How to: DIY Wedge Camper

I don't have a camper on my 1st gen, but I do have a soft topper. I drilled holes through the top of the bed sides and bolted that sucker down. Had it clamed before but it would come loose when offroading occasionally. Put some lock nuts and lock washers on and that sucker will never come loose!

 

ok, thought that was the way..thank you for responding!

 

Made some good progress last week. Ran into some issues on the final mounting for the frame to extrusions. Anyone have tips on getting the T-nuts to line up exactly where they need to be when attaching all the pieces? The economy nuts seem like they are cheap. I had 4 either strip out or jjust not catch threads at all.

 

Yeahhh.... those economy nuts are trash - I had the same issues. A few posts back I recommended the drop-in w/ leaf spring nuts from Tnutz. To me, they're worth the cost add. They stay in place and won't slide around while you find the threads, and they're held against the face of the slot, so starting the threads is wicked easy.

If you stay the economy route - I oversized the hole on the top side of the spaceframe to allow the bolt to wander a little to catch the threads. I did them all right-side-up as well. I shimmed the extrusion about 1/4" above the frame (to peek between the frame and extrusion and find the nuts), used a pick to align the nuts, and then after I had just caught the threads on all nuts, pulled the shims and tightened all the bolts down. Didn't take too long, but yeah getting some of the bolts started was annoying.

 

Good to know. I was looking at those prior to getting it together and since I already had the economy nuts I stuck with them. I'll probable get a handful to get these threaded then. I also did oversize the holes a bit more. Thanks for the confirmation!

 

Also just noticed my buddy's contribution to the thread in the top left of the last pic. lol

 

I was able to use a strong magnet to slide the nuts in the 80/20. Doesn't help with stripping, but makes aligning everything far easier.

 

I have about 3 or 4 bolts that are permanently stripped/crossthreaded into the economy nuts. Couple that with some moisture issues I had getting into the frame I'm sure that I'll never get them back out.

 

Does anyone have the 3d print files for the plugs for the corner brackets? I have a slight whistle in wind noise, i wonder if its coming from there.

 

Well not a wedge and not a @Ripcord design but I drew tons of inspiration from his design and all the builds in this thread so I thought I would share my build.

It will never be 100% done but its usable now and has served me well on a few trips so far. 1" steel tube frame, MaxMetal walls with 1" insulation, salvage topper windows, and a full pop roof. Next step is to build some interior storage/ benches.

 

Awesome! Prolly the cleanest build I have seen on here. Do the struts hold the entire weight of the pop up alone or is there an internal mechanism as well? Looks like I can see an "H" shaped folding system in the silhouette.

 

Thanks! My goal was to make it look as non-DIY as possible. To answer your question, there is a folding lifting mechanism at each end of the camper that hold up the weight. The lifting mechanism combined with the gas struts create a triangle that prevents the the roof from racking forward or backward. I also add two midspan "safety bars" that flip down once the roof is popped up. I was concerned about snow load with the flat roof.

 

Can we see better pics of the braces at the front and back and how they operate and lock please. I'm sure it is easier doing the fabric for yours versus a wedge (being a triangle).

 

Yeah I can definitely take a few pics for you next time I open. Yeah sewing wasn't too bad. One thing I wish I did differently was how the tent attaches to the bottom of the camper. I wish I would have ran the tent to the out side like how FWC does their tents. I still need to add the rain flaps like Ripcord has or like AT Overland does on their campers.

 

So those spring Tnuts were the missing link in my issues. Thanks for the heads up @davzx!

Camper is in one piece now! working on the piano hinge and door install in the next week.

 

Also, what material did you use for the paneling? Were those windows hard to source?
Thanks man.

 

Exterior wall panels are the Max Metal just like RipCord, Interior walls have 1" foam board insulation then a layer of PolyWall from home depot.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/PLAS-TE...ite-Polywall-Plastic-Panel-10048615/311314398

I took the side windows out of a fiber glass topper I bought in FB marketplace. The topper was actually for a F250 which is why they are so big. For the rear hatch I went to AA Toppers in Lakewood. They have a bone yard of old topper parts and I ended up finding an old hatch that fit the dimensions I needed. I have two spare solid glass windoors with keys (not the vented ones like on my camper) that I bought and didn't end up using if anyone is in Colorado and interested in them shoot me a message.

 

I like it! My plan is similar to yours. Lots of inspiration taken from Ripcord and this thread, but I also plan to do a pop-up rather than wedge.

 

Been lurking on this forum for a very long time, but finally started ordering parts last week! Got my 3D printed parts done from @nanserb. Just a couple Questions:

1. For you 3rd Gen guys that followed the plans, what is your cab to camper clearance?

2. I've read through all the pages, but what is the consensus on hinges? I've seen everything from what's in the plans, lined piano hinges, hurricane hinges, geared hinges, galley hinges.

3. Does anyone have a recent experience with 8020 lead times? They say 12-15 days for anodized black parts.

Thanks a bunch to you guys posting up your builds! It is going to make mine, and many others so much easier! If you want to follow along with the build, come to my Instagram and say hi! Ryan Tracy (@queencity_offroad) | Instagram

 

1. I can measure the next time I put my camper on. Should be testing fitting again in the next week or so for screws. I would estimate an inch / inch and a half at most. If someone else can chime in faster, great.

2. I went with Piano hinges for the doors for more door rigidity/strength and will be running a layer of tent material around for extra water seal like @Taco Camper did. Here is his walk through on that - post #34 - https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/composite-80-20-wedge-camper-build.681480/page-2

3. I went through an automation company here in Phoenix because shipping was super pricey direct from 8020. 12-15 days is sooner than I was able to get mine but wasn't too bad overall.

I am having a buddy of mine 3d print all the parts you did and am looking forward to installing them!