How to: DIY Wedge Camper

I don't know if this has been asked, but is there any reason these "hidden" inside corner brackets couldn't be used?

https://www.tnutz.com/product/hc-015-a/

Thinking it would be easier to continue the kedar rails further into the corners that way...

 

Those are not anywhere near as strong as the outside brackets. The only thing that holds those in is the set screw.

You’d be better off doing counterbores.

 

Hey dudes, figured I'd do a bit of a longevity post here. I built my camper over the summer, and have had it on since Sept 2020. Camped in it in hot weather, cold weather, nuking snowstorms, blasting wind, and pissing rain. Done pretty OK in all.



My setup is mounted on a 2020 SR Access cab SX, based out of Utah currently.

While everything functions fairly well, a large number of my issues are caused by lack of insulation and poor ventilation.

I've always had limited shop access and time to work on this project, so I've cut a few corners here and there to save on time/cost/complexity.

My tent is solvent welded marine grade vinyl (glued) without any windows, with some hefty rain flaps (a recent addition), and attached with keder rails. I kept the narrow edge of the tent open for ventilation purposes, as it doesn't risk significant water intrusion down there.



The big test this winter was 5 nights in February in the Mt. Bachelor parking lot. Dumped 6"+ of snow on us every day/night.

Heated the camper with a diesel heater set outside, with a dryer vent tube plumbed through a hole in a side panel.



Overall... Slept well each night, but by the end of the 5 days, there were condensation icicles hanging from the inside of the camper. The Dibond material is almost the opposite of an insulator, and just sucks heat out like crazy.

Anyways, I have some upgrade/update plans for the coming weeks here, and I figured I'll keep the world here in the loop as I do them.



Problems to solve: Condensation, Driving Visibility, Poor rigidity/usability of side panels, heat loss in cold weather

Solution: Remove hinges from side panels + rigid mount to frame with adhesive/rivets, add windows to all panels, add rigid foam insulation to all exterior panels.

I didn't build my side panels particularly well, and they function just as poorly as they're built. In use though, I don't find myself wishing for side access too often.

I have a set of windows harvested from a camper shell, and I plan to put those on my exterior panels. My thought is that the ventilation from the sliding windows, in addition to insulation, will solve my condensation issues.

Cheers and happy building!

 

I believe he’s talking about the interior brackets used in conjunction with the exterior ones. Ripcords list has some L brackets that are in the way of taking the rails that hold the tent all the way to the corners.

 

Yes by outside brackets I meant outside of the aluminum extrusion, not inside the extrusion like these that were posted.

 

That was great way for me to look like an idiot

 

This looks like what I was going to do I think it should hold up

 

Foam board, probably just do an aluminum sheet for the exterior. Interior will be 1/4” birch plywood with poly.

 

Yeah I meant like inside the coner, instead of using the 15 series 4 hole inside corner bracket that interferes with the kedar rail mount.

 

I would let the glue sit for 5-10 minutes after you spray it, it got super tacky when I did, held up a lot better.

 

You think 3m adhesive or loctite glue? I got a tube for a caulk gun and was going to use that

 

I went adhesive spray because I wanted to have 100% coverage/contact with the top panel. So that condensation couldn't form in between the layers.

 

dis bish is done.......




still more to come!

 

Wow, Great job @Ripcord . How in the hell have I not seen this thread before today is beyond me. This is the content I'm here for! Inspiring stuff and rad build. Keep up the good work

 

So unfortunatly my crazy vertical lift mec didnt work as I had planned. For the time being I'm just going to do a wedge. That way the wife and I can get outside and camp. We're getting real itchy for some camp time. Later down the road I plan on working a way to lift the roof up.

 

Also, has anyone tried velcro to attach the fabric to the camper rather then keder rail? Adhesive backed loop to the frame and then sew hook to the fabric. I might give this a shot over the keder rail.

 

@PNW_Sparks

I'm not a fan of the keder rail personally. I think it adds a lot of complexity. I've played with the idea of using 5/16" ID grommets and bolting directly into the extrusion

 

Sewing in the hem for the awning cord and mounting on the Keder rail was about the easiest part of the fabric portion of the tent lol. Adding velcro would substantially increase the time sewing (due to adding more sides to stitch) and I can 100% guarantee you that the adhesive will eventually fail on the velcro mounted to the extrusion. Gromets and bolting to the frame isn't too bad of an idea.

 

The bush company uses rivets attached to a vertical piece of aluminum just inside the extrusion. No skirt needed that way.

 

I’m curious about doing that instead of the keder rail. It would solve the issue with the corners and interior brackets. Plus might be cheaper than the keder rail stuff