OVRLND Tow-Rig/Camper Interior Build

Rather than show the process of things while I am building, I prefer to wait until they are successfully completed. I can now declare that the tow vehicle/camper I plan to use for my glider and RV-12 airplane is complete. Now working almost every day on my RV-12 airplane kit making steady progress!
I weighed my fully loaded rig on the way to the 2023 Sun-N-Fun Airshow and with everything topped off it was 7,720 pounds leaving me a 1,480 pounds available for trailer tongue weight, a passenger and a few extras and still be within my Silverado's 9,200 pound Gross Vehicle Weight Rating.
Look for the 28-minute video "tour" of the finished camper also on this channel. I am NOT a skilled craftsman or an expert about campers but I am happy to answer questions about sources for materials and components used in my build. I will post links here if requested.
As requested:
Best source I found for AquiSense "PearlAqua Micro" UV Water Treatment Device: threeuv.com/aquisense-6/
Self-adhering silicone flashing tape above hatches: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08...

[@sopilote56]

The inverter failure was caused by my installation of a very hard to see undersized fuse for the inverter cable at the battery terminal. It was barely visible and I had forgotten that I put it there. Renogy was great in helping me trouble-shoot sent me an RMA that I didn't end up needing and sent me info on how to calculate a good size for the fuse.

[@ovrlndcampers]

The best part of building these campers is seeing where our customers take them! Great work!

[@sopilote56]

@OVRLND Campers Thanks for watching and for building great custom campers! Getting the pass-thru window, the Artic-Tern "blind-spot" window, the rear window, the "service hatch," roof fan and roof rack all located exactly where I wanted (guided by your experience) was really key to usability for me. I also greatly appreciate your figuring out what new lift springs I needed to balance the added weight of the solar panels on the roof. That worked out perfect!

[@tonyturiano2872]

Awesome, Stuart! You definitely are working harder post-retirement but it looks like a blast.

[@sopilote56]

@Tony Turiano Thanks for watching! Camper was easy compared to the RV-12!

[@georgegreene8836]

Tremendous job. A lot of detail. Great job.

[@sopilote56]

@George Greene Thanks for watching!

[@bikeninja956]

these look really neat, they're like a super light truck bed camper with all the luxuries and fat trimmed off. So do you know if they ship to Canada? Can you only remove it by man power or is there another way?

[@sopilote56]

@Bike Ninja Thanks for watching! I know that they get all the custom lift strut/gas springs for their campers from Canada. Seems like they could crate and ship wherever. I considered having mine shipped but the costs for crating (it's big) and sending cross-country were very significant. I am now retired and I decided a trip to Flagstaff (beautiful) would be fun and save some money. The Grand Canyon is not to far from the OVRLND factory - just saying....I haven't tried removing my shell yet but I am confident it could be done by four to six guys or you can lift each corner on your own and slide 2x4's with eye bolts underneath, then clamp the camper to the 2x4's and lift the 2x4's up with a chain hoist. I am sure Jay would be glad to answer your questions. See campovrlnd.com/

[@bikeninja956]

@@sopilote56 thanks for the response, yes, I will look into it. Enjoy! it's an awesome built out!

[@user-hk1eo4ti9o]

like your build. i'm building out my ovrlnd now and want to ask how effective is the reflactix at reducing heat gain in the roof? also thinking of making reflectix panels for the canvas for the same purpose, they will easily store on the bed when the roof is colapsed.

[@sopilote56]

@Michael Battistelli Thanks for watching and congrats on your OVRLND! My build is pretty crude compared to a lot of what you see online. Hope you found my OVRLND Camper Tour video that may give you more info. I learned about using Reflectix from watching Bob Well's Cheap RV Living channel. The secret to having Reflectix work properly as a radiant HEAT barrier is to have a slight air gap between the top of the Reflectix and the metal roof. I suppose you could put it under a layer of something else but it needs an air gap. Rather than get into the physics I will just say that for the weight and thickness there is probably nothing better. It also reflects body heat down like a Mylar "Space Blanket" instead of up to space as well as reflecting solar heat upwards. I cut my Reflectix in long lengths - the full length of the roof where possible and about a 1/2-inch wider that the spacing between the roof ribs. It is 90 percent friction fit and it sags a little to get the air gap. There are only a couple of spots (mainly near roof penetrations) I used medium strength double sided tape to hold up edges. The tape I used for the Reflectix was clear, thick, rubbery and removable/reusable that I found on Amazon. Home Depot sells a version of Reflectix but I used the real stuff. Ideally you have different insulation strategies for hot and cold. For really cold temperatures some kind of dead air space/thermal blanket or foam is needed but condensation is a challenge. Reflectix is OK with condensation which is great. Reflectix works really well as a heat barrier in summer and as long as it cools off at night I am usually good with my Maxxair roof fan and a little rechargeable clip-on oscillating fan that they sell for baby carriages. My air-conditioner is a luxury that makes summer camping in the humid southeast U.S. comfortable, especially when I need to sleep closed up due to rain. I can only run the A-C if I have access to shore power or bring my little 2000W generator. You could try Reflectix for the fabric walls around the sleeping platform especially south and west sides. It might work great. To reduce heat gain through the fabric side walls what I do, is to rig up a tarp from the roof edge for shade. I have Rhino roof rails that anchor my solar panels and I have a bunch of eye-bolts that slide in the slots I use for attaching tarp ropes. I have a pair of 8-foot telescoping support poles. The tarp is my alternative to a permanently-attached awning. I try to park facing north and put the tarp on the south side over the tailgate. I hope you enjoy the build process and will try things more than once if the first try doesn't work. I did some things 2 or 3 times to figure out what worked best. Note that about 20% of my roof is shaded by the solar panels.

[@user-hk1eo4ti9o]

@@sopilote56 thanks for the quick reply. reflectix on all windows worked great in my snugtop fiberglass topper to reduce heat gain. im not so worried about staying warm as i am about managing high temps inside. reflectix works well for blackout too. since most of my camping is rustic my build wont be fancy, just practical. maximize storage and function.

[@scottykentonphotography2241]

I wonder what brand the window is and measurments - Artic Tern ??

[@sopilote56]

@scottykentonphotography2241 Thanks for watching! It is an Artic Tern window 450mm high x 1100mm wide. It was positioned to give some visibility to the right rear in what is typically a dangerous blind spot. Still tough/impossible to see traffic at certain angles but it helps a lot.

[@SimUKReviews]

Hello, my name is Mike & I have an Odd question perhaps? I've been flying Gliders in Microsoft Flight Simulator and I am trying to put together a tutorial for other likeminded beginners like me, but I've hit a few issues. So I took to YT to find some real world glider videos that would be educational and informative and you've definitely been the best at this for me, so I have been watching many of your vids! Quite a life you're living. I wondered if you could help me finish my tutorial, you see in MSFS thermals do not seem to give much lift at all (and there is an option to show thermals). Is there a trick I'm missing? Is MSFS not good at replicating thermal lift? I try and fly underneath flat bottomed, voluptuous cumulus clouds, but get very little lift? Ridge souring seems more effective, but only to the height of the mountains. Any advice, reading material or ideally a video explaining this would be appreciated. Many thanks in advance.

[@sopilote56]

@Sim UK Thanks for watching! I have owned 3 versions of MSFS over the years but did not purchase the latest due to the large download required. I even looked at purchasing it on DVD from Europe to avoid the download. I will get it eventually but too busy with other things now. I have not tried any soaring simulators for more than a few minutes so I can't help you with the thermal, ridge and wave software modeling experience. For real-life soaring I think the book that I learned the most from about finding lift was The Joy of Soaring by Carle Conway.