hoptroll
Pool Boy
Hello fellow adventure seekers. Long time listener, first time caller. I have been eying a pop up camper for quite a while now, but they are a bit out of my price range and are all so big and heavy for my little Tacoma. Decided I wanted to build one for myself. I was getting tired of crawling in and out of my cab height shell and having little to no space. I camp in the parking lot at work in between shifts a lot and wanted something with some more space. Additionally, I took my 2nd trip to Baja a couple of years ago and fell in love with it, but camping in my '00 Tacoma for 2 weeks with my best friend got old quick. We needed some shelter and a better place to sleep!
So I started building by brain and collecting ideas from all of the builds I have seen on here. The conclusion that I came to was that it was going to be more expensive and time consuming than I had ever thought. So I went back to the drawing board and decided I was going to get a commercial shell for now due to the increased height, ability to insulate (cold wet nights on the cali coast here), and easier to customize. I found an aluminum ARE shell for $100 on craigslist a 40 min drive away. Even if it didn't fit, I figured I could make a buck on a resale. I bought it and $26 later I had working locks. And then the gears turned some more and I thought I could make a decent little pop up with some more aluminum tubing and such.
So the plan is to extend the frame down, build a floor pack somewhat like the 4wheel campers, and build a simple support structure for the pop up and slide out bed, and insulate it. The interior will be simple, but elegant I think for what I have planned, just some simple storage like this build http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/52773-Hard-Side-Tacoma-Popup-build. The nose of the camper will be extended 2-2.5' and I think the top will be made out of wood/fiberglass (haven' really decided on this yet, open to suggestions). Going to do hard walls, similar to this http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/4811-Allochris-s-ultimate-buildup-thread!!! or this http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/80666-Pop-up-A-frame-Camper-La-Roulotte Would be really happy if I had a finished product that looked like this http://www.alu-cab.co.za/?cat=9
So far I have taken the rack off, taken the front and back panes off as these will be modified, and have the aluminum that I need to make the frame extensions for it. Would love to hear folk's comments and suggestions, as that is why I am sharing. Oh and I should mention that I sprained my ankle really bad about 2 weeks ago, so I have a LOT of time to devote to this right now, no work for prob at least 4 more weeks.
Truck:
High Quality Renderings:
Shell:
Ankle for laughs
Let's hear what you think!
So I started building by brain and collecting ideas from all of the builds I have seen on here. The conclusion that I came to was that it was going to be more expensive and time consuming than I had ever thought. So I went back to the drawing board and decided I was going to get a commercial shell for now due to the increased height, ability to insulate (cold wet nights on the cali coast here), and easier to customize. I found an aluminum ARE shell for $100 on craigslist a 40 min drive away. Even if it didn't fit, I figured I could make a buck on a resale. I bought it and $26 later I had working locks. And then the gears turned some more and I thought I could make a decent little pop up with some more aluminum tubing and such.
So the plan is to extend the frame down, build a floor pack somewhat like the 4wheel campers, and build a simple support structure for the pop up and slide out bed, and insulate it. The interior will be simple, but elegant I think for what I have planned, just some simple storage like this build http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/52773-Hard-Side-Tacoma-Popup-build. The nose of the camper will be extended 2-2.5' and I think the top will be made out of wood/fiberglass (haven' really decided on this yet, open to suggestions). Going to do hard walls, similar to this http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/4811-Allochris-s-ultimate-buildup-thread!!! or this http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/80666-Pop-up-A-frame-Camper-La-Roulotte Would be really happy if I had a finished product that looked like this http://www.alu-cab.co.za/?cat=9
So far I have taken the rack off, taken the front and back panes off as these will be modified, and have the aluminum that I need to make the frame extensions for it. Would love to hear folk's comments and suggestions, as that is why I am sharing. Oh and I should mention that I sprained my ankle really bad about 2 weeks ago, so I have a LOT of time to devote to this right now, no work for prob at least 4 more weeks.
Truck:
High Quality Renderings:
Shell:
Ankle for laughs
Let's hear what you think!
