How to: DIY Wedge Camper

I am thinking about only a custom topper, or canopy as some companies call it, not a camper.

My design is using aluminum tube with rounded corners and couplers, sort of like the pressfit frame that mcmaster has:

https://www.mcmaster.com/framing/framing-type~press-fit/

This avoids welding, and could eventually be a kit if it works. The couplers could be 3D printed.

The aluminum skin once riveted to to frame would tie everything together and give it strength.

 

Very interesting design. I like that it has modular aspect that would allow changes in length or width dimensions. What material would you use for the 3D printed junction?

 

Let me know if you need those couplers printed!

 

I'd sub to a thread on this. (Especially if there was a mid-rise version.)

 

They would be great with a threaded section for a bolt to go through the tube to lock them down. And then made out of aluminum. For those that can’t weld aluminum.

 

Aluminum couplers would be overkill for this application. The strength and cost of a billet chunk of solid aluminum machined down relative to thin wall Al tube is out of proportion.

A plastic coupler, either molded or printed would be much closer in cost and strength to the tube.

I would have a threaded hole, or a pocket for a threaded insert in the couplers to hold everything together, but the skin would provide the overall structural part of the assembly.

 

Could make a captive nut slot on one end for the bolt to catch onto pretty easily

 

What height will the bottom of the tent be when your done?

 

22-1/2”. I don’t know what was wrong with my measurements before but I think 22-1/2” leaves plenty of clearance.

 

Getting there slowly, it’s just sitting on the cap for now, not bolted down. Ordered some 2” rectangle aluminum to bring up the sides to meet the extrusion. Im thinking of just through bolting to the existing frame but not sure how strong that would be.

 

Looks awesome. I’m glad you’re further along than me.

 

Thanks man, it’s been a lot of trial and error but it’s coming along. I still need to order the panels for the floor and roof but I’ve been holding off since I don’t have a place for them yet. I’ll probably order my tent material tomorrow or this week. My mother in law is pretty good at sewing and wants to tackle that for me. I’m also doing a full pop top so it’ll just be a rectangle for her to sew. Really hoping to have this finished before June.

 

Getting there...yesterday ended up being a fair amount of trial and error but rough fit and hinge + strut install should happen either today or Tuesday. Still waiting on sikaflex to show up in the mail before it tighten everything.

I ended up borrowing a router and then just (carefully) using a jigsaw for cuts. Piedmont cut the roof to spec and it's spot on (no drift on any edge). This let me score the film at 3/4in and drill, run bolts, and slide on extrusion in maybe 45 minutes yesterday. The cuts aren't perfect for sure, but running trim on the doors hides the slight wobble anyway.

Went with 2.5in 5/16 carriage bolts for extrusion-to-frame since I live in a condo and am building this in my small garage. Two lines of 1/2 inch butyl tape all the way so I know at least one seam is completely sealed. I'll sikaflex the roof-to-extrusion and all the screws once everything is in place.


The one big mistake I've made is buying cheap bedliner from Oreilly's. I only painted the front panel and rear door so far due to space thankfully, but it scuffed right off with a minor hit moving the rear door.

One other note--I went with Tnutz extrusion at 94in lengths (their sale was too good to pass up right now), and it's all gone fine except the threading on one of the machines ends is just not right--the threading doesn't line up with a 5/16-18. Thankfully it's only one hole all the way around.

Curious what people are doing to prevent screws vibrating loose. I was planning to loctite every screw, but damn that's a lot of loctite and I don't think I saw it mentioned anywhere on another build in here.


pic from marking off the corners on the roof before install

 

Hey everyone! Just found this thread and figured I’d drop in my ongoing build. Huge thanks to everyone for all of the tips! I am definitely going to be doing the trick with the rubber strip along all of the edges for added waterproofing when closed.

I am also based in Denver and am building just the wedge rooftop tent for my 2001 Jeep XJ. Overall the build has gone really well, my mother is flying to town this coming weekend with her sewing machine and we are going to get the tent fabric all stitched up! I am adding an awning similar to the one on the new Roofnest Falcon 2 and the CVT Ax27, which will cover the side doors and rear door at the same time, and will also be completely removable with a zipper. My tent is sized to perfectly fit a 3in thick Full XL mattress which is 80”x 54”.

I also sourced my panels from Piedmont Plastics, and unfortunately I am not super happy with them. They cut and routed all of the perimeter holes for me perfectly, however I didn’t notice that the panels were warped until I got home from picking them up. To combat this, I spent a few hours yesterday drilling additional holes in both the roof and floor panels to add additional bolts between the panels and the crossbars.

Here are some photos of the build so far.


One thing I’ve found that I haven’t seen mentioned here: For those using 10 series extrusions, I’ve found that 1/4in fuel line works amazingly to secure the tent fabric to the extrusions. With the canvas in the t slot and the fuel line holding it in place, it is 100% impossible to pull the fabric out. At $5 for 10 feet from Home Depot, it is the cheapest/easiest fabric attachment method I’ve seen.

Regarding the comment before mine about keeping the bolts tight: I purchased a big supply of Loctite blue from McMaster and am planning on spending a few hours treating every bolt once the build is complete. Will be a pain, but I definitely don’t want things rattling free.

I apologize if this post formatting is weird, I literally made an account here 5min ago so am still figuring everything out! I’ll be sure to drop an update after tent gets sewn this weekend!

 

I used Loctite 242.

What you can do is Loctite all the threads of the bolts/nuts in advance and let them sit and cure so they are dry and pre-coated. Way less messy. Precote is another brand.
https://www.henkel-adhesives.com/us...adhesives/pre-applied-adhesives-sealants.html

 

That is pretty awesome, nice work. I am gonna have to create a new fabric part of my wedge. I have seen so many design improvements that it is killing me.

So it looks like using the fuel tubing idea seals the sides from water so the overhanging flap thing is unnecessary? Next time I do this, I want to get rid of that flap part of the design as I rarely camp in the rain and also eliminated the lower inner Keder rails.

Random thoughts: I like the awning and what spring rods are you using? As you mentioned, may need a plan to remove it if the wind picks up or just pop it off at night. Curious how that will go. I am figuring out that of all these wedge designs, the thicker and stiffer fabrics like 600D appear to be quieter overall (my Coleman tent with the super thin fabric fluttered in the wind) but heavy is hard to work with and maybe not so practical for an awning. Of the 6 mountain top evenings I have had, only 1 had zero wind and twice was pretty much unbearable after sunset. I will use a 600D again next time for the tent and for an awning, maybe something half that heavy. Again nice job and you will enjoy it!

 

I built mine just about the same as you are. I love mine, but let me offer this unsolicited advice: Overbuild it. The aluminum camper shell does not like the weight over time. I have had mine together for about two years now and I am always chasing cracks due to lack of triangulation. Admittedly, I rushed the first time, which I regret. I was trying to get it done for a trip, but it was shortsighted of me. I recently took it apart and reinforced it in the rear and added gussets in the corners which helped a lot, but now the front of the cap is coming apart at the seams, so I have to get in there and tack everything back together and then triangulate it more in the front as well. I am considering building a steel support frame into the aluminum cap to support the weight while keeping the functionality of the cap to avoid having to build a spaceframe. Yours already looks better than mine did initially, but do not hesitate to go overkill when you are reinforcing the stock framework of the cap! Another majorly important thing to know is that the stock mounting points on the cap are inadequate to hold everything together, you need clamps all the way at the back of the cap under the back of the wedge. I was surprised to see it, but on rebound over bumps the wedge would actually lift up off of my tailgate, twisting the frame upwards. This eventually led to creasing/crasking along the frame under the side flaps. I ended up getting bed stiffeners and rigging a clamp up to those right behind the tailgate to stop this. The more you can hold it in place the less it will twist itself apart. I've always build with steel, and aluminum has been a learning curve for me for sure, but if I've learned anything from mine its that any twisting/bending you can avoid due to the high COG of the clamshell will pay off in the long run!

 

It has been off my truck sitting in my yard for a few weeks, had to ditch it for a trip to the city. Hoping to get it buttoned up this weekend for an overnighter Saturday night, will report back!

 

Yeah, I used a 200D and I regret it, only because of how loud it is in the wind. I decided 200D was plenty based on absolutely nothing haha (my REI tent is 70D so I thought it would be fine). It was easy to work with which was nice, but someday I'll resew the tent with a 600D. First night ever using my wedge was windy as hell, and I couldn't stay asleep even though I was more comfortable than I'd ever been camping.

 

Thanks! The plan is to have the awning completely removable via a zipper along the top edge where it connects with the rest of the canvas! My thought is that it will very likely only be used every once in a while, so I’ll probably just leave it stuffed u see the mattress along with the awning poles and only bring it out when I need it.

As far as the awning poles go, I purchased them from Roofnest’s website along with the brackets that they slide into on the frame. I didn’t know how long the poles would be when I modeled the awning, but seems like what we end up with will probably be similar to the CAD. We’ll see hopefully by Sunday!

I am using Ottertex waterproof canvas purchased from Fabricwholesaledirect. I ordered samples of it and was really impressed, and I’ve read many reviews of other common fabrics like the Hex70 from Ripstop By The Roll saying they need to frequently re coat it with waterproof sprays.

I’ll probably still do the little rain skirt along the bottom edge of the tent even though like you said it probably isn’t needed. Figure it can’t hurt to keep the water from collecting down along the edge where the fabric slides into the t slot.

Anyone got any additional tips for sewing that they’d care to pass on before I start this thing?! My mom is super experienced with sewing, but has never worked with these kinds of materials or with zippers, so any insight is appreciated! Should be a fun (busy) weekend!