Building a Squaredrop camper

[samj2014]

Thanks - I mostly plan to use it in the wild or at BC rec sites - they’re pretty basic campsites usually with a few pitches with a fire pit and a drop toilet or two and are often quite remote. Usually only $15/night or free if you hit the really remote ones.

[samj2014]

missing the VR6 said:

Sweet, if you're ever over in Banff with it, there's a government run site on Tunnel Mountain that was pretty reasonable from memory and the facilities were pretty decent. We toured BC and Alberta in 2019 and hired an RV and stayed there for 5 nights. Probably not as off grid as you might be looking for though.

Out first trip actually is next Saturday - we will be travelling with my dad who’s visiting from the UK and renting a big RV and doing pretty much exactly the trip you mention haha. It’ll mostly be RV sites because my folks aren’t exactly the wild camping type these days. Should be fun although a bit of a trial by fire with regards to towing the thing cross country!

[samj2014]

Well, I got the gas struts for the hatch fitted this morning and took it for its first drive this evening to make sure it’s good to go and that my Jeep will tow it. I took it up a steep section of highway and managed to hold 80km/h up it and it seems to sit at highway speeds nicely. The brakes definitely feel less effective and I’m going to have to anticipate braking a little more but that’s to be expected. Otherwise it drives pretty well and I managed to hook up and back it into my parking spot without any help (this is my first time towing a trailer).

[samj2014]

Fitted the solar panel this evening. Wasn’t too difficult - a 1 beer job.

[samj2014]

My dad shows up on Thursday and we’ll be leaving Saturday for our road trip so I spent today finishing some stuff off. Picked up a tool box for the tongue to keep some essentials in - spares, axes, other camping paraphernalia. Messed around with the stove drawer a little and refitted the drawer for the cooler, though the cooler still doesn’t fully open. Longer slides could be the ticket.
Also spent some time rationalizing kitchen things and getting some stuff built ie spice rack, cutlery holder and a couple of pieces to keep plates, pans etc from rolling around inside cupboards. I think we’re pretty much good to go now (though the wooden things could use a lick of varnish)

[samj2014]

Well, 5 days in to our trip with well over 1000km on the trailer now there have been a couple of teething problems (more on those later) but it’s doing what we need it to do, and the bed is incredibly comfy. The battery works well and stays charged, it drives well and the Jeep pulls it decently. All in all, very happy. Just needs a few tweaks when we get home.

Edited by samj2014 on Friday 2nd September 06:03

[samj2014]

CharlesdeGaulle said:

That looks somewhat 'Mad Max'; really cool.

Just a thought, but might the black make it harder for other motorists to see and perhaps more likely to hit on the road?

Never crossed my mind honestly. There’s enough black cars out there and it’s pretty hard to miss.
Black bear for scale



Ghost town of Sandon:



|https://thumbsnap.com/dHqoETEx[/url]

Ferry across Arrow lake:



[url]

[samj2014]

It's fixable... said:

Was that ferry from Shelter Bay to Nakusp ?

If yes, we took the same ride a few years ago road tripping from Calgary to Seattle...

Yes exactly. BC has some very cool ferry crossings and that was one of the more unique ones. The road south down the lake was a nice drive too, even with the trailer in tow.

This road trip has me looking for V8 options… the 4.0 tows pretty well but a little extra power on the hills would be nice…

Edited by samj2014 on Wednesday 7th September 21:04

[samj2014]

R56Cooper said:

Mighty impressed by what you have built. Looks really good.

Any ideas on final costings?

Not 100% sure on the final cost as I got a little rushed towards the end and lost track a little but I think $9k CAD is about right.
While we were in Nelson a guy offered to buy it for $15k.

Bannock said:

I don't think this little detail is getting quite enough appreciation.

It begs the question. How bear-proof is your camper? I mean the kitchen looks a bit like you could be vulnerable to attack from behind when little Boo Boo decides to try to relive you of your hot dogs whilst you're cooking them...

I wouldn't be too worried about bears whilst actually cooking, unless you have a Grizzly in the area (that's another story altogether) black bears aren't very confrontational so I'm not worried while cooking, and I'd hope that a layer of fibreglass and almost an inch of plywood (plus 1.5" batons) would keep the bears out. The hatch deadbolts shut and is sealed all round so long story short, not worried about bears.

It's fixable... said:

Re V8 option...

For our road trip we hired a top spec Dodge Durango with Hemi RT V8 / slushbox, it was a big sofa that just effortlessly powered through everything.

The fuel bill for the trip was shocking mind you, but we thought when would we get the chance to do it again and with spending a lot of time in the vehicle, why skimp on comfort / effortlessly eating the miles :-)

The fuel bill for this trip was pretty high... The Jeep did about 13L/100km or 21mpg, the last big trip we did in a similar area. 17L/100km or 16.5mpg with the trailer attached, which isn't a big increase in my mind... the claimed mpg difference between the 4.0 I6 and the 4.7 V8 is only 1mpg different, so I'd hope it would work out roughly the same since the V8 wouldn't be trying as hard - I really had to thrash the engine up some of the bigger hills to keep momentum, and there were plenty of big hills. Plus it would be nice to own a V8 before it's totally impractical.

Edited by samj2014 on Thursday 8th September 22:35

[samj2014]

Quick little weekend getaway to Pemberton. Had the camp spot to myself. Temperatures got down to -3 last night and it stayed warm enough inside, though I'm thinking about fitting a diesel heater - partly just to combat condensation and eventually mold.
Also I finally fitted lights to the kitchen and man am I glad I did. Made a world of difference.

[samj2014]

Bannock said:

I am still scared of the bears. I'd be bricking it and looking over my shoulder the whole time. Especially with the lights on. Soft limey city boy that I am.

Hah. I did have a can of bear spray with me the whole time - can’t be too careful. I’m more worried about cougars though. Bears are only going to approach you for your food. For a cougar, YOU are the food. And they’re freaking huge.

[samj2014]

Bannock said:

You're not helping.

You're welcome

[samj2014]

lmingle said:

I sure love your build SamJ. I really like what you did, going to try it myself. I noticed you started with the side walls and you already cut out\framed the door and window. Did you already have these?

Also, what type of hinge/hardware did you use for the back door of the trailer?


Thanks
LanceM

Hi Lance - apologies, I completely missed this post. Yes I sourced windows and door before I started the build as I knew these would potentially be stumbling blocks. The door was sourced from a teardrop manufacturer in the states for about $600CAD - I'm glad I did this since it would've been a pain to make.

The hinge is a 'Hurricane hinge' - seems to be quite a specialist item specific to teardrop trailers. Again I sourced it from a manufacturer in the states (TC Teardrops). I'm not where you might source this in the UK/Europe since I'm based in Canada.

Lastly the trim (offset t molding) around the hatch was another specialist teardrop part, I can't remember where I ended up sourcing this from, but teardroptrailerparts.com also known as Vintage Technologies is one of the only folks that carry it, and they're not pleasant to deal with and best avoided.

Edited by samj2014 on Friday 10th November 20:12