How to: DIY Wedge Camper

I just need to get off my ass, buy a welder and do it! haha

 

Saw V2 on insta...



Great detail in all those posts mate. Your camping is going to be luxurious. Jealous through and through.

 

Glad you like it

 

So sick. Nice job.

 

I am in the middle of building mine. Since I work in the aviation world and everything has an expiration date! Things get thrown away that are still great to use in the real world. I was able to use aluminum core with fiberglass sheeting.

 

Very nice! show us more pics

 

These are so sweet! Good work

 

I have a question, but first - your documentation is superb and has been a huge resource for me. I am preparing to embark on a camper for my full size pickup and have been following your work. The V2 is fabulous! I'm planning on using rectangular Al extrusions and welding it all, so my build will be different, but I am looking at the 3mm alupanel for roof and sleeping platform. I've been looking up the formulas for panel deflection to see how squishy the alupanel might be on longish spans, but my mechanical engineering expertise is pretty thin. I could use a real world example. If you kneel on your sleeping platform in a spot well away from the steel support pieces, how much does the alupanel/MaxMetal deflect? Is there any bounciness in the middle of the spans? Thx.

 

Thanks for the compliments!

I would recommend starting with one piece for your roof and seeing how that material feels to you.

 

Sure you guys have seen this, but if not its a great reference. Hardest part would be making an accurate guesstimate as to the forces present
https://8020.net/deflection-calculator

 

The loads are hard to estimate. I mentioned it a few pages back but it's buried now. The max deflection of the 8020 extrusions over the cab is NOT from just having occupants in the tent, that has practically no effect on deflection. The high deflection scenarios come during driving, hitting rocks offroad and potholes on road. Which was the primary reason I changed the 8020 from 3" & 3" to 4.5" & 1.5" on V2.

Basically, don't worry about the strength of the camper with people in it.

 

This is the kind of content I'm here for

 

Not sure if this was asked anywhere else because I can’t find much, but would it be viable to increase the height of the camper to fit a full sized prinsu rack without cutting the rack? I know cab and bed flex need to be taken into account for this, but I can’t find really any good pictures for reference on this. Wasn’t sure if this would make the truck too top heavy since a lot of weight is higher up.

 

I seriously can’t get over how good this turned out!

 

Prinsu already makes a Habitat rack for these kind of campers/tents.

https://prinsudesignstudio.com/product/2005-2019-toyota-tacoma-prinsu-habitatrack/

 

Props to GFC for being great community people and sharing specs with you just to have you turn around and sell a design that was practically given to you. Great group of dudes over there

 

Gfc never gave me any of their specs lol, no company would. I was inspired by their product and made my own version of it. Now through this thread, spreadsheet and available files im helping others copy what I did.

Thanks for the compliments everyone! It was a lot of work, glad you all like it.

 

Yea and it's not like they're going to lose any business over this. Building a camper like this requires a LOT of work. People will still gladly pay someone else to do it for them, plus that comes with a warranty and support from a company.

 

There is nothing about what I am sharing here that conflicts with their intellectual property. It may look similar from far away but in reality I have changed almost every detail in an effort to make mine unique. And the files i'm selling are wholly unique, are my own work, and are far from compatible with their product.



Aaaaaanyways lol, its great to see how many people are interested in building their own campers. I have seen a few be completed based on my style and look forward to seeing more!

The DIY community is so cool.

 

No, I mean fitting a full rack, not the half one.