EarthRoamer XV-JP "Northwest Edition"

[PaulJensen]

04 - New Roof...

(above) Before starting the roof, I wanted to see the quality of the*sub-flop grey water tank... The plan is to recoat it and enlarge it...

(above) The top got cut off...

(above) The water test came out exactly 10 gallons...

(above) The roof is a rim of two layers of 1/2" plywood...

(above) The rear roof will go out almost as far as the bumper...

(above) The front will have a bar light, thus the curve...

(above) The center brace will be gone...

(above) Similar to the model...

(above) My head is nodding...

 

[ak_cowboy]

Looks like progress!

 

[Jeep or Tacoma]

amazing

the ref line looks good already . !!!!!

 

[PaulJensen]

05 - Roof Progress Continues...

But first...

(above) RCE's roof mold...

(above) No one will copy this roof...

(above) The new roof is assembled... Plywood, glue and pin nails...

(above) End of day, all the interior seams are fiberglass taped (x2) and epoxied... A thin coat of epoxy is brushed on all the raw plywood...
A good weekend of progress...!!!...

 

[PaulJensen]

06 - Roof Test Fit...

(above) With the interior fiberglass hardened, singlehandedly the roof was placed on the cabin for a test fit...

(above) I set the maximum vehicle height at nine feet, about the same as my Sprinter...

(above) The plan is to eventually have the roof and cabin seamlessly fiberglassed together...

(above) "That's the way, uh, huh, uh, huh, I like it, uh, huh, uh, huh.."

 

[kjp1969]

Ok- more progress in a single weekend than we have seen in the last year. . .
Being more comfortable working with wood than fiberglass or metal, I've often wondered how a plywood roof would go together and hold up. I guess we'll find out!

 

[Herbie]

Rear-Mounted Pelican Case

I'm atwitter at the opportunity to discuss anything that doesn't involve the death of my truck. Thanks for asking.

I'd strongly suggest you follow your instincts and add the case. I've done it twice, on the Jeep and on the first Sprinter:

View attachment 338705

and both worked out very well. They provided space for things that you'd never need on the inside, and equally valuable, they you access to things you want quickly on the outside. So the case was where I carried my little Honda generator, but also the shorepower cord, various bungees and ties, air system stuff, etc. And fitting some pouches to the case cover, as I did on the Jeep, made it even better, as it was very handy to have immediate access to sunscreen, bug repellent, wipes, gloves, rags, an air pressure gauge, tire deflators and so on. [...]

Thanks Mike. As I follow up, I took your advice and mounted a Pelican Storm iM2720 on my driver's side rack. I'm very pleased, and I will load it with the same kind of stuff. Cheers.

 

[EXP-T100]

Its official Paul has done more in a week than someone who will remain nameless did in almost a yr! :wings::beer::beer::beer::beer:

 

[Adventurous]

Its official Paul has done more in a week than someone who will remain nameless did in almost a yr! :wings::beer::beer::beer::beer:

Genius on the level of Tesla can be a crippling burden to bear.

 

[Haf-E]

So what is the plan for carrying items on the roof?

I always thought that having the carriers / racks on the two outward slanted sections of a roof would work well - the overall height would be slightly lower and it would leave the central section available for solar panels and a roof vent / hatch.

While I suspect some people will be disappointed in the lack of a lifting roof - I am in the same mindset for camping in the Pacific NW with the wind, rain and temperatures. The fixed roof will also reduce the weight which is important for this platform with its limited capacity.

 

[Arclight]

Suggestion: You might want to glass in a marine shore power outlet on the side. You can run a fan and/or dehumidifier as well as keep all of the batteries maintained when it's parked.

Arclight

 

[PaulJensen]

So what is the plan for carrying items on the roof?

I always thought that having the carriers / racks on the two outward slanted sections of a roof would work well - the overall height would be slightly lower and it would leave the central section available for solar panels and a roof vent / hatch.

While I suspect some people will be disappointed in the lack of a lifting roof - I am in the same mindset for camping in the Pacific NW with the wind, rain and temperatures. The fixed roof will also reduce the weight which is important for this platform with its limited capacity.

The roof will have a solar panel and the vent fan... There will be simple racks to carry boards... Less stuff up on top is less to worry about...

The new roof, up front and over the cab is like a cave compared to when it had the lifting roof... Might build drawers for up there...???...

The side racks might make sense, but for carrying paddleboards, the doors get blocked...

Fully agree with the comments about a non-lifting roof...

 

[PaulJensen]

Suggestion: You might want to glass in a marine shore power outlet on the side. You can run a fan and/or dehumidifier as well as keep all of the batteries maintained when it's parked.

Arclight

There already is a shore power plug... Very useful... Might do a shore water inlet too...???...

 

[18seeds]

You should make roof removable so it can double as a row boat

 

[toyotech]

You should make roof removable so it can double as a row boat