"TrailTop" modular trailer topper building components

[jscherb]

What is nice is you could do the long haul road travel with the top part of the camper off and strapped to the top for better MPG and handling and install it when you get to the good parts.

ratled

If fuel mileage were the priority, I suppose I could work up a folding design .

 

[jscherb]

Someone asked (not in the forum):

Jeff - When finished with your bonding as noted, will the individual panels still be separate, or will it be joined together all in one piece?

Yes, there will be 4 separate panels - 2 ends and 2 sides. They'll bolt together on top of the tub, and disassemble for removal/storage.

 

[jscherb]

I'm still trying to decide if I'm going to put murals on the sides of the topper but I've been gluing the panels together and I'm getting close to the point where I'll need to put a finish on. For the initial finish I plan to use Behr Deckover from Hope Depot, it's a thick acrylic coating that's waterproof and weatherproof. If I decide to do murals, they can be applied over the Deckover finish.

Deckover comes in these colors; I think they can also custom-tint to some degree.

I was thinking of doing a primer gray color with the idea that I'd do either murals or some color topcoat, but I'll probably go with a color that would look good until I decide on a final finish. A brown would look good with the yellow tub, In these images I've used the color called "Wrangler Brown" from the chart above.

For this next image I've colored the panels but not the hatches like above, the idea being I might not paint the hatches until I decide on a final color so they'd look like the image below until then.

 

[jscherb]

Hatches painted to match.

 

[jscherb]

Someone suggested I should paint the topper to match the Safari Cab hardtop on the Jeep. Actually "Wrangler Brown" is fairly close to the color of the Safari hardtop - when I colorized the image, I took the RGB value of Wrangler Brown from the color chart online, and didn't bother to adjust for the sunlight color temperature of the photo. Here's the color chart compared to the Safari Top (in garage light, needs to be checked in sunlight), and an adjusted image. Hard to even tell in this photo, but compare the color of the chip to the color of the drip rail, both of those are in the same orientation and therefore show color in a similar way.

 

[jscherb]

I'm in the process of final assembly and finishing of the panels. The finished rear door:

I'm putting the finish on the side panels now, they're on the workbench in the background. Photos soon.

Haven't glued the end panels together yet, that'll be next.

 

[jscherb]

Work in progress, the finish is going on the side panels. In the background are the hatches, painted to match.

I'll install the windows and hatches in the side panels tomorrow, photos to come.

 

[screwball48]

Thank you as always for sharing your progress on these projects. Really looking forward to the finished product.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[jscherb]

Windows and hatches installed in the painted side panels.

Still need to glue together and paint the end panels.

 

[jscherb]

Thank you as always for sharing your progress on these projects. Really looking forward to the finished product.

Thank you. Making steady progress, should have everything installed on the trailer within the next few weeks.

 

[jscherb]

I plan for the front hatch to serve two purposes. When the trailer is being used for cargo, it'll provide access to cargo in the front of the trailer.

When the trailer is configured as a camper, there will be a pantry cupboard inside.

You may notice that the slide-out kitchen in the image above is taller than the tailgate. The fridge itself is the same height as the tailgate, but the slide/drawer for the kitchen makes the kitchen too tall to slide out through just the tailgate. So I added a hatch to allow for the height of the kitchen. So it won't get in the way of the cupboard hatch, it's on lift-off hinges (right). I've installed a locking paddle handle, but haven't put the latches in yet (center photo). I may also add supports to the hatch to hold it horizontally, that way it can also serve as a shelf when the kitchen is in use.

I hope to have everything finished and installed on the trailer just after the first of the year.


Both end panels are now glued together and they're just about ready to put the finish on. This kitchen access hatch wasn't an afterthought, it was always in the plan but since it would be so easy to add just before the finish goes on I waited until everything was fitted to the trailer, glued together and solid before I made the access hatch and opening.

 

[jscherb]

One more test fitting of all the parts in the workshop before I put the finish on the end panels.

The soft top retainer rails are now installed on the top of the panels. I made the bottom edge of the pop-up camper lid canvas to secure in the same way as the factory soft top so I'm using factory retainer rails I removed from Wrangler tubs in the junkyard.

Also I've made a change to the rear door hinges, when I first installed them I mounted them flat on the ouside of the panel and door (see earlier photos) but I decided it would look much better if the hinges were a bit less visible so I mortised them into the door jamb and door edge.

 

[jscherb]

I put the finish on the end panels today.

 

[N0AGI]

this whole thread is very cool, inspiring and energizing. I have a 2015 JKU Rubicon Hardrock and an M1101. This design would fit like a glove! Will follow the thread for further designs for the M1101+Jeep.

 

[jscherb]

this whole thread is very cool, inspiring and energizing. I have a 2015 JKU Rubicon Hardrock and an M1101. This design would fit like a glove! Will follow the thread for further designs for the M1101+Jeep.

I never really thought about putting a TrailTop-based topper on an M1101 so this morning I put a few concepts together by editing other designs I've done over the course of this thread onto an M1101 drawing...