DIY Truck Camper Build #1 - Truck Bed Leak Prevention

[@TravelingTroy]

Here we go! The start of another build series. This time it’s a truck camper. My Dad and I have plans to convert this truck and topper into a cool living space with as many RV-like components as possible. Follow along as we put our heads together on this build. 😁👍 Thanks for watching.

[@kathrynarnold1966]

Nice work. You are SO blessed to have your dad's help. Solo, it's too easy to get weary and begin to compromise to "good enough".

[@TravelingTroy]

You’re exactly right. That is me “good enough”, but my Dad pushes me to make it better. LOL!

[@kathrynarnold1966]

@@TravelingTroy More hands make lighter work... plus the fellowship of family.

[@anitasimmons3599]

Thank you for taking the time to create this video. That heat and humidity can literally kill. Please take care of yourself and stay hydrated. It is great your father and stepmother can accommodate you during the summer heatwave and the early part of your build. Reusing as much as you can and repurposing from your van is smart and better for the environment, even though your lifestyle is one of the really small carbon footprints. You have really done your research and solved some big issues. I need to replace some of the seals on the 1995 Pleasure-Way van we purchased over a year ago, your videos is going to be a big help to a lot of people over time. Thank you again for taking us along on your journey. Safe travels.

[@TravelingTroy]

Indeed, I think we had 8 days of triple digit temps here, while working on the van, and some of those days were record high temp days. At least we can slip inside to cool off in the A/C and we have some good shade from trees during the day. 👍 It was a tough decision: sell the van as is, for maximum return on initial investment, or reuse as much as possible of the van for the truck build. I really didn’t want to sell someone a very well used van as “the ultimate adventure van” when it may only last a year or could cost the new owner $1000s in repairs to keep it on the road. Instead, I completely dismantled the interior of the van and we’ll reuse what we can. The van is a parts gold mine for a new build. LOL! 100s of screws, lithium battery, frig and we just installed the bed from the van into the truck. New mattress arrives Wednesday. 😁 Good luck with your Pleasure-Way and those pesky seals. ✌️Thanks for watching.

[@anitasimmons3599]

@@TravelingTroy It is door seals not engine seals. The engine is great and only has just over 50k miles. I totally get not wanting someone to purchase your van as an adventure vehicle. You just would not make a good used car salesman... That is a good thing though.

[@anitasimmons3599]

@@TravelingTroy It is door seals not engine seals. The engine is great and only has just over 50k miles. I totally get not wanting someone to purchase your van as an adventure vehicle. You just would not make a good used car salesman... That is a good thing though.

[@noway57]

Pimp the astro! Nice build

[@MSWcryptoworker]

You give valuable info thank u

[@TravelingTroy]

Thank you! Glad the videos are helpful. 👍

[@DarronSanderson]

Hey Troy with your new truck you will be able to do more off road driving (, go higher and drive over rougher roads.)

[@TravelingTroy]

I surely hope to be able to do more off roading with the 4x4 truck. The Astro van is smaller than the truck in all ways: length, width and height, which makes it more agile than the truck. The problem with the Astro was it could get to those out of the way places, but it had problems getting back out, due to rain or snow.

[@StaticCamperVan]

👍🏼

[@karin64]

Hi Troy- I'm looking forward to seeing what you do with this. Will the truck camper give you more vertical space than the astro did? I think the astro has something like 4 feet of space floor to ceiling.

[@TravelingTroy]

Hi there. Thanks for checking out the video. Yes…you’re correct. The truck/topper combo is almost identical in floor to ceiling height with the van at about 4ft. We just installed the subfloor, vinyl and we installed the bed from my old van and we lowered the bed by 1 1/2 inches to get just a little more head room while sitting on the bed. It’s working out well so far. 👍😁