Hondo Garage's New Thing

I‘m very curious how dust proof it will be.

 

Looks Amazing!

Will I be able to easily remove the hinged-style side panels to run it "bottomless"?

Also, how will the soft panels attach? Could I buy a set of soft sides as an accessory for when I leave the hard sides at home?

I love my softopper's roll up sides, but hate the zip/velcro rear door, miss having a regular style truck cap door. Especially in winter.

Would it be possible to add a small round window pane (front of passenger side lower panel) to help solve the lane change blindspot?

Thanks again fellas!

 

Smooth side looks way better IMO

 

Smooth sides for sure!

 

Smooth sides fasho! Looks great though guys

 

Smooth sides!

 

+1 for Senior' Smoothie Sides

 

I actually like the bead rolling... I've always felt large slabs of uninterrupted real estate on a vehicle looks odd...
Switching gears, have you considered making a shower stall/curtain that can hang from the inside of the lid when lifted, situated in one of the back corners (looks like the cushions/platforms are modular and you can open a corner...)? I really like the idea of a stand-up shower in the bed of my Tacoma...

 

I mean a continuous "living" hinge that is impermeable, not a piano hinge or one of those aluminum extrusion hinges. The tent frame extrusion itself has rain gutters integrated into it.

 

Definitely not something we'd recommend. You can actually open up almost the entire floor, so there would be plenty of space. But unless you took the entire mattress out and all of your bedding and clothes, you'd make everything damp. On board showers are great but our philosophy is that if you don't have enough privacy to shower outside, you haven't driven far enough down the trail

 

Eagerly waiting to see the finished product with the heat option details.

 

Impressed I am!

Bead rolling only if you need it. I'm not crazy about the pattern of the bead rolling and if it doesn't add anything - why do it?

You could offer an option so guys can get pix of their mom bead rolled onto the side of their trucks...

Looking great. Can't wait to see your hinge design and the top on it!

 

Bump cause we will have some CNC machined bits to show off soon...

 

Started machining the Version 2 hinges. Extrusion will be here tomorrow. Looking forward to getting the new frame put together.

 

Do you know the dimensions of the cushion/mattress pieces? Just curious the stationary one and then the 3 removable cushion sizes.

 

The fixed panel at the front is 50" wide and 40" long. The removable rectangle panel is 50" wide and 25" long, and the square removable panels are 25" x 25" each.

 

Is the fixed front panel also the bottom part of the cabover/overhang? Could it be shortened to the length of the cabover/overhang part to achieve more stand up room inside the shell? If so, one would probably come up with its own matress and bed setup. I hope my question does make any sense..

 

If I build a U shaped storage/sleeping platform, about the height of the bedrails, I would like to hang out on the storage platform and stretching my legs to read a book, watching a movie etc.
The wall between the shell and the truck cab is the only vertical one to lean on comfortably, but with the panel sticking into the shell, there wouldn‘t be enough headroom I assume.

 

The best solution is a platform just above the wheel wells. The bed rails would be too high in my opinion. When you have the three panels removed, they can be propped into a couch at bed rail height. Also, if you're building it out as a dedicated camper, the front of the bed under the fixed floor is the perfect spot to build cabinets. On the long bed that gives you 22" roughly of cabinet depth to bring the faces even with the fixed floor. You could then lean against those and also keep the back of the bed open and spacious. Combine that with a storage drawer under the bed platform and you'd have a functional space that didn't feel crowded.

 

That‘s a good input, appreciate it.