How to: DIY Wedge Camper

Well i need to get better interior pics but these are what i have so far.
I went with a 1/4 maple hand oiled interior paneling and routed all my wires behind the wall and insulated the walls all the way down to the floor. the floor is also raised 1.5 inches and insulated with havelock wool.
As far as power goes. There are 3 100 watt renogy panels on the roof, 40amp solar charge controller,40amp dc to dc renogy charger, and a 1000w renogy inverter. The main battery is housed in the packout box behind the solo stove and is a 170 amp hour renogy lithium battery. I have 6 swithches all mated to a csutom fuse and relay box. They control,interior lighting that can be controlled via bluetooth in three zone(top wedge,bottom half of camper, and rear door) all dimmable and rgb as well. The second switch is for the dometic fridge.Third for the exterior rgb lux scene lighting.fourth for the espar b4l m2 gasoline heater plumbed to my fuel tank. the last two switches dont have anything attached currently but im sure ill find a use for them.

Super happy with the outcome of the build so far! More to come as always. Thanks @Ripcord for the inspiration

 

Incredibly sorry if the answer is already in here somewhere, but do the digital files for a DCSB work for a 1st gen or do they require some modification?

 

I was wondering if any of you know a company that selling a replacement canvas for their tents. I was looking at the aluminum-style tents, and they all looked the same as whats found on Alibaba.

 

Awesome build! Are your exterior wall panels ACM? What coating did you use on them?

 

Thanks man, I used a honeycomb aluminum paneling.

It's from a company called "Flat Iron Panel Products" based in Colorado.
I used their 1/8 panels a 4x8 sheet weighs 16lbs and is super ridgid. I will say it's pretty expensive, 4x8 sheet of 1/8th was roughly 500 bucks and to ship just one sheet is about the same being that I'm in Washington. To ship 30 sheets is the same price though since it takes the same crate. I ordered a few extra sheets just to be safe haha

I then decided since it will see plenty of abuse on trails that a bedliner of sorts would be the best way of protecting it.

I've used rhino liner and raptor liner before but after lots of deep reaserch I opted to have line-x spray it for me. Their product is sprayed on at a pretty high temperature and has a more shell like feel rather than rubbery feel.

 

I used 1/2 paneling from them for my folding floor as well.

 

Alright guys, I've done it. No it's not a super scientific breakthrough but no one talks about the biggest problem these wedge campers have....water.
I live in Washington, home of some of the best rains and drive 100+miles sometimes in downpours and before this whatever i seemed to do I could not seal the wedge when it was closed.

I did the rounded corner bulb gasket, made custom corner gaskets out of neoprene,did triple rubber gaskets in between the extruded aluminum profile, did triple layer plus the bulb gasket. Wind driven rain will find a way but that is a problem of the past!!!!

I used 1/16 thick neoprene that I cut to 1.75 inches wide. Then used vhb tape and layer that on the entire perimeter of the wedge, used mineral spirits to super clean the neoprene rubber and extruded aluminum. Then as I pressed the rubber onto the wedge heated it up with a heat gun and applied pressure with a rubber roller to really bed the adhesive. After it was set, I then went on the top edge with a commercial grade silicone to ensure that water couldn't get behind the vhb tape or in-between the vhb and rubber.

I have driven 100s of miles now purposely looking for the worst rain, going over stevens pass,Snoqualmie pass,white pass, and anywhere that said it was pouring out to test this.
ITS BONE DRY ALL THE TIME!!!!!

It adds no hassle to close the wedge, it looks clean, and when the front opens the neoprene is thin enough that it flexes and doesn't lose its memory.
Also the neoprene I went with has a high uv protection so it shouldn't fade terribly and it won't become brittle with time.

 

@YamaDirtrider

 

That looks super clean too! What size are your extrusions? The top ones look taller than most

 

I did 3 and 3 to get to 6 inches total. I'm 48x96 on a 6.5 foot bed so I didn't opt for the 4.5 and 1.5 extruded aluminum like most since I have the steel frame to support more of the aluminum above

 

Mind sharing what neoprene rubber you purchased?

 

yeah i ordered 3 strips at 2 inches wide then made a little aluminum jig to clamp it and cut it square at 1.75 inches since it was the perfect width to not cover any of the extruded aluminum channels. I also used the rear latches to hide the two seams behind them so it looked cleaner. If i was more patient i would order a 30 foot piece from discountrubberdirect.com and had them cut it at 1.75 so i didn't have to go through the hassle.Discountrubberdirect.com is the website that makes the product i got off Amazon.

$7 Rubber Sheet Warehouse .062" (1/16") Thick x 2" Wide x 10' -Neoprene Rubber Strip Commercial Grade 65A, Smooth Finish, Solid Rubber, Perfect for Weather Stripping, Gasket, Costume & DIY Projects

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B076MGHJNT?ref=ppx_yo2_dt_b_product_details

 

No I was getting water and dust big time (live on washington coast, and summer in idaho) so I switched using this on the top of the 80/20 and it works much better, but was just curious if it was actually working for anyone.

Use the same thing to seal the panels as well, good stuff.

https://www.mcmaster.com/93085K365/

 

i have yet to finish mine. Just left on the tent and adding the side door struts and stiffeners.

also need a gasket for the rear door. But it's been a very useful bed topper for hauling stuff to and from craft faires, much more secure than my canvas top thing I had.

 

I really want to convert my contractor cap into a wedge camper. I need a design that would fit two adults and two small kids. Anyone have any creative ideas? The only viable solution I can come up with is to do a full flip open like the AT Habitat.

 

I’m actually in the same exact boat. I have an ARE DCU I bought to build a diy camper. I was considering going the flippac route as well. There’s a company that sells replacement flippac Torsen bars and hinges. Hardest part would be figuring out the tent portion. I may end up just doing a pop up instead of wedge and have a sleeping portion in the bed as well as above, so it’d be me and one kid upstairs and the wife and the other down in the bed.

 

I was thinking of making hanging cots in the bed for the kids. Or making a double decker pop up with the top platform for the kids.

 

First post! (of many I'm sure). I'm still in the planning stage (just moved past the dreaming stage). I need to pick up a miter saw for a couple of home projects. Would this work with a steel cutting blade? https://www.lowes.com/pd/Metabo-HPT...mp-Single-Bevel-Compound-Miter-Saw/1000872160 TIA!! BTW, I have a F150, not a Tacoma! Should be fun!

 

I used a standard miter saw (Hitachi 12" sliding compound) with a steel blade just for the 4 verticals on the spaceframe, just to get the compound miter joints nice, and some of the plastic body started to melt, haha. The motor and blade can certainly handle it, but if there is any plastic in line with the blade, I would cut as little as possible, or make some type of non-combustible shield. Ideally you'd use a steel cold saw for all the steel, but those aren't very common.

For any of the aluminum (extrusions, keder rail, etc.), a fine toothed blade meant for aluminum will be fine on a standard wood miter saw.

 

That's what I'm planning to do as well. I've got a F150, so a little more room to play with. The other option would be some type of drawer system and they just sleep on that...camping isn't really my main reason for this build...it's going to be more for day trips, storage and ability to stand up in, change clothes, bathroom, etc. Basically home base for all our outdoor adventures. Basically it's going to be like 1/3 of a van lol.

Either way, I think either some type of removable mount where they would fold down when needed and can be removed if not needed...they could almost work as a fold-out bench or something...