It looks like the Flippac is a no-go. Cost 4-5 grand (closer to 5) for one delivered up here with rain fly + heavy so it would be hard to install + 8 weeks for delivery + truck specific for superduty which is already 6 yrs old = not happening. I’m not too taken on the torsion bar that apparently needs to be replaced periodically for at least a few hundred but if they were available in Portland for $3800 installed I think there would be one on my truck already. I built my own pop up FWC/ATC type camper using steel framing so I don’t see why I can’t build one of these in a few weekends (of dry weather). I thought about having the flip to the side like a wildernest but flip to front or side would complicate the lift assist so I plan on flip going backward which will make for a long footprint when open but simplify other build stuff (particularly the lift using gas springs). Total cost should be less than $1000 although I might have to spend a few hundred for a heavy duty sewing machine like they sell on Ebay. I will have attachment brackets at the corners so I can use my Rieco camper jacks to lift it off when I want. The problem always with building stuff myself is I am never sure if things will work like I want them, usually I take the position that I can always bail out and cut my losses if along the way the build doesn’t look like it is succeeding. Any ideas would be welcome, maybe it would help me talk myself out of the project. It is raining now but if it is dry tomorrow I might be up for a trip to the steel yard.
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Sportsman Matt
Adventurer
I am still going the "build your own" route on my camper project. Biggest issue I have is the LP storage and the refrigeration issue at the moment. Biggest thing is get a lot of paper and pencils and erasers and sit and start with a sketch and a plan. Look at dimensions, and make sure look at every point of the camper.
Mine is going to be a 7' wide by 8' Long by 6'6" high non cabover slid in box for my truck, with aluminum siding and a rubber roof. Simple, just a place to sleep, a porta potty for the nighttime nature calls, and a refrigerator to keep the food cold for those 3 to 4 day trips.
Biggest thing is that I've spent hours upon hours and probably used up 3 graph paper pads and 2 reams of white printer paper and still haven't gotten past the layout stage.
Good luck with your project and keep us posted.
Mine is going to be a 7' wide by 8' Long by 6'6" high non cabover slid in box for my truck, with aluminum siding and a rubber roof. Simple, just a place to sleep, a porta potty for the nighttime nature calls, and a refrigerator to keep the food cold for those 3 to 4 day trips.
Biggest thing is that I've spent hours upon hours and probably used up 3 graph paper pads and 2 reams of white printer paper and still haven't gotten past the layout stage.
Good luck with your project and keep us posted.
D
Deleted member 12023
Guest
You said that you built a FWC? If so, do you have any pictures of it? I am considering doing the same.
mtnbike28
Expedition Leader
Same thing... sort of.
I really want a FlipPak too... but not loving the cost to go on my 02 DC Taco with 5 foot bed and 130K miles. As far as I know there would only be 3 years of the one truck I could replace and re-use the cap.
So I am dreaming up a way to make a Dormobile style opening top on my topper to give me head room. There is no need to over design it, since I have to sleep in the bed using the tail gate as part of the bed to get enough space for my 6 foot body. I agree, my plan seems so simple and easy to do, I am trying to figure out the failure part ; )
I really want a FlipPak too... but not loving the cost to go on my 02 DC Taco with 5 foot bed and 130K miles. As far as I know there would only be 3 years of the one truck I could replace and re-use the cap.
So I am dreaming up a way to make a Dormobile style opening top on my topper to give me head room. There is no need to over design it, since I have to sleep in the bed using the tail gate as part of the bed to get enough space for my 6 foot body. I agree, my plan seems so simple and easy to do, I am trying to figure out the failure part ; )
Matt, I’m pretty much the opposite, I usually want to crank something out that I can use pretty much right away when I decide I will do a project. I hate planning too much but I don’t want anything complex or fancy, instead I look for simplicity and function. Which is why I was looking for something other than the pop up FWC type camper I built. I would like a canopy for everyday use that is good for camping too - I don’t want to crawl around in a standard canopy. The FWC-type build works fine but driving visibility isn’t great and it puts a limit on everyday function of the truck. It also takes too long to drag it out from the backyard, remove the truck tailgate and load up and take off. Yesterday the weather was great and I mocked up cardboard to see how a completely square corner cap would look on the back of my truck - it didn’t look very good because it can’t follow the contour of the truck cab at all. I’m not vain but my truck still looks nice and I didn’t want it too look too crappy so I’m not sure I will do the build after all.
12valve, the FWC-type build was not difficult, it is a pretty simple design and very easy build using steel instead of aluminum framing and I think much sturdier. Not as pretty as a store bought one but I only want it on my truck when I am camping so that doesn’t matter much to me. It took me about two or three months of weekend work (only a few hours a day) to build and it worked well. I don’t regret building and have used it a lot but if I had known about the Flippac in ’04 I probably would have tried for that instead. The build cost less than $2k including four Rieco corner jacks which were almost $400 and four sliding windows that I paid $100 each for and I think I included the cost of my welder. Recently someone nearby was selling a early 2000 model FWC for $2000, if you could find one that cheap I would go used rather than build but in retrospect I would not have even gone the slide in camper route at all. I’ll try to find some pics to post but I don’t have many of the camper.
Jay, good luck. My son and I have worked on a cap for his 1998 short bed Ranger pickup, it is sitting in the garage almost completed but he is busy with school and stuff and I don’t want to finish it for him. It has an exposed 1.5”square tube steel frame, we picked up abrasion resistant polycarb for the windows from a Craigslist seller and we had planned on a pop up roof but after seeing the Flippac maybe he will make the roof flip and have a completely fabric tent top. That project will probably have to wait until spring.
12valve, the FWC-type build was not difficult, it is a pretty simple design and very easy build using steel instead of aluminum framing and I think much sturdier. Not as pretty as a store bought one but I only want it on my truck when I am camping so that doesn’t matter much to me. It took me about two or three months of weekend work (only a few hours a day) to build and it worked well. I don’t regret building and have used it a lot but if I had known about the Flippac in ’04 I probably would have tried for that instead. The build cost less than $2k including four Rieco corner jacks which were almost $400 and four sliding windows that I paid $100 each for and I think I included the cost of my welder. Recently someone nearby was selling a early 2000 model FWC for $2000, if you could find one that cheap I would go used rather than build but in retrospect I would not have even gone the slide in camper route at all. I’ll try to find some pics to post but I don’t have many of the camper.
Jay, good luck. My son and I have worked on a cap for his 1998 short bed Ranger pickup, it is sitting in the garage almost completed but he is busy with school and stuff and I don’t want to finish it for him. It has an exposed 1.5”square tube steel frame, we picked up abrasion resistant polycarb for the windows from a Craigslist seller and we had planned on a pop up roof but after seeing the Flippac maybe he will make the roof flip and have a completely fabric tent top. That project will probably have to wait until spring.
