Thoughts on overall height of your set up. How tall is too tall for the backcountry?

[Trail Talk]

We are narrow though, with helps tremendously. Camper is just a few inches wider than the cab. We dont even need to extend the mirrors.

OT I know but, in addition to this benefit, being narrow has been a big factor in reducing turbulence at speed. Our cab and cabin are basically flush and we experience very little crosswind buffeting even in nasty storms. I’ve often remarked to OEV how impressed I am with this, which Mark states was a design goal. Just had to share for those that are still weighing all their choices, now back to the topic…

 

[wackyhacky76CO]

Mine is just under 10' tall with a flatbed style, and 35s. The interior height is 76". I don't have anything on the roof, and branches haven't been an issue yet in the west... I just let the camper knock them out of the way. A polesaw would be a good thing to carry.

Aterra could be an option, but they are expensive and insulation isn't great vs a foam core. They use PP honeycomb. On the other hand, the PP honeycomb is a strong core material, and I'm pretty sure they have aluminum angle on all edges.


The 2nd gen is 76" tall, and with a lift and bigger tires, mine is ~79", plus 2" clearance (which is plenty), 34" berth height (which I also think is plenty with a NS bed), and 1.7" walls x2.

10' is just a number though, and these are all going to be pretty tall.

I really appreciate all this information folks. So thank you. The Aterra would probably be my perfect solutions, except for as you said. It's just too pricey. I can have a custom built one for far less and achieve the same 4 season need.

 

[calameda]

Mine is just under 10' tall with a flatbed style, and 35s. The interior height is 76". I don't have anything on the roof, and branches haven't been an issue yet in the west... I just let the camper knock them out of the way. A polesaw would be a good thing to carry.

Aterra could be an option, but they are expensive and insulation isn't great vs a foam core. They use PP honeycomb. On the other hand, the PP honeycomb is a strong core material, and I'm pretty sure they have aluminum angle on all edges.


The 2nd gen is 76" tall, and with a lift and bigger tires, mine is ~79", plus 2" clearance (which is plenty), 34" berth height (which I also think is plenty with a NS bed), and 1.7" walls x2.

10' is just a number though, and these are all going to be pretty tall.

Just to clarify: was suggesting the attera’s sloped roof design, not the aterra itself. Might as well have suggested the Kimbo. Point being that design can mitigate some of the clearance problems. We are glad we did. Though we still often use the polesaw.

I am impressed you’re under 10’ with lift and flatbed. But i would suggest for anyone close to 6’ or taller that 34” interior height in the cabover can feel pretty tight, assuming 4-6 inch mattress thickness. Our previous camper was 35” and i frequently hit my head sitting up, and im just 5’11”. But maybe im just claustrophobic. And a klutz.

 

[wackyhacky76CO]

The shell builder that I think we will most likely work with is able to make all the size adjustments we want & he thinks we can get very close to 10' if not a smidge under & still maintain a decent cabover depth for the bed. I think 30" is the smallest I would want to go there. I built a mock up in the garage at 30" height last night so my wife & I could lie under it and see how it felt. I can still almost sit up, so I think that works for us. Anything we can gain there in the design process due to flat bed height or cabover height adjustments will just be a +.


Building Forts at 47.. LOL

 

[calameda]

Actually, that’s my truck and camper. The drawer under the flatbed raises the camper a few inches.

Dang, that is very tight. Would definitely have flex issues on my 2006 ram 2500.

 

[calameda]

The shell builder that I think we will most likely work with is able to make all the size adjustments we want & he thinks we can get very close to 10' if not a smidge under & still maintain a decent cabover depth for the bed. I think 30" is the smallest I would want to go there. I built a mock up in the garage at 30" height last night so my wife & I could lie under it and see how it felt. I can still almost sit up, so I think that works for us. Anything we can gain there in the design process due to flat bed height or cabover height adjustments will just be a +.

View attachment 860862
Building Forts at 47.. LOL

30” from floor? Or from top of mattress?

 

[NOPEC]

There are trades offs w/ everything...Boo. ha ha.

We built out a custom slide in camper shell last winter, our first new, "non-reno" build so in essence we had a clean sheet of paper to start with. It was delicious but also a bit daunting in a way as all of the design decisions we made up front, we would have to live with for a long time! Like you are planning, the camper was built to our dimensions and specific to our bone stock GMC 2500 HD longbox, regular cab 4WD. Like you also want to do, our design minimized the space between the cab roof and camper overhead.

Here are a couple of our numbers;

-with 265/70x17 10ply tires, the exterior height is 9' 9" ("sliders" to be added in the spring will bring it up to just about 10' exactly)
-85 inches wide (WO jack brackets),
-32 1/2 inches floor to ceiling in the bed area and
-54 inches of interior bed (East/west) width.

We used an "off the shelf" 4 inch hard foam mattress on top of a venting layer of 3/4 inches. At our "average" body heights (5'10, etc.) the interior bed area height with mattress/spacer is just perfect for us. With a north/south sleeping arrangement, these clearances might be a bit claustrophobic. The East/west setup for us is a first and we are actually really liking it. We have a very "open" interior design so it works well for us. Plus at being "north of 70" in age, most of the horizontal activities now involve reading and sleeping.....

For context, here are a couple of pics from a few nights ago.

 

[rruff]

I am impressed you’re under 10’ with lift and flatbed. But i would suggest for anyone close to 6’ or taller that 34” interior height in the cabover can feel pretty tight, assuming 4-6 inch mattress thickness.

Oh, I can't sit up straight... but it's more height than many berths have, and the NS orientation makes it easy for two people to use.

 

[rruff]

The shell builder that I think we will most likely work with is able to make all the size adjustments we want & he thinks we can get very close to 10' if not a smidge under & still maintain a decent cabover depth for the bed. I think 30" is the smallest I would want to go there.

Who is the builder, or is that a secret? Also, will you have bigger tires or any sort of lift?

I think making the berth a few inches taller would be a good idea, since you know you will have two people. You could also make it NS by extending the floor of the berth inside 20" or so. I did that, and use the space underneath for storage. It's a good place to put weight.

Also on the flatbed, I think you mentioned 7' long. You could make it at least 7.5' and make the camper longer yet. Having more room is always nice...

 

[wackyhacky76CO]

30” from floor? Or from top of mattress?

Yes, 30" from floor to ceiling. That is an 8" high air mattress in our test & we still felt we would be comfortable. In reality a 4-5" thick mattress is all we will be using. If they get us to 32 or something, even better.

Nice. You've pruned down the overcab to the minimum.

Are you set on a side entry ?

For a small camper a traditional centre aisle can maximise interior use. Plus the floor height for entry might be able to be lower.

The flatbed over wheels design can really add some height.

Yeah, I know I making some trade offs there. I just feel the side entry is the best use of space for us personally.

 

[wackyhacky76CO]

Who is the builder, or is that a secret? Also, will you have bigger tires or any sort of lift?

I think making the berth a few inches taller would be a good idea, since you know you will have two people. You could also make it NS by extending the floor of the berth inside 20" or so. I did that, and use the space underneath for storage. It's a good place to put weight.

Also on the flatbed, I think you mentioned 7' long. You could make it at least 7.5' and make the camper longer yet. Having more room is always nice...

Yeah, we will definitely be adding enough lift to clear a 35" tire (in reality it is probably a 34+" but also keeping that to a minimum b/c it all adds up, but we will want/need some suspension improvement and clearance for what we like to do.

Not bad idea on the extension inside either. We will definitely be keeping the floor length at 84" More is nicer, but we were originally sold on 76" and that felt like the Taj Majhal compared to the Tacoma.

Right now...we are leaning toward Mesa Overland for the build. Utilizing Cascadia's 2" thick material.

 

[gator70]

View attachment 860765

I ordered my habitat with those roof mounted brush guards. Do they block rain drainage?

 

[alanymarce]

Here's why a tall vehicle may not be ideal for big trips. This is getting ours off a river boat at Manaus. The two planks from the boat to the dock had to bend about 20 cm so that the roof could clear the deckhead.

 

[mog]

That will depend on how much flex is in your truck's frame. I had to make a platform for my camper to raise it ~3" above the cab of my Dodge. Otherwise, when I got it in a good twist (to where one front tire and one rear tire just about come off the ground), the cab and the camper would make contact.

Same here. I have my camper (EarthCruiser GZL-300) 3 inches about the cab (that was also dictated by having the side of the camper high enough so I can still access my RamBoxes, win-win), with no issue.

 

[gator70]

That will depend on how much flex is in your truck's frame. I had to make a platform for my camper to raise it ~3" above the cab of my Dodge. Otherwise, when I got it in a good twist (to where one front tire and one rear tire just about come off the ground), the cab and the camper would make contact.

I've raised mine 4 1/2 inches above the cab. My frame is longer and prone to more flex.