A home-made, self-designed truck camper. Part Four: Interior

My design philosophy for the camper interior embraced two principles:

1) Functionality Before Aesthetics

I’d like for the camper to look nice, but my first priority is for it to work.

2) Flexibility Over Luxury

You see a lot of options in retail camper models such as 3-way refrigerators, roof A/C units, large stovetops, microwaves, and full bathrooms which are really nice to have, but which take up a lot of space. I want the ability to do lots of things with the camper, which means that I try to design things that serve multiple purposes as much as possible.

Here is the view looking forward through the rear entrance door.

On the right side is the bench which doubles as a single bed. The 1x2s on the ceiling fold down to support a sheet of plywood which acts as a desk/table. The shelf at upper right stores books, art supplies, family games, camera, and binoculars. At lower left is a trash can & step stool which helps with climbing in and out of the camper. The shelves at middle left store a Coleman propane stove, all the kitchen supplies & eating utensils, as well as firewood and some carpentry tools. The top shelf is a multipurpose working area which serves alternately as kitchen counter, work bench, extra seating, and as an extra bed in a pinch. At top left is a shelf holding a 5-gallon water jug which supplies “running water”, and a Rubbermaid “sink”. Straight ahead at bottom is the enormous cooler which serves as a pantry and icebox as well as providing extra seating and a step up to the cab-over space. In an extreme pinch we could use the cooler and the space on either side for yet another spare bed.

Here is a view of the starboard side. At the aft end you can see some small wooden boxes, two of which contain office supplies while the third right next to the door contains sunglasses, sunscreen and bug spray as well as mounting an LED light for visibility when entering the camper on a dark night. Forward of the bench is a general storage area which includes a collapsible firepit, camping toilet, folding table, and a bunch of sports equipment & outdoor games. Just behind the edge of the cooler is an access port to the truck bed forward of the wheel well where four folding chairs are stored. Immediately above the cooler is another access port providing for somewhat constrained movement between the camper and the truck cab.

Here is a view of the port side. It’s a bit messy but there’s a lot of functionality. At the aft end is a vertical storage space for broom, fishing rods & landing net, and anything else that doesn’t fit. At forward end is a whiteboard (with shelf above for markers and erasers), and behind it is a closet rod & general storage area. For camping trips I’ll put the guitar in there for ’round-the-fire singalongs’.

Here is a view of the cabover area. It sleeps four adults, if they don’t mind being cozy. The center is a full-size improvised bed made from egg-carton foam bedding. To the immediate right and left are sleeping bag sized areas which are normally used for storage. At top right is a storage shelf for clothes, camping gear, etc. At left I have the option (shown) of setting up my 24″ iMac for working on photography in-vehicle if I ever so desire. Also shown is the Ryobi 18V cordless fan which makes the hot summer nights more bearable in the absence of A/C. At top is the roof access hatch for relaxing in the open air or for sleeping under the stars. I’ve actually lost two lids so far while on the highway, so this one is doubly attached by a rope and a wooden dowel until I figure out a hinge system I’m happy with.

Here’s the view from the very front looking aft:

This is looking down from the bed with the table/desk set up:

And here is one more view of the table:

The interior as shown is very much a work in progress. I’ll post more pictures as I make improvements.