Wedge Campers & Assorted Oddities

After seeing the AT offering I immediately thought it would be a better fit for full size instead of Tacos. Basically every reason you've said you want to go that route (shy of the top end insulation) reinforces that. I can't wait to see one out there and compare it to the Drifter.

 

I realize that a flip-over tent (180 degrees) whether sideways like Wildernest, forward like FlipPac, or back like the Habitat, offers much more room in the truck bed for cooking, etc. But with this new breed of “wedge” campers, the differences between the various brands seem pretty slight. Enough, maybe to make you lean in favor of one rather than another, but still pretty minor I think. A full size truck with any of them offers more room. And on a shortbed (5’) Tacoma, nothing will be roomy. All that said, I think the AT Summit cab overhang just seems too long with the 5’ bed version, even if it offers more room.

 

Yeah it is splitting hairs, but if I going to retire the wildernest, I want something as close as possible interior space wise. Even though the Nest is roomy, it gets pretty tight in there with two people and their stuff moving about. Don't want to go smaller that is for sure.

I have no interest a DCSB Tacoma. We don’t have any kids, so no reason for a back seat. Even you guys with kids, I don't know how you make those things work actually, bed is too small for me. I am usually by myself, and my extra cab 6' bed is barely enough room for all my gear, can't imagine having to haul gear for kids too. I would need a fullsize crew cab or Sprinter.

With that, an xxtra cab 6ish foot works great for me. Since I use the extra cab for storage only and take out the seats anyways.

Full-size would perfect. Either a Tundra, F150/250 are on my list to step up from my Tacoma. Love the Taco but a little more space would be nice especially with a Westy... errr... I mean wedge camper.

 

skimmed this thread but did not see a good photo showing how the several and various manufactures address the dust and water ingress whilst closed.

The drawings are my guess at how to seal it. Red is bulb seal. Green is fabric.

Please post photos, close up, showing the seal placement and function.

 

What about inboard vs outboard gas struts? Any cons to having them on the outside - possible damage (tight trails, Northern salt-belt corrosion, ..)? Any cons to having them on the inside?

Really like the looks of the GFC (it'll probably be on my list of mods in a year or two) but I noticed their struts are on the outside whereas most others are inside.

 

Yup that's a good point. Haven't seen the a GFC in person (downside of living in Maine: virtually no overlanding industry) but I used to work in industrial automation and t-slot / profile is super versatile.

 

I’d like to see a photo showing how the roof seal to the base when closed.

Please post them if you have one.

 

I think the big downside to them being mounted on the outside is it means you can’t mount your awning flush to the camper body (and requiring an adapter), meaning there is a gap that rain will pour through. IMO that’s a bad thing for the PNW but probably not a huge issue if you live in an area with little rain.

I think the big advantage of being mounted on the outside is you can easily swap gas struts out for different roof loads. But the Vagabond struts look pretty easy to swap regardless.

For my purposes I want internally mounted struts.

 

That’s a great point, I hadn’t thought of that. But, there’s obviously some issues associated with that as well...

 

This isn’t a new issue with awnings. The alu cab awning even comes with a gutter system you can install to prevent this issue.

 

It’s going to be worse the further off it is.

I don’t remember my Alu Cab having an awning, and I don’t remember water coming through a gap in the rear (I do remember it pooling on top though), but it’s been a few months since I’ve owned and used it.

 

Ftfy

 

I had an Alu Cab awning and it’s awesome, it’s the only thing I really miss about my Alu Cab setup besides the doors on the canopy.

Yes, it’s expensive but I found I used it so much more than my ARB and the foot print was so much better. I had an ARB mounted for a month and I never used as it took too long to set up and take down - while whenever I stopped out came the Alu Cab because it took 10 seconds to set up and there’s zero poles to trip over.

Not sure why the wind is really a relevant concern. I’ve seen tons of ARB awnings get busted in the wind and even if you have the strongest awning in the world it’s still a sail attached to your truck - I’ve heard of it flipping a truck over in Africa in high wind but who knows.

Another thing that sets it apart from the ARB is the material - the ARB is a weather resistant ripstop cotton/nylon material while the Alu Cab is a water proof nylon. I have had no issues with it leaking during torrential down pours, but I have had issues with it pooling.

Besides the cost I think the only major weakness of the Alu Cab Shadow is the room is so much better executed on the ARB.

 

I’ll also caveat that I have also heard about it breaking where the logo is cut into the support beam, but you could weld something over that if it was a major concern. The one in the photo is a much earlier one, so it’s also possible that cut out is no longer there.

It’s not designed to be partially deployed - the fabric would droop down and it would swing around.

 

Yeah thats the big concern with those. Cutting their logo into it made a huge weak point right in the middle. Andrew St Pierre White is the one who did a video ripping into them for this. Besides, a sticker is so much easier anyway..

 

is anyone interested in buying a habitat?

 

It’s amazing to see the “pop top camper revolution” happen so quickly.

I had put down a deposit on the GFC when they first announced. I decided to hold off for a while and got my deposit back because I wasn't clear about the cold weather insulation capabilities.

And then the Drifter came out. And now the OVRLND option looks very appealing.
Leentu and AT Summit are out of consideration due to price.

Here are my decision criteria for a camper for my 2016 SR5 AC:

It’s my daily driver, so fitting in the garage (~7 foot opening) would be great.

The primary use: Camping all year round at trailheads & ski areas. No real off road use but it will get driven on rough forest service/logging roads. I currently use an ARE MX (extra headroom) canopy with a Bedrug. Worked great chasing storms last winter, but I would like to be able to stand up.

Needs: able to withstand reasonable snow loads in PacNW; easy to insulate- still haven’t seen many details yet for solutions.

Benefits of Wedge(GFC/Drifter): Good for shedding snow, somewhat aerodynamic for handling wind

Benefits of Popup (OVRLND): More usable space

Any thoughts on which choice would be a better fit for my needs or other criteria to consider?

 

I tend to agree. For me the GFC is by far the best choice and for what it’s worth I feel the best value. While it’s not inexpensive if you price out a drifter they get quite pricy and I belive they’re still bare aluminum. Fine if your in Sunny California (and I realize that’s where a lot of them are going) but I live in Upstate NY, think Canadian Boarder, similar or prob much worse weather than you get in the PNW, I think the GFC is the smart money.

They will be releasing insulation/ heater and other cold weather accessories (they are in Montana after all) but they’re about 200 orders deep so it might be a bit.

Truthfully the single most important reason I chose the GFC was it’s weight. Driving 1000’s of miles a few hundred extra pounds really adds up. Plus modularity wise it’s as good or better than others I’ve seen.

Mine is actually being built this week so hopefully I’ll know more when it arrives in a month or so. Waiting on the GFC has been by far the hardest part.

 

Had a great time camping at the NWOR and checking out all the campers. My father and I were planning on ordering a GoFast camper for his truck...now that we had the opportunity to see all the options in person we’re back on the fence deciding lol.

We liked the GoFast unit, light and simple. Construction looked really good and finish work was top notch. Canvas material is similar to what we have on the FWC and it’s been super waterproof. We live in the desert and the camper will be outside 365..the sun here tears things up fast. We both wondered how the composite roof will hold up over time to intense sun. Also not sure I like the light coming in through the composite translucent top, I could see times where I want it dark in the tent. Guess one could always make a internal light cover for the top.

We both really liked the Vagabond unit a lot as well, the construction is top notch and we both prefer the solid aluminum structure, insulated aluminum roof and less seals on the sides. They also have similar canvas material to the FWC which again we have found bullet proof in rain.

The AT was great as well but higher $$ and the canvas material looked more like treated tent material than a true waterproof material like the others. I hung around twice to talk to the AT rep but never got the chance. The fit and finish of the AT was really good. They had the habitat on display as well but we both like the wedge design over the Habitat.

They all have their advantages and disadvantages. Have to do a bit more thinking on it .

Here’s an arial shot of the NWOR



And a couple of the campers.
AT



Vagabond




Gofast




And our camp in the FWC.



Hodakaguy

 

I had ordered a gfc, but realized with a kid coming we would quickly grow out of it (1-2 years). So was looking for more space. Most of our off-road is easier trails and lots of camping further back in the woods. I want to be able to also camp a couple times to go skiing in the winter.

I ended up going with the ovrlnd camper, mine starts being built next week. I got in pretty early as their wait time is now till December.

The ovrlnd is only 1-2 inches taller than the gfc, and with the kbvoodoo bed rails I should be under 7’ (lifted 3.5 inches) with the camper on.

It is nice working out all the details for door sizing, barn or regular doors, tinted/non tinted glass, awning mounts, fabric choices, logos, etc. and insulating should be pretty easy with some reflective insulation foam at Home Depot, I think I priced it out at around $80 to insulate the walls/ ceiling.

I should be starting a build thread soon of it.

Pm if you have any more ?’s