biv box
Posted: March 2nd, 2021, 8:58 am
Hi all, my wife and I are in SE Australia and dreaming of roaming around the scrub and visiting grandkids with tall stories to tell about breaking Land Rover parts etc. I am 62. 6ft neat. I will post in the newb intro thread.
Back in Sept 2020 I finally began drawing a demountable camper for my 110 Land Rover. I am not a drawer, or skilled in welding but I thought it would be better to waste time and effort on paper rather than on materials and tradies charging $150 per hour.
I took graph paper and a pencil/ruler/rubber to work and did some drawings of a trailer camper in the quiet periods. A must've done 6 or 7 drawings from the start of the chyna virus but by September I had second thoughts and decided to go with a demountable and ditch the trailer.
Lately I have showed the drawings to a welder and used cardboard to trial the rear hatchway (yes we both got in and out okay).
I took a photo and manipulated it in photoshop. Photos/cameras are more 'up my street'.
It is an "exo-skelton" - the steel frame protects from scrub rub on bush tracks and can work to hold brackets for off road gear etc, eg; Maxtrax, foldup solar panels, ensuite/shower awning, etc. The frame is simple 2mm thick 50mm x 25mm (end pieces) and elsewhere 25mm x 25mm. Things crack and break. Most station (aka farm sheds) have a stick welder and we stay at farms by preference.
A 2.5m long pop top (north-south) provides room for bed with toebox over cab, standing room at rear end and giving more than 2m interior height. It also has "sail tracks" for the exterior awning. 1.5m interior east-west suits 1370 wide 1880 long mattress
The pop top extrusions from the panel supplier are DIY (our supplier has youtube vids) and the whole setup is independent of the steel frame as it sits higher on the wall panel edges alone that extrusion also carries the roof panel.
Walls are cad-cut composite panels 28mm wide from http://www.styromax.com.au
the panels are glossy finish on the exterior and satin on the inside.
Teardrop rear hatchway arrived today. RH hinged. 900mm high 622mm wide. We tested the fitting before ordering using a cardboard 'back end' trying out ingress and outgress. Result - all good but a grab rail would be nice.
Lagun Table is here. One mount inside and one mount outside.
Cooker is here already. Two MSR dragonfly using shellite (or diesel or kero if desperate). I like these. Great simmer. Yesterday my wife came home from her job (its closing down next month) and she retrieved a 1000mm x 800mm alloy sign (1.7mm thick) from the store. Its clean and unmarked and I may use it as a stove surround/heatguard.
Engel 'normal' 12v fridge is here already.
Rieco-Titan legs are here already. They are HD and made in the USA. I avoid chinesium products like the plague. They are needed to lift the bivbox up high enough to clear the Land Rover tub which is high due to ground clearance. It clears by about 120mm. I tested the lift with a cardboard trial. I like cardboard trials.
Our Landy is a 1990 ex-military FFR and does not have a tailgate as such, it has a cut down rear panel (a "troop scoop"). The exact opposite to a modern tub such as is on the Defender 130. We have enjoyed pedalling older military Land Rovers and maintaining them.
We have owned our modern one (3.9 Isuzu diesel engine and synchromesh!) since 2015. We have upgraded it with dual rear springs and rear disc brakes, turbo, braided lines, modern front turrets, new adjustable Tough Dog shocks, new radiator and hoses, new slippery diff at the back, new CVs (and hubs), new hardened axles and flanges, and other things (I have a long list).
Here is a short video showing the type of Landy (but this one is a GS which has a normal tailgate):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rv4z44pfsfo
attached drawings to date and a rear photoshop rough.
Water/plumbing: hardly anything fancy. Hot water via a big billy. An exterior shower set up. Drinking water filters and a pair of stainless steel jerrys.
LPG. Nope. Air conditioning. Nope. 240v generator. Nope. I will definitely make a connection on the side of the camper for occasions staying in a caravan park.
TV. Nope. TV is available in hotels and bistros. Web tablets. Yes.
USB things yes - Garmin Tracker/Msgr, 4g phones.
Solar panels and lithium battery -yes. Keeping things simple as possible I will attempt to keep the bivbox electrically separate. I do have a RedArc 50A DCDC charger I can fit to get alternator recharges but .. I will probably depend on the solar panels and new 100AH battery we have already. Its primarily for the Engel.
In the next few weeks the frame should be down and the leg attachments sorted. Welding session number 1 is this Friday. I have waited weeks and weeks (not fault of welder - see newb post). Then we can properly measure and sort out the panel sizing and pop top. We are fortunate to live about 10km from one of the top on line caravan parts suppliers. Not so lucky with the cad cut panels company which is a couple of days drive to the north in SE Queensland.
Back in Sept 2020 I finally began drawing a demountable camper for my 110 Land Rover. I am not a drawer, or skilled in welding but I thought it would be better to waste time and effort on paper rather than on materials and tradies charging $150 per hour.
I took graph paper and a pencil/ruler/rubber to work and did some drawings of a trailer camper in the quiet periods. A must've done 6 or 7 drawings from the start of the chyna virus but by September I had second thoughts and decided to go with a demountable and ditch the trailer.
Lately I have showed the drawings to a welder and used cardboard to trial the rear hatchway (yes we both got in and out okay).
I took a photo and manipulated it in photoshop. Photos/cameras are more 'up my street'.
It is an "exo-skelton" - the steel frame protects from scrub rub on bush tracks and can work to hold brackets for off road gear etc, eg; Maxtrax, foldup solar panels, ensuite/shower awning, etc. The frame is simple 2mm thick 50mm x 25mm (end pieces) and elsewhere 25mm x 25mm. Things crack and break. Most station (aka farm sheds) have a stick welder and we stay at farms by preference.
A 2.5m long pop top (north-south) provides room for bed with toebox over cab, standing room at rear end and giving more than 2m interior height. It also has "sail tracks" for the exterior awning. 1.5m interior east-west suits 1370 wide 1880 long mattress
The pop top extrusions from the panel supplier are DIY (our supplier has youtube vids) and the whole setup is independent of the steel frame as it sits higher on the wall panel edges alone that extrusion also carries the roof panel.
Walls are cad-cut composite panels 28mm wide from http://www.styromax.com.au
the panels are glossy finish on the exterior and satin on the inside.
Teardrop rear hatchway arrived today. RH hinged. 900mm high 622mm wide. We tested the fitting before ordering using a cardboard 'back end' trying out ingress and outgress. Result - all good but a grab rail would be nice.
Lagun Table is here. One mount inside and one mount outside.
Cooker is here already. Two MSR dragonfly using shellite (or diesel or kero if desperate). I like these. Great simmer. Yesterday my wife came home from her job (its closing down next month) and she retrieved a 1000mm x 800mm alloy sign (1.7mm thick) from the store. Its clean and unmarked and I may use it as a stove surround/heatguard.
Engel 'normal' 12v fridge is here already.
Rieco-Titan legs are here already. They are HD and made in the USA. I avoid chinesium products like the plague. They are needed to lift the bivbox up high enough to clear the Land Rover tub which is high due to ground clearance. It clears by about 120mm. I tested the lift with a cardboard trial. I like cardboard trials.
Our Landy is a 1990 ex-military FFR and does not have a tailgate as such, it has a cut down rear panel (a "troop scoop"). The exact opposite to a modern tub such as is on the Defender 130. We have enjoyed pedalling older military Land Rovers and maintaining them.
We have owned our modern one (3.9 Isuzu diesel engine and synchromesh!) since 2015. We have upgraded it with dual rear springs and rear disc brakes, turbo, braided lines, modern front turrets, new adjustable Tough Dog shocks, new radiator and hoses, new slippery diff at the back, new CVs (and hubs), new hardened axles and flanges, and other things (I have a long list).
Here is a short video showing the type of Landy (but this one is a GS which has a normal tailgate):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rv4z44pfsfo
attached drawings to date and a rear photoshop rough.
Water/plumbing: hardly anything fancy. Hot water via a big billy. An exterior shower set up. Drinking water filters and a pair of stainless steel jerrys.
LPG. Nope. Air conditioning. Nope. 240v generator. Nope. I will definitely make a connection on the side of the camper for occasions staying in a caravan park.
TV. Nope. TV is available in hotels and bistros. Web tablets. Yes.
USB things yes - Garmin Tracker/Msgr, 4g phones.
Solar panels and lithium battery -yes. Keeping things simple as possible I will attempt to keep the bivbox electrically separate. I do have a RedArc 50A DCDC charger I can fit to get alternator recharges but .. I will probably depend on the solar panels and new 100AH battery we have already. Its primarily for the Engel.
In the next few weeks the frame should be down and the leg attachments sorted. Welding session number 1 is this Friday. I have waited weeks and weeks (not fault of welder - see newb post). Then we can properly measure and sort out the panel sizing and pop top. We are fortunate to live about 10km from one of the top on line caravan parts suppliers. Not so lucky with the cad cut panels company which is a couple of days drive to the north in SE Queensland.