VW camper in the making

[ianpallen]

I am making a hide / home for one of my hamsters. I have already made a teardrop caravan. The camper has been made out of pine and plywood. The front and back are pine so it can be shaped. The sides and roof are plywood. To curve the corners and roof, I used a dremel tool with danding drum on it. I think I have breathed in that much sanding dust, I will be sneezing trees for the next week. lol.

[DexterChloe]

They look fab! Looking forward to seeing it finished :) be sure to post pics!

[humfry]

That looks great! You'll have hams queuing up for a place in that camper!!

[ianpallen]

Thanks. Its getting there slowly. First coat of paint drying on it.

[ianpallen]

I have painted the camper and have drawn in the windows and doors but painted the lights and number plates. I put the entrance hole in the roof so it would not get too hot in there.

[Esmy]

Looks great! Fancy woodworking there. :)

[dave123791]

Your camper looks amazing. Are the paints you using non toxic? If yes what are they. I'm also into woodworking but mostly furniture. I might make something for my hammies

[ianpallen]

Hi, Thanks for the comments.
The paints are non toxic.
I paint some things with watercolour paints which are acrylic. Sometimes without mixing water with them so they go on thicker and cover better. Some paints are virtually see through and when mixed with water, they are very see through and you see everything under neath. Leaving out the water keeps the paint thicker. The paint does not take long to dry and takes about 24 hours to fully harden. The trouble is the tubes do not last long, especially when you squirt quite a bit out and only use a small dab of it. A lot gets wasted.
Sometimes, I like to leave things in natural wood.
The camper will not be having wheels on it as the bottom edge sits on the floor of the cage. There is no base to it so bedding will be easier to change. I hope the hamsters will use them.
I was going to cut the windows out but I snapped my last jigsaw blade. I might paint the windows light grey. Not too sure yet.

[souffle]

Just a little thought on these houses - I think they need more air holes in the roof and also a side access Ian because a hammie could expend a lot of energy trying to grip and pull out the roof if it was getting older. They do breathe out quite a lot of moisture should they sleep in there and the wood could retain this and make it quite stuffy inside so it needs good ventilation. You also need to ensure all edges are sanded very smooth and that there are no chewing going on that could raise splinters :) Hamsters who pee on wood make it smell terrible and you cannot clean it so watch for this.
Very cute though

[ianpallen]

Just a little thought on these houses - I think they need more air holes in the roof and also a side access Ian because a hammie could expend a lot of energy trying to grip and pull out the roof if it was getting older. They do breathe out quite a lot of moisture should they sleep in there and the wood could retain this and make it quite stuffy inside so it needs good ventilation. You also need to ensure all edges are sanded very smooth and that there are no chewing going on that could raise splinters :) Hamsters who pee on wood make it smell terrible and you cannot clean it so watch for this.
Very cute though

Thanks for this. I didnt realise the wood would have held in the condensation so much. I will have to get my drill out with a smallish drill bit to start drilling holes in the roofs. I wonder if this is why some hamsters sometimes sleep in the tubes either inside or outside the cages as they are full of air holes.
I will have to put a hole in the side of the camper. On wooden edges, I usually plane the edge off and sand them down smooth. Although the caravan has a wooden floor, the camper doesnt.
Ian

[humfry]

Perhaps you could cut out the rear window & put a little canopy over it. Hammies do seem to like two openings into any enclosed box.

[ianpallen]

I have put a shelf inside under the hole so climbing out will be easy. I am thinking of cutting a hole where a front wheel goes. I have to get some jigsaw blades. I put my hole cutting drill down somewhere and cant find it now. It is the ideal size for a hamster hole. :cry: Still, I will find it one day. It is in my shed somewhere.

[humfry]

Beware of the hamster size hole saw! I was using one, slipped the drill & almost cut off the top half of my thumb eight weeks ago. It was sewn back in place & now I'm in physio to restore movement! When people say "what is wrong with your thumb?" I can say "hamsters are dangerous pets!". LOL!

Of course I was straight back on DIY as soon as I could, but it's pretty painful. Take care!

Well if you have a shelf inside I hope you'll explain to ham that it's a table & also converts to a bed!

And are you putting on a roof rack with surf board? Hee! Hee!

[Esmy]

That was a very unfortunate accident Humfry!

I love the table bed conversion explanation. lol

[Artisans_uk]

Hi Ian

As soon as I saw that you'd started a thread for your VW camper project, I couldn't wait to read it and see your photos. It's looking really good. Good to hear that you are going to add some holes to allow the air to circulate, as Souffle suggested. I'd thought the same whilst I was reading through your descriptions. Anyway, what VW splitty wouldn't be complete without the odd leaky hole? ;)
The shelf seems like a great addition too.

Being cheeky now, but I can't resist posting a picture of the VW camper (1979 Devon) I owned for 12 years.

http://i62.tinypic.com/t9tsu9.jpg

Miss her so very much, but changes in circumstances dictated the action that was taken. Your project is making me very nostalgic, however.

I'll be following to the end! It's brilliant. :D

[ianpallen]

I have ground down the end of a broken jigsaw blad so it will fit in the blade holder and cut the back window out. You can see the shelf (good thinking it is a table / foldout bed, I like it) and there should be enough room for him to get through. I will make room in hid cage to accomodate it. I filed the edges smooth with a file and a dremel and I just have to touch up with paint.
http://i740.photobucket.com/albums/xx46/ianallen2/Hamsters/camper003_zps5a15fb0d.jpg (http://s740.photobucket.com/user/ianallen2/media/Hamsters/camper003_zps5a15fb0d.jpg.html)

I would love a real vw camper. The closest I came was I transformed a transit minibus and an LDV Convoy into campervans about 3 years ago. The transit was black velvet with purple purtaind inside. It looked very smart and had a futon sofabed. The LDV was all pine inside.

[ianpallen]

The camper is in his cage. I will touch up the paint at a later date. He has been exploring it. I will let him settle down now.
http://i740.photobucket.com/albums/xx46/ianallen2/Hamsters/camperandcaravan001_zps0701e3b0.jpg (http://s740.photobucket.com/user/ianallen2/media/Hamsters/camperandcaravan001_zps0701e3b0.jpg.html)
http://i740.photobucket.com/albums/xx46/ianallen2/Hamsters/camperandcaravan004_zps1ba60bff.jpg (http://s740.photobucket.com/user/ianallen2/media/Hamsters/camperandcaravan004_zps1ba60bff.jpg.html)

[humfry]

Cool! I see he's looking for the roof rack & surf board already!!

[Cherpi]

Haha that's awesome! Wish I had the resources and patience to do something like this :( but it's really good well done :)

[DrKMcK]

That is fantastic! I love my dremel! I just bought some extra pieces for working with wood and also a kit for metal. Making things like this would be so much harder without a versatile tool. My uncle had VW's in the "Hippie" days...flowers and all. What a great idea and your hammy looks like he really likes it. :-D

[ianpallen]

Surfboard ! There is an idea. I could cut a chewable piece into a surfboard.
Is mdf safe for hamsters ? Or I could take a piece out of a willow branch I have knocking about somewhere. I usually make things out of true wood or plywood. Scaffold board wook is usually good wood to make things out of because it is a hard wood.
I think my dremel is on its way out. It has started to make a grinding noise inside and I still have loads of drum sanders and cut-off discs for it. I bought a load of tools for it when I got it and have used it a few times as it is a handy tool, but the sanding can be a bit fierce with the drum sanders as they are very coarse.

[humfry]

I wouldn't risk MDF or chipboard as they contain glue to hold the wood together. I think solid wood (untreated pine planking?) or very thick cardboard would be better. I've used marine ply for humfry's platform but will watch carefully for any extensive chewing as I know it has glue layers.

[ianpallen]

Thanks. I thought mdf was not suitable. I found a piece in my shed and just wondered. I use ply for extra shelves in the cages and have had no chewing on them before. I have willow twigs that I put in the cage and other chew treats from lps as I know they are safe for them chewing. I dont know how mdf is made and thought it was just fine saw dust compressed at a very high pressure to make it. I know chipboard is glue and woodchips. Any glue I use is pva as I know it is not solvent based and safe. I mostly like to use plain wook from a wood yard. Pallet wood is pressure treated with something and I dont think it would be safe for hamsters.

[JordiDL]

Wow the camper is amazing, I'm sure your hamster love playing in it and in the caravan too, he is lucky!