How to: DIY Wedge Camper

Josh41 · Dec 2, 2021

You guys are all rock stars! My wife gave me the green flag, I'm just not sure I can handle it. Almost ordered a GoFast last week, but really don't want to drive from Boston to Montana to pick it up, by the time I drive and order what I want, it's pushing $10K.
Anyone in the Boston area want to show theirs off before I start?

cliffthetundra · Dec 2, 2021

umpi5 said: ↑

Im just a little bit more south here in the Portland metro area. Fixing to get started on my build for my wedge here soon. Was curious to see someone else here in PDX area
Click to expand...

Hey man, I'm in PDX and on the sewing portion of my build. I have plenty of tips and am happy to share some. Also have a lot of leftover panel trim for the 3mm Alupanel that I'd be happy to pass on for free. should be enough to do the edges of the doors.

dually · Dec 3, 2021

Thanks for the inspiration @Ripcord

Mine in progress. Opted for some material and design changes.

I have not added the support gussets yet - knocking out the doors and latching mechanisms first to see what kind of space I have to work with.

renosauce · Dec 3, 2021

Here is some updates of mine. Def didnt copy the rip cord setup, am influenced

y a lot of different things..

RubberDuck · Dec 4, 2021

renosauce said: ↑

Here is some updates of mine. Def didnt copy the rip cord setup, am influenced

y a lot of different things..

Click to expand...

@renosauce Do you have a link to the upper latches you are using? They look different than the hood latches others have used.

renosauce · Dec 5, 2021

RubberDuck said: ↑

@renosauce Do you have a link to the upper latches you are using? They look different than the hood latches others have used.
Click to expand...

https://www.etrailer.com/RV-Door-Pa...NE7R3a3i-DKN96KV-XQ3ICYbIehHb-jsaAmyJEALw_wcB

cliffthetundra · Dec 5, 2021

renosauce said: ↑

Here is some updates of mine. Def didnt copy the rip cord setup, am influenced

y a lot of different things..

Click to expand...

Nice work man! Looks like a great design. Might pivot and go this route! About to start sewing so I gotta decide.

How stable is it? (Others had trouble with racking and front to back motion.)
How high does it lift?
What length/lbs force are the gas struts?
And finally-- Any chance you have drawings you'd be willing to share?

Thanks for the help. Great work!

renosauce · Dec 6, 2021

cliffthetundra said: ↑

Nice work man! Looks like a great design. Might pivot and go this route! About to start sewing so I gotta decide.

How stable is it? (Others had trouble with racking and front to back motion.)
How high does it lift?
What length/lbs force are the gas struts?
And finally-- Any chance you have drawings you'd be willing to share?

Thanks for the help. Great work!
Click to expand...

Sorry i dont have any drawings. I just made it up as I went. The gas struts are from a 4wheel campers topper, that i upgraded for a buddie of mine. I will have to look at the size of them for ya.
It goes 32inches or so. and its super stable. the lifting setup is a mock up, i plan on coppying the 4wheel campers lift hinge to the T. I like the full pop top instead of the wedge.

Taco Camper · Dec 6, 2021

renosauce said: ↑

https://www.etrailer.com/RV-Door-Pa...NE7R3a3i-DKN96KV-XQ3ICYbIehHb-jsaAmyJEALw_wcB
Click to expand...

I like those. The Jeep hood knock-off ones I have are meh, ok, but let me down. Not really working well anymore and the loose part of the latch, which is on the roof and way up in the air, can rattle in the wind in the middle of the night. Did this again on a mountaintop Friday as I forgot to tape them down or something.

renosauce · Dec 6, 2021

Taco Camper said: ↑

I like those. The Jeep hood knock-off ones I have are meh, ok, but let me down. Not really working well anymore and the loose part of the latch, which is on the roof and way up in the air, can rattle in the wind in the middle of the night. Did this again on a mountaintop Friday as I forgot to tape them down or something.
Click to expand...

Yeah thats whats on a 4wheel campers rig, so figured they work here...

Josh41 · Dec 6, 2021

renosauce said: ↑

Yeah thats whats on a 4wheel campers rig, so figured they work here...
Click to expand...

I had a four wheel camper, they did worked great, never had an issue. Should work well for these too.

BBanning · Dec 6, 2021

Ripcord[OP] initial post: ↑

Introduction:

I am fortunate enough to be able to camp an average of 40+ nights a year. I have tried many types of tent, but I was looking to make my camping setup faster and more livable. Wedge style camper toppers seem to be the perfect balance between improving comfort and preserving the truck’s capability. With their prices and lead times ($7k+ and 12+ months) being deal killers for me, I decided to make my own. How hard could it be?

I originally planned to make an aluminium fabricated camper, similar to Vagabond or AT, but the more I looked at the GFC I realized it would be a good starting point to DIY with minimal fabrication work and basic tools. GFC has a lot of custom parts made for their campers. By finding more standard replacements for them, you can keep the spirit of their camper design and keep costs down.

I will be making a few other changes from their design as well:

I don’t like having to move bed sections around, so I will make the whole camper longer to enable a fixed opening and a fixed sleeping area. There will still be a removable panel to cover this opening.

More room for blankets/pillows/tent material when closed, making it easier to close.

Non-translucent roof. I want to be able to make it dark in there.

Larger tent windows. I don’t agree with GFC's "Venturi" reasoning for their tiny tent windows on such a small volume, plus having a better view is more important to me (and many others).

Parts / Retail Cost:

Realistically you could build this for $3,000.
This is assuming you do EVERYTHING yourself. You will need access to a welder & sewing machine at a minimum. Having a router, mill and laser cutter helps a lot as I’ll show, but isn’t necessary.

With that said, I am freely sharing my spreadsheet which has my recommended part numbers, quantities and vendors to build this camper at that price.

Materials Spreadsheet on my Google Drive
(This is the 2nd camper I've made, version 1 was nearly identical but with worse material choices and not as refined. It can be seen on the V1 tab)

Time:

This camper was A LOT of work, do not underestimate that fact. Took me at least 8 full days of work. It will be many more if you don’t have the special tools I mentioned. This is also my second build, so I was more efficient with my time. So depending on how often you have free time, it could take months.

DO NOT ask me to build one for you! If you are willing to pay the labor for one to be made, then buy one from an existing brand. This thread is for DIY people.

Tools: (* optional, but helpful)
-Sewing Machine
-Bandsaw
-Welder
-Grinder
-Rivet gun
-Drill bits: 3/16”, 3/8”
-Countersink drill bit
-5/16”-18 thread tap (spiral flute)
-3/16” allen wrench
-1/2” socket
-*CNC Router*
-*CNC Mill*
-*CNC Laser cutter*

=============================================================

Here is the completed product.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/1iiZJ7xa0jk

And my initial 3D model.

Blueprints and router files for the Floor / Roof / Lower panels / Spaceframe / Brackets & Canvas are available on my Website. Longbed & shortbed files ready!

=============================================================

The Wedge:

The wedge will be made of 1.5" wide (15 series) 8020 aluminium extrusions. You all know them as the material Sherpa Racks and Prinsu use for their crossbars, but they are more commonly used to make frames for enclosures in industrial settings and are also used to make some durable storage solutions. These extrusions are really easy to work with and make this stage of the build go by quickly!

I am using 4.5” tall extrusions on the bottom and 1.5” tall extrusions on the top, for a total wedge height of 6”.
To save some money, you could use 3” tall extrusions top and bottom (I did this on the first camper I built), but be advised that the lower half of the wedge is the main structural part especially with all the overhang this camper will have. Using 3” extrusions for the lower half can lead to it having more deflection under high loads (hitting potholes & rocks). The top half (roof) doesn’t need much support.

The first step is to cut the Extrusions to length (50” & 100”, 2 of each) and tap the ends with a 5/16”-18 spiral-fluted tap. The extruded holes in the ends are already the perfect size for this tap.

There is a whole suite of accessories for 8020 extrusions such as hinges, latches, seals and device mounts to structural parts like corner pieces and flanges. The entire setup is very modular and easy.

Everything attaches using slot nuts like these. All of the fasteners I am using are stainless steel also.

The interior corner brackets attach like so, both the short and tall ones.

I have since changed the spreadsheet to show a 4 hole interior corner for this short extrusion due to the gas struts wanting to twist things up with the 2 hole bracket shown here.

Frame halves fastened! See? I told you it was easy.

Place the wedge hinges close to the outside.

Fitting the gas struts. The struts for the wedge are 100 lbs 36”. One strut per side. The ball ends that they attach to are the same thread as the 15 series slot nuts (5/16”-18). The mounting position is defined by the desired open height of the wedge (canvas width) and the struts being near fully compressed when closed. It can take a bit of fine tuning to get it where you want.

You’ll need to stack a few washers, the studs are a tad long.

I used some of these bulbed seal strips to seal the wedge opening. This seal is designed to sit in the extrusion slots as shown.

Aluminium Jeep JK hood latches work really well!

These latches do require a little tweaking. The top pivot had two tabs on the back that had to be ground down while the hook part needed one hole drilled out and countersunk (only using 1 bolt on that part). Also, depending on the quality of the parts you receive, you may need to clearance the hook part with a drill bit for the clamp to seat correctly.

I also added another latch on each side of the wedge, the gas struts want to push up on the small upper extrusion when closed and these extra latches help keep all of the seals in contact.

The Roof and floor are made from 3mm Aluminium composite panels called MaxMetal (AluPanel is another brand of this panel type). It is a plastic core sandwiched and bonded by two thin sheets of aluminium. It is much lighter and stiffer than equivalent sheets of plain aluminium. I got the sheets from a local sign shop. The max sheet size is 5’x10’ which is needed to do the entire roof & floor in one sheet each. My friends at Sherpa Equipment Company helped me router the panel out the sheet. I had all of the bolt holes and corner contours cut out as well, which is WAY better than having to drill those by hand.

Blueprints and router files for the Floor / Roof / Lower panels / Spaceframe / Brackets & Canvas are available on my Website. Longbed & shortbed files ready!

If you do not have a router, it is doable by hand with a jigsaw and drill but takes a lot of time and measuring.

GFC uses a composite honeycomb sheet (such as alumapanel-lite) that is lighter, stiffer and more expensive, but GFC’s custom extrusions have a flange that the panel sits inside so you cannot see the edges of the panels. My panels are mounted outside of the extrusions and the edges are exposed. That is the primary reason I did not use honeycomb.

I fastened the roof to the 8020 extrusions along every edge using the slot nuts and short machine screws. The floor will be done similarly but the bolts will be longer where they go through the spaceframe.

Along this whole interface I used an extrusion weather seal similar to the bulbed seal above, but this one is meant as a fixed seal against a flat surface like these panels. Cut it into short pieces to fill the gaps between slot nuts.

*I recommend you add sealant in addition to these*

The corner pieces are not quite the same height as the extrusion, not sure why! So you will want to fill the small gap with some of the cork/rubber gasket on each corner.

*if you are still concerned about water intrusion, you can always add sealant around these corner pieces*

Here is the floor. The sleeping area will be 50in x 78in (close to a Full mattress that is 54in x 75in).
The remainder of the 100” floor length is for the entry/exit opening, which I mentioned has a cover. Another benefit to the dedicated entry/exit section is that it provides tons of room for the tent material when the tent is closed, making it really easy to close! The holes in the middle are where the floor will be bolted to the spaceframe which provides extra support.

This one is even more tedious to cut and drill by hand than the roof, but doable.

Blueprints and router files for the Floor / Roof / Lower panels / Spaceframe / Brackets & Canvas are available on my Website. Longbed & shortbed files ready!

If you plan to make a Roof Top Tent by this method instead of a full camper, you should substitute this panel for something stronger like a honeycomb panel. Since it will not have the support of the spaceframe. With the spaceframe, the alupanel has plenty of support and works great!

Notice all the mounting holes cut on the router, MUCH better than doing by hand

The lower extrusion’s exterior corner pieces are not available in the 4.5” tall version, but you can get the uncut lengths of the triangle shape and drill the holes yourself. This is where the CNC mill comes in handy. Can also be done with a basic drill press if you take your time and have the right cutters.

Another option is to stack 1.5” and 3” tall corner pieces. Probably the best course of action if you are lacking machining equipment.

Click to expand...

Amazing!

LongDistanceTaco · Dec 6, 2021

Hey y'all, I'm selling my wedge. If you're interested, you can see the post in marketplace here. Thanks and good luck on your builds!

cliffthetundra · Dec 7, 2021

renosauce said: ↑

Sorry i dont have any drawings. I just made it up as I went. The gas struts are from a 4wheel campers topper, that i upgraded for a buddie of mine. I will have to look at the size of them for ya.
It goes 32inches or so. and its super stable. the lifting setup is a mock up, i plan on coppying the 4wheel campers lift hinge to the T. I like the full pop top instead of the wedge.
Click to expand...

Good stuff! I don't think I have it in me right now to figure out how to copy the 4WC design. I might do that one day though!

Look forward to seeing your build truck along!

Taco Camper · Dec 8, 2021

What am I missing (if anything)? I have a small left/right bubble level on the dash that works. I roll on/off rocks/lumber until this is close and eyeball the front/back now but want to add a level. Why do I see these on the top/back of the campers? Is that for the buddy-system or do people actually drive 2 inches, get out and check it, repeat...? Why not just mount that someplace in the cab where you can see it while at the wheel?

whatsyourvantasy · Dec 8, 2021

Does anyone know if it's possible to rekey a southco latch? And how are folks ordering multiple latches that are keyed the same?
C2-43-25 | Compression Latch, Lever Latch, Zinc Alloy, Powder Coat, Black | Southco

bot102 · Dec 9, 2021

Taco Camper said: ↑

What am I missing (if anything)? I have a small left/right bubble level on the dash that works. I roll on/off rocks/lumber until this is close and eyeball the front/back now but want to add a level. Why do I see these on the top/back of the campers? Is that for the buddy-system or do people actually drive 2 inches, get out and check it, repeat...? Why not just mount that someplace in the cab where you can see it while at the wheel?

Click to expand...

Did you ever link in here your front hinge setup?

Labbi85 · Dec 9, 2021

whatsyourvantasy said: ↑

Does anyone know if it's possible to rekey a southco latch? And how are folks ordering multiple latches that are keyed the same?
C2-43-25 | Compression Latch, Lever Latch, Zinc Alloy, Powder Coat, Black | Southco
Click to expand...

Not sure if you can rekey them. maybe every lock even comes with the same key!?
when you want to have a look on the locks and how they look like, just go to Walmart…their self checkout cashiers use them too.

I personally don’t like the solution with these locks and went a different way.

renosauce · Dec 9, 2021

Labbi85 said: ↑

Not sure if you can rekey them. maybe every lock even comes with the same key!?
when you want to have a look on the locks and how they look like, just go to Walmart…their self checkout cashiers use them too.

I personally don’t like the solution with these locks and went a different way.
Click to expand...

what did you go with, for me they may not be the solution as they aren't water proof...

Labbi85 · Dec 9, 2021

renosauce said: ↑

what did you go with, for me they may not be the solution as they aren't water proof...
Click to expand...

I bought rotary latches which get opened by a remote central locking system. Advantages are that you can open the locks independently with push of a button. Not visible from the outside and therefor watertight.

Check older post of me in this thread, where I went a little more in detail.

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