A new hope ... (build journal and component reviews)

[cug]

Again, there haven't been many updates in the last few days, we've been busy with two projects:

1. Rear Door Mosquito Screen

Since the mounting of the original mozzie screen didn't work with our furniture, my wife made our own version of it. The velcro will get attached in slightly different places and it does not have a canvas layer – for which I never saw the point anyways.

Otherwise it works similar to the Alu-Cab mosquito screen: zippers for the middle panel, it drops perfectly into the gab between door frame and bedplate, is attached with velcro at the top and sides, can be rolled up and secured in place when rolled up. The straps to secure it in place don't have velcro, but use "toggles" (plastic thingies that go through a loop to hold the fabric in place, more like a camping tent).

The screen is done, we'll wait with final mounting until we don't have to move furniture around anymore.

2. Various brackets for the rear

In additon to the various door panel and brackets, I have now also designed a bracket to hold our "trash container". We are going to use a large Bear Vault as our trash can. This needed a way to attach to the outside. Goals were easy removal and secure mounting.

Here's the sketch:

There won't be much if any weight on the rear bend, since the container will be held against the camper with a RokStrap attached to this little bracket:

So, I'm not concerned about stability. The flanges are mostly to conveniently hold the container in place while mounting/unmounting it.

This will all be mounted to the molle panel on the driver's side. The mounting holes are optimized for the hole distances and can be moved slightly left and right for individual adjustment. I've made sure that we can also mount it to one of our own door brackets if we ever wanted to.

This was quite an order for aluminum cutting now:

• Bear Container bracket plus strap holder
• Door inside panel for mounting the Redvision display (shit, I forgot to get the cover for the opening in the GP-Factor panel, need to add this to the order – DONE)
• Door inside panel for behind a Last US Bag Half Caddy, to hold insulation in place
• 2x Mounting brackets for between upper two Rhino load bars
• 2x Mounting brackets for between lower two Rhino load bars
• 2x Spacer in case I want to mount upper and lower brackets exactly in line.

So, now waiting for the parts to arrive and actually fit ... ;-) Although I'm relatively confident since I measured and checked about a billion times.

They also come in raw aluminum, so we can make corrections if needed and then have it powder coated locally.

On that topic, we saw a local powder coating shop yesterday and talked to the owner – they made us a great price if we bring all parts in one go and have only one color to be applied. Perfect, exactly what I was looking for, since powder coating at the online cut-and-bend-place was outrageously expensive.

I can only recommend talking to local fabrication shops, they are generally super nice to work with!

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[RoamingGladiator]

Really cool build!

 

[cug]

Really cool build!

Thank you!

 

[cug]

I have now also designed a bracket to hold our "trash container". We are going to use a large Bear Vault as our trash can.

And here's the thinking behind this one:

Most builds I've seen use some kind of soft bag for trash. That's perfectly fine, but I REALLY don't want to have that hanging from my truck in bear country. I also might not want the smelly trash inside the truck or camper when camping in bear country. We intentionally keep all our more smelly pantry items in a bear proof Zarges case, so we can put it away from the truck in case we camp in a more bear frequented area. That brought up the idea of using a bear container for trash as well.

The other downsides I have seen with soft trashbags:

• They are often WAY too large. We don't produce a lot of trash, even on multi-day trips. We do collect in campsites, but it's still manageable.
• We had to dig in really deep to get and re-use a trashbin liner. We try to avoid creating too much plastic waste, so we don't use multiple trashbags per day ...
• Attaching the softbags is often a pain in the ass, and in bear country we'd have to take it off and put on once a day.
• We used a smaller bag on our last trips, and still it got super dusty and dirty on the outside, wasn't easy to put on or take off, still digging (and high up since it was on the molle panel) to get stuff out, etc.

Overall, soft trash bags have been suboptimal for us, so we wanted to try a different route. We'll see how this works out.

 

[mquetel]

Did you have to do anything to attach the loop side of the velcro to the camper, beyond the adhesive? Asking because the Alucab adhesive is hot garbage and needs to be riveted in place in order to stay up.

 

[cug]

Did you have to do anything to attach the loop side of the velcro to the camper, beyond the adhesive? Asking because the Alucab adhesive is hot garbage and needs to be riveted in place in order to stay up.

We will rivet the fluffy side to the door frame.

It's not on yet, but all these adhesive backed velcro bands aren't sticking all that well. It's no big surprise either, the forces when pulling the velcro apart aren't very gentle. Plus the Alu-Cab screen is heavy due to the canvas layer.

So far, we've only held it on, since we are still moving furniture in and out and working on parts very close to the door frame (heater). Once that is all done, I'll put the tape in and use four or five rivets per side to hold it in place. There are things you can do to help adhesive, like spray primer or different adhesive tape, but for this scenario with a flexible material being mounting, it plain cannot work with just adhesive. If the AC screens are planned for just adhesive, I'd like to get some of the stuff they are smoking ... ;-)

 

[mquetel]

We will rivet the fluffy side to the door frame.

It's not on yet, but all these adhesive backed velcro bands aren't sticking all that well. It's no big surprise either, the forces when pulling the velcro apart aren't very gentle. Plus the Alu-Cab screen is heavy due to the canvas layer.

So far, we've only held it on, since we are still moving furniture in and out and working on parts very close to the door frame (heater). Once that is all done, I'll put the tape in and use four or five rivets per side to hold it in place. There are things you can do to help adhesive, like spray primer or different adhesive tape, but for this scenario with a flexible material being mounting, it plain cannot work with just adhesive. If the AC screens are planned for just adhesive, I'd like to get some of the stuff they are smoking ... ;-)

FWIW I used 3M’s VHB universal primer and it didn’t make a difference. I was warned I would need to rivet them so it was more of an experiment. It did give me a little time to procure some black rivets, so they disappear into the background.

 

[cug]

FWIW I used 3M’s VHB universal primer and it didn’t make a difference. I was warned I would need to rivet them so it was more of an experiment. It did give me a little time to procure some black rivets, so they disappear into the background.

The VHB primer seems to work best with their own tape. It probably needs to match the adhesive's chemistry properly. [Added: I've used it on some motorcycle fairing parts and these aren't coming off. Ever. If I need them off, I need to replace the part they are attached to.]

I do have silver rivets, but I'd be happy to use black ones. Which ones did you use? And what size? I was thinking of re-using some of the holes that are already in the frame, but I'm open regarding the rivets ...

 

[mquetel]

The VHB primer seems to work best with their own tape. It probably needs to match the adhesive's chemistry properly. [Added: I've used it on some motorcycle fairing parts and these aren't coming off. Ever. If I need them off, I need to replace the part they are attached to.]

I do have silver rivets, but I'd be happy to use black ones. Which ones did you use? And what size? I was thinking of re-using some of the holes that are already in the frame, but I'm open regarding the rivets ...

I used 1/8" x 5/16" large flange rivets. 1/8" x 3/8" would be fine also. A set like this gives you 30. Couldn't find the smaller ones, in black, with a large flange sold separately. I'm not sure the large flange is critical, but I think it's nice insurance.

 

[cug]

I used 1/8" x 5/16" large flange rivets. 1/8" x 3/8" would be fine also. A set like this gives you 30. Couldn't find the smaller ones, in black, with a large flange sold separately.

Something like this:

https://www.mcmaster.com/97526A320-97526A461/

looks about right given what you said. Maybe the slightly longer ones, good question:

https://www.mcmaster.com/97526A330-97526A471/

I'd say, the short ones SHOULD work. The rivet set is more flexible, but I really don't need another rivet set ... I only need them for this usecase and that'll be it.

 

[chorky]

Again, there haven't been many updates in the last few days, we've been busy with two projects:

1. Rear Door Mosquito Screen

Since the mounting of the original mozzie screen didn't work with our furniture, my wife made our own version of it. The velcro will get attached in slightly different places and it does not have a canvas layer – for which I never saw the point anyways.

Otherwise it works similar to the Alu-Cab mosquito screen: zippers for the middle panel, it drops perfectly into the gab between door frame and bedplate, is attached with velcro at the top and sides, can be rolled up and secured in place when rolled up. The straps to secure it in place don't have velcro, but use "toggles" (plastic thingies that go through a loop to hold the fabric in place, more like a camping tent).

The screen is done, we'll wait with final mounting until we don't have to move furniture around anymore.

2. Various brackets for the rear

In additon to the various door panel and brackets, I have now also designed a bracket to hold our "trash container". We are going to use a large Bear Vault as our trash can. This needed a way to attach to the outside. Goals were easy removal and secure mounting.

Here's the sketch:

There won't be much if any weight on the rear bend, since the container will be held against the camper with a RokStrap attached to this little bracket:

So, I'm not concerned about stability. The flanges are mostly to conveniently hold the container in place while mounting/unmounting it.

This will all be mounted to the molle panel on the driver's side. The mounting holes are optimized for the hole distances and can be moved slightly left and right for individual adjustment. I've made sure that we can also mount it to one of our own door brackets if we ever wanted to.

This was quite an order for aluminum cutting now:

• Bear Container bracket plus strap holder
• Door inside panel for mounting the Redvision display (shit, I forgot to get the cover for the opening in the GP-Factor panel, need to add this to the order – DONE)
• Door inside panel for behind a Last US Bag Half Caddy, to hold insulation in place
• 2x Mounting brackets for between upper two Rhino load bars
• 2x Mounting brackets for between lower two Rhino load bars
• 2x Spacer in case I want to mount upper and lower brackets exactly in line.

So, now waiting for the parts to arrive and actually fit ... ;-) Although I'm relatively confident since I measured and checked about a billion times.

They also come in raw aluminum, so we can make corrections if needed and then have it powder coated locally.

On that topic, we saw a local powder coating shop yesterday and talked to the owner – they made us a great price if we bring all parts in one go and have only one color to be applied. Perfect, exactly what I was looking for, since powder coating at the online cut-and-bend-place was outrageously expensive.

I can only recommend talking to local fabrication shops, they are generally super nice to work with!

Maybe I missed it but I didn't see what you are using for sewing but I picked this up just a few weeks ago to make some modifications on the shower cube.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08QGVBSDM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s06?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It's actually pretty darn nice for the price, small enough to actually be handheld, so you don't have to remove whatever it is your working on from its location. And a ton of string.

en use some kind of soft bag for trash. That's perfectly fine, but I REALLY don't want to have that hanging from my truck in bear country. I also might not want the smelly trash inside the truck or camper when camping in bear country. We intentionally keep all our more smelly pantry items in a bear proof Zarges case, so we can put it away from the truck in case we camp in a more bear frequented area. That brought up the idea of using a bear container

This is what I use. I have one for trash, and a separate one I use to collect 'grey' water, then dump it somewhere at least 300' away from camp. It works really well. The lid has a ring that snaps onto the bucket but inside the ring is a seal. Then the lid itself screws onto said ring and it also has a seal. I have closed up my trash in this thing all summer last year during trips, including 'sealed' poo bags, and let me tell you it does NOT let smells out - at least to a human. Animals can still smell right through it. I purposefully left them out with food smells in them just to see if mice would try eating through them and not one animal thus far has attempted. So I am sold. And I camp in heavy griz country if that makes a difference.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B096X43K5...p=&crid=H6MCE3LJK2F4&amp=&sprefix=5+gallon+bu

 

[cug]

Maybe I missed it but I didn't see what you are using for sewing

My wife has a 30 year old Husqvarna sewing machine she's using for this work. It'll need service before the next big project (a mosquito tent for attaching to part of the awning, about 1900mm x 1650mm square).

Sewing in place is something we currently don't need.

I have one for trash, and a separate one I use to collect 'grey' water, then dump it somewhere at least 300' away from camp.

Makes sense. It would be too big for us for grey water (we are using a 1.75 gallon water Rotopax for that). The bear container will go to the outside molle panel, so size was restricted by how much it was okay to stick out to the side and how much space I need to leave between the open door (90 degree opening) and the container, there's another Rotopax sitting there.

Even though they are obscenely expensive., we use the various Rotopax for some simple reasons:

• They won't get too heavy when full. A full five gallon NATO can is too heavy for my wife to handle without risk of injury when lifting it high up.
• They have reasonably well working mounts.
• They all have the same caps and spouts (now that I re-worked them slightly).
• They all have the same seals.

All this means that I need to carry a "less diverse" spare parts set and can handle them easier.

 

[cug]

Since the mounting of the original mozzie screen didn't work with our furniture, my wife made our own version of it. The velcro will get attached in slightly different places and it does not have a canvas layer – for which I never saw the point anyways.

And another benefit of no canvas mosquito net:

The original Alu-Cab mosquita net for the rear door is about 1kg all included. Our version is 300g. The canvas is heavy.

 

[chorky]

nother benefit of no canvas mosquito net:

The original Alu-Cab mosquita net for the rear door is about 1kg all inclu

What canvas net are you referencing? That sounds like a terrible idea - way too heavy.

 

[cug]

What canvas net are you referencing? That sounds like a terrible idea - way too heavy.

The OEM mosquito netting is two layers, canvas and netting, same way as the tent windows. We did netting only.

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