She's done! Most everything has worked out pretty much according to plan, except that she weighs a lot more than Cache Camper told me she would. The initial shakedown trip was out towards Eagle and back -- a little over a thousand miles. I had plenty of electricity to run the microwave, freezer (it's COLD!) and coffee maker as much as I wanted. The truck got about 17 mpg going out, and nearly 18 mpg coming back. The drawers tend to come open, despite the fact that they have friction locks. Something definitely needs to be done to keep them locked shut. The marine heater doesn't perform nearly as well as I had hoped. It seems that an awful lot of the heat goes out the stack. It will be fine for 3-season camping, but no way will it cut it in the winter. It is obvious that I am going to have to add another heater. Fortunately, there is a good spot under the sitting bench, and I don't think it will be much of a problem to put in another furnace. Other than the drawers and the heater, it is great. I don't miss windows at all, and it really feels quite spacious!
... four years later ...
I am less enthralled. Probably the biggest issue was the weight. With the camper and minimal supplies, I was usually a couple of hundred pounds over gross weight, and even with no supplies, I was always right at gross. The truck could handle it with regards to power -- I always had plenty of power, but she would kind of "waddle" down the road, and it really bothered me mentally, knowing that this thing was so darn heavy.
The next issue was almost as important: poor insulation. Did you notice in the photos how much wood was in those sidewalls and roof? (image) All those thermal bridges really did a number on the thermal integrity. I was able to overpower it with a 25,000 Btu furnace, and I could stay comfortable, even at thirty below. But when it was cold, even just at zero, that furnace would cycle on and off a lot ( and it's really noisy). It would run over 50% of the time, really sucking the propane and electricity (it drew nearly 10 amps). Driving down the Alaskan Highway in mid-winter, I had to re-fill the propane tanks a couple of times. Believe me, it's no fun handling wrenches and pulling cold steel tanks when it's 15 below zero and the wind is cutting like a knife. And, even with lots of heat, I still had a problem with frost formation behind cushions and inside cabinets. Frost was never a big problem, just an irritation and a reminder of just how poorly this camper performed in really cold weather.
The electrical system mostly worked out great. I had some pretty big loads, but the Trojans (L-16HC) have what it takes. Also, I made sure my charge wire was really big (I forget, but I think it is either 3/0 or 4/0) and so the truck alternator really did a good job of getting them back up and then the solar panels were great for topping them off and suplemental if I was stationary. The one disappointment was the Xantrex 2000 watt inverter. It's a nightmare, really. It's so complicated, it would occasionally shut itself down, because it sensed some fault, and then figuring out what buttons to push to get it going again was a huge pain in the ass. The documentation sucks. This is truly an example of technology run amuck.
Another issue was the decision to chassis mount the camper. I really like driving this truck, and it would have been nice to be able to remove the camper and drive the truck as a truck. But, with the chassis mount configuration, that was out of the question.
So ... the solution? Do it again. This time, I'm building it myself. I learned a lot from that first one, and this next one will be better built, and it will better suit my particular needs. My mantra is "lightweight and warm, lightweight and warm." The next one is going to be about 1500 pounds lighter, and much, much warmer. It will sit on an aluminum flatbed, so I can easily remove it and drive the truck as a truck. I'm trying to make this one do what I need, but no more. Maybe I should change the mantra ... "lightweight, warm, and simple; lightweight, warm and simple."