I Found The BEST Off Grid DIY Tiny Camper! THIS is Homemade??

[00:00:00][music] So, y'all missed it.

[00:00:07]Last week, I was out here by myself doing that, just kind of pulling the little camper around so I could get to one side to do some work on the back side of it. And I guess the the tongue jack with a wheel on it that rolls around. I guess it had spun itself loose and I was just snatching on it just like I was and the whole wheel just fell off the bottom and the whole trailer did a nose dive right into the concrete. I was scared to death. I thought I broke something, but everything was fine. I had to jack it up. The the nut had just spun itself loose. So, if you've got one of those wheels screwed into the bottom of your trailer jack, make sure that nut doesn't spin every time the tire does because mine was. I had to fix it and weld it up and everything, but it's good to go now. So, a lot of you guys are familiar with this camper. This is something that I have been building since last October. I brought [snorts] this home as just a utility trailer. It was a I did buy it brand new off a lot, but it was just empty. It was just a, you know, a lawnmower trailer. No windows, nothing like you see it here. A lot of you guys watching this video right now have actually been following along ever since I brought it home and and I appreciate that. But today's episode is not really about my camper.

[00:01:21]It's about it's it kind of is, but it's about a completely different camper. And I'm going to show you why here in just a minute. We're going to go check it out, do a full walkthrough in today's video.

[00:01:30]The camper I'm going to show you today is what inspired me to build this camper. Y'all just missed a great fog lift up. You can kind of see it out here. The fog was all the way right here to the back of my house and you couldn't even see my field here and then it just slowly lifted as I was just filming that intro. You couldn't see even my Chevy right there. It was the fog was so thick you couldn't even see the Chevy parked there. So, first off, let me turn some lights on in here so you guys can see that a little bit better. So, as I just said, this is not a video about my camper, but I wanted to show you this.

[00:02:04]The camper we're going to look at in today's episode is like I said it and it it's it's what inspired me to start building this when I seen it and it belongs to a buddy of mine named Keith.

[00:02:16]He is the man who built these custom cabinets. And if you watched the last episode, I kind of showed you what he did for me. Look at this. I mean, it's amazing. Uh if you didn't see that episode, definitely go back and check it. I I did kind of a deep dive on on these custom handmade cabinets. And anyway, the the man who made these cabinets for me, he built his own tiny camper back, I believe, in 2020. Uh I don't know. It it's maybe maybe sooner than that. It might have been 22 or something like that, but he built his own camper from scratch. Now, kind of different from me. I brought a trailer home that was already kind of, you know, a box trailer on wheels and I converted it into what, you know, I've got here.

[00:03:03]He built his from scratch. He built the frame. He built the walls. He built the top. He built this amazing swing out back door you're going to see in today's episode. All keep in mind when you see it, this is not a factory-made trailer.

[00:03:18]It's going to look like a factory-made trailer, but it is so unique and there's so many extreme details and customization that he put into his trailer. And that that that's what inspired me when I seen his. He gave me a tour of it a few years back and I was just like, man, I I've built a lot of camp trailers here on my channel, but I've never built anything like that. And that's I immediately started looking for a trailer for me to build into kind of a tiny square drop style camper. And you'll probably hear the term square drop in this episode a lot. That is what the guys who they run the teardrop campers, you know, the little bitty teardrop campers. You tow behind a light vehicle. They're kind of shaped like a teardrop. Well, some guys build those, but they make them more boxy, more of a square, and they call theirs a square drop camper. And I believe that's what Keith, you'll probably hear him refer to his today, uh, about his camper when we go through it. But the reason you could you you'll see today the reason I was okay with letting him build my cabinets.

[00:04:18]First of all, I could have my best cabinets would have never looked anywhere near this level of carpentry.

[00:04:26]And you'll see a few other things that he built. Uh I'm going to hopefully talk him into letting me put on camera today.

[00:04:32]But he's built some really cool He's a woodworker. So I mean customuilt canoes, kayaks, and stuff like that. So he's a really cool guy. I can't wait to get over there. We're going to leave here in just a minute. I just wanted to kind of give you guys an update on where we are with mine really quick, what you're going to see next, and then we're going to go check his out. So, my last episode, I unveiled, you know, the kitchen back here. Everything is ready.

[00:04:54]I have added a few things. I don't know if you guys can see. Let me turn you a little bit. I added a couple of things like this fold down table here on the side. I added some storage boxes to the back side. And I'm going to show you all of that in the next episode before we take this out and actually camp in it.

[00:05:13]For the very first time, I've I've got everything that I said I had to button up in the last episode. I got the corner jacks installed. I got the underglow lights installed, the external storage, the the water heater. Everything is good to go. We're ready to camp in this thing now. So, the next episode I'll give you a walk around of all the little add-ons.

[00:05:30]And I also picked up Starlink this week.

[00:05:32]So, I'm going to be adding Starlink to this. So, when we are off- grid, we can still access, you know, the internet for emergencies or or Netflix. I mean, let's be honest, when we go camping, we like to at night, we get in the tent, we like to kind of chill out and watch YouTube or Netflix and stuff like that. So, anyway, that's what's to come with this.

[00:05:50]Now, let's head over to my buddy Keith's house. And I know a lot of times I like to skip through content on, you know, everybody does it. You'll skip through a video and just kind of see the highlights. If you skip too much through this episode when we start showing his trailer, I guarantee you're going to miss some really cool unique stuff because his trailer is covered in some really customizable or customized things that he built by hand. And if and if you skip too far, you're going to miss some really cool stuff. So, I do encourage you guys to watch this whole video, check his camper out, and let me know what you think about it down in the comments. I'm sure he'll be in the comments. This will be the first time I think his video, his camper has been, you know, put on the internet on YouTube. So, y'all check it out. Let me know what you think in the comments.

[00:06:36]Let's go see it.

[00:06:47]>> Keith, >> what up, TJ? [laughter] >> We come to see the camper.

[00:06:52]>> Now, don't make me look goofy now. Hey, [laughter] >> I see Santa Claus at the North Pole.

[00:06:58]>> All right. What is going on, Keith?

[00:07:00]>> What's up, King James?

[00:07:01]>> I told you I was going to be back. I wanted the world to see your camper that you built and why I was so brave to let just some random guy build the cabinets.

[00:07:11]>> My tiny house on wheels.

[00:07:12]>> Your tiny house on wheels. So, I want them to see your camper today, but I've also told them I don't know if you'll let me or not. I told him about your canoes and your kayak that you built.

[00:07:22]>> Seriously.

[00:07:22]>> Can I show them real quick?

[00:07:24]>> Let's go take a look at them.

[00:07:25]>> All right. Let me show you guys his custom. These are two handmade. He built them himself. A kayak and a canoe.

[00:07:32]Right.

[00:07:32]>> That's correct.

[00:07:32]>> All right. We're going to go over I'm going to show you those really quick and then we're going to do the tour of your camper.

[00:07:36]>> All right.

[00:07:36]>> Yeah. So, I we were just talking about something that I for I failed to mention to you guys. If you notice, we are in an air conditioning shop. This is where he hangs out.

[00:07:46]There's carpet on this floor, guys. Uh, and look, he parks his Jeep in here.

[00:07:51]This Jeep has been rained on how many times?

[00:07:53]>> Three times.

[00:07:54]>> Three times. Six years.

[00:07:54]>> Six years.

[00:07:55]>> In six years.

[00:07:56]>> Six [laughter] years.

[00:07:56]>> That is a uh that's what you call a parking lot queen there.

[00:07:59]>> No, it's not a hand [laughter] queen. I do get it out. I just don't like cleaning the underframe after you get all that gray stuff off of it.

[00:08:06]>> Oh, it's gorgeous. And it matches your camper so good. I mean, you did that.

[00:08:11]Looks good going down the road. All right, let's start here. What is this?

[00:08:14]>> This is a canoe. Now, a canoe [laughter] uh does not have a deck on top.

[00:08:20]>> A kayak has a deck on top.

[00:08:21]>> And there's your kayak. But let's see this canoe first.

[00:08:24]>> I built him out of a western cedar.

[00:08:27]>> Uh he's 17' 6 in long. His name is Woody.

[00:08:30]>> Woody.

[00:08:31]>> His name's Woody. And he weighs 69 lbs.

[00:08:35]>> Wow.

[00:08:36]>> 17t 6 in. Took me 472 hours.

[00:08:40]>> 472 hours to build this. He's actually he's actually a fiberglass canoe with a wooden core. There's fiberglass on the inside of the canoe. There's fiberglass on the outside of the canoe with a wooden core.

[00:08:52]>> You can't see the fiberglass.

[00:08:54]>> It looks solid wooden, but it's actually a fiberglass canoe with a wooden core.

[00:08:58]>> And you built all this, even these seats.

[00:08:59]>> I built the seats. I hid all my hardware. I didn't want a lot of screws.

[00:09:03]That's where all the little dots are is where my mechanical screws were that held held the railings on >> and the deck. And like I said, when I first uh >> man that is >> built this canoe, internet was not available and YouTube was not available.

[00:09:17]And uh told my dad, I said, "I'm going to build a canoe." And he said, "You have lost your mind." Cuz the only thing I had was a book that to go by. And like I said, there was no YouTube videos, no nothing. I built him in uh 2000. So he's 26 years old.

[00:09:34]>> Wow.

[00:09:34]>> And uh this is >> And you've actually had this on the water. This isn't just a wall hanging.

[00:09:38]goes in the water a lot.

[00:09:40]>> Really?

[00:09:40]>> And now I don't carry him down creeks cuz I'm not really interested in putting 472 hours into a canoe and the rocks beat him up.

[00:09:47]>> Yeah.

[00:09:48]>> So, we go to a lot of the local lakes and and paddle him around and and uh just have a good time. He floats great.

[00:09:55]He paddles really well with two people and and paddles even better when it's me by myself.

[00:09:59]>> Did you build the paddles, too?

[00:10:01]>> I built I built the paddles. And [laughter] the reason why the reason why I built the paddles, I I got Woody almost done and I realized I can't I can't paddle him with a storebought paddle.

[00:10:12]>> Look at that.

[00:10:12]>> So, I decided, well, I'm just going to build me a paddle. Never built a paddle before. And there there's a little bit more to it than what it looks like.

[00:10:20]>> Oh, yeah. It looks like a I mean, I I'm not trying to be mean. It looks like a b storebought paddle. Like this >> this doesn't look like something that somebody made. It has the little complicated everything. And uh but I I wanted the the top to have the duck head shape. And the reason why is when my wife would ride with me, she'd never ride in the back cuz the back is the one that's controlling the the the canoe and where it's going. So she ride up front and she gets acting up. I just use that to peck her on the head. [laughter] >> Yeah. Right.

[00:10:51]>> Yeah. But my my problem was I didn't think well enough. She had a paddle also which her arm length could reach back there and get [laughter] me.

[00:10:58]>> Yeah. She could get you this. that that didn't last but like one time, I think.

[00:11:02]So, but either way, >> well, that is awesome, man. That is cool. And I see you you've got the family picture.

[00:11:08]>> I do. That's my wife, Tracy. [laughter] And uh just last week, we celebrated our 34th wedding anniversary.

[00:11:14]>> Oh, that is awesome.

[00:11:15]>> And now she looks good in that picture.

[00:11:16]She's a lot younger [laughter] in that picture than she's going to kill you.

[00:11:20]She's a lot younger in that picture than she is now. But but we've been together, like I said, last week was 34 years.

[00:11:26]Congratulations putting up with her [laughter] >> and congratulations. This has been challenging.

[00:11:31]>> All right, so we got to move it on. I want to see your This is your kayak.

[00:11:34]>> The kayak uh I built it uh I built it in 2000. Also, it does go on the water now.

[00:11:40]It's a sea kayak. It's 17' 3 in long.

[00:11:44]Weighs 39 lb.

[00:11:46]>> The entire boat weighs 39 lb.

[00:11:48]>> 39 lb. So, I built I built the kayak and it's real long and it's real narrow. So, it never crossed my mind. So, the first time I get out on the lake, I probably didn't go 15 ft and went bloop. I mean, it flipped over and I thought, "Oh, no."

[00:12:03]So, it's just like a bicycle. If you don't keep it pedaling, you're going to fall over. So, the kayak was the same way. So, that afternoon when I got home, I started making plans and I built me some outriggers.

[00:12:14]>> Oh, wow. And so now I've got a 6ft span >> and I can actually stand up in this boat now and it not flip over.

[00:12:23]>> That is after that first day of having to do nothing but paddle or it would flip over or if a boat came by and made the slightest bit of a wave uh it just go bloop or you were stroking real you were stroking really fast to try to try to keep it afloat. So >> and that is crazy. So, you put the the curve.

[00:12:40]>> So, I built the jig to make the curve and then I put the little slots in it and those little uh slats are uh the western cedar just like woody's made out of.

[00:12:50]>> Okay. Yeah.

[00:12:50]>> And uh >> man, that is so I wish I could feel this. This is slick as glass. That is so cool.

[00:12:56]>> Well, it is fiberglass.

[00:12:57]>> It is fiberglass. Yeah, you're right.

[00:12:59]And I'm assuming you built the paddle.

[00:13:00]>> I did build the paddle. And >> I'm assuming you also built the hanger.

[00:13:04]>> Is that your hand? I use my handprint and [laughter] uh but I built the paddle and my philosophy was you can see it's got wear on it so the boats do get used but I built the paddle because normally and you've paddled kayaks you have to reach up here and grab the water and reach down. So I went to be a little lazy so I put a curved shaft in it.

[00:13:23]>> It is curved. [laughter] >> I put a curved shaft in it. Now I can set with my elbows without having to raise them up and I can just >> scoot the water.

[00:13:30]>> That is awesome >> with the curve in it. [laughter] That is awesome. So, y'all see the kind of quality that he does. When I seen this kayak and I seen this canoe when I first met him and then he gave me a walk around of the camper you're fixing to see, y'all y'all see then why I had no hesitation to say, "Yeah, yeah, I want you to build my my my cabinets for my camper, too." [laughter] >> Let's start out with the tongue box. I wanted I wanted a good clean tongue box.

[00:14:00]and I'm not electronically efficient.

[00:14:04]>> Okay.

[00:14:04]>> So, so I did a lot of research and I decided that I was going to use the Delta EcoFlow. Okay.

[00:14:10]>> As my solar generator to run my entire camper.

[00:14:14]>> Okay.

[00:14:14]>> Now, where were yours, you're you understand the wiring and all that, how things work. I'm a little slow.

[00:14:20]>> So, I needed something also that would serve a secondary purpose that if I run out of power in the house or whatever, I can pop the thing out and carry. As a matter of fact, just here recently, we had uh 3 days without power.

[00:14:32]>> Yeah.

[00:14:32]>> I was able to run my refrigerator without losing any of my food for the full 3 days.

[00:14:36]>> You just come out here and got >> I just came out here and lift it out.

[00:14:39]Now, I did uh get the uh extension battery to go to and then I just hooked up uh solar panels to it and ran my refrigerator.

[00:14:47]>> So, you just you mounted this tongue box up here and that that holds your power source and I'm assuming your tools and everything.

[00:14:54]>> And my my little tool box because I always like to be prepared. So you you never know when you get out somewhere and somebody needs help. So my little toolbox comes off. It just sits on a magnetic tray and that holds it in place.

[00:15:05]>> Oh wow.

[00:15:06]>> So I've got my air compressor down below.

[00:15:08]>> Yeah.

[00:15:08]>> Uh I've got my WD40 that you never [laughter] ever want to be without. And uh but my little toolbox has got a little bit of everything in it.

[00:15:17]>> Yeah.

[00:15:17]>> It's got your duct tape, your hammer. Uh it's got a little computer fan. I'll show you what that is in a minute. And then but every batteries, torch, just leatherman, just everything you need.

[00:15:29]And then of course, uh you don't want to ever go anywhere without your little tire repair kit.

[00:15:34]>> Yeah.

[00:15:34]>> So, like I said, I've got my air compressor.

[00:15:36]>> And that's something I did notice when I first seen this thing is you put some pretty aggressive off-road tires on here, but I'm I'm seeing now that you did it so that it looked good.

[00:15:46]>> It looked not only did it look [laughter] good with the Jeep, but a lot of roads that we travel on are gravel roads. Yeah. And if you've ever picked gravel out of allterrain tires rather than mud terrain tires, it's just aggravating.

[00:15:58]>> So I didn't want them I didn't want the gravel to rooster tail and beat the side of the camper up or somebody was behind me or whatever. So and the the mud terrain was same price as all terrain.

[00:16:08]>> Yeah. And they look good on but I've got my impact driver >> on board which operates my stabilizer jacks.

[00:16:16]>> Okay. Yeah, I see. Now, I I did all four stabilizer jacks, and I oriented the position of the stabilizer jacks from front to back differently because I knew I was going to put a rooftop tent on top.

[00:16:26]>> So, I wanted if I pointed all the jacks in one direction, the the the camper would have moved with somebody up in the penthouse. I call the rooftop tent the penthouse. [laughter] >> It makes my kids think they're getting a better view. Uh but anyway, that same that same uh socket that fits uh my jacks also fits my lugs on my tire.

[00:16:47]>> So everything's practical.

[00:16:48]>> So if I ever have to do a tire exchange or whatever, I can lift the entire camper. As a matter of fact, it's it's lifted right now.

[00:16:56]>> I can lift the entire camper >> and be able to change my tires. If I can get my wife to do it. If not, then I guess I'll call TripleA or you [laughter] know how hot it is out there.

[00:17:07]>> Yeah. If it's hot, uh, you don't have to call Triple A.

[00:17:11]>> So, tell me about the So, you built this thing. I was I kind of explained to them before we got here. I built mine from an existing trailer. Mine was a lawnmower trailer, already a 5x8 trailer. You built yours from scratch. You built the frame up.

[00:17:25]>> I cut out all the frame pieces. Had a buddy of mine weld. I don't know how to weld.

[00:17:29]>> Okay.

[00:17:30]>> I know about wing welding, but I wouldn't have made it would look like bubble gum all.

[00:17:34]>> But you designed the layout. designed the frame, cut the frame, uh did everything, and then he did the welding part.

[00:17:40]>> Okay. And I noticed your tongue up here, it's >> Yeah. I did the I did the female tongue.

[00:17:46]And the reason why is a lot of times when we're at campsites or whatever Yeah.

[00:17:50]>> Uh and we decide we want to go to town, go get a ice cream, bag of ice, some charcoal or something like that, is I wouldn't have to take the chance of somebody coming by and taking something that didn't belong to them. So >> So you can just pull that out. It just slips slips right out. And and I've got a secondary tongue because when I use the bite rack, I've got a couple bites over there.

[00:18:11]>> Yeah, I saw your ebikes.

[00:18:12]>> When I use the bite rack, the tongue is a little bit longer. So, I've got two two tongues.

[00:18:17]>> Wow. So, you can choose to have a shorter tongue or a longer turn.

[00:18:20]>> Longer turn. And it's according if I'm carrying the bikes or not.

[00:18:22]>> Man, that's awesome.

[00:18:23]>> But anyway, and so between this as a deterrent cuz not many people are walking around one of these that that can take your little tiny camper. Yeah, that is true. And uh and plus the GPS system that's on it that's hidden.

[00:18:34][laughter] Uh I would find them if they did. So, but I I went ahead and took and and put the safety chains on this rather than that so that they couldn't actually hook up the safety chains to their vehicle >> and just drag it with the chain >> and drag it with the chain and be gone.

[00:18:49]>> That makes sense. All right.

[00:18:50]>> And then I did the I have a electric brakes uh on board with the seven pin plug.

[00:18:56]>> Seven pin plug. And uh I did the red arc uh brake controller in the Jeep.

[00:19:01]>> Okay.

[00:19:01]>> And it works great. That the trailer almost stops the Jeep and rather than Jeep chopping the trailer.

[00:19:06]>> That is awesome. I may have to look into doing that on mine in the future.

[00:19:10]>> Now, I insulated my tongue box and uh because I didn't want out in the summer sun that my generator's getting too hot.

[00:19:18]Okay.

[00:19:19]>> So that and being silver, it also reflects a lot of the sun. Yeah. But also, if my battery for my impact wrench were to go out, I do have on board jack handle.

[00:19:30]>> Okay. So, >> so I can let my jacks down. I I don't think I could break a lug on a tire with it. But, and it also serves as secondary purpose when I'm at camp. It gives me a little ventilation.

[00:19:40]>> Yeah. For your batteries when they're running.

[00:19:41]>> For my batteries, >> especially when it's hot. And I noticed you got your table stored right back here. Well, I did the I I set the tongue box forward on purpose because I wanted to be able to clean the entire camper every time we get through uh camping.

[00:19:55]So, I had this extra space behind here.

[00:19:57]>> So, and everybody always needs a work table. You never got enough flat spots.

[00:20:02]So, all I've got to do is just simply remove this knob and slide the table out.

[00:20:09]>> Wow.

[00:20:10]>> And then I can still get my hand behind there to clean any mud.

[00:20:13]>> You make that just a metal strap. It's just But look at this. This is pretty cool. [laughter] It's made It's made out of a ruler that you buy at your local uh big box store.

[00:20:23]>> So, it's aluminum.

[00:20:23]>> Yeah, it's a piece of aluminum. That same piece of aluminum, 4 foot long in the aluminum department of the store was 30 something bucks.

[00:20:31]>> Wow.

[00:20:31]>> So, I said, 30 something bucks. So, I thought, wow, walk over to the tool section cuz I remember they had straight 4ft rulers and they had 5 foot ones. I think I paid 13 bucks for that.

[00:20:42]>> Wow. So, the same amount aluminum.

[00:20:44]>> It gave me the same thickness, same everything I needed. And and it [laughter] made my bracket to hold my table. And if you look down below, there's two brackets down below.

[00:20:51]>> Oh, yeah. I see them down there. Right there. And right there. Awesome. And it just And then you've got a quick little workt rather than having to store it in the back of the Jeep and stuff like that. And like I said, now I can get my hands between here and do any cleaning that I need to do.

[00:21:06]>> They're going to want to know what the outside of this is made out of and what.

[00:21:10]So, I don't know if you guys have noticed this trailer. Every corner is wrapped. And as you can see, you don't see a single bolt hole or a a bolt head or anything like that that is connecting this trailer together. It is completely sealed. And I'll give you a shot up top.

[00:21:32]Every corner is sealed up. So, tell them how you did that because it kind of blew me away. I've never seen somebody do this.

[00:21:38]>> It was a sign. It's it's a sign called a sign board. Most sign shops have it.

[00:21:42]>> Okay.

[00:21:42]>> It is a composite. It's 1/8 inch thick and it's got a sheet of aluminum on one side, sheet of aluminum on the other side with a plastic core on the inside.

[00:21:51]So, it really doesn't contract and flex like a lot of the aluminum metal.

[00:21:55]>> And that's the white part we're talking about.

[00:21:56]>> That's the white part. And it came painted already. Okay.

[00:21:59]>> So, you can get it in different colors.

[00:22:01]Your local sign shop. It comes in 4x8 sheets and 5 foot by 10 ft sheets. Okay.

[00:22:06]Now, this camper is 5T wide, 10t long.

[00:22:10]So, I didn't have any seams to have to deal with.

[00:22:12]>> Gotcha.

[00:22:13]>> Now, I had to be very careful on my measurements on building the camper because I only had 10t long piece and a 5t long. Now, the camper itself is a little over 4t tall on the inside.

[00:22:26]>> Okay.

[00:22:26]>> So, but it allowed me to wrap the camper with no seams.

[00:22:31]>> Yeah. So now, as with most trailers and campers, there's an aluminum trim that goes here.

[00:22:36]>> Yeah.

[00:22:36]>> And then so I calculated what it was going to cost me for the aluminum trim and how many more screw holes I was going to have to put into the camper >> in order to connect your corners and everything.

[00:22:47]>> Yeah. 300 and something screw holes. And every one of those is a potential leak problem.

[00:22:51]>> Yep.

[00:22:52]>> So I come up with a bright idea. I said, "Hm." And I knew the guys down at the local line shop, the truck bed liner shop. That's the That's the people who, if you don't know, uh, if you take to get your truck bed spray lined, is is yours spray lined?

[00:23:05]>> No, I don't have I don't have a spray liner.

[00:23:07]>> It's the It's the really >> It's like raptor liner.

[00:23:10]>> It's like raptor liner. They do they they do bed liners and stuff in trucks, but anyway. Go ahead.

[00:23:14]>> So, I thought So, I thought, well, I'll come up with the bright idea. I wonder if it'll work.

[00:23:19]>> So, I carried it down there to them. And >> you carried them the whole camper after >> I carried them the whole camper and and I I drew the lines off where I wanted >> and uh and they they sprayed it for me and it's about 8 inch thick and it's indestructible.

[00:23:32]>> I have I have that same Linx bed liner in a 97 Dodge that I have. Yeah.

[00:23:38]>> And it's it's it's getting a 30-year birthday this year.

[00:23:41]>> Wow.

[00:23:41]>> And that same bed liner is held up for 30 years with chemicals, diesel fuel, and everything.

[00:23:46]>> Yeah. It's a chemical bond, so it'll never leak. There's no there's no way this could ever leak. And they spray it all at one time. So top, bottom, and everything. Uh I'm don't have any screws down here.

[00:23:57]>> So they basically But you showed them where you wanted your corners to stop.

[00:24:01]So you showed them over here. I drew >> They protected all of this, taped over this, and I guess >> m They spent more time in the prep work than they did the spray work.

[00:24:10]>> Oh, I bet. I bet.

[00:24:11]>> So, but as I was building the camper, I carried them little pieces at a time.

[00:24:15]Like the very first thing I carried them was the fenders that I built.

[00:24:18]>> Oh, yeah.

[00:24:19]>> And I wanted step heavy. I wanted I wanted step on fenders and I wanted to have as much flat area as I can cuz when you're camping every flat spot is valuable. Yes.

[00:24:30]>> So like you can you know no problem with >> with standing up here.

[00:24:35]>> Wow.

[00:24:35]>> I mean and it's not bolted. If you notice the fenders are not bolted to the camper. I actually when I built the camper I put these stub outs.

[00:24:46]>> Oh yeah. that. So, the fenders actually bolted to the trailer frame.

[00:24:50]>> Wow. So, you could wash the camper behind.

[00:24:52]>> That's exactly right. I wanted to be able to get get in there and be able to get the mud.

[00:24:55]>> That is awesome. And I love how you curved. You didn't just go, you know, the easy way would have been to just square off the fender. You curved that fender.

[00:25:03]>> Been easy way. And I I I bought a a big sheet of 1/8 >> rolled 4x8 sheet of 1/8 road steel. And I took a jigsaw.

[00:25:13]>> Wow.

[00:25:13]>> And I literally cut out the side panels.

[00:25:15]>> Yeah. on each side and then I built a jig that would bend the top panel.

[00:25:21]>> So then I carried it to my local welder guy that's a friend of mine and he tacked everything together for me.

[00:25:26]>> And you just had them spray >> and I took it down to the Linx shop and they sprayed inside and outside for me.

[00:25:31]>> Man, that is awesome. And that is thick, y'all. I mean, that is the the quality of this is the kind of stuff you only see in the the DIY market. like you wouldn't see that type of quality on a off the lot camper cuz like you know I've bought one I went to Tennessee a few years ago and if you know if you follow this channel long enough you know the one I'm talking about I paid a lot of money for a tiny camper when they first started getting hot and when I got it home I realized really quick they were threw together pretty cheap yeah they were rattle traps >> but the something like this you don't see and I know you guys are going to recognize this box because Keith is also the person who helped me to build the box that I have on the back of my camper.

[00:26:15]>> Well, mine where yours is is is covering your air conditioner so it don't look like a big blob going down the road on your camper. Mine was designed specifically for uh my water heater.

[00:26:27]>> Wow.

[00:26:27]>> Or in the south we say hot water heater.

[00:26:30][laughter] >> Is that how is that how we say it? Hot water.

[00:26:32]>> Yeah, it's a hot water heater. So >> So you got your shower, your propane hookups right there with your tank already right here. Quick, this is my water fuel tank. I have 21 gallons of onboard water >> in this tiny camper.

[00:26:44]>> In this tiny camper because that was one of the first priorities. I sat down and made a list of everything I wanted.

[00:26:50]>> Yeah.

[00:26:50]>> On a camper before I even built it. I wanted air conditioner cuz we're in the south.

[00:26:54]>> Yep.

[00:26:55]>> And it's hot and humid. I wanted onboard running water cuz I've always tent camped and I've always had to pile that stuff up in the truck, the Jeep. You got to have somewhere to put it. No, I I want it. So, that's my water fuel tank and and then of course my shower head and then >> and and it's perfect right here because I noticed you've got your open road pop out shower right above it. So, you could just pop that open and stand right here.

[00:27:16]>> I pop it out. I originally I wanted the the the shower uh awning, but everything was here in the way.

[00:27:24]>> Yeah.

[00:27:24]>> And then you turned me on to the arm.

[00:27:27]>> Oh, yeah. You added the kick out. Pull it.

[00:27:33]>> Why is it not open? Oh.

[00:27:35]>> Hey. Hey. What? You don't have to edit that. What if we just [laughter] take the strap off of it? Yeah. Look.

[00:27:40]>> I might have cut that part out a little bit, but he was trying to open it, but the strap was on it. I'll just let him struggle, y'all. I kind of saw the strap.

[00:27:47]>> Just Just [laughter] let me struggle.

[00:27:48]That'll be okay.

[00:27:49]>> But I see what you're talking about. So, you put that on there. Pop out. So, you can actually shower back. when this whole shower opens up. Yeah.

[00:27:55]>> Now I've got a changing room, I've got a porta-potty room, and I've got a shower room, and everything's convenient >> and easy to get to.

[00:28:02]>> Yeah. And the changing room is important for him because that you can quickly tell the difference. And this is I mentioned it before I got here to them.

[00:28:09]You call this a square drop camper because these campers you can't really stand up in. They're made for getting in, going to sleep, relaxing, and laying down. So when it comes to bringing your wife, she wants to stand up somewhere to change clothes. These are great for that. A lot of people are like, you know, if I'm only staying a day or two, I don't need to add a big pop-up shower to my tiny camper. But a lot of people don't realize with these tiny teardrops and square drops they offer. It's not just a shower place. You can change clothes in there.

[00:28:37]>> Well, she and I every time we go camping, we have to lay down inside and do the shimmy. Yeah. Just change to be able to change clothes. So, so that's why I wanted this more for a changing room. Yep. And plus, this is her side that she gets out on. So she can just >> easy to get through there. Now, when I first installed this, I mean, it it popped out and dropped down and I put her inside of it.

[00:28:59]>> Yeah.

[00:28:59]>> And I I zipped it up. As a matter of fact, the door was right here. And I zipped it up and and I and she said, "What are you doing?" I said, "Well, how?" And I said a few words and then I [laughter] unzipped it back and I looked and obviously we can't use it for a changing room cuz she didn't change it all. [laughter] >> I mean, same person. She Yeah, she's same person it was when I zipped it in there. So, I guess we're going to have to use it for porta potty or a shower.

[00:29:22]>> You better hope she don't watch this video. She's going to kill you.

[00:29:24]>> But the door my door also comes off.

[00:29:27]>> I made it.

[00:29:28]>> Oh, so you don't have to Yeah. I don't have to go all the way around with my shower head. So, and as you know with these shower awnings, they got a little bracket velcro in there. You connect the shower head. And plus, it it actually gives me a little bit bigger, flatter area. I've got a little switch right there. Yeah.

[00:29:48]>> And remember when I was showing you the little toolbox while ago, I said, "I've got a spare computer fan in there."

[00:29:53]>> Well, this is my computer fan that you hear running right now.

[00:29:56]>> Oh, okay. I see it. Is that what this little That's blowing out right there.

[00:29:59]>> What that's doing. So, and there's a vent right here.

[00:30:03]>> Yeah.

[00:30:03]>> All right. So, what that computer fan does is when the door is shut, >> Yeah.

[00:30:07]>> it draws air all the way across the the the galley, which draws air across my refrigerator and takes all the heat out of the kitchen and it just blows. the refrigerator works efficiently. And if you look right here before we open the back, >> man, look at the back of this camper, y'all. You can kind of see how this is the thickness of the door you're fixing to see that opens up. But >> and I put a departure angle on it, too.

[00:30:30]Just >> it's awesome.

[00:30:31]>> But this that vent that's on the other side, this is it mating vent. So, what it does is draw air through there all the way across the galley, across the top of the refrigerator, and pulls that excess heat out >> so that the refrigerator works efficiently. That's awesome.

[00:30:47]>> And that there's also a filter inside of there that uh prevents any dust so you don't suck bugs and stuff.

[00:30:52]>> Yeah. Stuff like that getting in there.

[00:30:54]>> And I see you got the spare tire. While we're over here, you got the spare tire mounted on this side. So, you do got your spare with you.

[00:31:00]>> I do have my spare with you. U the these wheels I I had them and and they were already uh good already. So, I didn't want to buy and put wheels on there that match my Jeep, which would have prevented me from having to carry a spare. Yeah. Because if I decide to tow this with another vehicle other than the Jeep, then I still needed a spare.

[00:31:19]>> You still needed a spare.

[00:31:20]>> I still needed a spare to match it.

[00:31:22]>> Man, that looks awesome. And I see this humongous hinge.

[00:31:26]>> Is that a piano hinge or what?

[00:31:28]>> Good. Look at the size of this piano hinge, guys. So, this is what swings open your kitchen back here in the back what we're going to see. But you can also see how he had them at Linux. They they pulled the tape all the way out this far. So, he had the angle. So, even though he does have a departure angle put on it, if you step back with that angle you've got on the lineex, it makes it look like an even bigger departure angle, don't it?

[00:31:52]>> Correct.

[00:31:53]>> Yeah, that looks really, really cool.

[00:31:55]And you didn't just wrap the corners and the bottom. You wrapped the entire top.

[00:31:59]>> The entire top >> and the whole top of the kitchen. So, this there's no way water is going to get in this camper at all. And then this I tried to figure out the back was really really empty looking. Yeah.

[00:32:13]>> And so I tried to figure out what to put on the back and so I came up with the logo for a square drop camper.

[00:32:19]>> So that's your logo.

[00:32:20]>> Yeah, that's Well, it can be anybody, but that's square and then drop.

[00:32:24]>> Yep.

[00:32:24]>> And I actually call it the rhombus drop.

[00:32:27]>> Rhombus. Yeah, I saw that. Hold on, let me show them.

[00:32:30]>> So you got the logo right here.

[00:32:33]>> Rhombus drop cottage edition. Now tell them why you call it the rhombus. Now, if you remember like in the ninth grade when you were doing algebra or geometry, whichever one it was, uh you learned that uh all squares are rhombus, >> but not all rhombus are squares. They can be diamond shaped or whatever. So, so I chose rhombus for my square drop camper >> and uh >> hence the rhombus drop.

[00:32:57]>> The rhombus drop. So, so square drop, rhombus drop be the same thing. And here, this is where I get a lot of comments from is when I put my TP logo on there. Yeah.

[00:33:07]>> And then and then people ask me all the time, what is that? Well, see, I'm Cherokee Indian.

[00:33:12]>> Tag.

[00:33:13]>> Yeah. See, I'm Cherokee Indian. So So that is Cherokee Indian for Mobile Tepee.

[00:33:19]>> Is it really?

[00:33:20]>> No, it's not. [laughter] But that's what I tell people because my original my original first graphic was that said cottage edition. See right here where we got cottage [laughter] edition. So I came back and added that.

[00:33:34]So So when I was sitting here, I put that on and I was sitting here picking those off. I said, "Well, you know what?

[00:33:40]I'm just going to leave it." And if anybody asked [laughter] me about it, I'm going to tell them that's Cherokee Indian for mobile TV.

[00:33:45]>> I told y'all it's enough.

[00:33:47]>> Well, while while you're around front, we might as well get this one over with.

[00:33:51]is being in the south. I told you that I was not going to have be without running water or air conditioning >> or an air conditioner >> or an air conditioner.

[00:34:00]>> And now hold on. So I want them to see that there is no air conditioner poking out the side of this trailer. So you can see this in but you do see this little square right here in the front, but it's not poking out at all. So show them what you come up with. Well, again, my logo comes back to the front. And this is all wood and it's sprayed with the same Linx material. So, simply to have air conditioning, all I have to do is raise this. It's held magnetically.

[00:34:27]>> Okay.

[00:34:27]>> And it's held in place with rare earth magnets, so it doesn't go anywhere.

[00:34:30]>> That's awesome. And it's sealed.

[00:34:31]>> And it's sealed. And so, all I do is undo this slide. And then this pull the air conditioner out.

[00:34:37]>> Wow.

[00:34:38]>> And then now I've created an awning for the air conditioner. Yeah. In the hot hot sun. Yeah. And if it comes to pouring down rain, >> the water don't pile up. The water don't pile up. And plus, I put enough tilt on the air conditioner that all the condensation that builds just runs out.

[00:34:54]It'll just run right off. It just runs out.

[00:34:55]>> Do me a favor. Slide it back in. I want them to see it as you pull it out from the inside. But see on the inside, his AC is also not poking out.

[00:35:05]>> It's not intruding in here, even with it shut. And this is the shut position, right?

[00:35:10]>> That is shut position.

[00:35:11]>> Shut position.

[00:35:12]>> And locked. and locked in so it can't move.

[00:35:15]>> So he pulls that pin and then you just pull it out and I'll show them when you pull it.

[00:35:19]>> Look at that.

[00:35:21]That is awesome. And it it creates a shelf right here >> for your phones at night.

[00:35:26]>> You just I'm assuming you just plug it in right there.

[00:35:27]>> You just plug it in and turn it on.

[00:35:29]>> That is awesome, Keith.

[00:35:30]>> You plug it in and turn it on. And then of course, you know, if you want if weather's really really bad, you just plug your tablet up and say it up and you've got USB ports and everything to charge your phone. Of course, uh the lights are on dim.

[00:35:44]>> Oh, and he's got the wooden ceiling. All right, we're getting ahead of oursel.

[00:35:46]Let's go to the kitchen. Let's come back in here. I just wanted them to see that.

[00:35:49]That is awesome. Well, what blew my mind was how thick this door is that you're fixing to swing open. That's why that big old piano hinge he built on the other side because this is not just a door. This is also part of the kitchen that you're opening.

[00:36:01]>> And it's all wooden.

[00:36:02]>> And it's all wooden. That's crazy.

[00:36:04]>> And there's nothing wrong with wood as long as you protect it correctly. That is true. And you hear a lot of people say, "Oh, that mine's made out of composite, no wood." What? Wood's fine.

[00:36:12]>> Um, Abraham Lincoln's house is still around.

[00:36:15]>> So, [laughter] but anyway, so >> check this out, guys.

[00:36:20]>> So, like yours, TJ, I can do a 90° kitchen.

[00:36:24]>> Yeah.

[00:36:24]>> Uh, I can do a 45° kitchen or I can swing it on around and I can have a 180 kitchen. So, I've got 10t of kitchen in a 5ft camper. That is awesome, Keith.

[00:36:38]>> And then then, of course, uh you got to have a place to cook.

[00:36:43]So, I've got my little flip down table.

[00:36:46]>> Well, see, does this look familiar, y'all?

[00:36:49]>> Well, that is that is a torsion box.

[00:36:51]>> That's that's exactly what you built me for my camera.

[00:36:53]>> I built yours is very lightweight, so it doesn't it doesn't take up a lot of uh uh mass and but it's very strong. I mean, you if if I took the hinges off of this and tried to twist this, it will not twist. Yeah, that is awesome. And I love how you've got So, these just swung down. You didn't have to do anything to get those to >> No, they just simply they simply close up just just like that.

[00:37:15]>> How cool is that? That is awesome.

[00:37:18]>> You always when you're cooking, you always got to have yourself a little towel.

[00:37:21]>> And all of this he's fixing to show you is just in the door of the kitchen. The kitchen's over here. We're just going to kind of work from the door to the kitchen area.

[00:37:28]>> And and this compartment here is because I have the 270 wraparound awning.

[00:37:33]>> Yeah. And so when when you get the wall kit, which I do have with the awning, it comes with extra poles. Well, I didn't want to just throw the poles in the in the cabin or on the back of the truck and let them be rattling around. So, I took that departure angle and >> Okay, this is the angle on the back.

[00:37:49]>> That's the departure angle on the back, which was very limited space that you could do anything with. And that's where my store my poles.

[00:37:56]>> So, that's the poles for your >> And they ride just like that. They don't >> You used every bit of space you could.

[00:38:02]This is the angle he's talking about, y'all. So, that's that. And it would have just been dead space, but you found a way to put a very nice door, which y'all see how familiar those look compared to mine. This is why >> I copy that. [laughter] >> This is why I wanted him to build mine, but he was able to use that little bit of space right there. All right.

[00:38:20]>> And it also gives me extra surface area for when you're camping. So, like when you're cooking here, >> uh, by opening that up, you've got you've got flat areas that you can set stuff.

[00:38:31]>> Yeah. Oh, yeah. Just like an extra shelf.

[00:38:33]>> Yeah, it's just like an extra shelf. So, like for instance, if I'm standing here cooking and you know, I installed lighting underneath and it's battery operated lights. So, as a general rule, I'll replace the batteries about once a year. And the cool thing is is if I'm cooking at night, I can change it to a red. Oh, yeah.

[00:38:49]>> And or it'll actually color change and I don't have to deal with bugs. That's awesome.

[00:38:53]>> But I still got my still got my light.

[00:38:55][clears throat] And then like I said, when I'm cooking, I've got say flat spot here. If I'm got my spices out, you've got an extra place to set your stuff.

[00:39:07]>> That is awesome. And then you got these shelves built in here.

[00:39:10]>> Shelves built in. They're actually part of the construction. This is like a giant torsion box.

[00:39:15]>> Okay.

[00:39:15]>> Is the way everything is built and all the joinery is together. It It doesn't Yeah.

[00:39:21]>> The the door doesn't flex as big as it >> Yeah. That's kind of how I built mine.

[00:39:24]mine out of the square met metal tube in my whole camper. Correct. By the time I was done, it was actually made the whole camper more sturdy.

[00:39:31]>> Stiffened the whole camper up. So, this whole this whole door doesn't flex or twist by the way it was built by all the joinery on it. Awesome.

[00:39:38]>> And of course, I wanted real plates.

[00:39:40]There's nothing wrong with the other plates, but uh just because you're camping doesn't mean you got to suffer.

[00:39:45]That's right. And and and either way, you're either going to have to throw some plates away or you can just take a minute or two because I have onboard running water and I have a hot water heater [laughter] >> with a kitchen sink >> that can give me give me water. So, it's real easy to to wash my dishes. And then, of course, you know, I've got, you know, all your nooks and crannies here.

[00:40:05]So, I don't have any drawers that held all my silverware and stuff like that.

[00:40:09]And all this stuff, I built it so that it gave it I had these before I even built the door. So, you knew the size?

[00:40:15]>> I knew the size I wanted, but I didn't want to have to remove a bunch of stuff to get to a bunch of stuff.

[00:40:19]>> And you can see through that. So, you can see what's in the box.

[00:40:22]>> See through it and see see what you need on it.

[00:40:24]>> And then you got some I see angled aluminum here that you >> That holds all my forks and spoons.

[00:40:29]>> And I'm assuming there's magnets back there.

[00:40:31]>> That is correct.

[00:40:33]>> That is That is awesome.

[00:40:34]>> So, that holds all all my cutlery and u I've got a play setting for eight and which I didn't need nowhere near [laughter] that.

[00:40:42]>> But you got them. But I I got it. And so >> I'm going to sneak ahead cuz I want to see what's in there. W Look at the extra storage. And this all of this storage would have just been non-existent if you would have just built a regular back door.

[00:40:54]>> That's correct.

[00:40:54]>> If you'd have just built the back door like a normal person, >> that would have been fine.

[00:40:58]>> It' have been fine, but you would have all of this would have been had to go somewhere else in this tiny camper.

[00:41:03]>> Exactly. It'd been in totes that you'd been slipping up under the camper once you got to campsite. So this is the little refrigerator I was telling you about. It's like truckers use. It runs off AC or DC. Okay.

[00:41:13]>> And but it doesn't have a compressor in it. So any heat that builds up prevents the refrigerator from cooling.

[00:41:20]>> And uh so that's what the vent on the other side was. And the computer fan on this side was it literally all this is open underneath. It pulls fresh air in across the top of the refrigerator and out uh that vent over there.

[00:41:35]>> Okay.

[00:41:35]>> So and then the refrigerator works efficiently.

[00:41:38]>> Oh, it's a good size. It's a good size.

[00:41:40]Yeah.

[00:41:40]>> Oh, yeah.

[00:41:41]>> And like I said, I just wanted something to be able to put my eggs, my cheese, my hot dogs, stuff that you didn't want rolling around in your ice chest. So, but it it it's silent. It makes no noise.

[00:41:51]>> That is awesome.

[00:41:52]>> And but either way, that that gets me that that gets me there. And uh like I said, I'm able to keep my hot dogs rolling around in my eyes. [laughter] I still carry ice chest. Yeah. And this this is my little pantry here. So, I've got my little pantry. Everything rides and it stays in place.

[00:42:06]>> That is cool.

[00:42:07]>> So, I took a plexiglass. Yeah.

[00:42:09]>> And I made my shelves the way I wanted.

[00:42:11]And then I took plexiglass and just took a heat gun and warmed it up and bent the plexiglass to uh to hold everything in place and everything rides.

[00:42:21]>> And that is a big space.

[00:42:22]>> That's a lot of paint.

[00:42:23]>> And there's my hand. And it's just the beginning of this pantry. I mean, and you can see through this. I like that.

[00:42:29]>> And then of course, we don't go anywhere without our tool kit, our air compressor, and our first a kit.

[00:42:36]>> You got a spot made for I got a spot that I made for it.

[00:42:39]>> That is awesome.

[00:42:40]>> It rides right there and hang hangs right in place.

[00:42:42]>> And then over here, I see you've got a wooden countertop.

[00:42:46]>> Got a wooden countertop, epoxy coated.

[00:42:48]>> And this is one of those fold down sinks.

[00:42:50]>> That is correct. It just just fold it down. And so you've got additional. As a matter of fact, when I'm going camping, uh, it does fold down because this >> my little barbecue grill rides right here.

[00:43:05]>> Oh, it'll ride right there. It rides right there. I've got the strap.

[00:43:08]>> Uhhuh.

[00:43:09]>> The strap goes under the lid and back through the hole [laughter] in the lid.

[00:43:12]And I just pull the strap down and it rides right there all the way to campsite.

[00:43:16]>> That is awesome.

[00:43:17]>> It never move.

[00:43:18]>> More cabinets with the more of the storage bins. I got to get me some of these storage bins for mine.

[00:43:25]>> Yeah, they're just handy and convenient.

[00:43:27]I mean, you take them out and carry them in the house, empty them or refill them or just keep them where they're at.

[00:43:32]>> There is more storage so far that I've seen. You ain't even opened this big drawer yet. I like that handle you put on there. But there's more storage I've seen in this tiny camper than most bigger campers.

[00:43:41]>> My father who just passed away recently, that was a belt that he wore every day.

[00:43:45]>> No way.

[00:43:46]>> And uh then it was had a bunch of Buffalo nickels on it.

[00:43:49]>> And so I took the belt and it was worn slap dab out. And I have five children.

[00:43:54]So I took the nickels off and gave each one of my children the nickels and they put them and carry them in their pocket.

[00:44:01]That is awesome.

[00:44:02]>> So I had a section of his belt left over. And so that's what I made the handle with.

[00:44:06]>> That is so cool, Keith.

[00:44:08]>> And then of course you got slide out drawer here.

[00:44:10]>> Oh, it's not a full I was wondering why you had a line here.

[00:44:13]>> Yeah. What that what that's for is because I needed more counter space. You never have enough counter space.

[00:44:19]>> That is so if I'm if I'm using I've I've also got extra counter space. And if I need to get something in the drawer, I don't have to take all this off. Oh, it just pulls out of the drawer. I can get to whatever I need to get that's in the drawer.

[00:44:34]>> And these are huge drawers. Look, there's your big >> There's my Jet Boil. I've got my cutting boards, the all important fire extinguisher. [laughter] >> And uh, of course, a more cookware here.

[00:44:46]>> That is awesome. And there's even that your fuel kegs are in there.

[00:44:49]>> Yeah. I didn't even I I didn't want to waste this space that was right here.

[00:44:53]So, my fuel kegs are here >> and that's run my Jet Boil, whatever whatever I'm running. Golly, there's four of them in there.

[00:45:01]>> There's four of them in there. That's right. That's correct. Now, on the opposite side where this empty space is, on the opposite side is where my water pump is.

[00:45:08]>> Okay.

[00:45:09]>> And uh this one like you got is one of those super quiet ones. So, that takes the water from my tank into uh the sink area. Hey, while I got you on the line here for just minute, this is pretty cool. One of my wives uh wife, one of my wife job when we get to campsite is to keep up with that cap, >> the the the cap. keep up with [laughter] that cap so you don't lose that cap and so and then when we get through camping whatever we're looking for the cap because I don't like leaving that open because dirt dobbers dust you know whatever get in there so I come up with this bride eye and then we'll be looking for I don't remember what I done well let's find it let's find so this is what I done I glued me a rare earth magnet on my cap >> on the c is it on all the caps >> and you just stick it to the side [laughter] >> so now I can't blame her when the cap goes missing >> yep cuz all she's got to is just stick it to the side.

[00:45:58]>> That's all I got to do. And then I hook it to my Jet Boy or my lanyard or whatever I've got. And so you got to got a way to keep up with.

[00:46:05]>> See, I told y'all before we came here today, guys, if you skip through this video, you're going to miss some unique stuff. And that's that's something there that it's just little stuff that makes a huge difference when you get to camp to set up.

[00:46:16]>> You know how you catch a rabbit? How >> you kne up on it? [laughter] >> Oh, was that unique? I I got I got sidetracked. I'm sorry. And all this is under awning.

[00:46:26]>> Yeah. Yeah. So, your awning does wrap >> when the 270 wraps around here. I can stand here and pouring down rain.

[00:46:31]>> So, right out the gate, you guys see he's got these huge doors with Does both of these have screens on them?

[00:46:37]>> Both of them have screens on. As a matter of fact, slide your slide toward me.

[00:46:40]>> Slide that open.

[00:46:41]>> Push down the black handle.

[00:46:43]>> Now, it'll shut so you get good ventilation throughout the day if you just need to cool the cabin off or >> so. Yeah, you could have a vent the the screen on both doors open. green on both doors and then turn the max air fan on and you got a good breeze coming through.

[00:46:56]>> Wow. And a privacy window. So that's privacy. You can It lets light through and out, but you can't see in it.

[00:47:03]>> And then the U and then if you need even more ventilation, all of my windows, they're insulated, so they're not fogging up on you through the winter.

[00:47:11]And they're awning style windows.

[00:47:13]>> Oh, so they tilt out.

[00:47:14]>> They'll tilt out and lock in different positions. So if it's pouring down rain, >> look at that. You can still click stay dry.

[00:47:22]>> That is awesome.

[00:47:24]>> Now, if that is awesome, if you want to keep your critters out, then of course you have the bug screen. And then if you want to keep the sunlight out so you can sleep a little later, [laughter] then you just have you have the blinds.

[00:47:35]>> No, those are cool. I was wondering why there was no curtains. So, you don't need curtains.

[00:47:39]>> I don't I don't need the curtains.

[00:47:40]>> You just pull the blind up.

[00:47:41]>> I just pull the blind up. If you just need just a little bit of ventilation for the night and you pull in the max air fan through, >> then you just shut it down and you still got most of your daylight blocked out if you want to try to sleep late.

[00:47:54]>> That is really These are nice windows.

[00:47:56]So, I'm noticing you've got crown molding wrapping the whole roof.

[00:47:59]>> Have Have you ever thought you'd see 6-in crown molding in a in a tiny camper?

[00:48:03]>> A tiny camper.

[00:48:04]>> Well, it serves as a secondary purpose.

[00:48:06]The looks is for one thing. Yeah. And just for the fun of it is another thing, but it actually is a chase for all of my wiring that comes from the tongue box all the way back to the galley. I could remove these screws and this whole big piece comes down >> and all your wires are running through >> and all my wires are now exposed.

[00:48:25]>> So that way you didn't have to run wires through your walls.

[00:48:27]>> I didn't The only wires that I have running are are in channels or for the lighting itself. That is >> But there's no wires in the walls whatsoever.

[00:48:35]>> That is awesome. And uh so like I said, I'm able to run all the way. As a matter of fact, um right here in my little storage box is where my fuse panel is.

[00:48:47]>> Oh, wow.

[00:48:48]>> So all my wiring goes from the tongue box from down in that direction.

[00:48:53]>> Yeah.

[00:48:53]>> From the uh EcoFlow.

[00:48:55]>> Yep.

[00:48:56]>> All the wiring comes from that direction, goes to the fuse box, and then makes its way into >> the crown molding and makes it all the way back to the galley.

[00:49:04]>> That is awesome. So I can add or take away wires at will.

[00:49:07]>> And you got the max air fin right there.

[00:49:09]>> Right there.

[00:49:11]>> Man, that is cool. And I see this panel you just popped off. Is that magnets?

[00:49:14]>> Yes. And is magnets on the back. And all it does is just snap right in place.

[00:49:20]After all the miles and trips I've been on, it's never rattled out.

[00:49:23]>> Deep drawer there.

[00:49:24]>> Deep drawer there.

[00:49:25]>> And I guess you got his and hers.

[00:49:27]>> I got his and hers closets. And I told my wife, I said, "You can carry whatever you want as long as your stuff don't make it to my side."

[00:49:33]>> [laughter] >> So, he's got a hanger in here, so you can actually hang clothes with shelves.

[00:49:38]But I'm I see that you have all the shelves on hinges, so you can hang long clothes in here or >> or if you had big tall boots or towels, big stuff. So, you can adjust the shelves without them rattling around.

[00:49:51]>> That is awesome.

[00:49:52]>> And the bottom shelf also flips up too.

[00:49:54]Oh, so you can hang a real long jacket or something like that could hang in there. And uh and like I said, you just adjust it as needed.

[00:50:03]That is correct.

[00:50:04]>> Of course, you know, the doors are built like your doors. Just old school bead board, solid wood, no particle board.

[00:50:10]>> And I love how >> I love how you build your cabinets where the doors they're not on the outside of the cabinet. They're in inset door.

[00:50:16]>> They're inset doors. So, it's all flush out here on the front side.

[00:50:20]>> And I wanted I wanted a cottage look.

[00:50:21]That's the reason why it's called the rhombus drop cottage edition. I wanted the old cottage look. So, I used the old school Hinges, the old medicine cabinet latches. you know, they hold everything in place and they just add add a little bit to it. And of course, I have my lights on dim.

[00:50:37]>> I can dim them down.

[00:50:39]>> Turn them down.

[00:50:39]>> Yeah.

[00:50:40]>> And I noticed you got that that headboard back there. What is it?

[00:50:43]>> That headboard is actually got the myar bubble wrap behind it because that is a solid wood wall >> and I needed some insulation uh between the cabin and the galley.

[00:50:54]>> Okay. cuz your fridge is back there.

[00:50:56]>> And it also acts as a little sound deadening because I took the myar bubble wrap, the silver bubble wrap, and I wrapped it in fabric. So that fabric actually absorbs uh some sound so that as my wife stores really loud [laughter] at night, it don't keep me awake as bad.

[00:51:10]>> Well, I bet this now you did tell me one thing whenever we started I started building my camper and you showed me this one. You told me that build the camper for her so that she'll go is how'd you say it?

[00:51:23]>> That's correct. build build the stuff that you build for the ladies and the guys will come flocking.

[00:51:28]>> Yeah.

[00:51:29]>> Plus, it don't hurt to put a little color in there.

[00:51:32]>> So, you got a little floral in here.

[00:51:33]>> I got a little floral in here. I'm a blooming idiot according to [laughter] my wife. And uh so, yeah, I got a little floral.

[00:51:39]>> It looks good. All the colors look good.

[00:51:40]And the floor I'm noticing now. So, this table I've been leaning on.

[00:51:43]>> The table drops down and that's her that's her basement storage over there.

[00:51:48]It goes all the way up to here and way back here. Can you show me how this pops up and down?

[00:51:53]>> Yeah, as a matter of fact, uh you Well, you're on the side, you just undo that thumb screw.

[00:51:57]>> So, I loosen this.

[00:51:58]>> Loosen the thumb screw >> and then the table Well, let's let me climb up in here.

[00:52:03]>> So, the table slides off.

[00:52:06]>> Okay.

[00:52:06]>> Okay. I couldn't afford the real the real one, so PVC pipe.

[00:52:11]>> Hey, and it screws on, which is good.

[00:52:13]So, it's not going to just slip out.

[00:52:14]>> Yeah. I just bought a a galvanized flange. Okay.

[00:52:18]>> Local hardware store. PVC pipe. Male fitting. drops right in there.

[00:52:22]>> Look at the storage in there. And you got that carpeted, too, for >> I carpeted for sound and insulation.

[00:52:27]>> Yeah, that's awesome.

[00:52:28]>> And the And of course, all that is solid wood, too. The entire undercarriage of this camper is um I painted Flex Seal on it.

[00:52:36]>> Oh, wow.

[00:52:36]>> So So there's no raw wood exposed anywhere.

[00:52:40]>> And I'm noticing this. How What's your floor made out of?

[00:52:43]>> It is. It is made out of It's a It's a plywood floor.

[00:52:46]>> Oh, that's what the gray is.

[00:52:47]>> That's what the gray is. It's 3/4 inch plywood. Then there's one before in here going across with a quarter inch Luon on top of that.

[00:52:56]>> Okay.

[00:52:57]>> And then I just put polyurethane on it and >> sealed it up.

[00:53:00]>> That looks so good.

[00:53:03]>> There's a quarter in your floor. Keep >> When I put the rafters up, it's a 1964.

[00:53:08]It's last silver quarters they made.

[00:53:09]>> Oh wow.

[00:53:09]>> And it was the year I was born. Um but when I was putting the rafters up, my rafters are inch and a half thick by inch and a half wide.

[00:53:17]>> Uhhuh. and I was concerned about them sagging. So, I also laminated a quarter inch piece of aluminum bar stock to the rafters in there on one foot centers.

[00:53:26]>> Okay.

[00:53:26]>> Long story short is I was putting the rafters in and one of them fell down and made a big dent in my floor >> after you had the floor finished.

[00:53:33]>> I didn't have the finish on it yet, but it made a big dent. Okay.

[00:53:36]>> So, the best way to hide something is make it obvious. That's right.

[00:53:39]>> So, I took my forner bit, made me a little hole, and I put glued my 1964 silver quarter >> right into the floor. right into the floor.

[00:53:47]>> The stuff like that just makes things, you know, so unique. The personal touch on everything.

[00:53:52]>> His and hers basements and >> basement.

[00:53:54]>> Yeah, that that's what I call them, basement. And like I said, they're all insulated uh with the carpet. And it's indooroutdoor rubber backed carpet. It comes in squares. So, it's not only is it sound deadening, but uh it gives me a little uh extra insulation value, too.

[00:54:09]>> That is awesome. You just slide it this way. Grab it. It's >> Oh, that's a full mattress.

[00:54:13]>> 6 in memory foam. Then slide [snorts] her back in place. And I've got a little vestibule here now. So you can set still got a place to set down.

[00:54:23]>> Take your boots off. You got a little vest view. Set your boots in here. Cuz if you leave them outside, sometimes squirrels will take off where you flip.

[00:54:29]>> And that's a long How long did you say this?

[00:54:30]>> That's a fulls size bed.

[00:54:32]>> Wow. Oh, that looks so good up there with the bed down. You can see the whole headboard area. Man, this is nice. And how long did it say you took it took you to build this camper?

[00:54:42]>> Uh about a year and a half.

[00:54:43]>> And when did you build it? do uh two years ago.

[00:54:46]>> Two years ago. Okay.

[00:54:47]>> Two two years ago. So, but it took me, like I said, it took me about a year and a half to uh finish it because I just, you know, got to work on it when I could work on it.

[00:54:56]>> So, I know some people are going to ask, and I'm trying to be thorough on this because I know a lot of people are going to be interested in this. Can you show me where you installed your water tank?

[00:55:05]>> Yeah. Be glad to.

[00:55:06]>> It's in the floor.

[00:55:09]>> So, to get to it, and plus it's all insulated.

[00:55:12]>> Oh, wow. because I didn't want it exposed outside.

[00:55:14]>> Yeah.

[00:55:15]>> And so I wanted to keep it insulated. So everything is my bubble wrap.

[00:55:21]>> Wow. That is a huge water tank in there.

[00:55:24]>> 21 gallons. I never use that much water.

[00:55:26]I don't know what I was thinking, [laughter] but I did something a little bit different is uh I had some extra uh dry hatches on on one of my kayaks.

[00:55:36]>> Yeah.

[00:55:36]>> So I took and added these. I think I got them attached.

[00:55:42]There we go.

[00:55:44]>> Oh, so you can clean out.

[00:55:45]>> So I can clean I can clean them out because you know this rinsing a car off doesn't get the dirt off of it. You got to physically touch that car to get the dirt off of it.

[00:55:54]>> So now in winter when I get ready to drain the tank, all I've got to do is reach in here and I can reach every single spot and wipe it down and get all that old slime and stuff that gets on there off.

[00:56:06]>> That is awesome. And I see your lines coming in here. So, your pump, that's going to be located under your fridge.

[00:56:11]>> Right beside the refrigerator. Right bes in that in that empty spot right beside the refrigerator.

[00:56:17]>> Opposite of where my little propane tanks are.

[00:56:19]>> Okay.

[00:56:20]>> Same same little wasted space that would have been.

[00:56:22]>> Gotcha.

[00:56:22]>> So, that's that served as a space for my water pump. So, these lines go directly to the water pump. I thought ahead I think hope I never have to use it, but if anything were to go bad in any of my hoses or connections or anything, >> Yeah. is the the entire wooden box that this water tank sets in is waterproofed on the inside.

[00:56:41]>> Okay? So, if you was to spring a leak, >> if I was to spring a leak, no water's getting up here in the cabin or into the galley. And plus, I also put a drain plug in if that were to ever happen. If this thing filled up full of water.

[00:56:54]>> Yeah.

[00:56:55]>> And then to be able to get the water out, I just used old cork and drain plug in it.

[00:57:00]>> It is for to be such a small camper. You know, people are shocked when they see the inside of mine of how much room is in that 5x8. Even yours, I mean, look at you sitting in the corner over there.

[00:57:10]Now, he's only like 4'2, so it's hard to >> Yeah, I think we're 3 in apart from each other. [laughter] >> It's built like a unibody. I can actually lift one corner of this camper and it doesn't flex.

[00:57:23]>> Wow.

[00:57:23]>> It the whole thing will lift up like a old Volkswagen Beetle. But this is the thickness of my wall. So, there's that outside.

[00:57:29]>> Holy cow. That's the outside composite that's on there, a sheet of aluminum, a plastic composite. Yeah.

[00:57:36]>> And then there's the 3/4 in plywood. And then thickness of my 1x4 studs.

[00:57:41]>> So this is your thicker my walls. That's how thick my walls.

[00:57:44]>> So I'm assuming this was a plug that was cut out.

[00:57:47]>> It was cut out for that vent that I showed you on the side for my refrigerator, too.

[00:57:51]>> Good. So we've seen the inside of the camper. I've showed them the kitchen, all the unique stuff you got. The only thing we hadn't talked about is where did you get this roof rack? I see there's three rails that run across and it looks like there's no bolts holding this [laughter] roof rack on. I don't see any up there. I see a couple on the side. So, tell me about that and the tent.

[00:58:11]>> Well, the roof I built the roof rack because the the camper was a custom size. So, it wasn't nothing really available that that I could use. Plus, I didn't want to put a lot of extra bolt holes either in the top of the camper or either in the side of the camper. Yeah, I'm I'm only seeing one bolt in each of the brackets.

[00:58:29]>> That's exactly correct. And this really all this bolt is doing is preventing this rack from sliding forward or backward because what I done is I welded a tab, if you can see it up here, I welded a tab onto the steel and that's actually transferring the weight down to the wall >> from the tent >> from from the tent or whatever's on top.

[00:58:49]You know, the awning on the other side is relatively heavy. Okay? So, it's just transferring all the weight to the wall without having to put all the force on the bolt.

[00:58:57]>> So, your bolt and I noticed I didn't see that bolt. Let me look again cuz I might have missed it. You don't see the bolts coming through the inside.

[00:59:03]>> It's hidden behind that 6-in crown molding.

[00:59:06]>> Oh, it is.

[00:59:06]>> Yeah. [laughter] So, so you went ahead and hid that. And plus, it's all sealed up, so there's no water getting in whatsoever. But it's good and sturdy and strong and and I needed the three crossarss to be able to mount mainly not just the tent, but the 270 >> awning. Got you. You have plenty of room beside that tent. What kind of tent is that? Because I've reviewed so many tents on my channel, but I have never in my life seen that name before.

[00:59:31]I've seen Okay. It's a OV, but I've never seen the Bundu name.

[00:59:36]>> It's an ovs Bundu. And what one of the things I really really like about it is was the texture that was on the outside.

[00:59:44]It's got divots in it like a golf ball does. Okay.

[00:59:46]>> So, it almost helps in aerodynamics on it. Look at that. as far as air flowing across it. But it opens up clamshell and then then flips out and opens out here.

[00:59:56]My ladder hangs down right here.

[00:59:57]>> Okay.

[00:59:58]>> And it sleeps too really comfortably.

[01:00:00]>> Y'all stay tuned because in the future we're going to what's it called?

[01:00:04]>> Cherokee Rock Village.

[01:00:05]>> Cherokee Rock Village.

[01:00:06]>> Leburg, Alabama. It's way north of us.

[01:00:09]It ain't that that long to get there.

[01:00:10]>> I've never been. So we're that'll be our first trip together in my camper. And >> And the rhombus drop.

[01:00:15]>> The rhombus drop.

[01:00:16]>> The rhombus drop.

[01:00:17]>> The rhombus drop. Okay. He calls mine I call it the bugout box.

[01:00:20]>> It's the It's the bougie box.

[01:00:22]>> The bougie box is >> the bougie box. [laughter] >> So anyway, I'll see you guys then. Uh if you're new to the channel, make sure you hit subscribe. I hope you enjoyed this walk around and I upload every Monday at 6:00 p.m. So y'all stay tuned. Hit the subscribe button and I'll catch you [music] guys next week.

[01:00:37]>> Peace out.

[01:00:38]>> Peace.

[01:00:40]And of course, I never ever ever I never ever go camping without my chicken.

[01:00:47]The chicken goes crazy.

[01:00:49]So he he always goes camping with me.

[01:00:52][laughter]