happy to share the drawings. I will have one of the guys here at work convert them to a PDF for me and then post them.
The bathroom is the most challenging part of this-the design I came up with is practical.
I will be using a Thetford cassette toilet. The shower pan I have made is sloped to one side with a 3/4" side outlet tube. I am using a small pump to suck the pan dry as opposed to tall bottom plumbing. I plan on making a wood grate that I will stand on when showering-make it of teak. Will look great and allow a flat standing position.
Am making a booth the transforms into a bed for the front of the shelter.
Here are pictures of some of the fabricated items.
First picture shows the 8" tall curbs that the cabinets (IKEA) and booth will sit on. This allows for mechanicals to all fit in this otherwise useless space. Picture shows the shower pan. The cut out pucture shows the rear wall of shower-it transitions to the hinge side of door to allow for easy access into shelter while allowing for a nice size bathroom. The round bar-there are two of them will serve as a place to hang clothes, jackets and stuff.
Pete
Pete

 

[MWMULES]

Cool build if you decided to remove those ugly mobilizer brackets I would be more than happy to take them off your hands and put them on my 280.
Just the bottom cleats would be a big help.

 

[moving chicane]

I have been looking into the Thetfords as well. They seem like a slightly better option than a 5 gallon bucket.

 

[Hoefler]

Here is a PDF of the layout. I have chosen aluminum for the shower. Everything else is simple construction. The booth will be 48" wide-will make into a bed.
PeteView attachment ASSEMBLY Model (1).pdf

 

[Hoefler]

Cool build if you decided to remove those ugly mobilizer brackets I would be more than happy to take them off your hands and put them on my 280.

When I cut the openings for the windows, I may use them to stiffen the walls back up. If she stays rigid-you can have them.
Pete

 

[quickfarms]

Nice work for some reason I am having a hard time swing the PDF. Can you send me the drawing in ACAD 2004 or earlier format

 

[Hoefler]

Send me you email address-I have this in Autocad 2004. I will send.
You can email request to me if you wish-pete@hafequipment.com

 

[Hoefler]

Trial fit of the bathroom and all of the curbs. So far so good. All of the pieces are simple loose fit to make certain nothing got messed up in fab. The bath design offers perfect egress into the shelter. The space between this transition and back of bath wall has two aluminum bars placed in it-a perfect spot to hang cloths.
The next step is to order two electric water pumps and the liquid tanks. These will install inside the curbs in front-straddling the body centerline. Aluminum hold downs for the curbs will be fabricated to allow the curbs to secure to the existing nutserts in the floor. The aluminum plate is removed from the front wall. Given this unit has a lot of nutserts in it, I will be lining with Birch veneer plywood. The layout will allow me to install with no vertical seams.
Wife put her foot down on my buying a camper. She never said I couldnt build one however. This is a build she doesnt know about. I will get my camper one piece at a time-just like Johny Cash got his Caddy.
Next puzzle will be selecting the best heat and air source.
Pete

 

[Danger Ranger]

It looks great, this should be really fun for you. I hope the wife likes it, and you should too!

 

[quickfarms]

What are you planning for the HVAC?

Where did you get the cassette toilet?

What are you planning for the electrical?

Is this shelter an S-280?

I have started to convert an S-280. I will have the outside painted in time for tower park. The interior will be finished this summer.

 

[Hoefler]

HVAC-have not figured that out yet. Maybe go with roof mounted combination unit like what Coleman manufactures. Plans are for a Thetford cassette toilet. They have tanks that are accessed on either side of unit. This is something to consider if you are installing shelter in bed of a Deuce with no drop sides. If thats the case, the tank would be accessed inside-not a bid deal but something to think about.
Electrical will be fun. I have calculated for two 12 volt batteries charged with either a Honda 2000 watt inverter (safe for computers) along with 1800 watt solar with battery charger/inverter. This set up will run lights and the Koolatron portable fridge and be able to recharge on solar alone. I will be adding an RV shore power set up that will allow me to output power from the Honda inverter.Lights will be all 12 volt led with wires running in a aluminum access moulding that runs along the cieling-wall. The lights will mount to this moulding.
The curb area under dinette area will house the electrical stuff and two 6 gallon water tanks. This puts the heavy stuff down low and places it in an area that might not get used efficiently.
My data plate is not correct on the shelter. It claims its a Craigs Systems, but has the data showing its 170" long. Its only 138" long. I will look to see if its called a S-280 anywhere. Sends pics of yours.
Hope you where able to open up drawing and get some ideas. The challenge here is to come up with a layout that feels right. Now that I have all the aluminum pieces mocked in-this thing feels right. The proportions and the bathroom are good. Egress is good.
I can send detail dwgs on the pieces-parts if you wish.
Pete

 

[135gmc]

HVAC-have not figured that out yet. Maybe go with roof mounted combination unit like what Coleman manufactures. Plans are for a Thetford cassette toilet. They have tanks that are accessed on either side of unit. This is something to consider if you are installing shelter in bed of a Deuce with no drop sides. If thats the case, the tank would be accessed inside-not a bid deal but something to think about.
Electrical will be fun. I have calculated for two 12 volt batteries charged with either a Honda 2000 watt inverter (safe for computers) along with 1800 watt solar with battery charger/inverter. This set up will run lights and the Koolatron portable fridge and be able to recharge on solar alone. I will be adding an RV shore power set up that will allow me to output power from the Honda inverter.Lights will be all 12 volt led with wires running in a aluminum access moulding that runs along the cieling-wall. The lights will mount to this moulding.
The curb area under dinette area will house the electrical stuff and two 6 gallon water tanks. This puts the heavy stuff down low and places it in an area that might not get used efficiently.
My data plate is not correct on the shelter. It claims its a Craigs Systems, but has the data showing its 170" long. Its only 138" long. I will look to see if its called a S-280 anywhere. Sends pics of yours.
Hope you where able to open up drawing and get some ideas. The challenge here is to come up with a layout that feels right. Now that I have all the aluminum pieces mocked in-this thing feels right. The proportions and the bathroom are good. Egress is good.
I can send detail dwgs on the pieces-parts if you wish.
Pete

If you go with a rooftop unit, be careful to make a raised mounting pad for it first. The edges on shelter roofs are about 1/4" higher than the flat portion of the roof, so you could have problems with standing water with resultant roof leaks unless the AC is on a pad. I'm going with a Polar Cub AC on my S-250, and I will raise it by approx. 3/4". The first layer will be a slab of 1/4 Aluminum, with the side edges flanged up for stiffness - the rest of the layers will be 1/4 x 4" aluminum stacked and epoxy glued, log cabin style. I'm going to seal it to the roof with 3M 5200 marine caulking, and use Riv-Nuts to anchor it to the structural portions of the shelter, with pop rivets along the sides. Any openings on the shelters are usually done with 1 1/2 x 1 1/2 x 1/8 aluminum angle, welded so they will telescope. The hole is cut in the side, and the two sections are telescoped into each other, Pop rivets are used to secure the two frames together, and to the structure.

 

[Triple Jim]

HVAC-have not figured that out yet. Maybe go with roof mounted combination unit like what Coleman manufactures.

I have a Coleman rooftop heat pump in a motor home. The unit is made by Airxcel. It works well down to about 40F. Below that, it tends to have the evaporator ice up, since there's no automatic defrost cycle like home units have. It shuts off the compressor around 35F or so, and closes a relay that you can connect to a propane or other heater to automatically turn it on.

My Coleman model HP2 is actually an Airxcel 48004. You can download the manual, wiring diagram, and other literature from http://www.rvcomfort.com/rvp/tech_info/

 

[quickfarms]

Pete I emailed you the S-280 manual and drawings.

I was thinking about mounting the roof vent and possible AC unit on top of the existing hook drop plate. This is both for structural and elevation reasons.

As far as power goes my unit will primarily be ac powered at this point. This is due to the fact that the truck has a MEP-903B mounted on it and a lot of the places that we go have power. I am leaving my options open for future dc power

 

[moving chicane]

1800 watts of solar? Wow that will be a massive system!

 

[quickfarms]

1800 watts of solar? Wow that will be a massive system!

That would be interesting.

This 800 watt system cost $ 4,000 and would cover the roof of the shelter. https://m.northerntool.com/northern...mId=31650&categoryId=&path=&productName=false

 

[Triple Jim]

You can get name brand solar panels these days for around one dollar per watt. I have some made by Uni-Solar. They are flexible, self-adhesive and so rugged you can throw rocks at them without damage, but they seem to be hard to find at the moment. There are others to choose from: http://www.wholesalesolar.com/