A 70kg 3D Printed Camper Shell Took This Rider From Italy to Norway

Four and a half thousand kilometers on three wheels

Francesco Furlani just finished a 4,500-kilometer trip from Italy to Nordkapp, Norway's North Cape, in a three-wheeled Piaggio Ape TM 703 fitted with a camper body built entirely through large-format 3D printing. The shell weighs around 70 kilograms. A comparable fiberglass structure would weigh roughly 200 kilograms. That 130-kilogram difference is what made the road trip possible.

The Piaggio Ape is not built for long-distance touring. It has a single-cylinder diesel engine, a top speed near 60 kilometers per hour, and no cabin insulation worth mentioning. Furlani's solution was to build a custom camper shell that is light enough to keep the vehicle within its load limits while still carrying bedding, food, and water for multi-day stretches between services.

Printed foam as a structural material

The shell is made from a printable foam material that cures into a rigid, lightweight structure. Large-format 3D printers deposited the material in layers thick enough to build the entire body in a single continuous job rather than bonding separate panels afterward. The result is a monocoque shell with no secondary frame.

For camper conversions, weight is the hidden constraint. Every kilogram saved on the body goes straight into payload: more water, warmer bedding, a spare fuel can. The 70-kilogram shell left Furlani with enough margin to carry what he needed for the ride up to the Arctic Circle.

Why this matters for overlanding

The trip is a real-world proof of concept for large-format 3D printing in vehicle customization. Off-the-shelf campers for small commercial vehicles are rare, and custom fiberglass or aluminum builds cost thousands and take weeks. A digitally fabricated shell that drops weight by two thirds changes the economics for small-scale overland builds.

Furlani completed the journey without major mechanical issues. The Piaggio Ape with the printed shell is now back in Italy. Photos and updates from the trip were shared through Buckley Conversions and Create Cafe, the two companies that supported the build.