"TrailTop" modular trailer topper building components

[jonnyquest]

NOW you're talking! A 5 ft height would keep wind resistance down. The trailer would mostly tuck behind the tow vehicle. The 10ft length would give room for a nice bed and a sitdown table for short stays in rainy places.

 

[jscherb]

If you get a chance would you mind doing an x-ray version of how you would set this up. Sleeping for two adults and three children. Storage as space is available, and the slide out kitchen that come under the awning. I have already taken your overall specs and tried to figure out a method of setting this thing up, but cant make the image in my mind appear as cleanly as you are able too.

Thanks again and please keep making these parts and testing them out. Truly innovative and exciting times for folks wanting to build THEIR perfect trailers!

Kevin

Had already done one possible interior arrangement, just hadn't posted it yet .

 

[jscherb]

Another follower of this project had this to say:

Cargo-Lite trailers are neat too. They have a window and door on each side and a ramp for the back door.

I have been jonesing for one. It would be neat with a rooftop tent.

That could be done very nicely with TrailTop parts...

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[bonomonster]

What about angled corners and strait pieces to make slanted V noses and such. Kinda like the pic below.

**Please excuse my lack of ability to use cad programs. I had to swipe this image off the Internet to give an example of what I'm talking about.

 

[jscherb]

What about angled corners and strait pieces to make slanted V noses and such. Kinda like the pic below.

**Please excuse my lack of ability to use cad programs. I had to swipe this image off the Internet to give an example of

what I'm talking about.

I don't have any plans to make molds for parts for v-noses, but they'd be easy to make, so if a company picks up the TrailTop system to bring to market and they want me to make any additional parts like that, I can certainly entertain that idea.

One of the companies that's contacted me about this project has already described several additional parts they'd be interested in, although they're not parts for v-noses .

 

[mdmead]

Interesting you posted the pickup camper drawing. From the beginning of this thread I've been thinking how they might be used for a lightweight truck camper. Very cool and I hope somebody produces these parts... and for a fair price.

 

[jscherb]

Interesting you posted the pickup camper drawing. From the beginning of this thread I've been thinking how they might be used for a lightweight truck camper. Very cool and I hope somebody produces these parts... and for a fair price.

Truck campers have been part of my planning from the early stages of this project. Here's a concept I did for a Wrangler pickup:

The bed would be made from a fiberglass Dinoot Jeep-tub trailer kit, here's a mockup of a Dinoot with a half cab; a TrailTop cap is drawn in place:

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[jscherb]

Very cool and I hope somebody produces these parts... and for a fair price.

Affordability is one of my main design requirements:

• Affordability.
• Configurability - the ability to implement multiple types/designs/sizes of trailers/campers using the same basic parts.
• Style. A TrailTop-built camper should have a professional level of style; even though it would be a home-built, I want to enable the DIY-er to achieve professional-looking styling and build quality with tools and skills an average DIY-er would have.
• Ease of construction. It should be easier to build a TrailTop-based camper than it would be to make one entirely from scratch out of wood.
• Strength. A TrailTop camper should be stronger than wood-only construction; I want it to be possible to support things like a roof-top tent on top (an upstairs for the kids?)

I've designed the parts to be very simple to mold, and the amount of materials they use (fiberglass, resin, gelcoat) is pretty reasonable, so from a materials and production effort point of view, they shouldn't be too expensive to make. What I can't know at this point is that if a company licenses the design from me, what their cost structure/overhead/profit margin requirements/etc. are, all of those affect the end cost of the parts.

What's your definition of a fair price?

 

[jscherb]

One option for TrailTop side panels is aluminum-clad luan in 1/4": http://www.tchweb.com/tchstore/category/aluminum-laminate/s0/510---Aluminum-Laminated-Panels.html

Might be a nice finish for yesterday's cargo concept:

 

[justageek]

Truck campers have been part of my planning from the early stages of this project. Here's a concept I did for a Wrangler pickup:

Jeff, could this be done on an JK Unlimited that hasn't been converted to a pickup? Basically, replace the hardtop with a camper shell like above, but keeping all 4 doors.
Here's mine:

Even better, at 5'10" I have trouble sleeping in the back with the rear seats folded down. Could we stretch this idea a few inches and use the slanted end like on the Trailtop Overlander idea?

 

[jscherb]

Jeff, could this be done on an JK Unlimited that hasn't been converted to a pickup? Basically, replace the hardtop with a camper shell like above, but keeping all 4 doors.

Even better, at 5'10" I have trouble sleeping in the back with the rear seats folded down. Could we stretch this idea a few inches and use the slanted end like on the Trailtop Overlander idea?

The TrailTop system isn't designed to replace the hardtop on a Jeep; it doesn't have the Jeep-model-specific components to mate with the sealing surfaces where the Jeep hardtop would attach. But if you have a half cab hardtop, then you could do something like the Jeep pickup concept I posted, or perhaps a cap on a Scrambler like the concept below or even an advanced camper-style top like the Brute concept drawing below.

When I do the molds for my JK Safari Cab design, then I'll have the parts necessary to replace the JK hardtop completely and those parts, in combination with the TrailTop system, could build what you're asking about.

 

[jscherb]

Steps for assembling the TrailTop parts...

It will be easiest to assemble the TrailTop side panels laying on a flat surface, so I've marked the rectangular outline of the panel on the floor with tape. This is to ensure that the pieces get bonded together with correct right angles, and also to ensure that both sides are the same.

Next the joints between the parts get trimmed and fitted.

In this next photo the parts are sitting inside the lines in the template on the floor. The joints haven't been final trimmed or fitted yet, that's the next step.

 

[jscherb]

Here's what a joint looks like ready to be bonded together. The parts are still slightly green because I haven't washed the mold release off yet, and there are two reasons I haven't - first, it's 16 degrees outside so I can't wash them off with the hose, and second, since I'm going to be bonding these together, the mold release will protect the nice surface from getting "glue" drips stuck on it. I put "glue" in quotes because there are multiple types of bonding agents one could use here, I'll cover that detail later. I have scuffed the tab surface with 50-grit sandpaper to give it some roughness to improve the grip for bonding.

And here's how they look when they're assembled. They're not bonded together yet, this is just a final fitting. I'll fit all the other joints for this side panel before I bond any of the joints.

 

[jscherb]

Bonding the parts together is next. There are a number of ways these parts could be bonded together:

• Epoxy. Very strong and easy to work with. Best for this application would be one that's thick enough to be gap filling.
• Fiberglass. A layer of 2 oz. fiberglass mat soaked with resin and sandwiched between the parts will form a very good joint.
• Automotive body filler. I hear you saying "wait, body filler isn't a glue!"... well it sticks pretty well to that dent in the fender you were trying to fix, doesn't it? So well that you can sand the filler to a feather edge. Body filler is based on polyester resin, and so is fiberglass so they're very compatible, plus body filler is thick enough to be gap filling, so it makes a very easy to use bonding agent for fiberglass parts.

I'll be using body filler for the joints in the prototype teardrop.

 

[jscherb]

The passenger side teardrop framework all bonded together.

I used automotive body filler to bond the parts together. The joints are very strong, and the filler was easy to use and quick to bond. About 30 minutes after I began bonding the first joint I was able to stand the assembled framework up as shown in the photos. I still haven't washed off the greenish mold release, I'll try to get to that soon.