Off-Road Popup Camper

I haven't been posting much here because I've been busy with a new project some of you might be interested in. It's a collaboration between Hondo Garage and our neighbors, a company called Aerocontinental. Anyway, here's a photo and a link. Happy to answer any questions.

https://www.gofastcampers.com/

 

Very interesting! Post more pictures when you can

 

Looks like you guys have been thinkin' an' tinkern' an' creatin' a good idea. Good Luck on your idea.

 

Here are some shots testing one of the functional prototypes. The version in the renders will be finished early December for testing in Baja. Waiting on the extrusion dies and the final tent sides to be finished.

 

Very cool concept! Few questions:
1) Are the sides of the box canvas or hard sided? (Hard sided with locking rear door for security preferred on my side)
2) If hard sided, will there be doors or mounting points?
3) It looks like you are going to have racks on top, is that correct? Can solar be mounted to them?
4) Are you making this for short & long bed?
5) Will you color match (hard sides)?
6) Is there clearance on the cab-over for a roof rack?
7) What is your price point and build/lead time?

 

1) We'll be offering both soft and hard sided versions on the lower frame. Soft sided version rolls up like the softopper or can-bak. The hard side version is aluminum panels and will have a lockable rear window door.

2) The hard sides will be removable but they won't be doors.

3) The racks are optional. The upper frame is an aluminum extrusion with utility track running the length. That means the lower frame can be used to mount things like a hi-lift and whatnot, while the upper frame can be equipped with a number of different roof rack options. When the popup is closed it can be used as a utility rack up to 500 lbs. But if you plan to pop the roof, the struts will support about 75-125 lbs depending on the strut. The roof bars bolt on with side plates anywehere along the length, so you can definitely mount solar panels up top.

4)We're making these for short and long. We'll be making lower frames to fit all Tacomas of all generations except the step side models

5) We can supply the removable hard panels without powdercoat if you want to have them painted but we won't do color matching on our end.

6) There wouldn't be enough height clearance for a rack. But the overhang only extends to the back of the front doors, so a short one up front might fit.

7) The price is $5000 for either hard or soft sided versions. We'll be starting the first production run in February and will be shipping no later than May.

 

Definitely interested. The price point is definitely cheaper than the competition. As long as the durability and quality, as well as parts support, is there, you shouldn't have a problem selling these

 

Will the short beds have the same sized sleeping area?

 

Yes, the upper frame is the same size on both trucks, only the lower frame is different.

And your comment about replacement parts is spot on. We plan to make pretty much every part on this thing available as a replacement. It was designed from the get-go to be repairable.

 

Will the structure be strong enough to support foxwing style awnings? I'm super excited for this, if you need a first gen for engineering hit me up

 

Yep. It'll be strong enough. Even for one of those gigantic things we plan to make a variety of mounting brackets available that work with the utility track in the upper frame.

 

Sounds well thought out! Can't wait to see the finished product

 

Love this so far! Only thing I don't see is a ladder... Do you just climb up the truck? My big ass at nighttime might have a problem with that. Otherwise looks to be a
Great product and at a Great price.

 

You go up from inside the bed like with a flip-pac. with the floor panels open the upper and lower spaces are one.

 

Duh!!! Should've thought of that! Thank you! Makes the product even better

 

The whole big end of the tent is also a door... so you could get in or out that way. But through the bed is easier

 

Sub'd, very cool.

 

AMAZING! I might just have to get on the reservation list...

Few critical questions if you don't mind:

1. When my special lady friend needs to use the rest room in the middle of the night, how will she get in and out? I see a zippered rear panel?(maybe she could use a ladder)? Or will she have to remove a floor(sleeping platform) panel to get out? How long will the sleeping platform be when in sleep mode, as in, could she just crawl up and down without messing with any panels? Sorry if this doesn't make sense...

2. Will there only be one length upper portion for our specific model Tacoma? Or could we get it longer than average for additional $$$? I am mostly concerned with her ability to get in and out without too much hassle.

3. Could we order it with both hard and soft lower side panels? That way we can use either way depending on our travel objectives.

4. How far out of the picture is putting a couple of hinges and a latch/catch on one, if not both of the lower side panels so they can function as windoors? I know you already said they were only removable and not going to function like a door. However, since you are still in development phase, I figured I would stoke the demand for this type of functionality in your already awesome looking product. I know many others agree. Windoors are the only way to go. The accessibility is unbeatable.

5. How possible is it to take the upper portion off of the lower portion and just run the lower portion with a simple flat panel on top, leaving the pop-top at home? Sounds crazy right, but I am just tossing out ideas.

I was very close to pulling the trigger on a alu-cab with pop-up tent rig, but being able to stand up inside the rig now has me very seriously looking at ordering your product instead.

Thank you!!!

P.S. When she says yes, anything goes....

 

1) The sleeping area is 90" long. Each side has it's own 25" x 25" panel that swings down and latches out of the way under the floor. So the easiest way for one person to get out would be to swing their panel down and more or less stand up. It's like a trap door. If she's really short, you might be able to get away with leaving the end panel open all the time, but it's not difficult to use even though it sounds complicated. And each panel has its own mattress cushion that snaps to the panel, so the cushion swings down and out of the way with the panel. Once I get the cushions in from our sewer I'll post a video on how that works. But my goal was to be able to sleep two tall people, have either one get out without the other one needing to move, and to have the whole space open up when not sleeping, all while keeping everything as compact as possible and not having any part of the camper stick out past the body lines of the truck. And to keep surfboards on the rack while sleeping. The tradeoff is a bit of floor tetris.

2) Not for the Tacoma. We may do a full-sized version for 8' beds eventually. That would allow an always open area, but it will also require taller frame extrusions than the ones we're making so we're at least a year out on that at a minimum.

3) Yes. Our goal is to let you swap out the sides on the lower from hard to soft.

4) We're going to do our best to make the panels hinge open. We've had enough requests that it's moved near the top of the to-develop list. Making the panels hinged is easy but I want to be sure they'll seal reliably before officially making it an option. I know we can make fixed panels seal well but since we haven't tested hinged panels yet, I don't want to make promises.