STREGA
Explorer
Congrats kmacafee, would like to see pics of your camper and its tie down system when it gets done.
STREGA's Bundutec Flatbed Bunducamp Popup Build.
- Thread starter STREGA
- Start date
Congrats kmacafee, would like to see pics of your camper and its tie down system when it gets done.
STREGA
Explorer
The Bundutec passed the shakedown cruise with flying colors. Everything worked as it should and we are quite pleased with it. This trip did not allow for remote camping since the main purpose of the trip was to see the inlaws but we did stay at the campgrounds at Pinnacles National Park and Death Valley for one night apiece, also one night off Route 66. The rest were spent camping in the inlaws backyard with a oil well pump running 24/7 about 200' away.
Next trip will be attending the Overland Expo in May and will be camping off site at the Cinders by Flagstaff, hopefully I will be able to do a overniter somewhere before the Expo. If you are going to be attending the Expo and would like to see the Bundutec PM me and we can setup a time to get together.
Doug
Next trip will be attending the Overland Expo in May and will be camping off site at the Cinders by Flagstaff, hopefully I will be able to do a overniter somewhere before the Expo. If you are going to be attending the Expo and would like to see the Bundutec PM me and we can setup a time to get together.
Doug
windtraveler
Observer
We chose Bundutec for most all of the reasons you did. We picked up our RipTide feb 2017 and have spent around 45-50 nights in it, one of the trips was a 21 day (5000miles) stretch. Temperatures ranged from 14 degrees to 75 degrees on that trip. Only 500 hwy miles and probably close to 1000 dirt road miles. As far as I’m concerned the camper has performed flawlessly. Warm when cold, cool when warm, kept the dust out, water in the tanks and water heater did not freeze, etc... Heck, even the bugs washed off easily! One of the other trips was 6 days exclusively on gnarly, rutted, pot holed, non-maintained forest service roads (about 300miles). Everything has worked as it should and there were no issues. Of note, we have the Yakima tracks and roof racks and as we were driving through Moab we were flagged down because one of the forward rack towers came unclipped. When I stopped to reattach it I noticed a severe bend in the bar. This tells me that the bar had been tweaked pretty hard but there was no sign whatsoever that any of the other towers or the track had been tweaked. In other words, the tracks were very well secured to the roof and the roof provides a very solid/stout mounting platform. Couldn’t be happier.
I had advertised to sell it (free up $$$ for another project) and had more than a few offers but in the end couldn’t pull the trigger. Out of 40 different vehicles, trailers, boats, etc... I have owned this is the 1st one I’ve had any sort of emotional attachment too.
I am now talking to Rory about building a custom RV trailer.
Top notch people building what I believe is one of the best valued product lines in the industry.
STREGA
Explorer
Between crappy internet service here at the Canyon and just being super busy at work I've neglected this thread for far to long, due to a small work injury yesterday I've been placed on a 3 day injured reserve status so time to catch up.
Before the Expo we did a 2 day trip over to the North Rim to our favorite camp spot. As the Condor flies this particular camp site is about 20 miles or so away from our house here on the South Rim but is a 4 hour drive from here to this camp site. To get to this spot is for the most part a easy forest service road except for the last half mile portion which gets a little rough and there is a couple large tree branches that hang fairly low over the road. The Bundutec popup clears them fine, a hardsided camper would not clear it. Knowing this camp spot would be out of the question for us to get to with a hard side camper helped with the decision to go with a popup over the hardside version and I'am sure this senario will happen again somewhere down the road.
The next day we drove down quite a few F/S roads looking for other potential camp sites found quite a few decent places but none that were better than where we stayed the night before. Alot of these roads don't see much vehicle traffic and there was quite a bit of overgrowth and we received our first pinstripes on the Bundutec again a hardsided camper would have been a no go, we dragged a few small limbs on our popup but were able to clear quite a few larger ones. We finally got to a spot where we were to tall and wide to proceed and turned around.
All in all we had a short but fun little outing to the North Rim and the Bundutec performed as expected.
Before the Expo we did a 2 day trip over to the North Rim to our favorite camp spot. As the Condor flies this particular camp site is about 20 miles or so away from our house here on the South Rim but is a 4 hour drive from here to this camp site. To get to this spot is for the most part a easy forest service road except for the last half mile portion which gets a little rough and there is a couple large tree branches that hang fairly low over the road. The Bundutec popup clears them fine, a hardsided camper would not clear it. Knowing this camp spot would be out of the question for us to get to with a hard side camper helped with the decision to go with a popup over the hardside version and I'am sure this senario will happen again somewhere down the road.
The next day we drove down quite a few F/S roads looking for other potential camp sites found quite a few decent places but none that were better than where we stayed the night before. Alot of these roads don't see much vehicle traffic and there was quite a bit of overgrowth and we received our first pinstripes on the Bundutec again a hardsided camper would have been a no go, we dragged a few small limbs on our popup but were able to clear quite a few larger ones. We finally got to a spot where we were to tall and wide to proceed and turned around.
All in all we had a short but fun little outing to the North Rim and the Bundutec performed as expected.
GB_Willys_2014
Well-known member
Any weather related issues on your North Rim trip?
Yesterday, I had intended to drive out to Toroweap, but decided not to because of Hurricane Rosa.
STREGA
Explorer
It was a bit windy, kinda normal for spring. We started seeing some rain finally this AM but it has not rained that hard yet, there are flash flood warnings in effect thru Wednesday.
STREGA
Explorer
I will group a few other trips together since there is not all that much to report about. The trip to the Expo was uneventful and since it is only a hour and a half away from home not even much of a road trip more like one of our biweekly trip to Flagstaff or Prescott to get groceries. I met up with a couple of friends at the Cinders near Flag where we camped for a couple nights, for a place to camp not much good to say for it maybe if you have moto's or SxS it would be OK. The main reason for staying there was the cost of camping at the Expo has become a bit expensive and it's fairly close by to the Expo, If I do go to Expo in 2019 I will probably pony up and stay at the event.
Once again the Bundutec performed flawlessly, the weather was good that weekend so I only ran the heater for a short time in the morning. I was able to meet up with Rory and Jenn from Bundutec at the Expo and catch up on things going on with them, it sounds like they are staying busy building campers. I had a couple small issues with my popup to ask Rory about, one I fixed myself before the expo. The drain valve had a small dribble coming out it and it was a bit hard to turn as well. I assumed it was a faulty valve but after looking it over I noticed there was a hose clamp holding on a very short piece of hose to the drain outlet (had to kind of stand on my head to see it) loosen the clamp about 3/4 of a turn and end of problem. The other had to do with the skylight, the plastic trim around the skylight would fall off while going down the road. There are metal clips around the perimeter of the trim piece and I was thinking that they were not adjusted tight enough to hold the trim on. The real problem was that hidden behind a removable cover on the trim were places for screws to securely hold the trim to the roof. The installer either didn't know about that feature or just forgot to do that step. Neither problems were that big of a deal and was able to fix them easily. As far as the skylight option goes we do like it kinda nice to lay on your back and go to sleep watching the stars although the field of view thru it is not very large and on full moon nights it lights up the inside of the camper. If $$$ is a issue when ordering a camper I would delete that option as it adds to the bells and whistle side of the ledger.
3 of the overnighter trips we have done have actually been the previous mention resupply trips that we do every other week to Prescott so not actually a camping trip per say but we are sleeping in the camper......so we will count it as such. We prefer to shop in Prescott over Flagstaff but going to Prescott adds about a hour+ travel time which cuts into our shopping time and going to town always eats up the day, travel time alone can be up to 4+ hours of the day. We also have a hard and fast rule that we leave Flagstaff a hour and a half (Prescott 2+) before sunset to avoid the mass exodus of people leaving the Grand Canyon on Hwy 64 when its dark, the steady stream of headlights in your eyes for about 60 miles is not fun not to mention the potential of getting into a head-on collision because someone has to get to Las Vegas now. So anyway we make it a 2 day shopping trip which makes for a much more leisurly time and allows us to go to a store or 2 that we otherwise would not have time to check out and we still get to do a little bit of camping to boot Woo Hoo!
On one of our trips to Prescott we finally had our first rain/thunder/lightning storm and it was a doozy but we stayed warm and dry all night. We did enjoy watching the lightning through the skylight a few were really close, gotta love those bells and whistles! It was also our first trip with our new to us rescue dog, he is just a little guy but he loves going camping in his popup.
Once again the Bundutec performed flawlessly, the weather was good that weekend so I only ran the heater for a short time in the morning. I was able to meet up with Rory and Jenn from Bundutec at the Expo and catch up on things going on with them, it sounds like they are staying busy building campers. I had a couple small issues with my popup to ask Rory about, one I fixed myself before the expo. The drain valve had a small dribble coming out it and it was a bit hard to turn as well. I assumed it was a faulty valve but after looking it over I noticed there was a hose clamp holding on a very short piece of hose to the drain outlet (had to kind of stand on my head to see it) loosen the clamp about 3/4 of a turn and end of problem. The other had to do with the skylight, the plastic trim around the skylight would fall off while going down the road. There are metal clips around the perimeter of the trim piece and I was thinking that they were not adjusted tight enough to hold the trim on. The real problem was that hidden behind a removable cover on the trim were places for screws to securely hold the trim to the roof. The installer either didn't know about that feature or just forgot to do that step. Neither problems were that big of a deal and was able to fix them easily. As far as the skylight option goes we do like it kinda nice to lay on your back and go to sleep watching the stars although the field of view thru it is not very large and on full moon nights it lights up the inside of the camper. If $$$ is a issue when ordering a camper I would delete that option as it adds to the bells and whistle side of the ledger.
3 of the overnighter trips we have done have actually been the previous mention resupply trips that we do every other week to Prescott so not actually a camping trip per say but we are sleeping in the camper......so we will count it as such. We prefer to shop in Prescott over Flagstaff but going to Prescott adds about a hour+ travel time which cuts into our shopping time and going to town always eats up the day, travel time alone can be up to 4+ hours of the day. We also have a hard and fast rule that we leave Flagstaff a hour and a half (Prescott 2+) before sunset to avoid the mass exodus of people leaving the Grand Canyon on Hwy 64 when its dark, the steady stream of headlights in your eyes for about 60 miles is not fun not to mention the potential of getting into a head-on collision because someone has to get to Las Vegas now. So anyway we make it a 2 day shopping trip which makes for a much more leisurly time and allows us to go to a store or 2 that we otherwise would not have time to check out and we still get to do a little bit of camping to boot Woo Hoo!
On one of our trips to Prescott we finally had our first rain/thunder/lightning storm and it was a doozy but we stayed warm and dry all night. We did enjoy watching the lightning through the skylight a few were really close, gotta love those bells and whistles! It was also our first trip with our new to us rescue dog, he is just a little guy but he loves going camping in his popup.
STREGA
Explorer
This October marks the first year of ownership of the Bundutec. Due to work schedules for my wife and me that have not allowed us to have as many days off together as we would have liked we have not gotten out enough in our camper this year. What time we have had to use it has been great, the camper has performed just as I expected it to work. After 8 years of using a RTT (which I did like) the creature comforts that we get with the Bundutec is most welcome, the older I get the more I appreciate those CC's. Wish we had been able to use the camper more so my review of it would have more street cred but I can honestly say the it has worked flawlessly so far, maybe by the end of year two I will be able to have a more in depth review.
The features of our Bundutec that I like the most:
1. The oversized storage area is probably the most useful part of the camper and gets the most thumbs up by people who see it. I use it almost daily and it was well worth the space it took from the interior of the living space. The size of the storage space was dictated by the length needed to fit a RV queen bed in the overhead, which for me ended up being a perfect size storage space.
2. Speaking of the queen bed, it has to be the most comfortable mattress I've ever slept on. We have slept great every night we have used it.
3. The electric lift for the roof. Easy peasy, #2 thing that gets people's thumbs up rating, probably be #1 if everybody actually saw it in action opposed to just being told that it lifts automatically with a push of a button.
4. The ability to push the dining table into the wall out of the way. Maybe a small thing but makes it so much easier to get in and out of the dinnette table as well as access the bed.
5. The attention it gets where ever we go. Everytime we go to town we get at least 3 people who want to know more about it. Some just want to know what it is, we have been asked if it's a dog catcher truck, prisoner transport rig, armourned truck or a ambulance, they are always surprised to learn that it's just a popup camper I think the big doors on the sides confuse them.
Things that I would have done differently maybe:
1. Probably would do a side entrance door instead of the rear entry door. Since I had already committed to a rear entry door mainly due to the original camper I was going to get and had invested in a built in step system on the truck I ordered the Bundutec with the rear entry. We do get a little dust on the inside of the door, not real bad but it is there though. Also having the dinnette at the rear would allow for a better view outside the camper.
2. I would rather had a ARB chest style fridge instead of the upright Dometic we have. The Dometic works just fine, the freezer keeps ice cream frozen but when you open the door after going down a rough road stuff wants to fall out of it when you open the door which can be a PITA, need to get a couple of those load bars that they sell in RV shops. The reason I didn't go the ARB route was the lack of floor space available it just wouldn't fit, the Dometic did.
3. The attention we get wherever we go, sometimes we just don't have the time to go through the spill about it or just don't want to deal with all the questions. The wife always saying with her eyes rolling "...here comes someone to ask you about the camper..." . Having had a teardrop trailer in the past we were quite use to being asked question about our rig but I never thought a popup camper would garner so much attention, so not sure what I could have done differently to avoid it.
4. Another small thing was a lack of a latch to hold the door open when you just want the screen door closed. I may get around to installing one someday but for now I just use a bungee cord to hold it open. Don't know if it was something that got overlooked when it was built or if they just don't put them on their campers will have to ask Rory next time I see him.
Thats about all I got for now.
The features of our Bundutec that I like the most:
1. The oversized storage area is probably the most useful part of the camper and gets the most thumbs up by people who see it. I use it almost daily and it was well worth the space it took from the interior of the living space. The size of the storage space was dictated by the length needed to fit a RV queen bed in the overhead, which for me ended up being a perfect size storage space.
2. Speaking of the queen bed, it has to be the most comfortable mattress I've ever slept on. We have slept great every night we have used it.
3. The electric lift for the roof. Easy peasy, #2 thing that gets people's thumbs up rating, probably be #1 if everybody actually saw it in action opposed to just being told that it lifts automatically with a push of a button.
4. The ability to push the dining table into the wall out of the way. Maybe a small thing but makes it so much easier to get in and out of the dinnette table as well as access the bed.
5. The attention it gets where ever we go. Everytime we go to town we get at least 3 people who want to know more about it. Some just want to know what it is, we have been asked if it's a dog catcher truck, prisoner transport rig, armourned truck or a ambulance, they are always surprised to learn that it's just a popup camper I think the big doors on the sides confuse them.
Things that I would have done differently maybe:
1. Probably would do a side entrance door instead of the rear entry door. Since I had already committed to a rear entry door mainly due to the original camper I was going to get and had invested in a built in step system on the truck I ordered the Bundutec with the rear entry. We do get a little dust on the inside of the door, not real bad but it is there though. Also having the dinnette at the rear would allow for a better view outside the camper.
2. I would rather had a ARB chest style fridge instead of the upright Dometic we have. The Dometic works just fine, the freezer keeps ice cream frozen but when you open the door after going down a rough road stuff wants to fall out of it when you open the door which can be a PITA, need to get a couple of those load bars that they sell in RV shops. The reason I didn't go the ARB route was the lack of floor space available it just wouldn't fit, the Dometic did.
3. The attention we get wherever we go, sometimes we just don't have the time to go through the spill about it or just don't want to deal with all the questions. The wife always saying with her eyes rolling "...here comes someone to ask you about the camper..." . Having had a teardrop trailer in the past we were quite use to being asked question about our rig but I never thought a popup camper would garner so much attention, so not sure what I could have done differently to avoid it.
4. Another small thing was a lack of a latch to hold the door open when you just want the screen door closed. I may get around to installing one someday but for now I just use a bungee cord to hold it open. Don't know if it was something that got overlooked when it was built or if they just don't put them on their campers will have to ask Rory next time I see him.
Thats about all I got for now.
STREGA
Explorer
Thanks Jason. Still here at the Canyon, probably be here for another 3 to 5 years until I retire. Hadn't seen you here on the Forum for awhile, still have the FJ and in Texas?
Doug
Ramjet
Explorer
Doug,
No. I sold the FJ a few years ago. Recently got a Tacoma TRD Pro. Keeping it pretty mild as far as a build goes. We will be headed your way in March to visit the Grand Canyon. I’ll look you up when we get there.
Our camper is mounted with outside fast guns. It will be much easier to remove and replace when needed. I had a chest fridge that I wanted to keep and Rory built a hidden slide under the bed that keeps it out of the way when not needed.
Love the side entry and the dinette in the back with the big window is perfect. It's a little high given I added a drawer under the flat bed but the extra storage is well worth it.
We also opted for the windows with integrated shades and a Truma furnace/ hot water heater which is great. No waste tanks and a 22 gallon water heater. 340w of solar on roof.
It's a 1 ton truck so I am well within carrying capacity but I am adding an additional leaf spring in back to eliminate the softness. Camper weighed 2100 pounds dry but truck handles it well.
Love the side entry and the dinette in the back with the big window is perfect. It's a little high given I added a drawer under the flat bed but the extra storage is well worth it.
We also opted for the windows with integrated shades and a Truma furnace/ hot water heater which is great. No waste tanks and a 22 gallon water heater. 340w of solar on roof.
It's a 1 ton truck so I am well within carrying capacity but I am adding an additional leaf spring in back to eliminate the softness. Camper weighed 2100 pounds dry but truck handles it well.