Off Grid Adventurer Truck Camper Build

[mzdspd]

Hey everyone,

I just wanted to share a new project I am working on. I am new to the RV world so I am definitely looking for tips and suggestions along the way.

The plan is to renovate and rebuild our 2000 Adventurer 810WS EXT that we purchased a couple months ago to have the ability to be off grid and improve the overall usability and layout of it. I am also planning on documenting any improvements or mods that we do to our truck too. Our plan is for my wife, dog and I to live full time out of this camper and to take it down the west coast and into Central America and potentially South America. We plan to do this for 1-2 years and our plan is to quit our jobs and leave next summer.

So.. here is our current set up.

2000 Adventurer 810WS EXT
8' Truck Camper that weighs 1680 lbs. dry. It has a north/south Queen Bed, wet shower/bathroom, medium sized Dometic 2 way Fridge/Freezer combo, furnace and a U shaped Dinette. Everything on the camper is stock and the way it came from the factory. Camper is in pretty good shape and was stored in a garage for all of its life. The camper has 2 propane tanks and 1 battery (80 AH). It has aluminum siding and an aluminum roof.

Truck:
2015 Sierra 2500HD SLT with a 6.0L Gas engine and the 4.10 gearing
It just rolled 200k
It has an extra leaf spring in the back but otherwise the truck is stock.

To Do List:

Redo all of the exterior Caulking and roof sealant. I plan to use Proflex RV for the sides and Lap Sealant/eternabond for the roof.

Front Cabover window reseal. The cabover window seals are dry and have shrunk so I want to redo the seal/glazing to prevent future water intrusion. I also want to remove the front window and redo the butyl tape and reseal the window.

Fix old water damage. I noticed after I bought the camper that there is some panel bubbling/soft spots (I will include pictures) around the bottom and sides of the cabover window. I think that over the years there was a leak or water intrusion thru the front cabover window or roof. I also noticed that at the front center of the cabover, it has a little bit of sag in the middle of the cabover section (where the bed is). This leads me to believe that there was some water and potentially some rot under the bed plywood from the window leak. It looks pretty minor but I definitely want to get this fixed.

Solar Set Up: I want to add 2 golf cart 6V batteries and add 200W of solar panels (on the roof), 30A MPPT charge controller, and then add a 500-1000W Pure Sine Inverter. I am unsure where to mount everything; especially the batteries because they are large. I may actually buy a hitch cargo carrier and mount them under the overhang of the camper. OR I may try to mount the batteries in the front of the truck box.

Paint: My wife wants to paint the cabinets white and the walls as well. She also wants to add a backsplash to the kitchen.

Table and Cushions: New table top and lagun mount for easy usability. Reupholster all of the cushions with something that is easy to keep clean.

Floor: we are going to redo all of the vinyl flooring and probably do a plank style flooring.

Bike storage: we want to take 2 bikes so we are trying to figure out a good way to mount them.. I am thinking a swinging hitch mount or maybe a ladder mount..

Truck: Change out all of the fluids, belts, spark plugs, brakes (still has original brakes), hardwire dash cam, relocate back up camera, and may replace tires (OEM michelin LTX AT2).

Progress will be slow but I will keep this thread up to date as I work..

Pictures of current set up:
https://i.imgur.com/pQPycXB.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/Bz8Q6pq.jpg

[ExtraSlow]

Super awesome. Costco golf cart batteries are probably best value. Will chime in on other stuff when I have time.

[mzdspd]

Next weekend looks like it will be full of work with a solar installation.. I am going to take some good interior and exterior photos as well to post here.

I bought two golf cart batteries from Costco (225 AH). I was able to fit both batteries in a existing storage compartment on passenger side(will put a vent in this compartment) and I will remove the old battery from the small battery compartment on the drivers side. I am going to run a wire to the existing bus bar to have DC power for the existing lights and furnace. My plan is to run the 10 AWG solar wires thru the fridge vent and into the camper. And use VHB tape to mount the panels on the aluminum roof. The inverter and charge controller will be located basically beside the batteries.

I also ordered:

2 X 100W Mono Solar Panels
1000W pure sine inverter
30A MPPT charge controller
MC4 wires, splitters and fuses for the roof to charge controller.
Fantastic Fan 1250, will be replacing a existing roof vent with this fan.

[mzdspd]

Bump.. Bit of a update on this..

So I think I am going to tackle the water damage in the next few weekends but I am just looking for input if anyone on here has fixed water damage..

So after a week of camping and many rough roads. I noticed that the cabover area is definitely sagging in the middle under the bed (see imgur links). It is at the point where the seam where the front panel meets the lower panel (under the cabover) is separating.. During our trip I used some eternabond and clear tape to just band aid it so it would not leak on our trip. I cannot find any new signs of water entry but my suspicion is that the boards and framing under the bed area are all rotted which is causing the sag. I originally thought my water damage was from the cabover window but I think it came from the clearance lights, roof seam or the weather stripping on each side of walls/cabover panel.

So my original plan was to try and fix the damage from the inside of the camper but I think the proper way to fix this is by going from the outside. So my plan of attack is to remove the weather stripping on both sides of the cabover, remove the front nose panel, remove window, remove the metal siding under the cabover and replace all damaged wood. And then reassemble and reseal with new stripping and seals.. I may even completely remove the window and put a whole new panel on the front.

I definitely have no hands on experience with this sort of project but I have been reading lots of articles and watching lots of youtube videos on this so if anyone has any experience or tips.. Let me know please!

https://imgur.com/gallery/0CC1LpL

[mzdspd]

Bump.. Another update.

REBUILD IS COMPLETE..

It was a lot of work, took me around 3-4 weekends and with help from multiple people. Luckily I was able to use the shop at my work.

Initially I was going to work from the inside but there was just too much rotten wood. A lot of the front structure had rotted out from a leak around the front window so I decided that I wanted to get rid of the window and get a whole new front panel.

I ripped off the exterior panel and found out that there was a pretty significant leak from the driver side corner trim. So I rebuilt all of the structure and used quality materials and beefed it up.

I also decided to replace the Filon front cap with 2 pieces of 0.040" pre painted white aluminum sheet. I had a local fab shop do a hemmed corner so that the two pieces would hook together. I used trim held on by VHB and butyl tape to seal the seam. I also used a corner edge tape that is designed to be a leak proof barrier on the corner edges vs just using a butyl tape.

I am very happy with how it all turned out. It was definitely a project that was new to my skill set but is definitely doable for anyone with basic carpentry skills.

Now my wife is working on the interior.. New flooring, painting cabinets, counters and walls, new cabinet fronts, new window coverings, and new cushions.

Here are the pictures...

https://imgur.com/gallery/xAEX9df