Gladiator Pop-Up Pass Through Camper Build

[VanIsle_Greg]

Although we have very different roof structures and materials, I think a nice D shapes gasket or similar would work very well. I found some stuff locally that was 2 D's or Double D? I split it in half so I ended up with a single rubber (similar to Neoprene but very closed cell) that uses a 3M style adhesive backing. I attached it all the way around the roof seal on my camper roof... and it worked amazingly well (so far still building).



I think it is about 1/2" or a little bigger.



Sealed up the roof edge nicely. My fabric mounts about 1" inside/inboard of the black seal in this photo and overlaps the outside of the camper tub so no water can get inside.



My only fear is that it will rub on the fabric and make a mark. It is dark charcoal, so it should be ok... and the Sunbrella we used is supposed to handle some pretty heavy duty abrasion and rubbing so... fingers crossed.

 

[Mules]

Although we have very different roof structures and materials, I think a nice D shapes gasket or similar would work very well. I found some stuff locally that was 2 D's or Double D? I split it in half so I ended up with a single rubber (similar to Neoprene but very closed cell) that uses a 3M style adhesive backing. I attached it all the way around the roof seal on my camper roof... and it worked amazingly well (so far still building).

View attachment 706729

I think it is about 1/2" or a little bigger.

View attachment 706732

Sealed up the roof edge nicely. My fabric mounts about 1" inside/inboard of the black seal in this photo and overlaps the outside of the camper tub so no water can get inside.

View attachment 706730

My only fear is that it will rub on the fabric and make a mark. It is dark charcoal, so it should be ok... and the Sunbrella we used is supposed to handle some pretty heavy duty abrasion and rubbing so... fingers crossed.

I think you found a winner! I like the Trim Lok D shaped gaskets with 3M tape. I just have to check the bend radius in my structures corners to see which type can take my 5" radius. Trim Lok says they work best at a 25% to 50% compression and that over compression can lead to a compression set of the gaskets. Since my top is so light, I think I just have to make sure I don't squeeze the gaskets too hard with my clamp catches.

 

[VanIsle_Greg]

I think mine compresses about 30%, at least the last time I looked they appeared to be about that amount. It has been closed up for the winter, so will go look again this weekend when I think I might try to install the sides (maybe).

 

[Mules]

It's about time to plan out the back hatch. While I was looking for a hatch hinge I came across this. This hinge/light mount won't fit my JT back top, but it fits JL tops. It would be nice if I didn't have to drill through my top to mount the back lights.

 

[Mules]

Here is a debatable decision I made. I wanted my gasketted seal between two painted solid surfaces and not against the tent material. Because of this the tent material is connected to the inside of the lower shell and not the outside. The flaw to this design is that rain will run into the camper from the tent material. To solve this, I sewed on a rain skirt to the tent. When popped up, you have to spend a minute pulling the skirt over the lower shell rim. I hope the rain skirt is worth it in the end. The last photo shows the complicated overlap where the tent connects to itself.

 

[Mules]

Putting the velcro on the shell for the tent material. It looks like I'm adhering it to wood, but the wood has a layer of clear acrylic glass on top of it. This velcro has extremely strong peel and stick glue on it. It's made for marine applications. It should stay on, but it's hard to believe it won't come off when I pull the velcro apart. We'll see.

 

[ITTOG]

I have seen lots of commercial solutions out there like that. The only question I have about that solution is what happens when it rains and it's windy?

Sent from my Pixel 6 Pro using Tapatalk

 

[Mules]

Wow, wouldn't it be nice if Loki made an Icarus for a Jeep Gladiator? Oh and it was't $70,000. Pretty steep price, but man it is a nice slide expedition camper.

 

[The Artisan]

Wow, wouldn't it be nice if Loki made an Icarus for a Jeep Gladiator? Oh and it was't $70,000. Pretty steep price, but man it is a nice slide expedition camper.

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Looks like a fiberglass spacekap for 10k, shell

spacekap at DuckDuckGo

DuckDuckGo. Privacy, Simplified.

duckduckgo.com

Kevin

 

[coguzzi]

Looks like a fiberglass spacekap for 10k, shell

spacekap at DuckDuckGo

DuckDuckGo. Privacy, Simplified.

duckduckgo.com

Kevin

its 100% a spacekap, ever since i moved to Quebec and saw them on all the contractor trucks here (never saw one in the US) i have been dreaming of building one. they beat me to it i guess. i dont think spacekap makes even a tacoma size one let alone a gladiator size, which i now own. should have done it when i had full size RAM 2500

 

[Mules]

its 100% a spacekap, ever since i moved to Quebec and saw them on all the contractor trucks here (never saw one in the US) i have been dreaming of building one. they beat me to it i guess. i dont think spacekap makes even a tacoma size one let alone a gladiator size, which i now own. should have done it when i had full size RAM 2500

Nice catch, buy a Spacekap for $10K and build it out yourself. It would be nice if they built a Tacoma/Gladiator size.

 

[Mules]

We’ll this time it worked! I needed to do a fitting of the tent to locate the final seam. Looks like the rain skirt will work. There’s a few inches of wobble left to right, so I’ll have to make a stabilizer. It’s at 8 ft. Tall inside so plenty of room for upstairs sleeping.

 

[Mules]

The front panel is removable, just in case I ever want to have coffee on top of the roof top rack. Assuming I make a rack on top of the freedom panels.

 

[ITTOG]

The fiberglass looks great and I am sure it feels good to see the tent on there.

I got my lift stabilizers on recently. It was a big step to see the roof in action!

 

[The Artisan]

The front panel is removable, just in case I ever want to have coffee on top of the roof top rack. Assuming I make a rack on top of the freedom panels.
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What are you using for supports to keep from getting lateral loads and racking?
Kevin