home built flip top truck bed camper

[homemade]

Does anyone know what the weight of a full size short bed flippac top lid is? Maybe 100#? I plan to use 2”x1”x1”x1/8” bar channel for the periphery, 2”x1/8” bar for roof supports and alum diamond plate for the roof membrane. Total weight would be 110#, I was wondering if that is in ballpark of the flippac lid.

Anyone know if the periphery of a flippack lid is steel or just fiberglass? I think I read somewhere that the hinge just inserts into a 8" long steel channel that is imbedded in the sides of the lid. If this is correct does anyone know what guage/thickness the channel is. I think my channel above will be adequate but I could also beef it up if I needed to, but at the cost of extra weight.

 

[thebrassnuckles]

I kow that all flippac lids are the same size, and all use the same torsion bar. the lower portion of the camper shell is what is different. I have mine off right now. I lifted it with my very small wife, so I'd guess less than 250 lbs.. just a guess though..
I am terrible with estimations, so you could probably just forget that number:snorkel:

 

[homemade]

That’s interesting, I would have thought that the full size flippac top would be at least wider than the compact size camper top. Thanks for the weight guesstimate.

 

[thebrassnuckles]

the fullsize camper has a taper to the top part like a normal campershell, the mini truck has verticle walls.
I totally spaced on trying to get a more accurate weight estimate.

but remember, when the top is flipped, there is a massive amount of force being applied to the torsion bar and all its connections.

 

[homemade]

Right, one look at Harp's cracked hinge gives an idea of the forces. Must be several hundred pounds. I am going to use gas springs that will attach 15" from the back of the lid, one on each side(back flip top). with the center of gravity at 42" it will still be a lot of upward force to lift the lid at that point. I ordered two with #185 force each. Given the angle the initial force closed will be just over 200# (if I calculated right) and will give a lift of 75# at the center of gravity of the lid (if I calculated right). If I calculated wrong the results might be pretty comical (lid that either won't open or opens to 45 degrees but won't completely open or close without a lot of help).

 

[Harp]

I have found the lid itself is not that heavy, the stress involved is pulling up the tent and the suction of air filling the tent. When I deploy mine I open the back to relieve the suction effect. when I get to vertical I have my wife close the back and the remaining suction softens the opening. I leave the back closed when closing for the same effect. As I understand it Viking Vince doesn't even use his torsion bar deployment method anymore. Just a rope attached to the back of the unit, throw it across and pull.
My arm failed due to a manufacturing heat tempering problem. Now with the flippac off of my vehicle I can easily open and close alone just lifting the top (no suction when it's off of my truck). Look at the top of the flippac carefully and you will find the only solid fiberglass is around the edges and a 4 inch strip down the middle. The rest is some type of semi air filled nida core type panel. Very light and sturdy. If I had to guess I would say the top comes in way under 100#. The metal strips that are sealed on the sides are not very large either. Just enough to get the job done. If I were making a flip top I would go as light as possible to carry the load you intend. Good luck and I hope this gives you some answers.

Marty

 

[homemade]

Thanks, any and all input is appreciated. The roof membrane/skin is the biggest issue for me. I have a 5’x12’ .062 (.125 including the thickness of the diamonds) aluminum diamond plate that I was going to use just because I have it but at a weight of about 0.9#/sf and a roof surface area of 42sf (6’x7’) it adds 38# to the 64# roof frame wt.

Does anyone have experience with twin wall polycarbonate glazing? It is inexpensive but I can’t find any specific reference to weight. The largest unsupported span would be 18”x33”, I wonder how it would hold up to carrying weight. It would definitely be more insulating than aluminum but I would cover the inside surface with high density foam sheet anyway, which would help distribute weight stress also. Advertisements for this product state that it is self supporting when used for glazing, my roof would have supports with largest unsupported span as noted above.