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Shaggy Shack 2.0

67K views 457 replies 23 participants last post by  gruff54 
#1 ·
While over the past couple of years I've really enjoyed the original "Shaggy Shack", there were admittedly a couple things that I was finding a little less than ideal. First was the time it took to setup/break camp - while the shack itself went up pretty quickly, I realized it was taking me up to an hour getting things like my bed, etc. either unpacked and set up, or broken down and packed back up. The second was how the experience was on trips when it rained... which I think was more often than not last year. Dealing with being soggy for entire trips then having to deal with drying everything out is what I think led me to start looking for other options.

If I listed the options I considered it would probably take 10 pages, so I'll just cut to the chase and say that I ended up going the route of a renovation of a fiberglass "egg" camper. I learned fairly quickly that these are in high demand these days so it took a couple months before I found something that was close and affordable, the camper I ended up with is a 16' Casita - it's a 1990, so a match to my Trooper which I think is pretty neat.

There were not pictures on the Craiglist post and the description was one of those classic ones that said something like "10' pull behind camper. Fridge, shower U will not find one like this. No title but bill of sail, I take care of U if you want it." The guy actually turned out to be super nice, these are the pics he texted me which made me decide to pop on it:









He apparently had some sort of legal stuff going on and needed money quickly, so I agreed to drive the couple hours to the NC coast and make the purchase yesterday evening - by the time I got home it was almost 11pm, which led me to taking the picture of my new project this morning:



I spend a few hours today getting underway which included getting the camper to fit into my garage, I'll post up some details and pictures of this on Sunday - tomorrow the old Trooper and I are out to enjoy some trail time! :)

Shaggy
 
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#377 ·
superman27344 said:
Looks good. Are you gonna be venturing it up to Brown Mountain this weekend with us?
My Mom and Dad's travel plans shifted, so I'm afraid I won't be able to make the weekend trip. I'm dying to get out there, though, so really hope y'all will do another one in the near future.

Quick update on the camper, I did something stupid and had to reconstruct part of the kitchen counter top which set me back a bit, but I managed to get it sanded and stained this evening. Here's a shot with it temporarily in place:



I like the way it looks so I plan on making similar ones for the other cabinets, the only difference being that I'll probably end up using 1x2s vs. 2x2s so the tops on these are not quite as hefty looking.

Jonathan
 
#379 ·
shaggydoink said:
I did something stupid and had to reconstruct part of the kitchen counter top which set me back a bit, but I managed to get it sanded and stained this evening.
You can't do that. You have to tell us. :D
 
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#380 ·
N law said:
shaggydoink said:
I did something stupid and had to reconstruct part of the kitchen counter top which set me back a bit, but I managed to get it sanded and stained this evening.
You can't do that. You have to tell us. :D
X 2. Dennis
P.S. Counter top looks fantastic.
 
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#381 ·
You made your own butcher blocks! Hard to tell but is that maple? This was one of the things that we did in 7'th grade woodworking class (like 100 years ago), glued them up and ran them through a planer. Yours look way more refined and I think they always look better the more you use them. So much of this project you have done from scratch, has to be very satisfying. I'm satisfied just watching.
 
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#382 ·
I'm wishing I was satisfied with your satisfaction , my project (the toyhauler) is gonna suck ..!!

I really like that counter top , it looks crem de la crem !! Needs a nice bottle of Booz perched atop :)

My wife would never consider tent camping lol The home on wheels suffice's though ...
 
#383 ·
Re: the screw up, a couple sections broke off when I clamped it down to belt sand it, I then goofed and re-attached one of the sections upside down so had to break it apart intentionally... basically just some stupidity on my part. :roll:

As for the type of wood, I chose to use pine - the obvious negative is that it will limit the amount of cutting/chopping I can do directly on it, although it kept both the cost and weight down so figured I'd go this route initially. If it ends up sucking I can always swap it out down the road.

Jonathan
 
#384 ·
I've really busy the past few weeks so haven't been able to post up my progress, here's a recap for y'all.

Out of principle I didn't want to pay $4.00 each for replacement latches for the cabinet doors, so I ended up fabricating my own out of some plastic sleeve material and screws... total cost was $1.12:



It took a fair bit of time, but I got tops for both cabinet units built:



While I really like the sliding drawers, I wasn't thrilled about seeing the contents within them. My solution was to weather some of the galvanized sheet I had left over from the door, and install a piece as a face to each which came out great:





I also whipped up a coat rack, to give it a rustic lodge look I used some wood from a busted up pallet I found behind Lowe's:





Last but certainly not least is the floor installation. Step one was to belt sand down the sub-floor to level things out:



From there it was a fairly simple, yet time consuming process of cutting and installing the stick-on floor pieces. I still have the floor under the bed to do, but the rest of the interior is done... here are a few pictures that capture the camper's current state:







This coming week I'll be out at Uwharrie and the week after I'll be making the trek across the state of Georgia... it will probably be a few weeks before I'm able to put in more time on the camper, stay tuned!

Jonathan
 
#386 ·
That looks fantastic. Love it.
 
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#387 ·
All looking real nice Jon. Dennis
 
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#390 ·
Man Jonathon, what you've done with this thing is incredible.

How does it tow?

Carol and I are looking at a 16' and I just visited the Casita spot in Dallas.

Cheers
-Ian
 
#391 ·
imamonstertruck said:
How does it tow?
I'm extremely happy at how easily it tows. I'm naturally experiencing slower starts off the line and a speed drop on steeper hills or longer inclines, but thus far no swaying or hopping, most of the time it barely feels like it's behind me. Now, I'll note that I've taken a lot of intentional steps to shed as much weight as I can, and from what I've read the old models like mine had a significantly lower base weight than the newer models to begin with, but with you having the V6 you probably won't have to be quite as weight conscious as I've been.

Good luck with your search, definitely keep me posted!! :thumbup:

Jonathan
 
#393 ·
bradzuzu said:
Wow man you've done an awesome rework of that thing , it looks increadable !! How many will it sleep ?
Thanks!! The bed in the back is a full, and there's enough space in the main floor area for a single mattress or cot, so technically three although I suspect that it might start getting a little cramped with that number.
 
#395 ·
bradzuzu said:
I thought there was a table or eating area that folded down , or is that where the main bed is made up at ?
The original design had a dinette in the back that converted to a bed, I opted to go with a full time bed in the space at least for the time being as having as little setup time on trips was/is one of my highest priorities.

Jonathan
 
#397 ·
Jonathan,
I am sorry to say but with what you have done to that little camper, it no longer qualifies as a "shack". It's more like a flat or perhaps a studio apartment. :lol:
 
#398 ·
I haven't spent a ton of time working on the camper over the past while, in part because I reached the point where it became functional so I therefore decided to ease off the throttle and actually spend time enjoying it along with some other trips and adventures. Over the Thanksgiving holiday I made a little more progress on the paint removal, which isn't improving its appearance much, but at least not having the black will reduce the oven affect when it's out in the sun:



I also had round three (or maybe it's four now?) on the door which is truly becoming my nemesis. I got it back on its wheels and spent a few hours making cuts in the door to reshape it along with a few other adjustments, including fabricating and installing a new threshold to replace the original one which was in pretty sorry shape:



It was nearly perfect (seemingly again) when I was done, took it off its wheels for storage in the garage, put it back on its wheels for a short overnight trip on Friday only to find the gap had returned with a vengeance... ugh!!! :angryfire:



I'm assuming that whatever dynamics that are happening as the weight shifts between the axles to the frame while in storage are causing the swings in fit, the decision now is whether I revisit how it rests while in storage (which might result in the short-term elimination of the drum brakes) or just live with it until I'm in a home where it can stay on it's wheels all the time. Torching it is another option that runs through my mind as well, but fortunately that thought tends to pass fairly quickly. ;)

Jonathan
 
#400 ·
My work schedule has been fairly light over the past few days, so I was able to spend a little time working on the camper. As silly as it might sound, one of the big things that was bothering me was the drawer in the kitchen. It didn't slide in and out well, it would never set flush... all in all it just felt like a hack job and it's bugged me on every trip I've taken thus far. While I liked the notion of retaining the original plastic drawer, it simply wasn't cutting it as a solid foundation so I decided to replace it with a new drawer made from scratch:





I replaced my cheap aluminum rails with drawer glides and now have a drawer that I'm actually happy with. :mrgreen:



Another small project that I knocked off the list was getting finished floor installed in the rear section of the camper:



Still lots left to do, stay tuned!

Jonathan
 
#401 ·
Wow! This thing is really beginning to button up. You're quite the craftsman Jonathon.

Any idea what the weight is now vs stock?

Looking forward to the finished product.

PS. DO NOT TORCH

cheers
-Ian
 
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