How to: DIY Wedge Camper

I guess I never actually came back here and posted the finished product, but since I am here chatting, here's mine! Scabbed the tent onto an ARE Contractor cap. Cut the roof off of the cap, tied the tent into the ARE frame. I am planning on pulling it back apart soon to reinforce everything, she has proved unhappy with all the weight up top. A year of abuse has the patchjob cracking here and there, but otherwise it made for a great summer of weekend trips! It doesn't help that I was rushing to wrap it up for a cross country trip that was eventually cancelled anyway. Oh well.


Thanks again @Ripcord!

 

Awesome! I'm pretty sold on aluminum tubing, do you mind posting or sending more pictures of how the top square and the round bars meet?

Did you draw all this up in CAD first too? Or just wing it?

 

just dig through my posts in here, I don’t post much anymore so shouldn’t be too hard to find. Basically just cut the tubing to line up with the square, nothing fancy.

Used CAD, but you could also wing it if you have some decent Fab skills. Photo of CAD is floating around in here somewhere. Second time around I would just build it as I went by building the base and going from there.

 

any chance you have any closer up photos for how your rear door seals with the tailgate? I think mine is currently going to be a little short

 

Hope this helps. There are small gaps on the sides, but I don’t care much. Below is the seal I used, it was a perfect size. Also I am able to open and close the tailgate without having to open the hatch.

 

exactly what i was hoping for thanks!

 

A little advice on T-Nuts...

I originally went with the cheaper ET-015, but have had quite a few strip out with even modest torque.

Re-ordered the heavier duty version ST-015 (https://www.tnutz.com/product/st-015/) and they are MUCH better. More thread engagement and solid feeling when torqued down.

 

I dug this up awhile back, and will use this information when the time comes to order all the seals. There is some good stuff in here about how to choose and size rubber seals and for what application.

Maybe this will help your leak issue. https://www.trimlok.com/rsinstall

 

That is a great video and site. That miter seal cutter would be awesome to have for these canopies.


A word of caution for those thinking of TNUTS black anodized hardware (like corners or even extrusion) it will fade and turn gold. It isn't anywhere close to the quality of 80/20. So you get what you pay for.

 

Anyone else running to issues with the panel latches be too small?

 

Too small or not enough reach?
Zim

 

rei has some of the mega mats for sale in their used section. Just ordered the 'excellent condition' one, but they have one left.

Happy hunting.

 

Not enough reach

 

Common problem. Depending on the latches you ordered, some of the knock off ones don’t have the same reach as others FYI. Also I think most people remove the adjustable portion of the latch to get more room/reach

 

You can weld a tab closer in but that will be a "scratch your arm" sort of thing. I'm only a 1.25" in so they work fine for me. You can round off the corners also to make them less hazardous.
Zim

 

Ok thanks for the info. I ordered some new ones hopefully they work if not I'll remove the adjustable bolt.

 

you may need to remove the bolt. In ripcords pictures his do not have the bolt. Geniune latches have SouthCo stamped into the metal retaining clip.

 

Did anyone found a better solution for the latches? Right now I am looking into rotating latches, which are either opened with a single T-handle or maybe even with a remote control on each panel.
I don't like Ripcords idea too much, because you have to unlock twice for each panel and the original "good" latches are too expensive.

Main concerns I have with each solution are:

T-Handle (dead bolt lock bars): 1. Handles are not flush and might get caught by branches (no clean look); 2. Can't lock and unlock them from the inside; 3. T-Handles have cheap key-ways (not really secure)

T-Handle (metal wire and rotary lock): 1. Handles are not flush and might get caught by branches (no clean look); 2. Wires might get caught from shifting load (can be solved with conduit); 3. T-Handles have cheap key-ways (not really secure); 4. As expensive as the "original" solution

Remote controlled (rotary latch): 1. No mechanical override when Battery is dead; 2. Installation more complicated; 3. More prone for technical problems, 4. As expensive as the "original" solution; 5. Cant find a remote control with 6 actuators

 

Plus or minus a quarter inch they're all about the same reach. Good luck folks.
Zim

 

for future reference don’t buy these at REI at all. They are normally 350 on Amazon new