Defender 6x6 Camper Build Thread

[-Defender110-]

Small bit of an update lads and ladies!

Since the last post, i was a bit side tracked semi-rebuilding a trayback project for a mate, rewiring, led lights, pump tweaking, full raptor respray, new door tops, seat belts and windscreen:



Now that that is out of the way, i pulled the camper build out of the shed to get a better look at it. All looked pretty good but i did notice a small bit of an unlevelness on the sub floor front section, so that was first to be sorted out:



Next up i started to build the camper box frame... First step in that process was to weigh it as was in the photo above... i had done some ''back of a napkin'' maths to guess at a weight, but its chassis cab weight was going to hugely influence the method of construction that would be used for the body..



Amazingly it came in about 200kg under what i was expecting, it came in at 1820kg. This allowed me to go with my most preferred method of building the body. I went with a box frame construction, unto which ill be bonding GRP sheeting, and insulating from behind. I preferred this method as its a strong frame from which ill be able to mount things if needed, works well to my abilities, i can Mig weld etc, and its arguably the cheapest method of achieving what i want, so heres the start of the frame build!:











So right now thats how it sits, its all just tacked in place for now, as i dont want to fully weld anything until i have the frame squared properly and braced for welding.





A long road to go with the frame yet, but the bulk of the shape is now visible at least!

 

[Bobsticle]

Small bit of an update lads and ladies!

Since the last post, i was a bit side tracked semi-rebuilding a trayback project for a mate, rewiring, led lights, pump tweaking, full raptor respray, new door tops, seat belts and windscreen:



Now that that is out of the way, i pulled the camper build out of the shed to get a better look at it. All looked pretty good but i did notice a small bit of an unlevelness on the sub floor front section, so that was first to be sorted out:



Next up i started to build the camper box frame... First step in that process was to weigh it as was in the photo above... i had done some ''back of a napkin'' maths to guess at a weight, but its chassis cab weight was going to hugely influence the method of construction that would be used for the body..



Amazingly it came in about 200kg under what i was expecting, it came in at 1820kg. This allowed me to go with my most preferred method of building the body. I went with a box frame construction, unto which ill be bonding GRP sheeting, and insulating from behind. I preferred this method as its a strong frame from which ill be able to mount things if needed, works well to my abilities, i can Mig weld etc, and its arguably the cheapest method of achieving what i want, so heres the start of the frame build!:











So right now thats how it sits, its all just tacked in place for now, as i dont want to fully weld anything until i have the frame squared properly and braced for welding.





A long road to go with the frame yet, but the bulk of the shape is now visible at least!

I was thinking of going metal frame on my camper but couldn’t think of a way to minimise thermal bridging and cold spots on the interior creating condensation and mildew.
That and I was sick of bashin metal.

lookin great.

 

[-Defender110-]

I was thinking of going metal frame on my camper but couldn’t think of a way to minimise thermal bridging and cold spots on the interior creating condensation and mildew.
That and I was sick of bashin metal.

lookin great.

Yeah ill be honest, i had the same concerns, but after watching some other builds come to fruition in my garage and not a lot of consideration for cold bridging and they seem fine, so i decided to plow ahead and address that issue at a later date, now that i see the internal size i have, i may use thicker insulation board to basically cover the box steel from the inside, we'll see how it pans out!

 

[Bobsticle]

I’m sure it’ll be fine. Being such a small section I doubt it’ll stay cold for long when in use. I’m trying to source some heavy rubber J profile to cover the ally window frames in mine. I’m sure work can come up with something.

 

[-Defender110-]

I’m sure it’ll be fine. Being such a small section I doubt it’ll stay cold for long when in use. I’m trying to source some heavy rubber J profile to cover the ally window frames in mine. I’m sure work can come up with something.

My thoughts exactly! ill consider it again when i get closer to the point of insulating the interior and if i can find a compromise ill take it, but im not overly worried about it either!

https://www.servicemetals.co.uk/

This crowd may be worth a shout if your still struggling to find the right j profile!

 

[pierreblonde]

With regards to thermal bridging. I’m in the building trade and have to deal with in in loft conversations etc. You’d normally insulted across the inner surface. With a box section you could drill 10mm holes say 400mm apart. And fill the cavity with expanding foam it would also expel the air and limit condensation within the section Help with thermal bridging . And insulation wise in the wall between the box the likes of kingspan and celotex Have very good thermal properties. But literally o acustic value. There is a product call triso super 10. That’s very good, It’s a multi layer blanket. 35mm thick but the equivalent of 200mm of Rockwell. You could tape it with foil tape on the inside to make it air tight
Look great by the way