jonnyquest
Adventurer
Looking forward to see how deal with the fabric when folding up the lid.
"TrailTop" modular trailer topper building components
- Thread starter jscherb
- Start date
jscherb
Expedition Leader
Should be pretty easy - this tub has Wrangler-style soft top retainer rails along the top, which I'll use to secure the bottom of the panels. To close up the lid, you'll slip the bottoms of the panels out of the retainers and close the lid. The fabric will stay attached to the lid, and will fall into the tub when the lid is closed.
To open the lid and set up the sides, just open it and slip the bottoms of the panels into the Wrangler retainers and you're done.
screwball48
Explorer
Would it be possible to run bungie cords from each side so that the panels could be held up against the lid. That way they are away from the trailer floor so they would not be damaged by bins/boxes in the trailer.
jonnyquest
Adventurer
Seems like I've seen popup campers that have the fabric stay attached and bungee's are attached that draw the fabric in as the top is lowered.
jscherb
Expedition Leader
Yes, that's easy to do.
jscherb
Expedition Leader
Yes, that could be implemented on a TrailTop pop-up.
jscherb
Expedition Leader
This morning I ran across some photos I took at the SEMA show in 2010 - it was a new clamshell roof-top tent a company from South Africa was trying to bring to the market. Here are the photos from the show, including me giving the tent a try at the show:
I posted this photo edit concept on my Safari Cab back in 2010 when I got back from SEMA:
I had completely forgotten about that SEMA tent until i ran across the photos this morning; it looks an awful lot like the TrailTop concept I did recently. I guess the clamshell idea has been on my mind for a long time
.
I just checked my notes on the exhibitor of the tent, and they don't list the tent on their web site, so apparently they never got it to market even in South Africa, or maybe they did and it didn't sell so they discontinued it.
The canopy over the entrance seems to be supported by a pair of rods that insert into the base horizontally - I could probably make that idea work on the current project.
I posted this photo edit concept on my Safari Cab back in 2010 when I got back from SEMA:
I had completely forgotten about that SEMA tent until i ran across the photos this morning; it looks an awful lot like the TrailTop concept I did recently. I guess the clamshell idea has been on my mind for a long time
.
I just checked my notes on the exhibitor of the tent, and they don't list the tent on their web site, so apparently they never got it to market even in South Africa, or maybe they did and it didn't sell so they discontinued it.
The canopy over the entrance seems to be supported by a pair of rods that insert into the base horizontally - I could probably make that idea work on the current project.
Side-by-side views of the two TrailTop proof-of-concept builds on the yellow trailer...
Love it. Will one of the setups stay as a permanent addition to the yellow trailer?
jscherb
Expedition Leader
Thank you.
I built both the teardrop and the hard cover as proofs-of-concept for my TrailTop modular component design, and I don't plan to use either one - based on the use I put my yellow trailer to, the snap-on soft tonneau cover suits me best:
I've still got one more proof-of-concept project to do, which is sewing the panels for the pop-up camper:
Once the sewing project is done, the hard cover will come off the trailer and join the teardrop top, which is disassembled in the basement right now. I'll either try to find a home for them or eventually I'll probably recycle the materials...
jscherb
Expedition Leader
In case anyone's wondering what's going on with my sewing project to make the side panels for the TrailTop pop-up camper, all of my materials arrived earlier this week, but I got sidetracked this week by a JK Wrangler fiberglass project and some necessary maintenance to my bicycle (new brake cables, freewheel cluster gears and chain). I did get a little bit of test sewing done with the fabric, and it sews very nicely, so hopefully I'll start serious work on the project next week. Some test sewing:
What it should look like when I'm done...
What it should look like when I'm done...
jscherb
Expedition Leader
The material I've chosen for the pop-up project sews very nicely, much nicer than the crinkly, cheesy HF tarp material. I'm going to enjoy sewing the panels using it. I've also picked up new some sewing aids for this project, like double-sided basting tape, which makes hems and seams much simpler and more accurate.
The JK project eliminates the rear liftgate glass on the hardtop and makes the rear door a one-piece swinging "barn door": http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/127687-Barn-Door-for-JK-factory-hardtops
screwball48
Explorer
If anyone has advice on how I can talk my wife into a double stacked Dinoot chuck-wagon/utility trailer please let me know. Also winning lotto numbers would be appreciated.
lqdchkn
:)
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