Hey all!
I decided to start this thread because I wanted some advice on a custom "Pop-Up" truck camper that i've been designing for my 99' 4x4 F250 (Supercab w/ 6.5' bed).
The goal of this design was to build a camper with as low of a vertical profile as possible while driving, but with the ability to pop up into something tall enough to stand in when parked. Also, because much of my reason behind building this camper is having a warm place to sleep during those especially nippy northern nights, it was critical that the design be well insulated. Because normal pop-up campers use a canvas material as the "walls" of the pop-up section, this would clearly not do as any heat generated inside would quickly be conducted through the material and lost.
So after doing some searching online, I found this website (poptopcamper.freehostia.com) in which somebody had built a pop-up camper with solid walls. Unlike the old Alaskin Campers, this design did not involve the walls sliding up, but instead had two of the walls hinged to the roof and top plate so that the roof would swing into place. On the website, he includes a of the mechanism in motion, which I would recommend checking out.
I set out to design something similar, except instead of using simple 1/2" plywood for the walls like he had, using 2x2 framing insulated with R10 worth of XPS foam. There were some challenges in doing so, but I finally came up with a design that would seemingly work. I feel relatively confident that if the walls were properly braced and secured when they swung into place that the structure would be solid, and have a plan to wind and waterproof the structure as well. If any of you disagree with the core plausibility of building such a structure, please do let me know however, as I have never built a truck camper (or anything quite like this) before.
If, however, you do think that this idea is plausible, I need help resolving two issues:
1) What can I do, if anything, to change the design of the roof in order to remove as much weight as possible
2) What mechanism would be the safest, simplest to build, and least expensive way of lifting the roof? Page two of the "Pop-Top Camper" that inspired this build includes details for the roof lifting mechanism used in that design for reference.
Thank you all so much, I look forward to the feedback!
Julian
I decided to start this thread because I wanted some advice on a custom "Pop-Up" truck camper that i've been designing for my 99' 4x4 F250 (Supercab w/ 6.5' bed).
The goal of this design was to build a camper with as low of a vertical profile as possible while driving, but with the ability to pop up into something tall enough to stand in when parked. Also, because much of my reason behind building this camper is having a warm place to sleep during those especially nippy northern nights, it was critical that the design be well insulated. Because normal pop-up campers use a canvas material as the "walls" of the pop-up section, this would clearly not do as any heat generated inside would quickly be conducted through the material and lost.
So after doing some searching online, I found this website (poptopcamper.freehostia.com) in which somebody had built a pop-up camper with solid walls. Unlike the old Alaskin Campers, this design did not involve the walls sliding up, but instead had two of the walls hinged to the roof and top plate so that the roof would swing into place. On the website, he includes a of the mechanism in motion, which I would recommend checking out.
I set out to design something similar, except instead of using simple 1/2" plywood for the walls like he had, using 2x2 framing insulated with R10 worth of XPS foam. There were some challenges in doing so, but I finally came up with a design that would seemingly work. I feel relatively confident that if the walls were properly braced and secured when they swung into place that the structure would be solid, and have a plan to wind and waterproof the structure as well. If any of you disagree with the core plausibility of building such a structure, please do let me know however, as I have never built a truck camper (or anything quite like this) before.
If, however, you do think that this idea is plausible, I need help resolving two issues:
1) What can I do, if anything, to change the design of the roof in order to remove as much weight as possible
2) What mechanism would be the safest, simplest to build, and least expensive way of lifting the roof? Page two of the "Pop-Top Camper" that inspired this build includes details for the roof lifting mechanism used in that design for reference.
Thank you all so much, I look forward to the feedback!
Julian
