Pop up mechanisms. Pictures. DIY improvements etc....

[javajoe79]

I will be building my own pop up and was looking for any pics that people have of their campers pop up mechanisms, improvements they have made, etc... I have several ideas swirling around in my head. I have looked through the entire pic thread for pop ups and alot of that was very helpful but I would love to see some details pics of people's pop up mechanisms and interiors in general.

Thanks. This site is awesome

 

[Ozarker]

I'd like to see them as well. I'm not sure, just speculating, but these mechanisms could be patented, looking to patents would reveal the details and give a written description of their operation. Now, you could build a patented item so long as it is for your personal use and not sold, a commercial venture will be a patent violation. Better yet is to buy the item from that manufacture, they should have parts available. Otherwise you need to make modifications and design your own.

Lifting a top or lid isn't rocket science. If I do one it will be rather light and one person should be able to lift it any shop that sells those gas struts should be able to help. Getting heavier a cable crank up system can be used, a hydraulic ram could be employed or an electrical system might use a long screw jack type system. What ever you use I'd want to have a redundant system as a back up activated inside or out in case there was a failure.

Just off hand, a boom could lift a top and lift other items on top or a motorcycle on the rear, it might not be cool but I like things that serve more than one purpose.

Some YouTube videos might help, you could stop the show. Hook up a TV to your computer that might give you a bigger picture. I'm not a techie so I don't know if you can copy and zoom those.

 

[Herbie]

You didn't specify the type of pop-up, and this is probably NOT what you're looking for, but for the sake of completeness, here's a good photo for you:

The top is a Reimo hinge for a VW Westfalia style pop-up. The bottom is a similar hinge from another company.

These are called "6-bar linkages", a standard mechanism. They can be configured a couple of ways, but in this arrangement, they create a motion that simulates the arc of a regular pivot hinge where the pivot point is some distance removed from the mechanism.

In other words, these act like a regular hinge, except the imaginary pin of the hinge would be ~3ft back from the end of the vehicle. The net effect is that both ends of the top-bar sweep the same arc, and you get some lift at the hinge-end, instead of solely at the far end. This translates to usable foot room, at least!

These mechanisms aren't trivial to setup - you wouldn't want to try to freehand one as they will easily bind if the linkage lengths aren't all correct. That said, aside from the critical tolerances of the link design, they're a fairly simple construction.

As far as lifting goes - many users of this mechanism have gas-springs to assist with lifting. The first 10" or so of raising the top requires effort, after that the top goes up automatically. Many designs (mine included) use only the gas-springs to keep the top up. Westfalias use a locking "H-Bar" to keep the top locked in the up position (and this mechanism I think is also used to provide leverage while raising the top).

 

[javajoe79]

Good stuff so far. I am not looking to copy anyone's patent. Just using existing methods for inspiration. Whatever I come up with will likely be sort of like something that has already been done. I will be building my own camper from scratch. I am a fabricator so I plan on doing it all myself.

 

[kkeith1986]

Look at the simple roof lift from phoenix pop ups.

 

[Gekkgo]

Weekend Warrior project



I built this box over the course of a few afternoons after work.. We drove it 1500miles this past weekend.. slept in comfort and had a blast in Maine!

The pop-up feature was an after thought and I didn't have a clue what i was doing. I used 2 hindged 20x48 inch sheets of flake board to create folding walls at teh front and back of the unit. I came up with a bolt system to lock the walls in the open position, but find that a pair of spring clamps works just as well and easier to install on the fly.

I used aircraft cable to limit the travel of the support walls forward and backward. The walls themselves offer lateral stability. The unit is heavier than I would have liked, but I made it out of stuff I had in the garage. its all wood (15/32 ply) and 2x4 studs. I'll get a total weight on it this weekend.

The roof raises in three stages.. 1st I raise all four corners above the body of the box on sliding spacers so it wont bind while lifting. then I can stand on the rear gate and manually lift the back edge of the roof to its final height and clamp the hingeboard to lock the wall in the rear. I then use a farm jack to hoist the front half of the roof up from inside the unit. The entire process takes less than 10 minutes. and all the pieces stow under the upper bunk in the box.

 

[javajoe79]

Nice work!!

 

[wvtradbow]

That's a pretty neat camper build..I'd like to find a better lifting method for my old FWC,I love the camper but never really did like those lift panels they use.