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Brady Melville
Overland Camper Setup – On the Cheap
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Brady Melville
Overland Camper Setup – On the Cheap
Tie-downs ready for paint
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Brady Melville
Overland Camper Setup – On the Cheap
Finished tie-downs
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Brady Melville
Overland Camper Setup – On the Cheap
New to me - 1975 Dynasty pop-top camper
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Brady Melville
Overland Camper Setup – On the Cheap
Camera/inverter installed as charging station
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Brady Melville
Overland Camper Setup – On the Cheap
Proper twin mattress installed in upper bunk
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Brady Melville
Overland Camper Setup – On the Cheap
Custom hitch built for bike rack out of scrap steel
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Brady Melville
Overland Camper Setup – On the Cheap
Testing front hitch-receiver for bike rack before paint
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Brady Melville
Overland Camper Setup – On the Cheap
Interior shelving installed and about to put in brand new LED interior light
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Brady Melville
Overland Camper Setup – On the Cheap
Door bar finished and table installed with hinged brackets
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Brady Melville
Overland Camper Setup – On the Cheap
Hidden lock box out of bed frame and extruded steel for one extra layer of security for my gear
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Brady Melville
Overland Camper Setup – On the Cheap
Rear step/back bumper finished and installed
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Brady Melville
Overland Camper Setup – On the Cheap
Hinged doors on camper sides for storing chairs, oil, jumper cables, axe, shovel, etc.
Story & photos by Brady Melville of Pathmaker Productions
It was time to stop saying "next year", and make it happen. What I’m speaking about was my goal to be a photographer full time and, as they say, follow the dream and plunge into the unknown. The plan began to formulate: the competition circuit was busy with races and off-road events in the American Southwest to cover, and countless amazing locations along the way to visit and photograph.
The plan was to make this an overland style expedition – on the cheap. I wasn’t looking to impress anyone, but focus on comfort, security and utility. With national forest access in mind, and a backcountry mindset to stay off the main highways, the route and adventure began to take shape.
With a small budget, I decided that the best way to do it was to get a truck and a camper, nothing elaborate, and plan to be on the road for the summer. After realizing my Dad had the exact truck I should use for my trip I caught a ride up to Gabriola Island and proceeded to miss the ferry by minutes... ahh, Island living. It was a 1997 Chevy 1500 4x4, with a 5.7L V8 and a sweet maroon paintjob, it would do the trick nicely.
The search was on for the perfect expedition-style camper to fit in the back of the half-ton truck. With small and lightweight in mind, I set my heart on finding a pop-top camper. A pop-top has a much smaller cross-section while driving down the road, which saves a ton in fuel. Searching online, I found a beauty 1975 Dynasty pop-top. Unfortunately, it didn’t have a washroom but some sacrifices had to be made. Only 900lbs fully loaded it wouldn’t cause the half-ton truck to struggle (too much). It had a fridge, a furnace, 2-burner stove and a sink. It wasn’t luxurious, but it’s far from roughing it with more than enough room for me and Axel, my seven-year-old German shepherd-mix co-pilot.
First project on the truck was to build some camper tie-downs. Thankfully I had enough assorted scrap at my house that I came up with the material without spending a dime. Some 2” square tube and some 1 ½” square to slide inside and tabs for the chains and I would have a secure place to attach the camper but could also unbolt them when I got home. Some places are picky about welding directly to the frame so I bolted them on at the front and only welded to my tow-hitch in the rear. I also decided to build a hitch receiver at the front of the truck for my bike rack, so I could bring my mountain bike on the road. I hesitated because the thought of staring “through” my bike for 25,000km didn’t seem great, but in the end I barely even noticed it was there and I wouldn’t consider an overland trip like this without a bike. I built a console out of MDF for inside the truck to hold my camera, my inverter and assorted things I need to charge while on the road. I always like to have my camera at arm’s reach at any time because you never know when you'll see something exciting on the side of the road.... wildlife moves fast!
First thing I wanted to add was an outside table to do my barbequing and therefore most of my cooking – I was heading to the desert in the middle of the summer after all. I had a 4'x2' Rubbermaid table that happened to be the exact size to fit beside the door on the back wall of the camper, so I fabricated some brackets so it could hinge down or mount to the wall when not in use. I also added another barbeque hose running to the back so I can easily use the barbeque on the table without moving the main propane tank back and forth. While I was mounting the table, I decided I needed a better solution for the door’s security considering a camper door is easy to break open and I carry a lot of expensive camera gear. Some brackets, a bar across the door, a padlock and I could rest a little easier knowing that my camper would be more secure when I wasn’t around. That said, I was still not completely comfortable with my camera gear in the camper or even the truck so I built a metal box that I bolted to the camper frame for my gear when I was hiking and didn’t want to bring everything with me. I also fabbed up some small doors for either side of the camper, so I could store stuff in the useable space in the box of the truck. My last metal working project was a hitch receiver step that could do double-duty as a last resort back bumper in case of a rear-ender. Climbing up onto the bed and laying on the 3" thick plaid corduroy mattress, I realized I needed to come up with a better solution for sleeping. After a quick measurement I realized the twin mattress from my spare bedroom will fit.... if I took a saw to the cabinet and made a bit of extra room. A few quick cuts in the woodwork and I had a nice 6" thick mattress, one of the best mods yet!
Final things on the list were a bit of re-wiring (which turned into pretty much re-wiring the whole camper) so I could upgrade to some nice LED interior lights and a brushless fan (I heard its hot in the Mojave Desert in July?). Taking the easy route, I put the 400w invertor in my new center console and ran an extension cord out through a hole in the truck floor and into the window on the camper so I could have 110v power in my camper and truck without having to continually swap back and forth. I found out that my truck had a dual battery in it at one point and already had the battery isolator installed, so I installed my Redtop Optima from my rockcrawler. A battery isolator is an essential piece of equipment if you’re planning on camping kilometres from civilization. It allows my camper lights/invertor to run off my Optima without draining my truck’s starter battery, which could have left me stranded. As soon as you turn the truck back on, the isolator switches on, and charges the second battery for the next night’s use.
With the last of the mods done and a quick one-night test trip (which turned into an adventure itself involving locked gates and unmarked detours), there was not much left to do but pack up all my gear and head for the ferry. With two weeks to get to Colorado for a WERock Rockcrawling competition (check out this highlight video here https://youtu.be/tD1hZKTmcjs) and no other plan than getting over the border, I started heading eastbound and down.
Follow along next issue to for my expedition trip report as I camp for 63 days straight while only paying for camping a single night! Five off-road events, 11 states, and 26,000 km travelled, all to follow a dream.
Brady Melville of Pathmaker Productions made a fantasy a reality by leaving corporate construction to pursue a career as offroad photographer and videographer. Share in his adventures offroad at www.pathmakerproductions.com and www.youtube.com/pathmakerproductions for a front row seat on his next journey.