How to: DIY Wedge Camper

Nice to see there’s more people going with the full pop top. I’ll toss mine out there

 

Just wanted to share a "mission accomplished" post. This camper took me about a month from start to finish with some delays due to materials. I am a freelance cameraman and work has beens slow (Vice, Travel Channel, NYT, https://www.instagram.com/spencerchumbley/. I wanted something I could use to road trip to gigs with flying being questionable in the COVID era. Super happy with the setup. Can store my camera gear below and sleep up top. Previously I had a standard plywood sleeping platform, but it was a real pain to take everything out. The camper allows easy access to everything while still having a place to crash above.

I had a GFC on-order that was scheduled to begin production in July. I was taking my yearly trip to Montana earlier than expected (my brother lives in Bozeman) and I didn't want to drive out twice or pay to have the GFC delivered. So I bit the bullet and dove head first in.

Sits on a 2017 TRD Offroad Longbed. All in I spent about $4500 dollars building the camper (hired a welder to make the frame). Sold my ARE topper for $1800, and was lucky enough to make $500 selling my GFC build spot. So in short, got an awesome truck camper built in about a month for $2300 out of pocket. About $1500 over Ripcord's estimate, mainly due to hiring the welder.

The camper follow's Ripcord's plans (purchased all of them) with some minor changes. Here are a few notes, along with things that could help expedite the process if you have a little extra money to spend.

• I went with 96" Black 1530 extrusion from T-Nuts (the lead times were less with black extrusion from 8020.net, time will tell whether the anodizing is as good as 8020.net's) for the top and bottom of the wedge. I lost 4" in length in the sleeping platform. I'm 5'9" so i'm not missing it, and the panel that covers the entrance gives me a little extra if I need it. (thanks to @Wasatch for the tips on this)

• If the welding is intimidating you or you want to get the camper finished sooner - buy Ripcord's plans and bring it to a fabrication shop. If you happen to be in Bozeman, hire Randy Duff from Duff's mobile welding. Fast and solid construction.
  
  
• Had all my panels cut at a sign shop, just handed them RipCords cut files that I adjusted for the 96" vs 100" extrusion.
  
  
• Mounting brackets were made by OshCut using Ripcords plans and given to the welder to attach. (thanks @JMcFly for the recc). In retrospect, the welder could have fabricated something easily and would of costed less. But great option if you are doing it yourself, solid option.
  
  
• I styled my tent window after AT Overland's velcro windows. Bug Mesh sewn into the tent, removable clear marine and a tent canvas light blocking panel trimmed in velcro that sticks velcro trim sewn into the window opening (DM me and i can send you a YouTube video where a guy replaced his FWC windows with this methot) I still may put in 2 smaller trapezoid style windows for better cross ventilation in hot temps. This was pretty simple and not as tedious as using zippers. I also like that I can always see outside even when inclement weather hits with the clear vinyl windows. I never planned to use a ladder to enter the tent.
  
  
• I used 500D Mil Spec Cordura DWR in Coyote Brown that I picked up on ebay for about the same price as the suggested in the parts list. Fabric was easy to sew and is has good water resistance. I bought the Singer Heavy Duty 4452 and am very happy with it. Been using it for lots of other things since learning how to sew (including a custom back seat dog bed made from a used baby crib mattress, split 60/40 for my back seats. Carhartt fabric to match Carhartt seat covers)
  
  
• I opted for some standard pop up camper latches (found on most pop up camper trailers, Four Wheel Campers, etc) from Amazon. They were cheap ($14 each), and I find they work pretty well. Just needed to drill out the existing mounting holes to fit the bigger 5/16" screws. There is also a small tab so I can put some small pad locks in if I'm parked in the city.
  
  
• DIY Bedrug - Lowe's indoor-outdoor carpet stapled to some waterproof carpet padding I picked up on craigslist for free. Carpet padding helps cushion your knees when crawling around on the bed ridges. Can pull it out and shake it out easily.
  
  
• I went with a Rhino Rack Dome 1300 awning and mounted it directly on the back of the camper using Ripcords awning brackets. Happy with it as I spend most of my time at the tailgate when camping and allows me to use it in parking lots, etc where I can just back in to a spot. Awning domes, so you have more headroom. You can also add sidewalls to this awning, unlike the ARB awning of the same width. (The roof latches I used are just a tad too long (even with Ripcords spaced brackets) so I mounted them on the camper sides and can still access them while standing on the tailgate to push up the tent.)
  
  
• Duluth Trading Backseat Bunker is a pretty good fit (tip from the GFC forum) to add extra storage along the bulk head. Thing is in and out of stock pretty frequently. I needed to mod the cross support pole to fit properly and rig it up on some hooks I put in, but awesome storage. https://www.duluthtrading.com/seat-back-bunker-83907.html
  
  
• I had a Yeti 45 cooler, but it didn't quite fit between the wheel well and the bed stiffener. My brother is a Canyon Cooler rep and had an Outfitter 35 cooler he needed to sell. Sold the Yeti, and bought the Canyon at cost. Fits perfectly between my right wheel bump and the bed stiffener and is actually almost the same capacity at the Yeti 45 (deceptive marketing makes it confusing on the interior size of the coolers). So if you are looking for a good cooler (most river guides prefer Canyon over Yeti) that is a little less expensive than Yeti-gucci check out Canyon. https://canyoncoolers.com/products/outfitter-35. Also makes a solid step to get into the sleeping platform.
  
  
• Other things I did at this older post https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/how-to-diy-wedge-camper.604686/page-81#post-25443754

Things I might change/regret

• I installed a Solatek roof solar/battery roof fan from Amazon. I've been road tripping out west for the last week or 2 in the camper. This fan helps with condensation, but it doesn't move a ton of air. I ran the fan all night with the camper completely closed up (including tent window) and woke up to a lot of moisture. I slept in 80 degree temps with the window open and the fan running and no condensation. Makes me want to sew in two side windows. I may install the Maxxfan mini later on (I space the fan so I could replace it down the line if I need), just need to wire power to the bed or do a Goal Zero/Jackery setup for the fan.
  
  
• I was descending a very steep and bouncy forest road a few days ago in New Mexico, and my camper managed to shift about an inch forward (I only noticed because I began hearing a new rattle against the back of the cab). I wish I would have put 2 of the mounting brackets on the front of the bed near the cab to prevent any forward/backward shift. Surprised it moved...
  
  
• I don't do heavy offroading, in retrospect I could of left out the side supports and I would have preferred this to keep weight down and make it easier to access to bed via the side panels.
  
  
• My original intention was to build a full pop up like the recent posts here. Just want to say I'm jealous, but I'm super happy with the original design that Ripcord put together.

 

It looks great! Thanks for all your input. I was looking at that fan and was wondering how it would do. Again thanks for sharing! Love the latches. Do you have a link for them?

 

Latches are here on Amazon:

$19 JR Products 11845 Fold Down Camper Latch and Catch - Black

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N1MLB5A/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8

They are $14.00 a piece. They are also stocked in white at almost every local RV supply place. Same brand as on Amazon.

I re drilled the top holes to 5/16" size, and on the smaller latch portion I did one hole between two existing holes.

They are adjustable, so screw in the j hook pretty tight into the receiver to get good tension. If I ground off the end of the threaded portion more I could get probably get it to clamp even tighter. Like everything on this thread, anything stock needs a little modification.

 

Good to know these work! Was debating them as well but have gone with standard toggle clamps with lock rings if I need them. Also taken some modification, and a real pain to get to sit straight. I imagine there’s a chance I’ll swap to these in the future.

 

I like how clean they look too. Simple design. Thanks!

 

Also looks worth pointing out that these won’t work, with the 1.5” extrusion up top?

 

Can't say for certain, but 3"+3" extrusion and 4.5" +1.5" extrusion both equal 6", So I believe they will work since it is bolted into the top and bottom slots. With Amazon free returns, worth an order to try, return if it doesn't work.

 

I feel like since it’s a bit adjustable and you are drilling new holes I can make it work probably...

A heads up for the people getting struts. I found the same suspa struts for the doors for half the “list” price on Amazon. They were like $15 with some change for 2. I just ordered and haven’t received them yet but they seem to be the same ones.

 

Looks really good man! Ill be curious to see if your anodization on your extrusion starts to turn gold. I used 80/20 for all the extrusion on mine, but the 1.5" corner pieces were Tnutz and they have started discoloring pretty badly.

I like the clear vinyl addition to the tent windows as well!

 

Like I already mentioned in a previous post, I was not too happy with ripcords locking solution for the side panels.
Because of this I went with rotary latches which will be opened via a remote central locking system.
I went with one, which has a separate trunk release so that I can open the Main panel independently and they can be unlocked from the inside too.
Open up all the panels will only require the push of two buttons instead of unlocking six locks.

here are some pictures of it

 

All good dude, I also have some unfortunate news.

Right now there isnt enough people in for the corner pieces for me to put forth the investment on material and machine time. Also my camper build is running longer/over budget AND I need to rebuilt the diff in my truck to the tune of $1400... which is the cash I was planning to use for the corner pieces...

So right now the run is on hold. I do still want to make them just unfortunate timing and I do feel bad for the people with interest in them. If there is still interest down the road a bit I would love to make a run of them. Sorry for the wait guys, the last few days has been hectic.

 

See the above message for new details, but I still have the list and have added you to it.

 

Ive got you on the list as well!

 

@Oyster Taco @Bassshreddin

I’m sure you guys have seen this video already but this lifting panels seems simple, light, and cheap. Not sure how tough it would be to adapt to the extrusions.

https://youtu.be/7U8R8nm84Q8

Also any thoughts to starting a new thread focused on the full pop? Might be nice to centralize all this info in one place instead of it being scattered amongst this thread.

I haven’t started my build yet but am planning on going the full pop route.

 

I did see that! I need to update my build thread but we can move it there? Camper will kind of be the focus anyways.

 

How do you have all your stuff mounted on the ceiling there?

 

Check out this earlier post I did. I used tie down hooks between the bolts that attach the frame to the extrusion and ran bungee cord through.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/how-to-diy-wedge-camper.604686/page-81#post-25443754

 

Think I've got it!!! Just gotta get hinges for other side and pins to hold it.

 

more pictures! Does it feel good up high with both popped? Also, how high are you going?