How to: DIY Wedge Camper

@IndependenceEnterprises I'm contemplating replacing the side and rear windoors to maybe full aluminum with reinforcement. The aluminum composite is a little on the flimsy side. I've got a 6ft bed and I imagine yours is longer. I would have liked to have installed hurricane hinges too. I used a full piano hinge and lined it with a weatherproof fabric material. That material is deteriorating causing some leakage. I havent looked into latches but I agree with the southco locks, if you go with southco, don't go with knockoffs. Happy building.

 

Has anyone with a DIY camper been able to get any sort of insurance on their camper? I have been trying for a while now and just seem to get shot down every company I talk to.

 

For anyone that did the sewing:

Is there certain thread that should be used?
Any recommendations on a cheap sewing machine, or is it worth spending a little more and getting one with more bells and whistles?

 

100% polyester thread seems to be the most common, which I used as well. I used a cheap $100 Brother machine, and it did just fine for the two tents I sewed. The biggest difference for me was using a jeans/denim needle.

 

Thanks!

 

It would take me forever to go through 175 pages so I thought I'd ask first...

Has anyone built this, but with a removable RTT like the Gaia Camper? I really like the idea of being able to remove the RTT and retaining a cap while at home. I have designs and ideas in my head how to do it, just curious if anyone has tried it yet.

 

the way its designed is not for ease of removal for the camper wedge. Its bolted to the bed shell. If you were to add rails to it and some form of mount like a Gaia camper then, maybe. But the wedge is still heavy af. Its at least 200lbs of materials.



anyone on the east coast interested in a ripcord camper minus the wedge? I want to ditch the bed shell I made.

 

Since this thread helped me so much I wanted to share my build. Made some changes and mods but overall very happy with the build.

 

Find a used machine on facebook or craigslist. You don't need new, for thread tex 50 should be more than enough.
https://www.wawak.com/thread/thread...olyester-multifilament-thread-tex-50-656-yds/

 

Hi I am super excited to start this build!! I am in Los Angeles and was wondering if anyone on here has a supplier for the extrusion that is local to me? I also don't know if I missed it somewhere, but is there a reason the struts are on the outside and not the inside of the tent? Thank you very much. Cheers

 

Struts are on the outside because the tent material needs somewhere to go when it closes. If the struts went on the inside of the canvas, then the canvas cant tuck into the camper when it closes.
There could be a way to put them onto the inside of the frame but still outside the canvas, but that starts to decrease the sleeping space by a few inches on both sides. You'd have to make a space inside the rails of the frame for the struts to tuck into and then also extend inwards more where your canvas would attach to. It's preferred to keep that sleeping area comfortable and open instead of making it cramped.

 

And waterproofing around the strut would be a pain in the ass with the keder rail in this instance. I'm totally happy to have the struts visible on the outside to avoid the obstacles it presents otherwise.

 

A little far from LA, but I used primeresourcenow

 

Details? Shoot me a PM. I'm in NY

 

Well I think this is going to be a winter project for me. Anyone in St Louis make their own camper?

 

If you follow Ripcord on instagram, he has a new version he's testing out that uses extrusion for the bed - no welding.

 

it should be a much easier to assemble design. Lots of shops could make these parts and it would speed up assembly time dramatically.

 

Yeah, I really like the idea of the extrusions... provides alot of versatility for mounting. OverlandExtrusions has something similar coming out.

I want something that makes the top tent part fairly easy to remove.

 

Curious what the overall cost add is for the extrusion frame, especially with what look to be custom brackets. Seems massive relative to welded steel (if you’re not paying for a welder). But the modularity sounds real nice.

 

I actually just made a lower base recently out of 2x2x.085 square steel tubing and for me it took almost 4 20ft sticks with a total of $300, I'm a welder so I got the tools and labor covered. The biggest pros for the aluminum having the t slots to be able to mount things to. Think if you were figuring out where to weld nuts for the upper struts and put them in the wrong spot, big fuck up. With the t slots just loosen and move it 1/4"