Alu-Cab Canopy Campers also have vertical walls.
Four Wheel Camper ‘Project M’
- Thread starter GreggNY
- Start date
Alu-Cab Canopy Campers also have vertical walls.
thesuzukimethod
New member
FYI as an update on delivery times...We were guesstimated 33 weeks at time of order (but also advised to keep in mind covid/demand/etc) - That would have been early April(ish). The updated arrival estimate is early July. (would be about 45 weeks in total). I'm not complaining. Covid sucks, and it's out of our control...just happy to be in line at this point.
WrapsAndHerdinDogs
New member
My M is getting installed Monday! About 1 month ahead of schedule. About 7.75 month wait time for me
Hammer Time
New member
I took delivery of my Project M about two months ago, after a seven month wait. I got the black diamond plate finish, with most of the accessories. It sits on a 2020 Ford F-250 4wd, SXT, 6.7 diesel. It has a spray in bed liner. It's leveled and has 35" Toyos on Fuel wheels. Bumpers, fridge-freezer, cassette toilet, roof rack, and a winch have been added. Considering a bat wing type of awning, probably mounted to the jack supports.
We went with the Project M because sometimes I need to haul a couple of crates for large dogs. No room for that in the slide-in models, but there's plenty of room in the M.
While it's possible to do so, I don't ever plan on removing the camper from the truck. This is my 5th p/u with a camper shell and I've never taken one of them off.
I sealed the sections of the p/u bed (the bottom, front and sides are separate pieces) with 3M 4200, an adhesive/sealant product that I've used in the marine environment with much success. I sealed the tailgate with an ESI Rok Block and ESI Ultimate tailgate seal. I can't see a strong flashlight shined through where the gaps used to be, but dust will always find a way. I'll seal up those holes as I find them.
First overnight trip is to the Overland Expo in Flagstaff
We went with the Project M because sometimes I need to haul a couple of crates for large dogs. No room for that in the slide-in models, but there's plenty of room in the M.
While it's possible to do so, I don't ever plan on removing the camper from the truck. This is my 5th p/u with a camper shell and I've never taken one of them off.
I sealed the sections of the p/u bed (the bottom, front and sides are separate pieces) with 3M 4200, an adhesive/sealant product that I've used in the marine environment with much success. I sealed the tailgate with an ESI Rok Block and ESI Ultimate tailgate seal. I can't see a strong flashlight shined through where the gaps used to be, but dust will always find a way. I'll seal up those holes as I find them.
First overnight trip is to the Overland Expo in Flagstaff
jadmt
ignore button user
need to come up with a positive pressure device.
Hammer Time
New member
I've thought about running one of the fans on the intake mode but that would need some sort of filter to prevent dust from entering.
jadmt
ignore button user
be cool to come up with a snorkel for the side ala AEV snorkel with a filter. I doubt it would take much positive pressure. I know my tailgate area gets dust and I have the ESI seals. but almost seems like a there is negative pressure at the tailgate because I get like 4" wide line of dust around the tailgate and not really anywhere else and I have not sealed other points of dust entry ie drain holes etc.
97heavyweight
Well-known member
I just did 500-600 miles of off road travel through southern Utah and I turned my fan on speed 3 supplying with the lid closed. I saw no dirt inside my camper. Worked like a dream. I did learn that this trick won't work with the fantastic fans as they have a shutoff, but the maxx fans are OK.
Hammer Time
New member
Thanks for this post. Can you tell us what kind of truck you have, and whether or not the bed is one piece? Have you had dust intrusion in the past, before using the fan?
97heavyweight
Well-known member
I have a 2018 Toyota Tacoma with a homemade pop top camper. I have sealed up the front intrusion points where the bedsides do not contact the front lip of the bed rail. I have not sealed up the bed storage areas or where the plug-in is. I also have some gaps where the tailgate used to be. You can get a better idea of what I have here. https://expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/i-decided-to-build-my-own-pop-top-camper.224851/
Prior to using the fan I had a lot of dust intrusion. Like I mean a lot a lot!! I did do some experimenting with the fan speeds and found that full speed just pulls dust past the closed lip and lowest speed isn't quite enough. I have the Maxx Fan 5100k and speed 3 on intake works great for my camper.
slowtwitch
Adventurer
What are the interior heights from truck rail with top both up and down for a full size? FWC's site is a bit vague.
One positive I could see (depending on the heights) is you could have substantial storage in a platform/drawer set up serving as the floor, and still be able to fit 3 bikes inside. Slide in's sacrifice space by virtue of needing to slide in, and they usually get pretty porky with the cabinetry/storage. The doors are also small for getting stuff in/out.
As for dust, yes that's an issue. Beds have all kinds of gaps besides at the tailgate... so they don't hold water and cheap to make.
One positive I could see (depending on the heights) is you could have substantial storage in a platform/drawer set up serving as the floor, and still be able to fit 3 bikes inside. Slide in's sacrifice space by virtue of needing to slide in, and they usually get pretty porky with the cabinetry/storage. The doors are also small for getting stuff in/out.
As for dust, yes that's an issue. Beds have all kinds of gaps besides at the tailgate... so they don't hold water and cheap to make.
Hammer Time
New member
Thanks for the update.
dstefan
Well-known member
So, the thing about dust is that all of our trucks have a lot of hidden holes that you have to obsessively search out. I was lucky that my Tundra did not come with a factory or dealer installed bed rail system. I put one in later, but I was able to see the 25 (!) or so holes that the bed rails hide; the 4 corner gaps in the bed are huge and I never would’ve seen them had the truck come with the bed rails.
I obsessively plugged all of these using quarter inch butyl tape/bead, which is far more effective than using caulk (thanks Jay for that tip). I also used three of the ESI tailgate seal systems, both all over my tailgate seams, as well as adding additional sealing under the barn doors and on top of the tailgate cap. Finally, using a Bedrug makes a huge difference in managing dust in the bed.
I also added a positive pressure marine vent, which Jay popped in for me during my initial install. Very simple to put in with just a 3 inch hole saw and four screws and some 3M caulk/adhesive. The vent is completely waterproof and I used a porous Dacron aquarium filter material to keep dust out. The vent is also closable as desired. https://www.westmarine.com/buy/lewmar--cabin-hatch-vent-trim-kit--P024_720_004_502?recordNum=1
With these modifications, I’m getting zero dust, and that’s counting some extremely long and dusty roads so far. The only real problem I’m having is the barn doors get coated with dust. The best solution I found is to sweep them off with a shop brush I keep in the cab and use my OBA to blow off the dust on the doors before opening. I had to rework some of my sealing on the barn doors and the tailgate cap a little bit to avoid blowing dust in with the compressor.
I obsessively plugged all of these using quarter inch butyl tape/bead, which is far more effective than using caulk (thanks Jay for that tip). I also used three of the ESI tailgate seal systems, both all over my tailgate seams, as well as adding additional sealing under the barn doors and on top of the tailgate cap. Finally, using a Bedrug makes a huge difference in managing dust in the bed.
I also added a positive pressure marine vent, which Jay popped in for me during my initial install. Very simple to put in with just a 3 inch hole saw and four screws and some 3M caulk/adhesive. The vent is completely waterproof and I used a porous Dacron aquarium filter material to keep dust out. The vent is also closable as desired. https://www.westmarine.com/buy/lewmar--cabin-hatch-vent-trim-kit--P024_720_004_502?recordNum=1
With these modifications, I’m getting zero dust, and that’s counting some extremely long and dusty roads so far. The only real problem I’m having is the barn doors get coated with dust. The best solution I found is to sweep them off with a shop brush I keep in the cab and use my OBA to blow off the dust on the doors before opening. I had to rework some of my sealing on the barn doors and the tailgate cap a little bit to avoid blowing dust in with the compressor.
slowtwitch
Adventurer
Can anyone tell me the distance from rail to ceiling with top down on a Tundra?
On Edit, FWC says 30" from rail to ceiling which is the same as my high rise topper.
On Edit, FWC says 30" from rail to ceiling which is the same as my high rise topper.
Last edited:
thesuzukimethod
New member
Did you get satisfactory answer slowtwitch? we have a project M on a 2013 Tundra. I can run a tape on measurements - you mean top of the bed rail to top of the camper (exterior), right?
Also, i know there is ongoing question/concern re: dust and the Project M (really any shell) but my partner had it out for a fieldwork stint last week in deserts near Barstow CA (dusty AF), and didn't notice any dust accumulating in the bed after a lot of dusty road travel (her words "i think more dust blew in when we opened the gate")...Her co-worker (who was in a tent) had to cover their face in the night during a dust storm and had a layer of dust in their tent in the morning. her words..."i only noticed that it was windy...no dust that i could tell blew in". I realize with fresh seals (M was installed in Aug) and a spray in bed-liner, it's possible some of the gaps were covered and who knows how long this will last, but it was a good first run. remind me of this in a year when i'm complaining about all the dust.haha)