How to: DIY Wedge Camper

For sure! let me know if you need to see anything else.

 

So I’m probably going to sell mine, located in Seattle. If anyone is interested in the parts or the camper etc. willing to drive some.

Mine is a little different than ripcords with a removable floor and dimensions are slightly changed but not drastic. For a long bed.

 

got pictures? Might be interested in some parts

 

Finally finished up the doors and got them mounted last weekend. Now starts the tent sewing / finding someone to sew. Anyone have suggestions for the Portland,OR area of people that might be able to help out? I have zero sewing experience and Im not looking to buy a machine.

 

For those with 2.5 gens what did you use to fill the gap in the front near the back window?

 

The sides are my last step. What hinges did you use? I noticed a lot more rivers/nuts along the top.

 

I used Aluminum piano hinges with screws and nuts in case I need to replace or modify a door so I don't have to drill out all the rivets and buy again. Pretty sure you can buy ones with less holes but I got a good deal on them so it was just a bit more hardware. I wrapped the hinges in the same material as the tent so there was a layer of water resistance. Same process that @Taco Camper used. Seen here in his thread, https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/composite-80-20-wedge-camper-build.681480/page-2#post-25390389

Having a good week of rain to test and see how well it works.

Also, when it comes to the struts, I recommend mounting the doors first and measuring from the ball joint to the length of the fully compress strut on your door. My first door I measured where I wanted to open strut to end up and the door wouldn't close all the way. Much easier to get in the bed and measure with the door closed and it came out perfect on the other 2 doors.

 

Anyone here have a good solution from keeping water out in the bed? I have double seals on the side doors, but after heavy rain i had decent amount of water on the deck system lid. Thanks!

 

Are you sure its coming through your camper and not the truck bed it self? I know from experience the Tacoma bed can be difficult to water proof. The corners where the bed rails meet the cab bulk head are specifically a challenge, at least on the 3rd gens. I'm not sure if 2nd gens are any better.

 

this is great! ive been thinking about building one and was thinking about making it stick over the cab a bit more for more room and this gives a good idea! plus love that it goes straight up instead of a wedge!

 

I've suspected that too but it's hard to tell for sure. I've removed my beds top rail covers to allow for the camper to sit lower. Possibly that's what's causing the leak. It's just annoying

 

Did anyone have the rivets of the doors leak at all? I have some water that seems to be getting through a couple of places.

I thought about doing Plastidip or FlexSeal on the inside and outside as a remedy. Thoughts?

 

Hello all,

I don’t have a Taco but this forum was very helpful when I was designing and building my camper last winter. I’ve got a full season on mine now and thought I would share.

First off, my design requirements: I love the GFC design but after many years of sleeping in the bed of F-150 (6.5’ bed) under a softopper, I had a list of must-haves for my new camper.

• Ability to haul at least two dirt bikes inside the camper.
• A full sized real bed, no foam cushions to move around.
• Enough space that one person can stay in bed while the other is up cooking or hanging out.
• Enough room in the bed area to leave all bedding in place, ie no moving bedding to the cab when it’s time to pack up like I did with my softopper.
• Straight pop up, no wedge. I’m tall and I like head/leg room.
• No welding required. I didn’t have access to a welder when I was building it.

Here’s the result. I’ll admit the extra long cab overhang throws the look off a little but the trade off is massive interior space and functionality.


For the lower frame I used all black 8020.


The top opens in two layers using 8 latches, 2 hinges, and 4 gas struts. First, as a wedge to allow loading bikes or other cargo without having to duck under the door.



Second as a straight pop up with glue welded canvas seams and 8 windows with screens.


The bed space overhangs the cab 5’ and the back portion slides out giving 7’ of sleeping area and 5’ of standing area.



When closed the 6” thick bed area allows a 4” Stoic air/foam mattress, a 20 degree two person sleeping bag, sleeping bag liner, and 12v heated blanket to stay in place.

So far I have almost 20k miles on it, not much real off-road but plenty of washboard dirt road miles and no issues with the 8020 lower frame.

 

Love the design! Can you share more how you made the hinge system for the top?

 

The way the rear opens for easy bike loading is pure genius! I love it!
How long is the overall length? I ask because I have an F250 with the 6'9" bed and was planning on using 10' 8020... but yours looks longer than 10'
Any problem with it sagging over the cab while people are in bed? 5' seems like a long span up-supported?

 

@KTM267 that's awesome! Love how it hinges to allow loading motos. I'm hoping to do something similar once I get another Tacoma.
Well done!

 

Thanks! It’s as simple as having three layers instead of two like others. The bottom is 1530 (1.5” x 3”) and the other two are 1515 (1.5” x 1.5”)
Here’s the front with the tent partially popped up:


All of the back lowest layer along with an additional 1515 to match up with the bed sides, the door, and gas strut mounting points go up with middle hinged layer and latches to the sides (inside) when closed:



Hopefully that clarifies my wacky design.

 

The overall length is 12’. The only reason I went this long was to allow my big adventure bike with a rally fairing to fit in the bed of the truck with the mattress still in place. If you don’t need that I would go with 10’. I think it would look better plus the Alupanel I made the roof out of only comes in 10’ x 5’ pieces so I have a seam in my roof. It’s worked out fine but took a lot of extra effort to get it sealed.

I initially had a little sag with that much overhang until I added these braces (they are shelf brackets from Home Depot):

 

Oh gotcha! How complex was the supports to make the top raise vertically?

 

Can anyone share their diesel heater set ups? I have a pelican mounted one, usually i run a hose up to the tent. I am exploring the idea of cutting a hole in one of the side panels and making a vent there. Anyone else have done something similar?