In the late spring of 2022, while camping with friends along the Campbell River on British Columbia’s Vancouver Island, architectural designer Douglas Peterson-Hui had an unusual thought for someone about to sleep in the woods. “I was hoping it would rain,” he says.

The trip marked the maiden voyage for his newly built camper, dubbed the Wooden Wedge. “It was a bit of a journey getting there,” he explains. “I had to take a ferry, but there were no big problems. I was hoping to see how it did in the rain.”

Although the weather stayed clear for that particular trip, Douglas, a junior architect at the Vancouver office of Perkins & Will, has since taken the Wedge on the road in all types of weather—and it holds up. Clocking in at just four feet by eight feet, the camper, which Douglas designed and constructed himself for just under $4,500, is built on a trailer and light enough to tow behind his vintage Volvo station wagon.

“It was the pandemic, and everyone was home—I needed a project,” Douglas recalls. “I’ve always liked to work with my hands. I’ve built tiny houses, worked on vehicles...I love to tinker. At the time, everyone was camping and hiking to get out of the house, so I thought it would be cool to build a camper that I could tow behind my car—but my car is small, so it had to be light.”

In March 2021, Douglas purchased a trailer from Costco for $900 to kick off the project. It was the most expensive element, but also the most important. “I was a recent graduate, and my budget was tight, but I didn’t want to cheap out on the foundation,” he says. “You can assemble it with a 10-millimeter wrench in just a few hours.”

$900 Trailer	$60 Trailer Jack and Wheel	$199 1/4" Exterior Plywood
$99 1/4" Interior Plywood	$84 1/2" Plywood	$20 2x4" Framing
$199 2x2" Framing	$80 Roof Membrane	$46 Blue Skin
$60 Metal Flashing	$180 Metal Roof	$100 Hardware
$100 Screws & Nails	$41 Paint	$126 Fiberglass
$337 Epoxy	$66 Spar Varnish	$483 Polycarbonate
$448 Extruded Polystyrene	$120 Rubber Door Seals	$40 Interior Lights
$15 Kitchen Sink	$20 Water Jug	$61 Underlay Tar
$600 Custom Cushions
Grand Total: $4,484

At the time, Douglas was living in a condo and had no room to store the trailer, so he asked a friend’s parents if he could use their front yard. After two months, the homeowners needed the space back, and Douglas needed another option.

A friend in Richmond, about an hour away, offered up space, so Douglas transported the Wooden Wedge to its new temporary home. “I was working full time and only made it out there on weekends,” he says. “It took me a solid year to finish it. There are some details I’d like to update—door handles, cabinet latches, things like that—but it’s about 95% complete.”

A step up from a tent, but not as amenity-laden as an RV—there is no bathroom or heat—the Wooden Wedge is made from plywood (the interior and exterior paneling), metal (the frame and roof), and polycarbonate (used to let in light, while providing privacy). The camper has two sections: a main interior space, with a sleeping area large enough for two, and a simple kitchen at the back with a Craigslist-acquired bar sink, yellow-painted cabinetry, and a plywood counter.

A polycarbonate panel slides open to the sleeping area, “so if someone is inside, you can hand them a cup of coffee in the morning,” Douglas says. There is no plumbing—a water jug above the sink lets campers wash dishes and rinse utensils while prepping meals. “I wanted to keep the systems simple,” Douglas explains. A large polycarbonate panel door at the back opens upward and latches to provide rain coverage.

The interior is minimal, with walls made from quarter-inch RevolutionPly plywood, made of 100% sustainable materials. “It has no knots, a very crisp, clean finish, and it’s cheaper than basic plywood” Douglas says. “I left the camper’s frame exposed to express the structure of the project.” Between the interior and exterior plywood is a layer of extruded polystyrene insulation. To safeguard the camper from the elements, Douglas coated its exterior with epoxy used for wooden boats.

Inside, the bed is made with three large custom cushions with removable covers that can reconfigured into a little sofa for reading or hanging out. “That was a splurge,” Douglas says of the $600 soft goods. “The cushions were made by a couple I found in a local Facebook group that had an upholstery business for years. They are retired now and take on side projects here and there.” A skylight in the roof, an important feature for Douglas, opens for ventilation and nighttime star gazing.

Douglas took the Wooden Wedge on five trips around western Canada in the past year, using each one as an opportunity to tweak details along the way, such as replacing the original polycarbonate skylight with Plexiglas or improving storage systems. “It’s an iterative design process, hey says, “and in such a small space, every inch counts.”

More Budget Breakdown stories:

An Architecture Student Turns an Old School Bus Into His Home for $7K

A Woodworker Couple Make $10K Go the Distance Renovating a 2006 Camper

A 1988 Jayco Motor Home Gets a Gleaming Retrofit for $5,700

Project Credits:

Designer: Douglas Peterson-Hui / @thearchitectsgarage

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Budget Breakdown: This $4,500 DIY Camper Is One Designer’s Ticket to Outdoor Adventure