DIY Hard-Side Pop-Tops

[ReluctantTraveler]

Good topic! Mine is hard-sided and soft-sided.





Link to the build is below.

Few thoughts from the above posts I'll echo having built a hard-side slide-up:

1) Slide-ups are complicated (i.e., a PITA to build for most of us)! Once it's working smoothly though, it is a very robust and weatherproof design.
2) Loss of storage is a real issue (applies to all pop-up types though)
3) You do get the full width sleeping if your bed is at the level of the slide-up - my mattress is 72" (inside width of lower part of the camper) but I get the 76" wall to wall width of the slide-up portion where I am when in the bed.

Few thoughts from my experience camping in a pop-up (in all types of weather):

1) Unless the hard sides on the pop-up are well insulated, I don't see a huge advantage vs. a soft-sided pop-up of some sort that uses waterproof fabric and has some insulation (either built in to the fabric or an add-on when needed). I now camp in all temps and weather conditions with the soft sides on mine up.
2) For me, any design that lets in moisture (or bugs!) when setting up or taking down is a step down from a good soft-side

There is an undeniable cool factor with many of these hard-sided pop-ups and some super clever designs - I see their appeal for sure. No regrets on my design but it does have trade-offs (like all rigs).

Pro-Rig V2.0 - Home Built Compact Composite Pop-up

Well, I'm about six months in to this build and progress has been slow but steady. Here's how it looks as of about a week ago: It's (obviously) a slide in. It will be a double pop-up - the structure on the foreground in the photos is the hard-sided part of the pop-up (upside down). It will...

forum.expeditionportal.com

Awesome post, thank you!

The big appeal of a hard-side of any kind is safety. While RVs in generally aren't impossible to break into, a hard-side feels harder to break into than a fabric that can be cut through with a knife. And certain campgrounds and parks forbid camping with soft-side campers because of concerns about bears.

 

[IdaSHO]

First and foremost for our use with regards to hardside is uncompromising protection from weather, not safety.
Though safety is increased, as is insulation from not only the outside weather but noise.

Softside popups have their benefits, but they are not for everyone.
If you have ever considered full-timing in your rig, regardless of weather, Id certainly push towards a fixed hard side.

 

[CoyoteThistle]

Awesome post, thank you!

The big appeal of a hard-side of any kind is safety. While RVs in generally aren't impossible to break into, a hard-side feels harder to break into than a fabric that can be cut through with a knife. And certain campgrounds and parks forbid camping with soft-side campers because of concerns about bears.

Those are a couple good things to consider. I haven't run into that kind of bear regulation (though I don't often camp in campgrounds). In the Sierras bears just rip off car doors or smash windows, but I know there are lots of regional differences regarding food storage in bear country.

And the safety issue is a very personal one - I think if hard sides make you feel more secure, that might be a good reason to go that way and live with other potential tradeoffs. Personally, I've always felt that my camper is more secure than the cab of my truck. Breaking a window or jimmying a lock on a car is what thieves know. Climbing up the outside of a camper to get to the soft sides seems like a much less likely (but not impossible!) scenario.

First and foremost for our use with regards to hardside is uncompromising protection from weather, not safety.
Though safety is increased, as is insulation from not only the outside weather but noise.

Softside popups have their benefits, but they are not for everyone.
If you have ever considered full-timing in your rig, regardless of weather, Id certainly push towards a fixed hard side.

All true of a fixed hardside (and the list of advantages goes on from there!). But, there are disadvantages versus hard- or soft-side popups that some are willing to live with.

 

[Fishenough]

Here's another solution I'm thinking of borrowing from for my next build:

Watched all episodes.

Concern is, how would this type of construction hold up when much our travel is on broken and abandoned roads? Much of our travel is in the rain and occasionally salt water misting.