My old camper setup and my new Alu Cab Canopy Camper

Dang that is a sick kayak rid. Love that topper

 

Thx- really liking it- notice your in TN- we get down to the tellico and Noli a few times a yr.

 

Yeah man. I'm in Knoxville so I'm all the time boating in the Smokys. Hillary if you ever want to boat down here

 

Some great ideas thank you!

 

That camper setup is pretty badass. I need to look into that kind of topper.

 

Nice setup

 

I found this pics yesterday and sometimes "seeing it" is better. This is a mock up of the exterior of the wedge camper i designed in cad before finding the alucab -obviously i was impressed with alucab since most of the exterior measurments were within an 1" or 2". The 80/20 represents the size of the canopy camper relative to an ARE MX shell.

 

I love this idea. I have been trying to figure out an easy way to get my Kayaks up on my canopy camper. My kayaks are a 17 foot and 15 foot sea kayaks so opening the top may still be a problem

 

I bet it would still work- the pink/purple boat on m truck is a little over 9 feet but if ou notice the angle - i dont think the tent open has a steep enough angle to let you boat hit.

 

The Alu Cab camper looks fantastic. I've studied all the similar types of setups on the market and yours seems to tick all the boxes. What is involved with taking it on and off the truck? Obviously, you need to remove the tailgate. I'm wondering if this could be pulled on and off very easily or is it a major operation to get it positioned and sealed nice. One look at the mockup you built and I figured you are the kind of guy that has a clever system.

 

@DavidS - Sorry the one kicker of the alucab is it is not easy to remove or mount. I dont ever plan on removing too much of a pia. Although you can get very creative when hauling stuff using the side windows- they really are huge

 

A little sneak peek of my soon to be completed pull out kitchen

 

Nice! Bravo!

 

1. Well here are a couple of shots from build to finished with the kitchn as well as the convertable table that drops down to give me a lower bed that is 30" wide and 6 ft long. (that way I dont have to sleep with anyone other than my wife up top)

 

I will post some pics soon of the back hatch as well- i have removed the pull down rear hatch of the sleeping platform and built a tri folding board that fills the space when closed and then folds to be 8 1/2 inches deep when folded so that i can slide the mattress to it so that i now have access to top AND bottom while not crunching my feet on the roof

 

Nice work, are you a 80/20 vendor?

 

no not an 80/20 vender but i do love the stuff. i have used the extrusions in this build for several older projects that i dismantled, just wish it was a little less expensive (its the same 80/20 you see in the other builds and pics in my thread- i think this will be its final use since i have no long pieces left )

 

I bought a couple scrap electronics testing stations decades ago. I've used it for all sorts of racks and projects, but I don't have much left. Awesome stuff, but super expensive!

 

Well I have come up with solutions to what i consider to be the biggest issues with canopy camper. 1. If you open the back door at night there is not a light you can reach and turn on to see what is inside. And 2. the trap door to the tent area is just a pain in the ass and just not practical in my mind- IF- you want to have a "bedroom" vs a deck to throw a sleeping bag on. Maybe i am unrealistic but i dont want to have to put my water bottle, my cpap, my phone, keys and wallet as well as my cloths up in the bed then climb in close the hatch and have to "place all that stuff" the pockets on the ceiling are okay at best but you cant reach them until up in bed.
So i removed the rear hatch and that opened up about 6" more space in the opening easier to get in or out of bed but that left the second issue- with no hatch my toes were scrunched in the wedge of the tent and without the hatch when tent was closedall the fabric from the tent hung in the truck bed. My solution a trifold platform with each piece being 8.5" wide and as long as width of camper. so now when it is closed you have it fully open or 25.5" wide and tent is stored safely. Open tent, push up on hinge and the fold now is next to the sleeping platform at same height and allows me to pull the mattress down 8" which mean i now have space for m feet, i have a "table with light for my stuff" and i can get in and out without have to be a contorsionist. hopefully the pics help

 

Just liked this picture and thought i would share- i built the trailer a few yrs ago. and the first time i have pulkled it with the canopy on it. love the rear camera for backing up that shorty. truck spare is also the trailer spare