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Award winning home designer Curt Preston brings his unique vision to truck campers and takes us deep into the magic and majesty of the Rocky Mountains. ... ... ...
Three weeks ago, we recieved an email from Dana Preston about a custom truck camper her father, Curt Preston, had built. As soon as we looked at the camper photographs, we knew we had amazing story for Truck Camper Magazine. What follows is our conversation with Curt about not one, not two, but three custom truck campers he has designed and built. And just wait until you see the interior of his largest camper. For many reasons, this is one camper design will stand the test of time.
Curt kayaking on the Sun river in Montana
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Dana, Michelle, Curt, Laura, and Aric Preston
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The smaller camper that Curt built
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TCM: How did you become interested in architecture and construction?
Curt: My grandfather and his dad were builders in the 1920s and 1930s. When I was a little guy living on the family ranch in the 1950s, I became interested in architecture and construction. Dad’s brothers were also builders. Stuff happens through the genes.
At eight years old, I announced that I would be a carpenter. In my early twenties, I got involved in construction. For the last forty years or so, I’ve been in the building and design business. The design part of it snuck up on me and for the last twenty years I’ve been doing design work. It’s my greatest passion.
I remember designing a house in my mind in high school. That should have been a clue that I was interested in architecture. Twenty years ago I did my own designs and then proceeded to build five show houses for the annual home show in Spokane. I won awards with all five. That floored me because I was competing with architects. I didn’t realize I had this talent until it became apparent.
I’m glad I didn’t go to architectural school because I think it gave me a practical approach to design. I’ve built large custom homes, but I’ve always been more intrigued by small homes. I’ve been semi-retired for last ten years. I do design work now and gave my business to my son.
TCM: How did you approach camper design?
Curt: I look at camper design from a practical viewpoint. I turned out my first truck camper in six months for $3,500. I’ve built many houses in a three to four month period, so it was strange that it took that long to build it. I probably put 1,000 hours into building the camper and 500 hours into problem solving.
Building a camper is way more difficult than building a house. It has a lot of pieces. You have to put in the plumbing and electrical at the right stage of the game. That was a fun challenge for me and I enjoyed it, most of the time.
I’m not fond of bigger campers. My biggest camper is seven feet wide and hangs over the back of the pick-up just over the bumper. That’s as far as it goes. The camper is eight foot six. I wouldn’t want anything bigger than that.
In the process of building it, I glued every possible thing that could be glued. I glued the back of cleats and any place where a surface touched. It’s super strong. If wind blew the camper off the truck, it probably would land in tact. If it was taken off the jacks, it would not flex. It was strong and airtight from all the glueing and sealing. No insects or anything else could get in.
There was a downside to all of that. Living in the camper by myself, I found that the amount of moisture we give off from the human body is more than we realize. I had a fan that ran almost all the time, so I was exchanging the air in the camper. Even still, moisture was created and collected within the camper. In the winter, I realized I couldn’t cook or boil water, so that was a bit of challenge.
TCM: Tell us about the truck campers you’ve built.
Curt: My first camper was actually an older camper that I tore apart and remodeled. That was part of the bug; having done that. The big camper in the photos I sent you is my second camper. I also made a smaller one, which was a miniature version of the second camper. Since then, I built another. It’s a pop-up type; a Roman Chariot brand. A guy in Spokane made the shell and I finished the inside. It’s really a one person camper.
TCM: Tell us about the design process for your largest camper build. Were you drawing on napkins, or a computer?
Curt: It’s all in my head. I did sketch out the big one. Any time I tackle a project, I run it through in my mind. I lay awake at night because it’s an obsession and I can’t help it.
The program that I have is a 3D CAD program that really doesn’t allow for anything the size of a truck camper. Even on paper, you have to draw stuff so large. When building something that small, you have to draw it bigger than a house because of the small space and detail.
My shop door was eight feet high, so I completely had to size everything to roll the thing out on steel pipes like the Egyptians. That was a challenge.
TCM: What materials did you choose for the frame?
Curt: The whole frame is made from Cedar. It is light and easy to work with. It’s a little more expensive than plain framing material, but you have to do some of those things to get the weight down. I had Cedar studs that I cut 1 1/2” by 1 1/2” inch.
The exterior is Cedar board. There is a smooth and rough side to the Cedar board, so it has a texture to it. I wanted the rough side on the outside to get a wood look. There is a huge amount of structural strength there.
On the inside is a special Russian plywood that’s a quarter-inch thick but five ply. That is overkill, but between the Cedar board and Russian plywood, the camper has tons of strength. I put on the two outside panels first and they act like a beam. Every possible surface was glued which is where the real strength is.
TCM: How do you protect a wood framed, wood skinned, and wood roofed camper from weather and potential rot?
Curt: If you look back in history to structures that are 400 years old, they are predominantly wood structures. How do they survive all that time? They’ve seen a lot of weather.
The answer is that they are very well ventilated. The air can pass through the structures so they can get wet and then dry out. Wood can handle that. If a wood camper is built and treated properly, there is not going to be a problem. Wood can get wet. It just needs to dry out.
TCM: What did you do to insulate the camper?
Curt: My camper is super insulated. It has R-26 insulation in the ceiling. The walls were R-13. I use the best insulation materials available and built the walls one and a half inches thick. I lived in it through the winters in Washington where it would get to thirty below.
TCM: Did you source your components and appliances from RV sources or did you choose to use more domestic components and appliances?
Curt: For the stove, I went to an RV place. I picked up the sink at Lowes. There is no refrigerator and no bathroom in the camper. All I had was an icebox on the step to the bed. It was a huge ice chest. I super insulated it. I used a type of board you use for showers with an enamel finish, like formica. I lined and sealed it with silicon so that it would hold water. I would make my own blocks of ice in containers so I could take it out and dump it. I could keep things cold for ten days in the icebox.
TCM: Tell us about the electrical and plumbing system in the camper.
Curt: There’s nothing too special with the plumbing. With the electrical, I went to an outfit that specializes in batteries. The guy there set me up with two marine batteries and hooked them up so that the truck would recharge them. It had an inverter that took 12 volt to 110. The microwave was the biggest draw.
TCM: What does your largest camper weigh?
Curt: Completely loaded with water and groceries for ten days, the camper was 3,900 pounds. I never weighed it empty. I ran it by a scale and was surprised it weighed as much as it did.
Curt and Aric's last house
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Curt's smaller camper
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Horse back riding in Montana
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TCM: What kinds of things do you like to do when you truck camping?
Curt: I like to go deep into the mountains. I like to hike up in the hills and love seeing the mountain country. I am more into seeing the scenery. I grew up near the Rocky Mountains on the eastern slope. I’ve always looked to the mountains and been attracted to them. The majesty and the green, the freshness and the streams. I love hiking and getting to those types of feelings.
TCM: So you like to take your camper off-road and off-the-grid?
Curt: Exactly. One of my all time best experiences was the first time I went out with the camper. It was my maiden voyage, in the place I grew up. A river ran through there, and it was secluded. I was determined to do a two week vision quest and not see a soul.
It turned out to be a ten day trip. You see a lot of wildlife when sitting still. I woke up at four in the morning and saw all this wildlife around me. When I wasn’t moving, they got comfortable. They acted like I wasn’t there. I looked at Sandhill cranes. I saw a doe with a brand new fawn. The more I looked around, the more wildlife I saw. It was a magical experience. I bet I saw forty to fifty different animals. It was an awesome experience!
TCM: Thank you for sharing your story with us. I know our readers are really going to enjoy reading about your custom truck campers and seeing your pictures.
Curt: You’re welcome.
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