DIY Off-Road Mini Camper - UPGRADES!!!

I've been working on some upgrades on my mini camper. These are some things I've wanted to do for a while now and I finally got them all accomplished.
Check out my original mini camper build video.
• DIY Off-Road Mini Camper
For questions or interest in sponsorship opportunities feel free to shoot me an email at [e-mail]
or
sclivingoutdoors on instagram.
Thanks for watching!

[@bombdiggitydave3881]

I like your projects, so I subscribed and thumbs up to your off-road camping trailer build. May I make a suggestion? Get a piece of commercial edpm flexible flat roll roofing and cut to size of your roof and front air dam. Screw or add male/female snaps and make the top and triangle lid of air dam , truly waterproof. Doing this upgrade I think will keep roof rot to a minimum and if you get it in white, will reduce temperatures inside your camper. Hope this advice helps..keep on doing what you do!

[@jmaniace]

Awesome trailer camper. You might want to think about adding some rear stabilizer feet to the trailer.

[@SClivingOutdoors]

It has them. I remove 2 bolts and they pop into place. Thanks for watching 👍🏻

[@paulhigashi]

Looks great! Here is an idea: if you make that step permanent and add a lip on the end you can easily store coolers & more stuff. It'll probably help with gas mileage too.

[@SClivingOutdoors]

I thought about that. But it would seriously hurt my approach angles when I was coming off of something steep that’s why I made it so it would fold up.

[@KentuckyWoodsman]

Like i said this is a really cool custom camper project and just gets better!

[@bradsexton7295]

Cool little camper. I am building one on the same premise as yours. Mine is just rectangle 5 x 8 box. A little over 4 ft tall inside. I really like the simplicity of yours.

[@swampstalkeroutdoors]

That’s a awesome rig brother, nice job building it! Nothing like doing something yourself so you can do it how you want it! Looking forward to seeing what you do next!

[@SClivingOutdoors]

Thanks man

[@raychambers3646]

Living in the UK I've got a bit of garage envy going on !Nice vid by the way.

[@shokhrukhnigmanov1278]

Move tail lights closer to end. That triangle storage will get wet inside under the rain, keep it in mind.

[@SClivingOutdoors]

I converted the triangle storage to hold water. It works well.

[@fuxu247]

Lol I fabricate in shorts and a short sleeve shirt too..get the occasional slag burn but it's so much cooler than heavy clothes in the summer

[@derealovesurvival7549]

Some good ideas Good effort Thanks for sharing ATB and God bless!

[@andraebrown573]

I usually don’t make comments, but I noticed the new step comes up higher than the door. Not sure where you camp or if anyone is around but it would be really easy for someone to lock you in just by swing the step up. You could add a lock to the step to lock it in the down position just in case. Just my two cents.

[@SClivingOutdoors]

Andrae' Brown I have a couple master locks that I run through the latches on the side of the step when I’m inside. That keeps it from locking when I’m in there. 👍🏻

[@davidleadford6511]

Lookin' Good! I think one thing I would have done is to cut your fenders in half lengthways, then welded in a strip of metal just to make them a little wider. But, if they're working fine right now. I don't see the sense in fixing something that isn't broke.

[@codydunn242]

This is a better step for sure.

[@ireland66613]

So cool.

[@SClivingOutdoors]

thank you

[@jeeper426]

i'm considering doing somthing similar with a truck bed trailer and an aluminum topper, pretty sweet build

[@houstonsheltonbees814]

Killer job 👍

[@mikesimmons7539]

Looks good , I think I would have put a hinge or two if possible along the back side . Also might put weather stripping along the outside edges to quiet the top while bouncing down the road & trails . Very nice , very nice .

[@SClivingOutdoors]

I though about the weather stripping or something like that, but it doesn’t rattlewhile driving so I didn’t worry about it. I might add some hinges later. It’s a never ending project, haha. Thanks for watching

[@jimbobble24]

Love the camper but i noticed the door opens out and if you are inside and someone decides to close the step/tailgate you could be come trapped. A simple solution could be to put a pad lock through the step pin hole when open to prevent it from being closed.

[@SClivingOutdoors]

Thanks. I might do that 👍🏻

[@bombdiggitydave3881]

Maybe add a emergency exit aka a "moon roof" in case you have some random mean person block your primary exit. Ya never know in these uncertain times.

[@robertwolfe5707]

Love your videos. You’re a lot braver than I am to be welding over and around the spare fuel tank. Lol. Nice lil camper.

[@SClivingOutdoors]

Thanks for watching. That fuel tank is really solid and heavy duty. If sparks got in there I would have some serious issues.

[@fuxu247]

I've done some things like that but all it would take on that tank is one small vapor leak..just my 2 cents

[@SD_Alias]

Nice little camper, But why didnt you make it a little big higher for better sitting headroom when weather is bad for longer period and make the door down to the floor for better comfort?

[@SClivingOutdoors]

S D It was originally built to go in the bed of my truck. I converted it to a trailer. It’s the perfect size for one person. There’s plenty of headroom for sitting up. There’s another video on my channel that shows how I built it when it was just a truck bed camper.

[@SD_Alias]

@@SClivingOutdoors Thank you, found the video. It looks smaller than it is ;-)

[@BennnnyBoooom]

Is their an escape hatch somewhere? That step blocking your only exit seems very hazardous. Big ol coffin..

[@SClivingOutdoors]

BennnnyBoooom I have a couple locks that allow me to lock the step in the down position 👍🏻

[@Sig220Euro]

Hey just found your trailer build and looking forward to checking out more of your vids. 2 questions on your upgrade design. Why didn't you build the wedge tight to the camper box? And why a lid on top instead of hinging a side panel like a big door? thanks

[@SClivingOutdoors]

The camper is angled back slightly so building it right against the body would have required metal bending. Drop on top was easier and the top lip is angle iron so a hinge would require cutting to sit flush or it wouldn’t open completely.

[@jaycea5100]

Hey man howdy from fountain inn sc!!

[@guod1973]

Really cool build definitely want to build one of my own since the prices on these mini campers are crazy. The main concerns I had with your build is the tires/wheels are a lot heavier than the ones the came on the unit. Have you had any issues with the bearings or hubs on the small axle?

[@SClivingOutdoors]

No issues yet. I installed a bearing buddy to make sure everything stays lubricanted the best it can. I’m always doing upgrades and I might upgrade the axle in time. It’s an on going project. I have 5k miles on the trailer so far

[@nicholasinfinger8708]

What kind of metal are you using to frame it up square tubing with holes in it

[@sfixx]

That looks like UniStrut

[@walte99]

I like how the camper is going. Is there a specific reason that the box and frame are separated from the camper instead of welded to the front corners?

[@SClivingOutdoors]

The cabin portion is made of wood. There is a video on my channel detailing the whole cabin portion of the build.

[@walte99]

@@SClivingOutdoors Gotcha and sorry. It appeared to have angle iron framing.

[@SClivingOutdoors]

No worries. The edge metal is aluminum to protect the corners of the cabin.

[@carlhuffman454]

I like the T-shirts with Aiken, SC info one them I live in Aiken, too.

[@SClivingOutdoors]

That’s cool. I’m very familiar with Aiken.

[@arupert2007]

Man I am wearing my wife out watching your videos!!! Being a Texas hunter and never out west, she knows I’m itching to go but would most likely have to solo and to be honest, it’s always worried me . Your vids are convincing me that a solo hunt is possible. On your camper, are you planning on sleeping in it more or still hiking in and throwing up a base camp?

[@SClivingOutdoors]

It all depends where I go. I know that’s not a very clear answer but that’s the honest truth. I usually use it to sleep in rest areas on the drive out and back. Then backpack hunt when I get there. I went on one hunt last year where no camping was allowed so I slept in the Walmart parking lot. One hunt wasn’t in a real remote place so I used it as a basecamp. Its super comfortable. Each tag I draw determines how I use it.

[@kennymccartney1444]

Pretty cool. What trailer did you buy to mount this on?

[@SClivingOutdoors]

4x6 from Lowe’s. There is a video on my channel showing the whole build.

[@mikemcdonald5147]

have any pics or videos of the inside of the camper?

[@SClivingOutdoors]

Yes. There is a vid on my channel back when It was a truck bed camper and it shows the inside.

[@nolankiefer8328]

Have you ever hunted Francis Marion national forest in game zone 3 in SC?

[@SClivingOutdoors]

Nope. I hunt in SC mainly on the western half of the state.

[@CMWebb]

How do you use the spare fuel tank?

[@SClivingOutdoors]

I have a small hand pump that I carry with me.

[@ThePorridgeGobbler]

Surely all that extra weight will negate any fuel saving.

[@SClivingOutdoors]

The MPG improved by 1-2mpg. Thanks for watching.

[@davidsager3343]

Hey SCliving, i was wondering with a small 5,000 btu ac unit do you think that with no insulation, like your setup, would work in the heat? I live in FL and we see 90-100 all year round it seems like. would really appreciate your thoughts, David.

[@SClivingOutdoors]

You’d probably want to insulate. I mean it would definitely stay cooler in there but it would not stay cool.

[@davidsager3343]

@@SClivingOutdoors okay. That's what I needed to know. Thank you for getting back to me.

[@d.collier_8280]

Just a thought. But I do know from experience, when I run my soft topper on my 18’ F150, it reduces my gas mileage by 2 mpgs, just by having the topper on. Maybe that is where the mpg lose is coming from?

[@SClivingOutdoors]

Derek Collier makes sense, but I just got my soft topper. I had a different frontier when I pulled it previously.

[@d.collier_8280]

SCliving Outdoors Oh okay. Like I said, just a thought. Hope adding that nose cone helped with your mileage.

[@SClivingOutdoors]

Thanks 👍🏻

[@stephenufkin6236]

Not sure you should be welding on your trailer while hooked to your pickup unless battery is unhooked. I have heard you can fry your electronics.

[@SClivingOutdoors]

I guess maybe that could happen, but I would think that the truck would need to be on? In any rate it didn’t happen so I’m good to go. Thanks for the heads up.

[@apachetrail6232]

You have a heater in there? Great videos btw

[@SClivingOutdoors]

I do not, but it does fine. I stayed in it a few nights ago with lows in the mid teens and it did fine.

[@apachetrail6232]

@@SClivingOutdoors 👍

[@Dies1r4e]

all fun and games until your buddies lock you in your camper with your steps! lol

[@SClivingOutdoors]

Dies1r4e nope. I put master locks on it to keep it from locking closed when I’m in there. 👍🏻

[@Dies1r4e]

@@SClivingOutdoors oh lord, don't use master lock lol, look up lockpicking lawyer or any of the folks in that community, I don't trust those things with my gym bag! awesome rig though dude and I am absolutely taking notes for my own build!