Let's see those Alu-cab setups

And, about the tent...

Like I said before, it's insanely quick to setup and breakdown, you can store all of your bedding, pajamas, and the ladder inside. It's built like a tank. The finish still looks perfect after a year (8-9 months on the truck which is kept outside). Originally, I really didn't like how the doors are connected at the bottom. If they were connected at the top like most of the plastic hard shell tents, then you could roll them up and tie them out of the way. Or use spring poles to create a small awning/vestibule/porch. I've gotten used to it now. It's kind of nice being able to zip the inner doors halfway up and they work to cover up the bedding when you toss the ladder in.



The bed is ~comfortable-ish. Stuffing the mattress cover with a memory foam topper, as posted on the first page, would probably help a lot.



The ladder was built rock solid and looks really nice. I should've taken a photo of that, but it's been in the back of the garage since 2 Amazon Prime delivery days after I got the tent. I ended up buying a cheap collapsible ladder that's way easier to get in and out of the tent. The factory one is slightly longer than the tent and has to be stored at a bit of an angle. I just had to drill a couple holes in the top rung to bolt the factory mount to. I also moved the other tent side mount from the driver's side to passenger.






Earlier, I mentioned the circuit powering the tent. From the factory, they give you a coiled cable with and Anderson 50 amp plug to connect to the tent side, and a 12v lighter male end to connect to the truck. I ended up using a slightly heavier gauge cord ran directly to the fuse box in the cabinet. It just barely fits under the plastic door trim. It's definitely not perfect and long-term I'd like to find a better way to pass that through the canopy. If anyone has any ideas for a more semi-permanent cable routing, I'd love to see them. I suppose I could always just use the factory plug to connect to the 12v outlet I'm installing in the bed. I used some double-sided velcro to attach the feed connector to the inside of the canopy when the tent is off.



TBC...

 

I sold my leer topper earlier this year to get into either a alu-cab or RLD canopy. Still on the fence on which way to go. I went to look at a local dealer to check out a RLD and it's super nice. However, after seeing the alu-cab canopies on this thread I'm not sure what I want now.....lol

 

I've definitely watched plenty of videos on both the Bush Company tent and the RLD canopy. They both look awesome. I'd say that RLD canopy is probably a bit nicer than the AC. Not sure if they were available yet when I got this one.

No problems with the hitch swing. No rattles either. There's an anti rattle device bolted into the receiver (the bike rack has something similar). But, is pretty freaking heavy and so is that Thule rack. I've actually been wanting to replace the rack with the 1up but I get Thule, Yakima, and Kuat at cost and can get Rocky Mount and Rhino Rack discounted, so it's hard to justify spending that much.

 

Agreed, there is no perfect setup. As far as the camper goes, it's worked well for me though.

And yeah, the Wilco is tough and doesn't budge! Definitely eyeing the 1up rack, but like I was just saying, it's hard to justify that price tag when I get practically every other rack at cost or discounted. The modular system is definitely more versatile. I have a couple friends with the North Shore and Yakima Hangover racks and those look cool but I don't see them working well with the swing out and I really like having that feature most of the time.

 

Post some pics when you figure it out!

 

Just a couple more things.

The tent has a an overhead light and a combo USB/12v lighter outlet. The USB ports are not quick charge. I added a

Car Charger, Anker Quick Charge 3.0 39W Dual USB Car Charger Adapter, PowerDrive Speed 2 for Galaxy S10/S9/S8/S7/S6/Plus, Note 9, Poweriq for iPhone 11/XS/Max/XR/X/8/7, Ipad Pro, LG, Nexus, and More

QC adapter for charging my phone or tablet at full speed.



The tent material is very heavy duty. It does a very good job at blocking wind and holding in body heat. I've slept through several storms and temps in the teens-twenties. In fact, if it's very cold, you will probably want to crack a window to vent the tent b/c it doesn't breathe at all which allows condensation to build up and freeze.

I also purchased the shorter load bars with the low profile mounts for the tent. Originally I had planned on mounting a solar panel between the bars. But, over the last month I've been falling further and further down the rabbit hole researching battery stuff. I'm still undecided on whether I want to add a second battery + Redarc BCDC, with a or just replace the factory battery with larger AGM and keep it topped off via solar panel.


In the meantime, the load bars on the tent have worked well for carrying skis and traction boards:


Anyway, I'll post an update once I get the rest of the electrical wrapped up.

Until then, here's a couple more pics of the camper:

 

I got a couple more electrical projects wrapped up.

I installed the power outlet panel in the passenger side bed cubby:



Then I wired some LED strips to dimmer switches and mounted those in in the side doors:






And, I did the 400w anytime inverter mod + added a 120v outlet to the back of the center console.

 

Picked up a Alu-Cab Canopy Camper. I haven't had it long but I already have some ideas for it and will try to post as I do some things to it.

 

I’m glad to say I’m a new owner of an Alu-Cab RTT. I got a crazy good deal on it. It’s used but will need to replace the mattress due to mold.

Has anyone replaced theirs? I’m looking for something a little softer than the factory foam. Preferably something that I can just drop in and call it good. Little gaps is OK.

Currently it’s in storage and I’m looking for a rack to go around my softopper to mount rtt to.

 

How’s this setup going for you? Sounds like what I’m thinking about doing also. I’d love to see it since it looks like we both have a 19 Cav Blue Off Road long bed lol. Thinking of putting a rack over my softopper also then a Gen 3 RTT on top of that.

 

I’ve been stacked with projects and I haven’t had the time to even start. So far all-pro doesn’t make the u-weld-it kit for softoppers any longer.

I may grab one from kbvoodoo or something similar.

 

Got my HD Dakar leaf packs on this weekend. About a three hour job for me so not bad. Gained back 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 inches in the rear over the OEM leaf pack and 1.5 inch AAL that I had before. Also did the carrier bearing drop while I was down there. Front springs I already had swapped to OME 886 and run the Bilstein 5100's all around with super bump stops front and back. Haven't put many miles on it yet but initial review is it handles the weight of the camper much better and the ride is not stiff at all feels the same as before. Time will tell but I feel like this set up will work for me.

 

I’m going to wake this thread back up!

Recently sold my Go Fast Camper and purchased a Canopy camper from OK4wd.
Took about 9 weeks for the camper to be delivered to me since ordering. That is extremely fast in my opinion coming from South Africa to Ohio during a time like this.
Especially when other campers have such a lengthy lead times for around the same price point and probably lesser build quality.

Anyways, I plan to install it this coming Saturday. Looking forward to spending some nice fall nights in this thing before winter hits.

 

Finally got mine mounted. There’s some overhang but it’ll do for now. Got it for a steal you wouldn’t believe.

 

How much‽

 

Questions:

Has anyone replaced the mattress? How much and where did you purchase? Mine did not come with.

Also, I don’t have the condensation skirt so I’m looking to buy that as well.

How do you care for your tent? Tent previously had mildew on interior/exterior tent panels. I was able to get it all cleaned up with simple green. Wondering what everyone is using.

Cheap. I’ll just leave it there.

 

@2ayne Could you give some feedback regarding the switch from GFC to Alucab? I currently have the Expedition Gen3 on a Leitner rack and am thinking of switching to a GFC/SuperPacific setup.

@danasince1979 How much taller is the canopy than the cab? I’ve thought about switching to a shell vs my current Leitner setup (dusty). Would love to hear about your experience with the tent on top of their canopy. Did you consider RLD’s canopy and if so, why’d you end up going with Alucab.

Thank you!

 

I’m working on typing up my thoughts and comparisons on the two for a quick copy/paste to share across forums and platforms for anyone who asks. Probably have that short write up finished after work today and I’ll share.

Until then, it’s on!

 

Why I chose to to part ways with my Go Fast Camper for a Alucab Canopy Camper:

The GFC has/had some well known hinge design flaws where they will fail long before their expected 1 million cycles and cause the side and rear doors to fall off.

In my eyes a lot of people saw this coming from the start. When the first several hinges failed GFC pretty much blamed the customers for misuse and assured all other current customers it was a freak thing. Well, after many more campers were produced and time went on more started to break. Even campers produced after the originals failed. It seemed to be a daily thing to see a failure on the forums and owner groups with only 600 campers in trucks. GFC still assured customers that their new sealing process was the cure and that some faulty manufactured hinges by their supplier might have been mixed into the batch and customers were not to worry. (Also not correct in most cases)

Besides that I noticed the door seals would seep some water at times which wasn’t a huge deal to me, it is a truck bed after all. My upper tent material (2nd Gen Tent) was very thin. Almost transparent at times. There were large gaps at the top and bottom of the tent between the snap buttons that held it in place that let bugs in. The 3rd brake light had condensation at times and the upper tent extrusion was starting to bow slightly. None of which I’ve seen reported from Canopy Camper owners on forums and groups.

GFC seems to be working hard to have corrected these hinges with a much more robust style that are now coming fitted on new campers. GFC has some damn good customer support and I think they truly care about all their customers and products and they want to do well which I believe they are. They might not have originally expected their market to take flight as fast as it did. They are making a huge effort with their PIT crew to come to you and repair/revamp every single camper that someone wants them to across the country. That’s huge!

Long story short, I didn’t want to have a failure on a trip and have to make my own repairs. My time alway from work with family and friends is too precious to me. I also didn’t want to take my camper from Ohio to Montana for repairs and didn’t want to wait a year or so for them to come to me to repair if/when the problem accrued. I did not have a hinge failure. I also treated my doors like a ticking time bomb being held by a newborn baby puppy. Which I thought I shouldn’t have to. I shouldn’t have to tell my girlfriend she’s not opening and closing the doors correctly with equal force.

With all that being said, I still love GFC’s and their company, campers and employees. I think they’re going to have an amazing product once they get their bugs settled out.
It just wasn’t for me.

Some of the other difference in campers:
-You cannot leave pillows or bedding in the GFC that amount to anything. You can leave a person in the Canopy Camper with bedding and close it.

-You have to crawl over the tailgate and under the rear door to get into a GFC. You step into a Canopy Camper.

-Alucab has a endless list of aftermarket products for their setups that just work. (View their webpage)

The amount of tracks and mounting points are endless. Everything is so well thought out and designed it just works.

-The Alucab comes with a wiring track all the way around the enterior and 7 lights with USB Ports and 12v sockets already installed and pre wired for solar on the roof. They took out half the work for me.

-The ease of getting into bed and out by simply lifting one panel that is on struts is unmatched. I can sleep with the smaller panel lifted and see the dogs below. I can also get out of bed without disturbing my partner to piss at night.

-The Canopy Camper has the ability to mount a propane bottle outside the camper, mount a spare tire on the back door and a spot for a full blown electrical panel to be built. No space is wasted in a 5’ truck bed. No more cluttered floor or having to fab up stuff to work. Even tho I love building campers out and working or more truck probably more than camping it’s just so easy to have a dialed setup.

I’m trying to keep this short as possible but the list could go on for days on the differences. They’re really not even the same concept.

A few more things to note however is the Canopy Camper base weight is probably around 200lbs more than a GFC. That’s also a guess. I haven’t weighed either camper. Another plus for the GFC is it’s easily removed in a short period of time. The Canopy Camper is built to stay in the truck bed and it will take a lot of work to remove it and reinstall it. (Days probably)

Another thing is price. You’re looking at spending around $3k more for a base model canopy camper give or take. But with that you’re also getting a lot more features and a better build quality. If you were to order a GFC today, the earliest you would be camping would be camping in it wound be winter 2022.
I had the Alucab in 9 weeks.

Hope this helps. If you have any questions or concerns or ways to prove me wrong be sure to ask or tell. I don’t think all my decisions are always the best but I feel good with this one.

 

I can't comment on the GFC but you are spot on with your comments on the Alu-Cab. Nice write up.