truck topper as a place to camp?

[DaveInDenver]

For the record WilderNest went out of business for the same reason FRP did, poor business practice. Lowe Alpine sold WilderNest after about 10 years making them and they got moved, production and distribution issues started. It's the same old story.

Although some of it was a very niche market. People would compare them to slide-ins and pop up trailers then just as now. It's just a topper with a bed and for a little more you'd get a heater, kitchen, bathroom, etc. in more expensive campers. The bulk of cost is in molding fiberglass and sewing a tent. So WilderNest/FlipPac/Habitats/etc cost almost as much to make as a FWC shell or whatever, so there's only so cheap they can be. When I looked into restarting manufacturing them about 10 years ago it was going to be $4,000 just to break even on production and I got the impression that people would rather spend $10k on a slide-in or $2k on a RTT. It's a weird niche since I didn't correctly read the tea leaves that people would be OK with such bulky shapes as the Habitat that is required to make them more universal fits.

At the time a 'Nest owner was pretty specific, a climber, skier, cyclists who wanted a low profile, fairly lightweight base camp. No reason to spend all the money on a slide-in when that could be spent on a new set of cams and you already had a Whisperlite. It was just a nice tent for sleeping and changing, not a place you'd spend all day, every day for a week.

A brand new WilderNest was $2,495 in 1989, which in 2018 would be $5,075. So the Go Fast and similar expandable campers are slightly more expensive relatively.

I don't think it's fair to compare them to a modern camper, the newest ones are now 25 years old. It's like saying a 4Runner sucks because of the 22R-E. Of course a WilderNest is going to look dated. If it doesn't work for you, then don't get one. But it itches enough scratches that they sell in hours when they come up on Craigslist.

The 'Nest I have was built around 1992 and fits my Tacoma fine. I popped the bed rail caps off and the whole rail is flush on top.


I just clamped it to the cargo rail with bolts through the mounting lip. So inner bed dimensions of the 2nd gen Tacoma are about 2 inches wider on each side than the older trucks. The bolts on this 'Nest went through the middle of the bed rail on my old truck. But this mount is actually cleaner I think.

 

[slowtwitch]

It's tough to have a tent be a permanent fixture to a vehicle. RTT's Westfalias, etc. The fabric ends up taking a beating, getting wet, staying wet, etc. Tough to sell something and get any kind of good money for it when a large component is expendable. I would bet most skiers/climbers of that area would have passed on buying a Wildernest for anything near real money.. they probably already had a tent, topper, or station wagon they could crash in.
Years ago I had a skiing buddy get one. Thought it was just the knees until he froze his ******** off in it a few nights, and trashed the fabric trying to use it like a pickup with a topper.
You could take off the 'Nest when not using it, but then you kind of start eroding the point of having one a bit. If you want a topper, do you have both? Not likely. "is it going to rain? Is the wind going to blow? Is the tent dried out enough?"

 

[chet6.7]

View attachment 488562
I just clamped it to the cargo rail with bolts through the mounting lip. So inner bed dimensions of the 2nd gen Tacoma are about 2 inches wider on each side than the older trucks. The bolts on this 'Nest went through the middle of the bed rail on my old truck. But this mount is actually cleaner I think.

View attachment 488563

Nice mount ,what is it called?
Thanks

 

[Martinjmpr]

Dave: I don't think it was "poor business practices" that killed Wildernest, it was simply that it is not a product that could be sold for the price people were willing to pay. That's just a factor of the market. As you stated, people simply weren't willing to pay what the Wildernest cost to produce. That's not a resolvable dilemma.

WRT whether it's "Fair" to compare a 20+ year old 'Nest to a modern topper, the OP is asking about whether a topper would make a good camper. Since he's in the here-and-now he has to deal with what is available in the here-and-now, not what was available 20 years ago. It's nice that your 'nest fit your modern Tacoma but look at the modern crop of trucks: Many of them have odd shaped beds, protruding cabs, etc. Trying to fit a 'Nest that was made for a mid-90's truck onto a modern vehicle would be a nightmare for the owners of most trucks.

And that's just the fit. The new buyer of the old 'Nest would then have to deal with fiberglass that may need restoration, a fabric tent that almost certainly WILL need restoration, hinges and other hardware parts that are no longer available, etc,

And all of that assumes that he could even FIND one available that would fit his truck and that is for sale in his area.

Fit is not going to be easy when you consider that the most popular truck configuration these days - a crew cab pickup with a 5.5 - 5.8' bed - didn't even exist in the US until the late 90's.

So while you Wildernest is definitely awesome - as is the one that Gary Wittman (GWittman on the boards) has, I don't think it's really a practical recommendation since the odds of finding one that will fit are astronomical.

Finding an honest unicorn lawyer with a perpetual motion machine would probably be easier.

 

[Clutch]

That turned out nice @DaveInDenver.

It's tough to have a tent be a permanent fixture to a vehicle. RTT's Westfalias, etc. The fabric ends up taking a beating, getting wet, staying wet, etc. Tough to sell something and get any kind of good money for it when a large component is expendable. I would bet most skiers/climbers of that area would have passed on buying a Wildernest for anything near real money.. they probably already had a tent, topper, or station wagon they could crash in.
Years ago I had a skiing buddy get one. Thought it was just the knees until he froze his ******** off in it a few nights, and trashed the fabric trying to use it like a pickup with a topper.
You could take off the 'Nest when not using it, but then you kind of start eroding the point of having one a bit. If you want a topper, do you have both? Not likely. "is it going to rain? Is the wind going to blow? Is the tent dried out enough?"

Yeah, I wouldn't pay any "real money" for one. The price they want for the Habitat, Vagabond, OVRLND, etc....might as well buy a FWC/ATC shell at that point, and have a self contained camper. Main problem putting on a Wedgefalia or even a regular shell on a new Tacoma is the bed is a huge pain in the butt to seal from water and dust. Really too bad they didn't stick with a full metal bed. Even then getting a good seal on the top rail and tailgate is fussy.

 

[Clutch]

I don't think it's really a practical recommendation since the odds of finding one that will fit are astronomical.

I don't think anyone was recommending a Wildernest for the OP. Someone stated that a shell setup was better than a Wildernest...and all I said you can do both in 'Nest if you wanted. Implying that a Nest had a little advantage over a regular shell. Then of course we knuckle-heads always go down some rabbit hole of distracted chatting.

 

[DaveInDenver]

Dave: I don't think it was "poor business practices" that killed Wildernest, it was simply that it is not a product that could be sold for the price people were willing to pay. That's just a factor of the market. As you stated, people simply weren't willing to pay what the Wildernest cost to produce. That's not a resolvable dilemma.

Lowe Alpine sold them profitably for many years, about 8 that I can discern. They licensed the rights from a Canadian company called Expandable Van Tops. Their campers looked like this. It was a niche product sold a couple of hundred at a time to a small market. No different than any other limited market speciality product.



When they sold it (to I think a company called California Cold Storage) additional models (called the Tip Top) were introduced but the agreement they had with Guidon to make shells and the company sewing the tents came into dispute. The existing molds and rights ended up with Guidon I believe but the patterns for the tent were held as leverage, eventually an already tenuous situation just led to collapse as it dragged out.

I don't think it's really a practical recommendation since the odds of finding one that will fit are astronomical.

I never suggested the WilderNest to anyone? I dig mine but even I don't think it's the end all, be all. I ran a regular high rise shell for the last 3 years since I wanted more interior space. Just this year I went back to the 'Nest because it better fit my use. It's certainly something that either works for you or doesn't make sense. It's a compromise in many ways.

 

[Clutch]

Lowe Alpine sold them profitably for many years, about 12 that I can discern. They licensed the rights from a Canadian company called Expandable Van Tops. Their campers looked like this. It was a niche product sold a couple of hundred at a time to a small market. No different than any other limited market speciality product.

View attachment 488615

When they sold it (to I think a company called California Cold Storage) additional models (called the Tip Top) were introduced but the agreement they had with Guidon to make shells and the company sewing the tents came into dispute. The existing molds and rights ended up with Guidon I believe but the patterns for the tent were held as leverage, eventually an already tenuous situation just led to collapse as it dragged out.

That is what I love about going off-topic. All the weird stuff that people find. Never saw that before, pretty cool. Never new about the Lowe Apline connection. Still uses a similar graphic mountain in the logo that Wildernest did.

 

[Bodine345]

Been camping for years with wife in truck cap. Has slowly morphed into all weather camper, have a raised cap insulated with a bed tred bed liner, 3/4" neoprene pad and carpeted ceiling.

 

[Mr.Roadwarrior]

I'll be anxious to see the photos when time permits...thanks!

I have posted some at This thread

 

[tacollie]

I built a platform with a drawer underneath in my truck bed and slept in the topper for years. My girlfriend at the time hated sleeping on the ground but never once complained about sleeping in the topper and she complained about a lot of things. That was an 02' Tacoma so the op's friend will have a ton more room.

Used Flippac couple be an option. A lot more of them than wildernest. Flippac had a wait list when they closed. I believe the owner had a stroke. FWC would be cool since he has a full size. I don't like them on midsize trucks. I have a buddy with a FWC on a 98 taco and another buddy has one on a 12' taco. They both average 12 mpg with stock size tires.

 

[Clutch]

I built a platform with a drawer underneath in my truck bed and slept in the topper for years. My girlfriend at the time hated sleeping on the ground but never once complained about sleeping in the topper and she complained about a lot of things. That was an 02' Tacoma so the op's friend will have a ton more room.

Used Flippac couple be an option. A lot more of them than wildernest. Flippac had a wait list when they closed. I believe the owner had a stroke. FWC would be cool since he has a full size. I don't like them on midsize trucks. I have a buddy with a FWC on a 98 taco and another buddy has one on a 12' taco. They both average 12 mpg with stock size tires.

My wife loves the Wildernest...she makes fun of me when I complain about it. "Ya know, you did buy a 2nd one, you must like enough to do that...ya dork"

Show her the new ones, and her eyes bug out at the price. Says: "what do those do any different than what you have? Just fix what yours..."

 

[Bodine345]

Wish picture quality was a little better, don't use a platform in bed in case weather is bad, may have to spend some time back there and need to be able to sit up. I pack everything in rubbermaid roughnecks, everything goes in the same spot everytime. There is enough room for one to sleep in back fully loaded, two if bikes are put on top and roughnecks behind front seats, good for rest areas and Walmart parking lots. We heat with a mister buddy if no hookups, ceramic heater with separate thermostat at campgrounds.

 

[workerdrone]

Possibly relevant, but for sleeping comfort cannot recommend Exped Mega mat highly enough - wife and I have slept on a duo almost exclusively for the past few months - usually in a tent but it will work anywhere. Rolls up to the size of a cooler, deploys and mostly self inflates pretty quickly, doesn't leak a bit yet (knock on wood), doesn't bounce partner around when you move or shift like a cheap air mattress, warm on cold ground...would work very well in back of a truck

A little pricey though

 

[Traveling 2gether Journal]

Wife and I lived in this thing for 2 years while traveling Central America.

It started out as a normal fiberglass camper shell/topper. We cut the roof off and built the cabover for headroom and storage. The add-on is constructed of 3/8" plywood, epoxy resin and 6oz fiberglass cloth.

The used topper, modifications, and sleeping platform came in around $700
This cost doesn't include the solar electric system or fridge, or awning.