jscherb
Expedition Leader
Joining plywood or reinforcing the plywood from inside can be accomplished by 1x2 or similar ribs on the inside, I don't think a specific fiberglass piece for this purpose would be worth the price it would have to cost.
"TrailTop" modular trailer topper building components
- Thread starter jscherb
- Start date
Joining plywood or reinforcing the plywood from inside can be accomplished by 1x2 or similar ribs on the inside, I don't think a specific fiberglass piece for this purpose would be worth the price it would have to cost.
jscherb
Expedition Leader
It should be lighter than an all-wood built camper as well. The TrailTop parts provide much of the structure, and at a lighter weight than an equivalently strong wooden structure.
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screwball48
Explorer
As incredible of a visual aid all of your renderings are I still can not wait to see the finished product. The talent of the individuals such as yourself never ceases to amaze me. I think that a retro style of teardrop will compliment your red truck nicely.
Sent from my iPhone, just ignore all errors because the phone did it.
Sent from my iPhone, just ignore all errors because the phone did it.
jscherb
Expedition Leader
Thanks. I did this sketch when I was still in the planning stages of this project...
About seeing the finished product... I'm not sure if I actually will finish the proof-of-concept to the stage where it could be taken on a camping trip, I haven't decided how far I'm going to go with it yet. I'm almost at the stage in assembling the proof of concept TrailTop where I can assess whether my design goals have been met - I need to assemble the teardrop hatch using the curved ribs, once that's done I can assess whether all of the design goals have been met, so I may not need to go much further with the construction.
jscherb
Expedition Leader
I regularly get emails from the forum software telling me that my inbox is full and someone has tried to send me a PM.
My PM inbox fills up very quickly and I really can't keep after it to keep freeing up space, but email will always reach me. For those of you who have tried to send me a private message through this forum: it's best to contact me through email (it's on the same menu that sending a PM is on).
My PM inbox fills up very quickly and I really can't keep after it to keep freeing up space, but email will always reach me. For those of you who have tried to send me a private message through this forum: it's best to contact me through email (it's on the same menu that sending a PM is on).
jscherb
Expedition Leader
The 12" radius fiberglass skin piece I molded the other day is a full 90 degrees, but it would also be trimmed lengthwise for other angles. The concept below, for example, used 60-degree and 30-degree curves on the sides:
The 60- and 30-degree curves are also 12" radius, so to do the outer skin on both 60 and 30 degree curves, one 90-degree skin section is cut lengthwise. In the 3-d version below, the front angles are a 60 (the lower one) and a 30 (angle to the roof), so a 90-degree skin section gets trimmed lengthwise to result in the two pieces necessary:
This one's got a roof rack because someone asked for that; I also added a skylight to the front. Probably it would be an openable skylight to let some ventilation in.
Input please: I need a name for this concept. I originally drew it because someone asked me if TrailTop parts could be used to make something similar to the Sawtooth XL camper. I don't want to call this the TrailTop SawTooth, because that's someone else's name - got any good ideas for this concept? Let's name it.
The 60- and 30-degree curves are also 12" radius, so to do the outer skin on both 60 and 30 degree curves, one 90-degree skin section is cut lengthwise. In the 3-d version below, the front angles are a 60 (the lower one) and a 30 (angle to the roof), so a 90-degree skin section gets trimmed lengthwise to result in the two pieces necessary:
This one's got a roof rack because someone asked for that; I also added a skylight to the front. Probably it would be an openable skylight to let some ventilation in.
Input please: I need a name for this concept. I originally drew it because someone asked me if TrailTop parts could be used to make something similar to the Sawtooth XL camper. I don't want to call this the TrailTop SawTooth, because that's someone else's name - got any good ideas for this concept? Let's name it.
screwball48
Explorer
Trail Finder
Trail Rider
Northern Trail
Northern Comfort
All Trail
Trail Top Base Camp
Sent from my iPhone, just ignore all errors because the phone did it.
Trail Rider
Northern Trail
Northern Comfort
All Trail
Trail Top Base Camp
Sent from my iPhone, just ignore all errors because the phone did it.
jscherb
Expedition Leader
Thanks everyone for all the suggestions about what to call the concept pictured at the bottom of this post. Here's a list of the suggestions:
Trail Top Curveline
TrailTop JigSaw
TrailTop Outlander
TrailTop Outback
TrailTop Pod
TrailTop Utili-Pod
Trail Finder
Trail Rider
Trail Dog
Northern Trail
Northern Comfort
All Trail
TrailTop Base Camp
TrailTop Boondocker
TrailTop Nomad
TrailTop Frontier ST (ST=Saw Tooth in hour of original design)
TrailTop Overlander
I think I'll use Trail Dog to refer to this concept from now on...
Trail Top Curveline
TrailTop JigSaw
TrailTop Outlander
TrailTop Outback
TrailTop Pod
TrailTop Utili-Pod
Trail Finder
Trail Rider
Trail Dog
Northern Trail
Northern Comfort
All Trail
TrailTop Base Camp
TrailTop Boondocker
TrailTop Nomad
TrailTop Frontier ST (ST=Saw Tooth in hour of original design)
TrailTop Overlander
I think I'll use Trail Dog to refer to this concept from now on...
jscherb
Expedition Leader
Two weeks ago when I posted the TrailTop clamshell tent idea, I said that I had been thinking about making a sewing machine my next "power tool" acquisition so I could sew prototypes of some of the fabric ideas I've drawn. I'm happy to report that I now have a sewing machine. It's a very heavy duty model more than capable of sewing through many layers of thick canvas. I've been practicing on it the last few days.
The machine was my father's. He bought it used about 25 years ago to sew canvas for his boat, so it's a very rugged and capable machine. My mother kept it for the last dozen years "just in case she needed it", and had it completely serviced two years ago. I would never ask her for it, but when I told her I wanted to learn to sew so I could do canvas-type projects to go along with my Jeep and fiberglass designs, she decided it should be passed down to me. I'm thrilled because it's a great machine and it's got a great family history - my father did fantastic work with it equipping his home-built 36-foot trawler with side curtains, bimini tops, etc.
Funny family story - my mother had her own sewing machine as long as I can remember, but she would never let my father touch it because she was afraid he'd sew heavy canvas and ruin it. So he went and bought his own heavy-duty machine and then told her she wasn't allowed to touch his sewing machine either
.
I've already got my first project planned, although it's not a TrailTop design, it's something for my military trailer kit. I'll post that plan in the military trailer thread when I start it.
But I'm still intrigued by the TrailTop clamshell idea, and I may tackle that one as well. Here are some updated sketches, the first is a roof-top clamshell tent:
And here's the exact same fabric design with a flip-up cover/tent that would work directly on a Dinoot trailer tub:
I'm working on a few more pop-top concept drawings for both campers and RTTs, stay tuned...
The machine was my father's. He bought it used about 25 years ago to sew canvas for his boat, so it's a very rugged and capable machine. My mother kept it for the last dozen years "just in case she needed it", and had it completely serviced two years ago. I would never ask her for it, but when I told her I wanted to learn to sew so I could do canvas-type projects to go along with my Jeep and fiberglass designs, she decided it should be passed down to me. I'm thrilled because it's a great machine and it's got a great family history - my father did fantastic work with it equipping his home-built 36-foot trawler with side curtains, bimini tops, etc.
Funny family story - my mother had her own sewing machine as long as I can remember, but she would never let my father touch it because she was afraid he'd sew heavy canvas and ruin it. So he went and bought his own heavy-duty machine and then told her she wasn't allowed to touch his sewing machine either
.I've already got my first project planned, although it's not a TrailTop design, it's something for my military trailer kit. I'll post that plan in the military trailer thread when I start it.
But I'm still intrigued by the TrailTop clamshell idea, and I may tackle that one as well. Here are some updated sketches, the first is a roof-top clamshell tent:
And here's the exact same fabric design with a flip-up cover/tent that would work directly on a Dinoot trailer tub:
I'm working on a few more pop-top concept drawings for both campers and RTTs, stay tuned...
jonnyquest
Adventurer
Anxious to see what you come up with Jeff. I've thought about trying to make a canvas military truck type canopy for a pickup truck. Australians have a wide selection of these, the coolest looking on trayback (flatbed) Land Cruisers.
dcollier32
Adventurer
Thanks everyone for all the suggestions about what to call the concept pictured at the bottom of this post. Here's a list of the suggestions:
Trail Top Curveline
TrailTop JigSaw
TrailTop Outlander
TrailTop Outback
TrailTop Pod
TrailTop Utili-Pod
Trail Finder
Trail Rider
Trail Dog
Northern Trail
Northern Comfort
All Trail
TrailTop Base Camp
TrailTop Boondocker
TrailTop Nomad
TrailTop Frontier ST (ST=Saw Tooth in hour of original design)
TrailTop Overlander
I think I'll use Trail Dog to refer to this concept from now on...
I say... Trail Top Expedition