Seeking troopie pop top advice

[kcowyo]

There are plenty of photos on the net of the roofs from the outside but never inside. I'm wondering if anybody has seen some interior pics or drawings. I'd rather not completely reinvent the wheel....

Similar but different..... allochris has a build thread of his homemade pop top camper. He has very detailed pics and tips of how he did the collapsable roof. Might get your gears turning...?

 

[lowenbrau]

Sloped roof? Really?

For the effort in construction, why not a full length pop top? Sloped roofs mean a loss of usable square footage. Unless your a wee lad, a full length raised roof will serve you better. The hassles of a sloped roof will be similar to the hassles of using a RTT in the boggy bush of BFE.

I saw the first attached LC recently. I didn't take a picture of the rear but it was open as I drove by. The guy's SO was sitting near the exit on a bench on the left side (I'm assuming this thing was rhd, dunno, it was dark) and there was a counter across from her that she appeared to be doing some dinner prep on.

My first thought was, "That's a lot smaller on the inside than it looks from the outside."

Just for thought and your pic file collection, what about a Troopie with a full length pop up roof? While we're bouncing ideas around, here's more pics for your daydreams.....

Thanks for the additional pics. I'm not stuck on the sloped idea but see value in a few areas. 1) With the fixed hinge at the front you can still carry some roof loads at this end. Its much harder to put anything on a roof that scissors straight up. 2) A sloped roof gets the solar panels facing the sun. (or perhaps not in the sun at all if you are unable to position the vehicle) 3) I think you get more height where you need it. If you look at Twoaroundtheworld's rig it seems that the sloped roof is as high right behind the driver's seat as any of the pop top types. It only gets better from there. The narrow end is where your feet go and you can easily sit up in bed.

I realize that this will be really tight for a camper. Living inside would be claustrophobic.

 

[Hltoppr]

I believe 2ATW mentioned to me it was a bit tight....,but I like the all weather ability too....I've spent a lot of cold, windy, rainy nights in a rtt and know it can be a bit small....

-H-

 

[4Rescue]

Once somebody discovered the 15 year rule there has been a flood of JDM imports and everybody and their dog have become amateur importers. The process is now well documented and lots of guys have been doing it. Unfortunately 75 pickups and troopies were not commonly available in Japan where vehicles are often in very good condition and with low miles. Where they are plentiful (aus) they are well used. This one belongs to a Kiwi friend of mine who spends some time in Canada and will import it. I was hoping for an HJ75 to make a swap to a 12HT easy but doing a home brew turbo on a 1HZ or waiting to find a 1HDT will have to do.

I spent 30 nights in my RTT this year and did so in rainy, muddy conditions. When you see the pictures of people with RTTs on the beach in Baja and in the Savanna you imagine a different reality than when you are bogged to the axles somewhere and just give up for the night. Setting up the tent on a filthy truck can be a pain too. Don't get me wrong, I love the thing. I just think there might be a better alternative. Additionally, once the Troopie is fitted out with an indoor kitchen, cupboards etc it will be much nicer to have some additional headroom from the pop up. Setting these things up for African travel is a specialty of the Germans and they practically have a standard blueprint. My GF made a lot of friends at the International Cruiser Meeting in Germany (pictures here) a few years ago and I can talk to them for info too but langauge is a difficulty when we get into technical terms.

Sometimes leaving the wet nasty outside is just not possible.

Yeah I hear ya, I'm an Oregonian myself so I'm well aware of the muck that we (those of us in these great rain forests) have near year round... I always loved the shocked looks from all the guys in Australia when we'd be out and I just slep in my bug net on top of my swag while they're all going "aren't you cold? aren't you gonna get wet with the dew in the morning... BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA Cold? Wet? seriously, it was like heaven except for the whole man eating insect thing...

So hurry up and get building, I need somethign more to drool over adn make me feel inadaquate

Cheers and No Worries

Dave

 

[Hltoppr]

I think there's a pop top 45 in town....lemme see if I can get some pics of it up and down....then try to swap my top for it....:costumed-smiley-007

-H-

 

[lowenbrau]

Similar but different..... allochris has a build thread of his homemade pop top camper. He has very detailed pics and tips of how he did the collapsable roof. Might get your gears turning...?

Yeah, I've been following that one. Truly remarkable fabrication.

 

[Clutch]

Have you thought of contacting Sportsmobile, to see if they can make you a popup? There is another RV company that makes the pop up vans too, I can not recall their name though.

 

[kcowyo]

More similar but different - The E-Camper from Ursa Minor Vehicles

This design only creates a sleeping loft, accessible via the sunroof, not a completely open stand-up area within the vehicle. But it may again, give you ideas regarding the lifting mechanism and a potential source for fabric siding tips and whatnot.

 

[MoGas]

More similar but different - The E-Camper from Ursa Minor Vehicles

This design only creates a sleeping loft, accessible via the sunroof, not a completely open stand-up area within the vehicle. But it may again, give you ideas regarding the lifting mechanism and a potential source for fabric siding tips and whatnot.

I saw one of those towards the Grand Canyon the other day. Pretty cool.









Dave

 

[Clutch]

Pleasure Way makes popups too.
http://www.pleasureway.com/models.html

 

[lowenbrau]

Thanks so much everybody. This is the kind of info I was hoping for.

 

[Clutch]

These type of threads make me want to sell the Tacoma, and import a Troopie.

 

[lowenbrau]

Maybe I should just buy this instead

 

[bj70_guy]

You're just the guy to put that thing on 37s and run it over the rubicon...do it!

 

[kcowyo]

Maybe I should just buy this instead

Maybe you should....:drool: :jumping: