Gladiator Pop-Up Pass Through Camper Build

[Mules]

 

[highwest]

It’s too tall for my taste, but I absolutely love this build anyways. I’ve thrown so many fiberglass ideas around in my brain and it’s so inspiring to see someone pulling it off. Thanks for the posts and keep it up! Can’t wait to see the finished product!

 

[Mules]

It’s too tall for my taste, but I absolutely love this build anyways. I’ve thrown so many fiberglass ideas around in my brain and it’s so inspiring to see someone pulling it off. Thanks for the posts and keep it up! Can’t wait to see the finished product!

Thanks for the comment. I went back and forth about the height. This taller height allows for me to sit up straight with the RTT down and you can walk around inside bent over. I can camp in it without putting the top up, if needed for stealth camping. The biggest thing I don't like is that it won't fit in my garage.

The nice thing about this design is that I can make a low top for it also. I can then fit it in my garage, and switch out the tops, when I go camping.

 

[billiebob]

View attachment 693443View attachment 693444

an amazing project, well done, definitely learned a lot from the process, many thanks

 

[Mules]

Still need to trim the top and bottom fiberglass to match the top opening and build the hinge frame. It will be pretty open inside when done.

 

[Ark]

Mules, great looking build! I've often wondered how well a "topper" with a passthrough like this would work on the Gladiator given it's easy to modify (at least compared to other trucks) fiberglass roof.

It's a little hard to get a good perspective from the camera shots. Does it feel easy-ish to get into the driver's seat from the bed?

Happen to have any other super-wide-angle shots of that back interior? I am definitely interested to see how much room you have in there

 

[Mules]

Mules, great looking build! I've often wondered how well a "topper" with a passthrough like this would work on the Gladiator given it's easy to modify (at least compared to other trucks) fiberglass roof.

It's a little hard to get a good perspective from the camera shots. Does it feel easy-ish to get into the driver's seat from the bed?

Happen to have any other super-wide-angle shots of that back interior? I am definitely interested to see how much room you have in there

Sorry but I don't have any better pictures yet. It might be a few months before I put the camper back on the truck. For an idea of interior feel, I would look at Toyota Troopy and Land Rover 130 campers. They will give you a good idea of size and pass through.

Even with my open interior, it won't be any easier climbing into the driver's seat than a regular Gladiator is. The issue isn't the camper, but rather getting under the roll bar, which is above the drivers head. Not too bad since you can just swing your legs on the driver seat and ease down. Removing the center console might give more room, but I'm not sure how you would do this.

 

[Mules]

One of the nice things about this camper is that it is light and small enough to fit though a 3' door. My son and I can separate it and carry it in the basement. Good thing since my garage is full. Now I have a warm place to work on and store it this winter.

 

[Mules]

Jscherb from another forum, just pointed me in the direction of TrailTop. Their fiberglass corners and edges would work pretty nice for a DIY camper. This might have saved me a lot of time building mine.

 

[Mules]

To strengthen the seams, I'm glassing both inside and outside.. On the outside, I grind down the seam area to leave room for the fiberglass and resin. A couple layers of glass over the seam, then I'll sand the entire shell. Then fill holes and seams with bondo, sand, and repeat. After all that it's time for primer.

 

[Mules]

Glassed the seams, sanded the shell, bondo'ed it, and ran out of sand paper. Next weekend round two of bondo/sandpaper.

 

[Mules]

I keep going back to Drifta Troopy Conversions when thinking out the interior layout. Simple and well thought out.

 

[Mules]

Thinking about building seats in the camper, but the cost of upholstering is expensive. Yukon bench seats are plentiful on eBay, and you can't beat the price. Do I go for boxes with pillows on top, or automotive seats in the camper?I think they would fit and look nicely, and you can even get black leather.

 

[Mules]

Perfect size water tank for the front wall of the bed, under my planned seats. Not sure if I'll go built in water and grey tank or simple jerry cans yet.

 

[Mules]

Here's a good video on straight up lifting mechanism. I guess you could add pneumatic struts to assist.