MicroCamper - Winter project

[stormbird]

Hi all

As title I am building myself a MicroCamper over this winter , but what is one ?

Currently there is a trend for sleeping and even living in vehicles that are far to small !

Around this has grown a few manufactures who build units that sit in the boot of a MVP allow all 5 seats to be used
However when the unit is deployed it has a very small ' kitchen ' and provides either a double or single bed [ solo ]

The Rolls Royce for my Fiat Qubo is probably the

Campal Solo unit.

However this is £1,400 oh and does not really do what I want !

When pedal car racing I need a tent for the 2 day event and the 24hr race , just as important to me is I get tired and need to grab
40 winks on the way home , now cars are uncomfortable to sleep in AND you can't usually put tents up in laybys or the sides of quite
country lanes.
Also having spoken to a few who arrive in vans , to sleep by the roadside stealth is very important , because of the construction of the Campal
you have to move both front seats forward wind the seat backs forward then assembly the unit then make the bed , this is NOT stealth !

So mine needs to be driven around with the bed ready for use at all times , stealth then is just pull up out the drivers door in through the side door lights out
and off to sleep.

Also mine needs to cost less than £100 !

First up I am 70" tall I have an airbed [ hey cheap ] that is 72" long however inside the car is only 66" , can I sleep in 66" ?

Only 1 way to find out block the bed off @ 66" put the airbed on it and try it , surplus airbed length fed through the head board
yes it's do able seemed in the night I move the box about 1" and I had very slight cramp in my legs which disappear in about 2 minutes
and was much more comfortable than a night in the tent = result.

Next up can I get a platform 72" long and 28" wide [ airbed sized ] into the car and still drive the car ?

The proper one won't have side rails they are just holding 2 bits of OSB board together , as you can see barely wider than an old pillow.

yes it fits I have had to trim a small piece off the right hand end to clear the front seat [ approx 12" by 2" ] this will be the leg end so good I think and the seat side is
soft should I clout it with my feet. As can be seen on the right the rear 1/3 split single seat is still in , I will remove that and then I can enter by that door and get down the side of the bed. There will be a little room to sit up hunched over on the bed so allow some room to get changed [ well much more than the tent ] when spending the night in it.

So airbed can be inflated at home bedding put on and sleeping bag prepared all before I leave.

I have bought some plans from GVM a German guy who shows you how to build a complete unit and downloaded some from another Youtube guy.
So now I can fiddle them all to mimic the box/cooker arrangement for the boot bed support , this will carry most of my weight having my torso at this end.
DannyC had suggested maybe a frame dropped into the rear passenger foot-well to support what will now be the foot end , a splendid idea.

I initially intend to do very little cooking so will just adapt the left hand draw for my camping stove and it's pot/cup etc , the meals cooked on it will only be
1 pot jobs and some tea if it gets cold and again far nicer to do under the back door whist siting in the rear of the car than if I was using the tent.

If this interests anyone I will post some more progress when I have some !

Paul

 

[maddox]

I would stay away from airbeds.
Ikea has some great and cheap easely adapted foam matrasses. the cover is with a zipper, and you can cut them with a good electric knife to size. And with the right bag, and vacuümpump, those are pretty small.

A gas stove and 1 pot meals (These German ones are great with a dash of hot sauce), and I'm happy to survive for a few days camping in your car.

 

[stormbird]

I would stay away from airbeds.
Ikea has some great and cheap easely adapted foam matrasses. the cover is with a zipper, and you can cut them with a good electric knife to size. And with the right bag, and vacuümpump, those are pretty small.

A gas stove and 1 pot meals (These German ones are great with a dash of hot sauce), and I'm happy to survive for a few days camping in your car.

Thanks for this , I assumed I might eventually move to a foam mattress if I felt the need , and the ability to cut them to size is very useful as if cut into individual cushions the whole thing can also be converted into a comfy seat. I don't mind the airbed as I can adjust the hardness to help with my occasional back problems.

The whole rig is to support my pedal car racing , so in a sense there is no camping just somewhere to crash for some sleep and be able to cook a little ' might ' be useful. This years 24 hr race I got 2 spells of 1 hours sleep and 1 spell of 2 hours sleep and ate on the hoof as it where in the teams gazebo

Paul

 

[undertoad]

If you're traveling alone, why not take the passenger seat out completely.
You'd really have room to stretch out in comfort

 

[stormbird]

If you're traveling alone, why not take the passenger seat out completely.
You'd really have room to stretch out in comfort

Sadly it is not worth the considerable effort to do , the seat has wiring to it for sear belt reminder AND worse side airbags , and the things are bl**dy heavy !

In an ideal world I would have been lucky enough to buy a vehicle with a front seat that folds flat , either forward or backward but it doesn't

For weight reasons I will be leaving the rear 2/3 fold in as well , especially as I don't need the space.

Paul

 

[undertoad]

The seatbelt alarm wiring wouldn't bother me - I have jumped those.
But I agree, if it has airbags built in, I wouldn't touch it -Those things are dangerous !

 

[pegasus]

I invested in a flexible micro camper system for 10+ years ago, consisting of 5 euro boxes 600 x 800mm with lids and 4 euro boxes 300 x 400mm,with 2 lids.

I had some second hand plywood, which i cut for tops and made 2 top boxes for the 300 x 400 boxes so the heights matches the larger storage boxes. Altogether the can support a 800 x 1800mm mattress.
The picture is from there winter storage place as a sub frame for a sofa in one of the spare bedrooms, all packed up, ready for camping.
One of the small boxes is used as a washing up bowl on site, and one of the larger boxes is a movable table.

My python normally sits on top of the boxes during transport.
It was first used in Renault kangoo and after that in a vw caddy and for next year be used in a vw transporter.

 

[stormbird]

Pegasus

Splendid idea and very versatile , unfortunately my vehicle does not have the floor space for that to work all the vehicles you list are bigger than mine. Obviously you are stepping up as you need to transport much more than my solo rider/driver/sleeper

So onward ....

Neatened the front corner and tested it as I had to drive it around to the next cul-de-sac to find anywhere approaching level.
No problems so that's a result.

It can be seen that is resting on the top of the back seat backrest and the sloping back of the front seat so this is where I need a sort of frame/trestle support to take the weight. Was able to measure this height [ as the base was within about 1.5' of being level ] @ 21.5" [ 54.5cm ]

Temp support at the back door end shows the drawer/main support unit needs to be @ 13.4" [35 cm] from floor and 22" [ 56cm ] deep.
With that i can start drawing up actual wood sizes/pieces that I need to by
Oh platform is 3 pieces 22" x 28" hopefully a single sheet cut at the suppliers will provide the top and maybe bottom and rest to be built from scraps.

Paul

 

[undertoad]

Could you make the platform go all the way across?
If so, you'd have the option of sleeping kitty-corner, and gain a little stretch out length.

 

[stormbird]

It is an option however I am wondering if the channel on the drivers side may prove useful to get in and out and helpful when trying to get changed in there , if I tried to get in from the passenger side sliding door the bed is quite high off the ground and could be unstable with all my weight at that end and offset ?
This is all new to me and I have no really idea what I do and don't want yet.

Paul

 

[DannyC]

If you wind a window halfway down you could be posted in like letter through a letterbox.
As a 1 or 2 night "tin-tent" it's a fabulous idea.
When I lived in California we had a Dodge Sportsman and the 2 sets of rear bench seats folded down to a double bed.
That was a 1974 model van and I had it in 1985-7, it was fantastic for travelling.

 

[stormbird]

If you wind a window halfway down you could be posted in like letter through a letterbox.
As a 1 or 2 night "tin-tent" it's a fabulous idea.
When I lived in California we had a Dodge Sportsman and the 2 sets of rear bench seats folded down to a double bed.
That was a 1974 model van and I had it in 1985-7, it was fantastic for travelling.

Sounds good as the climate is maybe more suitable for it ? or to hot most of the time ?
As we have spent many nights under canvas , which would you prefer ?

Paul

 

[undertoad]

We had a Ford Club Wagon, at one time - Basically a 1 ton, 12 passenger window van.
A real monster, it was registered as a bus
I bought it with all the seats still in it, which I promptly removed - Talk about ROOM !
I put in rotating front seat pedestals, and a raised queen size bed in the rear. It even had a small air conditioner!
The floor space between the front seats and the bed was probably larger than the whole back of Paul's van, but we had a folding table, there.

 

[DannyC]

Sounds good as the climate is maybe more suitable for it ? or to hot most of the time ?
As we have spent many nights under canvas , which would you prefer ?

Paul

If money were no object and our roads were wider etc. I would take the mobile home every time.
No more hands and knees crawling in/out of a cloth bag.

 

[undertoad]

We now have a MUCH smaller vehicle, and the last time we camped, we used a tent, so I guess we've de-evolved, in that respect.
The big van was nice for that, but when the gas price went really high, filling its 38 gallon tank would just about give me a seizure.
Especially, as I knew how soon it would use it up

 

[Trickytrike]

Hi Stormbird nice project,
I can only encourage you try prototype modify practice with affordable panels before you finalize your setup and use durable and more expensive stuff. Anything modular is great to start with. I camperized two vans, trafic 6 seats and nissan nv200 7 seats and the second, although smaller was much more practical.
The few things i have learnt
- bed easily done undone from the inside if foldable
- able to drive with bed made
- able to sit on bed some floor space left
- easy to go from/ to bed to driver seat
- some compartments accessible ( eg high ) when bed made
- all compartments lock
- water tank portable and easy to access..
- cooking inside occasional, gets smelly and stuffy fast
- mini kitchen unit ( eg water, sink, shower, utensiles, food, cooler if any ) accessible from the back or pulls on a drawer
- no permanent gas stove, i only use a non pressurized alcohol boat stove outside
- cooling food : peltier coolers are a waste of time, a compressor cooler needs a secondary battery say 60 to 100 Ah with means of charging from the car alternator or solar panel, and is a significant investment, needs to be done up to safety norms.
- ventilation is vital
Hope this helps i can share build photos by mp or here, definitely worth doing vs buying.
Last for the final build, worth getting quality birch plywood ( 12mm was strong enough for me )

 

[stormbird]

So been raiding the wood store :-

Sheet stuff I have , also someone donated a box bed base [ kindly taken apart except for about 200 2" staples ] meant for the wood burner but ideal for this project.
So rear boot base needs 3 sides one nearest wheel arch , right side of cooking draw and right end.
Almost all the plans and examples I have seen seem to want you to buy 12mm plywood then spend a few days cutting lightening holes in the boot base and air holes in the bed base throwing most of it away !
So I am going for a lighter , using stuff at hand approach.
I cut the 3 sides out of cheap Chinese plywood and using the bed base timber around the sides for strength ?

Made a quick jig as I needed 6 pieces the same length [ 56cm ] to go front to back and 9 pieces 35cm minus depth of 2 x front to back pieces.

These 5 pieces [ x 3 ] now need glueing and pinning together to go under the boot bed end.
Initially these will be screwed to the OSB bed board base as I need some thing strong enough to sit on to see if it is worth trying to fit a table and can I use the passage- way down the side to get in and out ?

Progress stopped as I need to buy some glue [ shock horror ] and during the week I have a honey do list and going out so it will slow down till next Friday.

Paul

 

[stormbird]

Hi Stormbird nice project,
I can only encourage you try prototype modify practice with affordable panels before you finalize your setup and use durable and more expensive stuff. Anything modular is great to start with. I camperized two vans, trafic 6 seats and nissan nv200 7 seats and the second, although smaller was much more practical.
The few things i have learnt
- bed easily done undone from the inside if foldable
- able to drive with bed made

That's the plan

- able to sit on bed some floor space left

Unlikely untill I have tested it , I think there is to little headroom

- easy to go from/ to bed to driver seat

Vehicle much to small , best is out drivers door and in sliding door behind it

- some compartments accessible ( eg high ) when bed made
- all compartments lock

Unlikely - insufficient head room

- water tank portable and easy to access..

On the to-do list

- cooking inside occasional, gets smelly and stuffy fast
- mini kitchen unit ( eg water, sink, shower, utensiles, food, cooler if any ) accessible from the back or pulls on a drawer

Unlikely to cook much , to busy racing and now days always close to some food.

- no permanent gas stove, i only use a non pressurized alcohol boat stove outside

Yes tiny 1 ring camping stove

- cooling food : peltier coolers are a waste of time, a compressor cooler needs a secondary battery say 60 to 100 Ah with means of charging from the car alternator or solar panel, and is a significant investment, needs to be done up to safety norms.

non

- ventilation is vital

hoping 2 hinged windows in rear doors and front windows down an inch will do , spring and summer use mainly , there is a way of also latching the rear door open if needs be - want to avoid condensation

Hope this helps i can share build photos by mp or here, definitely worth doing vs buying.
Last for the final build, worth getting quality birch plywood ( 12mm was strong enough for me )

Thanks for your list , most stuff has been considered , however there are many unknowns around the vehicle being so small

paul

 

[stormbird]

We now have a MUCH smaller vehicle, and the last time we camped, we used a tent, so I guess we've de-evolved, in that respect.
The big van was nice for that, but when the gas price went really high, filling its 38 gallon tank would just about give me a seizure.
Especially, as I knew how soon it would use it up

Mine does 74 mpg @ a steady 50 mph , one reason I am sticking with it and putting up with it's obvious short comings as a camper

Paul

 

[undertoad]

I think that if I had a very small vehicle, and planned to do this a lot, I might consider a tiny trailer :

https://www.amazon.com/Handmade-Teardrop-Trailer-Classic-Scratch/dp/1950934098?source=ps-sl-shoppingads-lpcontext&ref_=fplfs&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

But maybe the regs or fees over there make it more problematic .........