Flatbed and composite panel build on Dodge 2500

[Jeep]

We do have some cool stuff, weather included! There are quite a few Hagglunds around, they are nice.

Got some work done, electrical which we are extremely good at will come together quickly now, wood looks good enough but next time around it's a cabinet maker or synthetic.

 

[Healeyjet]

Mark, it's looking great. I think maybe you are being too hard on yourself about the pine. From my chair it looks very nice. It will hold up well and can be easily repaired.

Ward

 

[swirvin21]

uh oh...I see the first flaw, LOL. Or is it just a mirage that makes one cabinet door look bigger than the other?? I like the color, don't think you should complain at all, need a little warmth in there from real wood!

 

[Jeep]

Ha, it sure looks like I screwed up from the pic, but it's just one door is fully closed, and one partially open. The fit is dead on square. the wood looks better in person, finish turned out really good, everything is square, and I do like it. It's just not perfect, but I don't claim to be a master carpenter either and I am my own worst critic, I really respect what those guys can do and I just need to find one that is a little more motivated around here. Why is it so hard to employ somebody to work on nice new stuff in a nice clean shop, with a bunch of great people to work with (myself excluded)!? I mean seriously I built a camper as fast as I could have gotten cabinets! I do not have the patience to deal with something like sandpaper! Even though just a little use of that evil stuff made a huge difference, that's just my ADD at work. The color is dark, but I was looking for a sharp contrast, the fabric and flooring should actually tie it all together nicely.

Cheers all, thanks for the great comments!

 

[goodtimes]

Part of the problem with finding a cabinet maker may be the application. Your camper is a completely different animal than the average kitchen - and that may be scaring some people off. It would certainly give me pause, and I've done a bit of wood work in campers.

BTW - sandpaper can be your friend, you just need the proper "sandpaper holding device". Festool makes a few that are quite friendly.

I think the colors will come together very well . . .

 

[Jeep]

Part of the problem with finding a cabinet maker may be the application. Your camper is a completely different animal than the average kitchen - and that may be scaring some people off. It would certainly give me pause, and I've done a bit of wood work in campers.

BTW - sandpaper can be your friend, you just need the proper "sandpaper holding device". Festool makes a few that are quite friendly.

I think the colors will come together very well . . .

My perfect sandpaper holder would be somebody else!

 

[swirvin21]

Figures....I knew it was going to be a weird angle or something. Just when I thought you were human...LOL! Looking forward to hearing the stories after you get to use it!!!

 

[Victorian]

Ha, it sure looks like I screwed up from the pic, but it's just one door is fully closed, and one partially open. The fit is dead on square. the wood looks better in person, finish turned out really good, everything is square, and I do like it. It's just not perfect, but I don't claim to be a master carpenter either and I am my own worst critic, I really respect what those guys can do and I just need to find one that is a little more motivated around here. Why is it so hard to employ somebody to work on nice new stuff in a nice clean shop, with a bunch of great people to work with (myself excluded)!? I mean seriously I built a camper as fast as I could have gotten cabinets! I do not have the patience to deal with something like sandpaper! Even though just a little use of that evil stuff made a huge difference, that's just my ADD at work. The color is dark, but I was looking for a sharp contrast, the fabric and flooring should actually tie it all together nicely.

Cheers all, thanks for the great comments!

That was the main reason I closed my cabinet shop. I couldn't find trained and motivated people! Back in Germany, there is no shortage of trained craftsman and everyone wants to move up and do higher end work. It took me three years to get into Unicat! And yes, go with the Festool....

 

[Jeep]

Got the batteries in, and sunk the LED's into the light bar that runs right down the middle of the inside of the camper. Went with 6 volt AGM's, generally used in golf carts, good capacity, take a beating.

 

[Healeyjet]

Mark, for a total battery storage newb, how many amp hours of storage will the three batteries provide? Is that the same battery setup as your camper now?
Ward

 

[ersatzknarf]

If I may, from the photos it looks like two 6V 210 Ah batteries, so that would be a total of 210 Ah at 12 volts.

 

[Jeep]

That's correct.

In my current unit I run 2 group 31 AGM's with 150 watts of solar, during the long summer days we never run the generator. On day 4 of our Thanksgiving trips we usually fire the generator up to make breakfast on day 4, the weather last year was above freezing so the furnace ran less, and we never even ran the generator last year. We use an electric toaster and electric coffee maker which suck the power. The 2 6 volt AGM's have approx. 25-30% more capacity and there is 200 watts of solar on the roof of this unit, plus the heating system draws nothing in comparison to the big truck so I have no intentions of carrying a generator in this unit.

 

[MIskier]

My perfect sandpaper holder would be somebody else!

You may want to look for a company that specializes in marine interiors. A company I have dealt with numerous times on yacht design projects is a company called Blue Water in Sarasota, FL. They are a full cabinet and interior shop with 2 and 3 axis cnc machines and in house Solidworks capabilities. I am sure there are similar companies in much closer proximity to you, but may be worth a look.

 

[Jeep]

You may want to look for a company that specializes in marine interiors. A company I have dealt with numerous times on yacht design projects is a company called Blue Water in Sarasota, FL. They are a full cabinet and interior shop with 2 and 3 axis cnc machines and in house Solidworks capabilities. I am sure there are similar companies in much closer proximity to you, but may be worth a look.

I wish we had something closer here, and I'm not even sure there is anything like that in the Vancouver area, Andreas could chime in here, as I have no issue shipping things within reason. The one shop that had the capability and the interest quickly shifted with the USD/CAD difference and started filling up Lowes locations in the USA. I can't blame them. We do have a shortage of SKILLED trade people in Canada, we do have a pile of them that think they are invaluable, thanks to our oil boom economy that will give any deadhead that can lean ion a shovel $50 an hour, and pays the trade for the ticket rather than the person with the ticket. All the wood in mine was laid out in Cad and cut on a cnc router, the fit is perfect, it's the finishing that I would like to see handled by a pro, but again, here I got a quote of $5K to do cabinet doors, I supply the wood. I do not have an issue with exchanging money for services, BUT I have $540 in materials, and about 12 hours into the job, in a facility not really designed for it. Take the $540, mark it up to a realistic retail (I paid retail for the materials) and you end up at $900 for materials, which means $4100 for labor, which works out to $341.66 per hour......$3.44 less per hour than I pay my lawyer...whose education cost a hell of a lot more, and I'm sure his office building isn't any cheaper! After my house reno, I said if I died, I'd want to come back as a cabinet maker, every time I look at a wood project that I'd like done a little above average, my rectum hurts! I do have a couple of projects on the go, and I'm seriously thinking about hiring a good finishing carpenter and building a nice spray booth.

 

[Jeep]

Got some more of the wood in, starting to take shape. Wiring is going in, everything is roughed in, just have to terminate and finish tying up. Ceiling light turned out really nice, perfect light, perfect shade.