How to: DIY Wedge Camper

I was initially concerned as well, but to my surprise, they have actually been pretty good. I don't think I have even seen any water come in via the latches yet. Dust will be another story, but so far so good!

 

Question on Rubber Cork gasket, whoever went that route, how are you liking it? Debating on using that or just butyl tape... Thanks!

 

Don't bother with butyl tape. Unless you can get some really really soft stuff, you'll have a hard time not having a wavy edge where the bolts screw in and you might actually get gaps in between fasteners.

For the frame to floor seal, I used the cork/rubber and it has been great. For the surfaces where the floor and roof mount to the extrusion, I used silicone.

 

Do you think using silicone all around would be a bad idea?

 

I noticed after searching they have a different model number one specifically being more waterproof. But Im sure they are pretty pricey.

Nice. I think I will go ahead and change out the locks and try them out.

 

I used butyl tape to seal my roof and it worked great. I dunno if some folks got crazy thick stuff or something but the 1/16” butyl RV window window tape I used is sealing great. There are zero issue with gaps at the fasteners. If you search through the tread I posted pics of how i did it. There are slight 1/16” high spots between the fasteners but it doesn’t bother me. It sits several feet off the ground and I can’t even see it once mounted on the truck. I like having the ability to disassemble things opposed to permanently glue together with silicone.

I used the cork to seal between the wedge and spaceframe. It works well but I might look into alternatives next summer. It constantly stays pretty waterlogged during a PNW winter. I dunno what alternative I’d try though so might just stick with the cork.

 

Yeah, it's a very specific butyl tape that would work. The silicone isn't permanent, so it shouldn't be much harder if I ever needed to disassemble (which is extremely unlikely).

 

Im putting in my steel order on Monday. My local MetalSupermarket (thats the company) has a flat cut fee so I can get steel cut to any length. I'm thinking of getting my sticks cut to like actual length +6" just so I have extra for screwups.

does that sound bueno or should I just get 8' sticks?

 

Make sure to measure it after they cut it for you. I did - half of the cuts were 1/4” off...had them recut it and after I got home - realized half of the tube was 14 gauge, half was 16 gauge.... I went to the one in Boston

 

They’ve never let me down but I’ll double check the wall thickness and measure my purchases

 

Good thing is they let me keep all the wrong cuts was nice to have lots of extra , because I ended up using them all hehe

 

I got a few inches more for mistakes and since I haven’t welded before. Ended up just outsourcing that due to time. But gonna build a weld cart when I get the chance with my spares. Steel is cheap.

 

How many people are painting their Alu panels? Debating if I should or not. Don’t do terrible off-roading to hit trees branches etc. also got white Ali panels for the sides

 

How is the ottertex fabric working out? I just got some samples of their printed stuff and it looks pretty good...

 

I started this project about two months ago and due to shipping delays over the holidays, I did things completely out of order as I normally would. Basically... I took some chances.

I drew everything up in SketchUp and after several revisions, I began sewing the tent as that was the first of the material I was able to get. I used ottertex fabric and other than being fairly bulky and somewhat difficult to maneuver around a sewing machine, it worked out well. All I had to go from was the dimensions from my drawings. It ended up being a perfect fit for the aluminum extrusion! I’ll consider myself lucky on that.

Next I received the aluminum extrusion. This was fairly simple to assemble and like I mentioned above, the tent fit perfectly.

The next step is the spaceframe. I finally picked up the 1.5” tubing and started welding the frame. I have the lower rails and the upper rectangle welded and just need to finish the vertical pieces connecting these. Using my sketchup drawings, it’s easy to measure the angles, but I ran into a possible issue...

I’m building this for a gen 3 access cab Tacoma. I welded the lower frame rails to match the contours of the bed - which means it’s not square. The width at the front is 62 3/4” and the back width is 60 1/2”. This will cause the front vertical tubes to be different angle that the rear. As I started drawing out the spaceframe doors, I noticed the issue as the side doors will not sit flat. I’m guessing the with the flex of the doors and rubber seals this might not be an issue, but just curious if anyone else has dealt with this or is everyone just building their spaceframes square?

Also, when sending .dxf cut files for the alupanel, can I use 3D files or should I create 2D files (this is definitely not my cup of tea). I can’t seem to get the 2D .dxf files to export correctly. I’m guessing this might be a question better answered by the sign shop I’m sending the files to, but any advise is appreciated.

As for waterproof southco latches others have been asking about, the latches from McMaster-Carr are actually the completely waterproof southco latches. https://www.mcmaster.com/2033N25/

I’ll add pics soon.

Many thanks to @Ripcord and everyone else for the ideas shared here! I was actually looking into a GFC when I can across this thread.

 

Wow that is good to know about the bed difference. I didn't realize that and thought the spaceframe was off, but all the measurements were good. Unfortunately Im already past that point so just dealing with it.

The sign shop should be pretty familiar with CAD tools. But each shop is different so yes best to ask the sign shop.

 

The exterior styling of the bed tapers in, but the inside is parallel. it is the inside you should be following as that is where the track is that the frame attaches to.

.dxf files are used in router/laser software and are appropriate to send directly to them as-is.

Also, good find on the latches on McMaster. They must have added them since I did mine.

 

The way I have designed the attachments, I think this will still work. I’m planning on just welding on some tabs (see photo below) created from some leftover tubing and using a bracket that attaches to bed rail (has a vertical bolt that attaches the two tabs). I can adjust the length of these tabs as needed. I guess I’m more worried about the side door looking off. I could redo the bottom rail and make it square, but I kind of want to see how it works as is. I would hate to have to completely re-build the spaceframe, but I may take that chance.

Early frame drawing (lower rails are square here, but shows the mounting tabs)


Brackets for mounting to bed rails:

 

At the front of the bed how long are you making the bed attachements? Im using the exact same bed attachements but didn't CAD any of the mounts. Are you using a square tube and just modifying it to work?

 

I’m still trying to think through the mounts. My first idea was to use square tube leftover from the frame, but I might go with a slightly thicker tube (not really sure if that is needed though). I wasn’t planning on finalizing the lengths until the frame was finished, but I might go ahead and try to get this dialed sooner.