How to: DIY Wedge Camper

If I can still get in on this I’d take a full set of either color!

 

So the top frame I welded myself and it’s pretty square but not perfect and I probably could have gone about 1/8” wider on the top. I have a little bit of an overhang I can probably live with and I’m going to do my best to keep the extrusion straight. That’s what oversized holes are for, right?

ordering my big McMaster order this week so I can assemble the extrusion and mount it all up. I’ll paint it after I drill the mounting holes.

 

Has anybody ordered their extrusion from Mcmaster? I’m looking for alternatives to paying over $150 in shipping...

 

I looked At several options, luckily I found a guy on Craigslist in Hermosa Beach that constantly has 8020 in various lengths and sizes. If you're in socal I'd just search aluminum extrusion. I paid around $500 for all mine. As long as you're willing to deal with scuffs and used and only in silver, it's worth it.

 

McMaster wants a lot more for extrusion than 8020, when I looked.

no matter what it’s going to be expensive to ship due to the length of the package and it’s weight.

 

Yeah, I saw that. I have to do some math but I called McMaster and shipping was like $60-70

 

Whatever works for you. It was cheaper from 8020 for me and they cut it to exact size I wanted.

 

Hey all! I’m doing a vertical pop up as well. Square sides. Fuck, the mechanism has been the hardest part. Hinges that match the 8020 are hard. I’m attempting to make mine similar to OVRLND’s lift mechanism, but spacing it out from the tent mounting rails is tough. I’ll post pictures later but just cannot figure out how to get the roof up safely so it doesn’t shimmy front to back. Any ideas?

right now, I’m thinking OVRLND locks into place against other aluminum tubes. But it doesn’t seem to be enough to stop the roof from swaying fore and aft. Definitely cannot figure out how four wheel campers doesn’t do the same.

I’ll post a bit more on our build later, but it’s been tough and way more expensive than we thought, but trying to remember it’ll still be less than a bought one, I learned a lot, and we won’t wait a year.

 

If you go the carpet path on the roof, let me know. Was curious about this myself. Basically, if you can insulate the air you breathe from the temperature differential of the surface that contacts the outside air, you can get rid of the condensation. But you cant have that vapor condensate behind that layer else you will get mold if it doesn't dry properly. Or in the instance of a fan, you are basically just trying to equalize the inside and outside temps/remove your warm air before it can condensate on the surface of the tent.

 

We'll take a set!

 

Got the camper build (mostly) finished last week and took it up to the mountains for a quick overnight trip to test it in a see where I might want to make some tweaks on it. Overall very pleased with the final result. Hit a few bumps in the road along the way which was to be expected when all of the cutting and drilling were done by hand with a drill, skillsaw , and jigsaw. Still have to get the struts and stiffeners installed along with finding a good mattress. Temporarily using some memory foam bed topper to sleep on that will definitely need to be improved. Also need to get my awning mounted to the extrusions. Any suggestions on awning brackets or an alternative more affordable mattress would be highly appreciated.

 

Yeah this is getting absolutely frustrating. Thought I had it last night, but....back to the drawing board. I got a ton of extra 1515 extrusion, but I literally cannot figure it out. The hinges are the killer. Trying to imitate ovrlnd camper and it seems their hinges are mounted so they are away from the extrusion(square tube in their case). That's where we are running into issues. To more space and parts between the frame and the bracket, creates more movement as a whole. Structurally, we have to find a way to bolt it directly to the extrusion, while clearing the keeder rail for the fabric.

 

I was thinking on picking some of this up, gluing it to the roof, and some outdoor carpet to it
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Reflect...-Reflective-Insulation-Roll-BP48025/100052556

 

Once it stops raining here, I'll pop my one side I have "done" open and show you what I got so far. Got the hinge mechanism working, past the keder rails. Probably needs another hinge in the middle (I bailed on piano hinges, for better or worse).

I know words only go so far, but I'm using these big heavy duty hinges from home depot I chopped some of the mounting surface off of. lost the three holes on one side of the bottom. These are for the frame and roof mounts, and the middle hinges I used from T-Nutz. I'm also using 1010 extrusion for this.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt-3-1-2-in-Zinc-Plated-Heavy-Duty-Tee-Hinge-15064/202034059

The hinge is big enough that if you position it right it'll clear the keder rail.

Right now, I'm playing with two ideas in my head to stop the sway (outside of utilizing stretching the fabric) One, is to mount a block (aluminum, wood) with a hole in it, and another hole in my lifting mechanism frame, pin on a string goes through there to keep it upright.

Second idea is a fold out brace that meets the roof or a side rail. something like a shelf bracket on a hinge, then pin it in place.

Beyond that, I'm probably going to add some 1/4" wood bracing or some sort to keep the frame strong. I imagine 1515 series is tough to clear in there.... I luckily have a bit of room because I made my top super tall. 4.5 bottom and 3 top.

 

@Bassshreddin could you reverse your struts to counteract the waggle?

It might bind?

 

question for everyone....are all 3mm ACM panels created equal? I got mine from multicraft in tigard, black, and holy shit to they scratch easy. Also, fairly flexible, more so than I expected, but I have nothing else to gauge it on.

 

How is everyone dealing the floor to space frame and then the extrusion to the floor? Being in FL we do get daily monsoons in the summer so I’d like it to be as water tight as possible

 

Yeah most is the same. I got dibond acp here in LOS ANGELES. Should have got 6mm for the floor. That's why I have the braces on the roof.

As far as reversing the struts, it could be possible. I also tried the struts on front and rear, that shit definitely didn't work haha.

 

https://youtu.be/7LPzIKubNNE

This randomly popped up on my feed, pun intend. But it looks like another possible solution