See it in action here youtu.be/RkbpU_St6XMI showing all its unusual features. I was able to make this in an average sized garage.

Aside from lots of unusual feature like sliding doors and canopy back door, another aspect is that the camper incorporates its own integral chassis and is only sitting on the trailer as a normal load. The black prop jacks seen in the photos are the means by which the pod can be fully detached from the trailer. The camper pod is a separate unit and can be used in the garden without the trailer. This makes it easy to replace the trailer should it deteriorate over time.

My tool list was modest, but I wanted to end up with something that might fool some into thinking it had rolled off a production line! I hope it provides inspiration to others.

The most powerful tool I had, that you can't see in the pictures, is patience!
The power tools I used were.
Router, jigsaw, drill, cordless screwdriver, pedestal drill, track saw also known as plunge saw. mitre saw. multi-tool, sander, electric nail gun stapler and the usual hand-tools like hammers, hacksaws, files, screwdrivers, pliers, lots of clamps.

Somewhere along the way I cut over 400 pieces of aluminium, I used a £50 evolution compact mitre saw, I must have done over 3000 cuts and the blade is still good, nice slow cuts seems to make the blade last.

The tool that really allowed me to work in the confined space was the track saw, I didn't need a massive table saw. With the Track saw I was able to work with sheets that were as large as 5 feet wide by 10 feet long

I used Sketchup extensively for this project, I had a rough model to start with and as I physically built things, I mirrored everything in to a second real model, nearly everything in my real model was accurate to within a couple of millimetres of the physical build. Sketchup is incredibly powerful. As you build, you can model things exactly the way you are doing things physically with the tools. I love it and wouldn't have been able to do this project, without such an amazing bit of software and it's free!

Sketchup allowed me to get the spacing correct for everything, including window positions, bed position, tables, shelves, sliding doors, cabinets, canopy door etc. all planned in advance so I knew how every bit of space was going to be used before I started to cut my materials, saved a lot of time making mistakes and wasting materials.

One of the things I'm most happy with, is the sliding door system, made from 2 fixed side units and two sliding doors with only a 5 mm gap so the entire thickness of the sliding door system is 43 mm. They give panoramic views from inside the camper.

The piece that was the most nerve racking was building the canopy door, folding and wrapping the large piece of aluminium composite sheeting, to form the complex shape of the door. It all looks do-able when you're looking at your computer screen, then you turn round and have to actually build the thing! The power of sketchup!

Thanks for watching...


Music from YouTube Audio Library with thanks

Part 1. Quincas Moreira - Dawn of Man

Part 2. Bad Snacks - City Night Lights

Part 3. Silent Partner - Real World

Part 4. Quincas Moreira - Trapped

Final Part. Bad Snacks - City Night Lights

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