How I camperized my SUV - part 1

The dream

I had fallen in love with the idea of travelling in a camper van. To be free to go wherever my four wheels can take me, to rest my head wherever meets my fancy, to be able to detach completely from having to find hotels, campsites and food. A nomad life. Ultimate freedom. The possibility to completely escape from society!

The only problem is I also wanted to return to society. Sad but true. I wanted a vehicle that would suit my travel needs but also my return-to-real-life needs. That's when I decided to make a camperized SUV.

Here I am going to outline how I got to what I think is going to be a fairly functional little camper. I was working with a 2008 Ford Escape, which is a compact crossover and pretty much the smallest you can go while still having enough room for an average sized human to sleep.

Requirements for my camper:

- ability to drive

- a place to sleep

- clothing and personal items storage

- privacy

- cooking and food storage

- relative lack of bugs

- comfort

Sounds fair enough right? Let's work through it.

Step 1. The bed frame

Simple. Fold down the seats. Purchase a plywood base to fit the space and 4X4s to lift it up. Assemble!!

Okay maybe a little more complex than that, but this should not be daunting to anyone. I measured my vehicle, and went to Rona with a very limited knowledge of construction. I picked out some plywood that seemed thick enough to support my weight and cheap enough to be.... as cheap as possible. This happened to be fir 5/8' plywood. I also purchased and had cut to size some 4X4s for the legs of the frame. The critical height for the bedframe was the height of my cooler: there had to be enough room to fit this upright under the bed. Conversely, I didn't want it too tall or there would be very little room to sleep. I kept it as close to this height as possible. I cut 9 legs, although I didn't quite use them all.

With my vehicle, there is only a little over 5 feet of room for the bed when the front seats are pushed back. When the front seats are pushed forward, there is about 5'10". To work with this and not limit my room for sleeping or comfortably driving, the end of the frame is hinged. I've attached a photo here so you can get the idea. What is great about this hinge is that it also prevents anything on top of the bed from sliding forward after a sudden stop. I will be sleeping on foam, so this can simply be folded back during the day. This hinged section was the most difficult part of the frame, but well worth it! Most of this frame (with the exception of the hinges) was nailed together with 3 1/2 inch general construction nails. Why did I not use screws despite being advised? Because I didn't have a drill, plain and simple. Screwing everything together would likely be a better idea to make this frame stronger and longer lasting, but I thought this would suit my two month travel needs just fine. We will find out how true this is once my travels begin. Deconstruction will also be more difficult without screws. How will I get this frame out at the end of the trip? I believe there is enough room to slide it out the back. Otherwise, with great difficulty.

Cost: $90 CAD for wood and parts Stay posted for more on my camper conversion, including the bed itself, screens, curtains, and what to pack. After that, the trip begins! Thanks for reading!

- Amanda