How to: DIY Wedge Camper

I also am just wrapping the cord around the tent. I think that is possibly what ripcord did. An alternative I was thinking was using Drings and sewing in them to attach the cord. But I decided too much work

 

I dont want to take it apart since the gaskets were a pain to get tight against one another where they butt up to each other.

essentially what I did was as others have done is where the extrusion bulb gasket goes around the 90* corner is remove the part of the gasket that goes into the extrusion. Took some trial and error to get the trimming away of male part of the gasket but start with less since you cant add it back. Also it helps if the top of the wedge isnt installed so you can get it all done without it being in the way. With the top removed it would also make having the front and gasket even since the 6' length is all that comes from mcmaster. I was able to have the front gasket be an even "U" on the front, did the rear "U" and then filled the gap with more of the extrusion bulb seal in between the "U"s if that makese sense.

since state laws vary I do not need a third brake light by FL law, only two functioning of 3 rear brake lights. So when one goes out I am in violation but its FL, cops dont care. I do plan on installing a third brake light thing in between the bumper and bed gap to count as my 3rd brake light. Less holes in the camper the better in my eyes. But I think some state do mandate a "center high mounted stop lamp" aka CHMSL which has to be mounted above the rear stop lamps. Again, Florida being Florida, doesnt mandate that.

https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2011/0316.234
(florida statue fyi, still legal since I didnt see it in the 2020 changes appendix)

 

Totally makes sense. Such a simple but genius solution. Did you make any knicks in the inner edge of the 90 degree to aid in making the corner?

 

I did on one and regret doing so. A pie cut might be better. Test with scraps?

 

If you search through here there’s already a picture posted of it somewhere. It helped me earlier

 

finally got one door to open with the struts. The VHB is very strong and very never coming off so don’t screw up. I forgot I wanted to put trim along the edges of the doors and didn’t leave 1/3” space on the bottom. Oops. Whatever $3k camper vs $12k camper from GFC or Super Pacific…it’s going to have some quirks.
Now to get the other two doors done

 

How far up from the bottom are your strut studs on the frame?

 

I’ll have to measure but I’m pretty sure it’s the same as the plans call for. I did weld them in slightly differently than the plans call for.
Others early on discovered that the original placement wouldn’t allow for the door to stay closed when the latches were opened due to the geometry or something. But my door stays closed when I unlatch it and a gentle lift will get it to pop open on its own.

 

Not sure if I should have sanded down the door panel where these were mounted but this is what I found this morning.

should have gone with the rivets. I’m probably going to end up redoing the side panel rivet holes by hand and forgo the VHB

 

Yeah so I also used VHB 5952, and it was fine for three weeks in my garage (I haven't finished my camper), but the same thing happened to me - one of the rear panel stiffeners popped off. There's just a lot of shear force specifically on the vertical stiffeners from the gas struts when closed. I'm planning on redoing the VHB just on that piece, and then adding a top and bottom rivet on all of the verticals. I'm not worried about the horizontals popping off, since there isn't any shear, only compression/tension to prevent sag. The reason I did VHB in the first place was to keep the panels as clean as possible, so I'm going to start with the bare minimum - two rivets should be fine, enough to prevent the VHB from delaminating in that direction.

I think I remember another user doing the same thing.

 

I think the 45lb struts specked are a bit too much. I think 20-25lbs would have been enough.

 

Sorry to see your parts pop off!

I am still considering tapes for the same benefits you were looking for. There are many options and lots of details in the application. We may still be able to find something that works. Can you share some more details on your application? You used VHB 5952, right? What did you do to clean and prep for bonding? What was the approximate temperature? Did you apply pressure? (3m guide says hit it with a roller and 15psi). How long did you wait before loading? (Including assembly with gas struts) (3m says wait before applying any load). More tech info here: (application info on p.19)https://multimedia.3m.com/mws/media/1204168O/3m-vhb-tape-design-guide-high-res-pdf.pdf

what was the failure mode? Did it peel the coating off of your panel? (This isn’t a tape failure) or did it come off clean between tape and panel? (Little to no tape on panel and little to no panel coating on tape. This is an adhesion failure between tape and surface).

I planned to use 3M VHB RP-16. It’s recommended by 3m for panel bonding in automotive and trailer, waterproof sealing of enclosures, and panel stiffeners. I’m not clear on chemical differences between this and 5952, but RP-16 is significantly thinner. I think that alone would improve strength (but this is based on experience in liquid adhesives, not tapes). Thinner tape would probably also help with riveting pieces that are taped together. I don’t know yet that this will perform well enough, but that’s where I plan to start.

Adding a rivet or two on gas strut mounts sounds like a good plan. I would also consider placing washers between parts that are getting riveted and taped together. (Washers in the rivet area only and rivets passing through hole in washer). That will protect the bond thickness and also allow a solid grip for the rivet. (Rivet would loosen over time if foam tape slowly collapsed over the years).

 

Yeah, 5952 was recommended for powder coated/painted surfaces, confirmed by a 3M rep. I applied it indoors at room temp, on my hardwood floor, and used a J-roller with a good amount of pressure. Waited 4 days before attaching the panel to the frame and the gas strut to the stiffener. Cleaned with isopropyl alcohol, as recommended on 3M's site, but did not scuff.

The tape delaminated from the powder coat, but did not peel it, with the exception of a dime-sized area in the middle. It was fully adhered to the raw aluminum stiffener. This same stiffener has popped twice, and I put on new tape (different roll of tape, as well), but happened again, so not sure if this gas strut in particular has a bit more pressure or what. No others have shown signs of delaminating.

I'm hopeful that the rivets at the top and bottom will prevent this from happening again. If all else fails, I'll just add more rivets like the original design.

 

Excellent! Thanks for the info. With that we can probably rule out application as a factor. I think I’ll just start with backup rivets on the verticals with strut mounts.

 

same here. scuffed the stiffeners, cleaned everything with alochol. I didnt have a roller but I pressed along it for quite a bit. I probably should have waited a day to add the struts but I didnt. I'm going to add rivets at the top, bottom, and middle. Still going to just rivet the side door panels, I don't feel like dealing with the VHB at this point

 

I like the idea of simply wrapping it around. I'm feel silly for not realizing/thinking of this myself... #dontoverthinkit Altho, my RTT is only 50in wide, so I may not need it. We shall see.

 

Finished welding up the frame and lifting sleeping platforms for the inside.

I also discovered that because of my shorter corner gussets the spec'd struts do not fit, so I'll be sourcing some shorter ones that compress to around 6" from eye to eye.

 

If anyone is in the PNW and thinking of making their own I have mine up for sale right now due to some things thay came up. Let me know!

 

Has there been changes to the material sheet for the keder cord and rails? I've had to change my plans and move back to the wedge due to time and money. Everything is done besides the canvas.
If anyone has a canvas for sale I'd be happy to take it off your hands lol.

 

Not that I know of. I got it from keder solutions. Give them a call, they have great customer service. I talked to Matt and he was super helpful. They also have the rail in 16' pieces so you are able to cut them as you like unlike sailrite.