Cool story and maybe some inspiration for a summer project? 1976 Truck Camper to 2015 Adventure Home….
“I have never been more dedicated and passionate about a project. I have always had a dream about living in a small log cabin with my dog, a guitar and some books somewhere high up in the mountains. 3 months ago a made a step in that direction. I bought a 1976 dynacruiser truck camper. It was in phenomenal condition being that it is almost 40 years old. I purchased it from a gentleman in northern Utah for $500. He was clearly a good ole’ Mormon man, 70 years old, a fire fighter his whole life who lived on a small farm in a nice log home he had built himself. He was selling the camper because he had purchased a new more up-to-date model. It was honestly heart breaking buying the thing from him because He was border line in tears letting it go. I assured him it would be going to a good home.
I spend the last few month working in this beast with all of my free time… I mean all of it. I was in the camper by 830 every morning and working till 11 every night possible. I was full on obsessed. With over 400GB of footage here is the edit.
I started by removing one of the cabinets at the entry way to the bedroom and reattached it inline with the rest of the cabinetry. This opened up bed area nicely allowing a lot more light into the rest of the cabin. I also rebuilt the shelving over the dining area. It used to be the 3 section shelve that rolled out into a small bed. Now it it designated kite storage.
Next was the ceiling/solar mount. After spending several hour pealing away the flaking vinyl and to paint over the existing wood I came to realize that It was going to look terrible and I needed to address/reinforce some rotten wood and set the mounts for my Goal Zero solar setup. I found some super light/affordable cedar tong and groove which smelt amazing. I spend a few days staining. I have never worked with T n G but I went for it. The installation went pretty smooth and came out amazing! With the ceiling not being flat the T and G was able to bend to the contour and made a really cool wave in the ceiling.
I have always had a strong fascination with solar so got in contact with Goal Zero (a company that makes portable solar panels and also has a badass mission statement “”Goal Zero’s mission is to empower people because we believe in human potential”). I use a bunch of their products for filming in the backcountry and have really loved everything they make so far so I inquired about there larger solar options. I ended going with 2 Boulder 90s (90 Watt solar panel) and their Yeti 400 (Solar storage/power conditioner with outlets) This whole setup runs for about $1500
After that I prepped primed and painted everything. Adding some Magnetic primer to one section of wall and finishing with some chalk board paint, I went with a super light grey to allow more light to reflect throughout the cabin. I Installed all LED lighting fixtures to conserve energy.
Once painted, I installed some laminate hard wood flooring. This was my favorite part of the processes. It was super easy to install and came out amazing!.
with the ceiling and floor done I trimmed everything out, which was honestly the most difficult part of the remodel. With nothing being square to begin with there was a lot of trial and error. Measure three times then Cut, Cut and recut. But once it was finished I had the tiny adventure home of my dreams!
I have put everything I have into this project with the hope of being able to live my dream lifestyle for as long as I can while documenting everything along the way.
My plan is to snowkite, snowboard, climb, canyoneer, spurlunk, mountain bike, hike, camp, skateboard, whitewater kayak, ocean kayak, explore, adventure, etc at a professional level around North America.”