Project ManCave - Infamous Nissan

Locruid · 07-22-2013, 02:18 AM

This will be a LONG project, seriously. Wife and I are severely Budget Strapped at the moment, but I'll do what I can in the meantime. So be prepared for a 6-8 month long wait lol.

I LOVE Fishing. I LOVE camping. I LOVE just going out and exploring. So I been building my Truck with those in mind.

Things To Do:
2nd Battery: Tie in the Radio, CB, and Bed Power into the 2nd battery only.
Bed Re-Design

I will be building up my Pickup Bed. It will have Storage for Oil/Coolant/Minor Tools/Fishing Stuff but also have speakers hooked to the Cab Radio, Drink Holders, small Inverter to hook my Laptop too. Will also feature a Foam Mattress.

I'll probably do it all in Pine Plywood but once its done I may "start over" with a Fiberglass 2 piece setup.

The Object of my personal build is so I can just jump in the truck on the weekend, go exploring in the mountains (maybe find a lake or 2) and be able to just take my time and maybe spend the night without having to "pre-plan". just Jump and Go.

Locruid · 07-22-2013, 02:18 AM

A VERY QUICK and dirty first render of my plans.

The black is a lid that opens towards the top and a "leg" can be swung down to make a "table". Both sides are capable.

The Blue is Drink Holders

The Round Yellow are 6.25" speakers

The "Pinkish" Rectangle is an Inverter (just a small 500 watt I have lying around.

The camper shell is equipped with a dual light DC system that REALLY lights it up lol.

Shady · 07-22-2013, 04:16 AM

Looks good. You should look into some trickle solar charging panels to keep the second battery charged for when you don't run the motor along with it. I saw it on the show gearz when he made his utility trailer and he used them to charge that battery for his wench and compressor.

Locruid · 07-22-2013, 04:20 AM

I'll add that later thanks for the idea. I had a 2nd battery setup on my Wife's older Cherokee. I just used a International Continuous Solenoid with a Switched Ignition setup. That way the 2nd battery only drained and the main battery wasn't touched. With the Ignition on, both batteries were "tied together" to Charge.

Locruid · 07-24-2013, 08:40 PM

Going tomorrow to pick up some materials. Will have enough to make the basic frame. The door/tables, Speakers, foam bed and carpet will come later but I'll have the main body built by this weekend.

Locruid · 07-26-2013, 03:35 AM

Ok so had to re-do my plans JUST a bit. Instead of the end tailgate portion being higher than the rest it will be uniform even from front to back....the top portion will be open though for a "throw bin" style and wont have opening lids/tables. Trying to do this practically and without a LOT of money so changing it up a bit.

Locruid · 07-26-2013, 07:07 PM

I'm not a carpenter....please be gentle

Base halfway done

Base is complete. Will be ordering some carpet to make it look a LOT better.

It's basically in 3 pieces for swift and easy removal. Neighbor brought me some 1/4" aluminum to put under the wheel wells then 2 bolts with washers will go in each wheel well to hold the "boxes" in place. The boxes in turn hold the "floor" in place.

Still to do:
Carpet
6" speakers
Wiring and install of 200 watt Inverter.
Cup Holders
A Table that resides under the foam mattress until needed. Mounts across at the wheel wells (hey gotta be able to watch my DVD Movies while fishing!)
Foam Matress
2nd battery

Nissanguy · 07-26-2013, 07:13 PM

Looks good so far. If you could I would get some 1" boards to make some bracing behind the sheeting on the sides. But overall great job.

Locruid · 07-26-2013, 07:17 PM

I took my spare full size tire off and it got me thinking.

I weighed my spare tire against the wood, my new brush guard, and my camper shell and believe it or not theres not a lot of weight difference between just the tire and ALL 3 of my new items lol. I"ll have to actually find a scales somewhere but the Arm Scale says it's gonna be close.Running around town I'll leave the tire at home but when I go trailing, I'll tote it around

Locruid · 07-26-2013, 07:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nissanguy

Looks good so far. If you could I would get some 1" boards to make some bracing behind the sheeting on the sides. But overall great job.

Thanks! I got the neighbor intrigued and he's gonna bring home some scrap aluminum bars and see what we can do from there.

07-22-2013, 02:18 AM	#1
Locruid Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Monroe, Or Age: 51 Posts: 297 Vehicle: 1996 Nissan Hardbody 4x4 Thanks: 48 Thanked 18 Times in 17 Posts	Project ManCave This will be a LONG project, seriously. Wife and I are severely Budget Strapped at the moment, but I'll do what I can in the meantime. So be prepared for a 6-8 month long wait lol. I LOVE Fishing. I LOVE camping. I LOVE just going out and exploring. So I been building my Truck with those in mind. Things To Do: 2nd Battery: Tie in the Radio, CB, and Bed Power into the 2nd battery only. Bed Re-Design I will be building up my Pickup Bed. It will have Storage for Oil/Coolant/Minor Tools/Fishing Stuff but also have speakers hooked to the Cab Radio, Drink Holders, small Inverter to hook my Laptop too. Will also feature a Foam Mattress. I'll probably do it all in Pine Plywood but once its done I may "start over" with a Fiberglass 2 piece setup. The Object of my personal build is so I can just jump in the truck on the weekend, go exploring in the mountains (maybe find a lake or 2) and be able to just take my time and maybe spend the night without having to "pre-plan". just Jump and Go. __________________ 1996 Nissan D21 5 spd/4x4. Work in Progress 2000 Durango 4.7/3.90 rears. Tow-Monster Project Mancave

07-22-2013, 02:18 AM	#2
Locruid Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Monroe, Or Age: 51 Posts: 297 Vehicle: 1996 Nissan Hardbody 4x4 Thanks: 48 Thanked 18 Times in 17 Posts	A VERY QUICK and dirty first render of my plans. The black is a lid that opens towards the top and a "leg" can be swung down to make a "table". Both sides are capable. The Blue is Drink Holders The Round Yellow are 6.25" speakers The "Pinkish" Rectangle is an Inverter (just a small 500 watt I have lying around. The camper shell is equipped with a dual light DC system that REALLY lights it up lol. __________________ 1996 Nissan D21 5 spd/4x4. Work in Progress 2000 Durango 4.7/3.90 rears. Tow-Monster Project Mancave Last edited by Locruid; 07-22-2013 at 02:39 AM.

07-22-2013, 04:20 AM	#4
Locruid Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Monroe, Or Age: 51 Posts: 297 Vehicle: 1996 Nissan Hardbody 4x4 Thanks: 48 Thanked 18 Times in 17 Posts	I'll add that later thanks for the idea. I had a 2nd battery setup on my Wife's older Cherokee. I just used a International Continuous Solenoid with a Switched Ignition setup. That way the 2nd battery only drained and the main battery wasn't touched. With the Ignition on, both batteries were "tied together" to Charge. __________________ 1996 Nissan D21 5 spd/4x4. Work in Progress 2000 Durango 4.7/3.90 rears. Tow-Monster Project Mancave

07-24-2013, 08:40 PM	#5
Locruid Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Monroe, Or Age: 51 Posts: 297 Vehicle: 1996 Nissan Hardbody 4x4 Thanks: 48 Thanked 18 Times in 17 Posts	Going tomorrow to pick up some materials. Will have enough to make the basic frame. The door/tables, Speakers, foam bed and carpet will come later but I'll have the main body built by this weekend. __________________ 1996 Nissan D21 5 spd/4x4. Work in Progress 2000 Durango 4.7/3.90 rears. Tow-Monster Project Mancave

07-26-2013, 03:35 AM	#6
Locruid Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Monroe, Or Age: 51 Posts: 297 Vehicle: 1996 Nissan Hardbody 4x4 Thanks: 48 Thanked 18 Times in 17 Posts	Ok so had to re-do my plans JUST a bit. Instead of the end tailgate portion being higher than the rest it will be uniform even from front to back....the top portion will be open though for a "throw bin" style and wont have opening lids/tables. Trying to do this practically and without a LOT of money so changing it up a bit. __________________ 1996 Nissan D21 5 spd/4x4. Work in Progress 2000 Durango 4.7/3.90 rears. Tow-Monster Project Mancave Last edited by Locruid; 07-26-2013 at 04:00 AM.

07-22-2013, 04:16 AM	#3
Shady Join Date: May 2013 Location: Ft Lauderdale Age: 32 Posts: 343 Vehicle: 95 nissan hardbody Thanks: 6 Thanked 31 Times in 28 Posts	Looks good. You should look into some trickle solar charging panels to keep the second battery charged for when you don't run the motor along with it. I saw it on the show gearz when he made his utility trailer and he used them to charge that battery for his wench and compressor.

07-26-2013, 07:07 PM	#7
Locruid Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Monroe, Or Age: 51 Posts: 297 Vehicle: 1996 Nissan Hardbody 4x4 Thanks: 48 Thanked 18 Times in 17 Posts	I'm not a carpenter....please be gentle Base halfway done Base is complete. Will be ordering some carpet to make it look a LOT better. It's basically in 3 pieces for swift and easy removal. Neighbor brought me some 1/4" aluminum to put under the wheel wells then 2 bolts with washers will go in each wheel well to hold the "boxes" in place. The boxes in turn hold the "floor" in place. Still to do: Carpet 6" speakers Wiring and install of 200 watt Inverter. Cup Holders A Table that resides under the foam mattress until needed. Mounts across at the wheel wells (hey gotta be able to watch my DVD Movies while fishing!) Foam Matress 2nd battery __________________ 1996 Nissan D21 5 spd/4x4. Work in Progress 2000 Durango 4.7/3.90 rears. Tow-Monster Project Mancave Last edited by Locruid; 07-26-2013 at 07:19 PM.

07-26-2013, 07:13 PM	#8
Nissanguy Artist, Welder/fabricator Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Springfield, Mo Posts: 830 Vehicle: 90 Hardbody with '00 frontier conversion. Thanks: 11 Thanked 33 Times in 31 Posts	Looks good so far. If you could I would get some 1" boards to make some bracing behind the sheeting on the sides. But overall great job. __________________ Project build log http://www.infamousnissan.com/forum/...388#post347388

07-26-2013, 07:17 PM	#9
Locruid Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Monroe, Or Age: 51 Posts: 297 Vehicle: 1996 Nissan Hardbody 4x4 Thanks: 48 Thanked 18 Times in 17 Posts	I took my spare full size tire off and it got me thinking. I weighed my spare tire against the wood, my new brush guard, and my camper shell and believe it or not theres not a lot of weight difference between just the tire and ALL 3 of my new items lol. I"ll have to actually find a scales somewhere but the Arm Scale says it's gonna be close.Running around town I'll leave the tire at home but when I go trailing, I'll tote it around __________________ 1996 Nissan D21 5 spd/4x4. Work in Progress 2000 Durango 4.7/3.90 rears. Tow-Monster Project Mancave

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