Projects: Happy campers: Creating innovative constructions with WEST SYSTEM epoxy
30th September 2015

A romantic dinner under the stars. Is it a five-star hotel? A luxury cruise liner? No, it’s the classic teardrop camper, built using Canadian Red Cedar and WEST SYSTEM epoxy.

With near-100% protection against water ingress, effectiveness down to 5ºC, and no need for post curing, WEST SYSTEM® epoxy is ideal for boats. The story, however, doesn’t begin and end with marine applications.

In fact, people use WEST SYSTEM epoxy for non-marine projects every single day. Whether they are making custom speaker casings or coating oak table tops, epoxy applications are only limited by imagination.

We put in a call to Hans Fokdal at HF Industri & Marine and our vintage ‘Teardrop camper’ is the result. Night under the stars anyone?

Getting inspired

All design projects have to start somewhere and this one, like many others, started on YouTube.

“We looked at some campers other people had built and we were impressed by the range and quality of projects we found,” says Hans. “I got some initial ideas and I worked with some experienced boatbuilders to come up with the final camper design, which features a prominent corner beam to reflect our long, successful marine heritage.”

Epoxy was, of course, used for the entire construction process. “We used epoxy to bond the camper’s plywood structure and to mount the Canadian Red Cedar exterior planking,” says Hans. “We even coated the camper with WEST SYSTEM epoxy and 207 Coating Hardener.”

This camper is not for sale

The results are really spectacular and the camper has been much admired at boat shows this year. “At one recent show in Sweden, we saw guests smiling as they got closer and closer to the camper as they figured out what it was,” says Hans. “At times, we’ve had people on our stands wanting to buy the camper: it’s hard to tell them it’s not for sale.”

It’s not just the epoxy construction that is attracting so much attention. It’s also the great craftsmanship and attention to detail across the whole camper. “Inside, there’s a bed big enough for a couple or a small family, with intelligently designed drawers and shelves for a few creature comforts,” says Hans. “There’s even a galley, designed by top Danish boatyard Walsteds, which houses a cooler and fold-away cooking equipment for those wilderness meals.”

Innovating with WEST SYSTEM epoxy

For Hans and the project team, the camper is about more than a comfortable bed on the road. “We got a real taste for what can be achieved with WEST SYSTEM epoxy, which takes away the limitations of traditional construction techniques,” says Hans. “You can use it to glue components at any angle, or to bend plywood structures – we’ve hardly scratched the surface in terms of how epoxy can be used.”

While there are many innovative applications for WEST SYSTEM epoxy yet to be discovered, the camper is a great showcase for what it can do. “The camper is beautiful and it’s certainly one of a kind,” says Hans. “I only wish I had time to take it on holiday, just for a week. Or maybe two.”