Calm, no hectic, no shouting, great music and great ideas. I am planning to build something like yours for my 2007 Land Rover with aluminum composite. But now I like your system with plywood, wood and NGX foam from the processing much better. I think it's more DIY friendly😁 Subscribed. Greetings from Munich
Thanks! I think if you framed the camper with wood but sided it with aluminum and sealed everywhere it could be a better solution for a wetter climate. That’s how I did my roof and it worked well. My sealed plywood sides are fine and leak free, but aluminum sides would have been easier I think. Less steps. Good luck with your build. Thanks for subscribing too. TbT
Your camper build is awesome, I have watched a lot of these builds on YT and yours is by far my favorite. The design and the workmanship is top notch. Love how the top folds down while your traveling. Great job look forward to watching the next episode.
Didn't think I'd like it because it's wood, I'm more of an aluminum guy, but this is actually one of the best builds I've seen, I might copy it with aluminum supports.
Thanks. It’s been holding up great. That being said, if I didn’t live in dry socal I would have skinned the exterior with the same aluminum I used on the roof for water resistance. My wood sealed skin is fine down here, but under constant moisture like the PNW, I’d prefer an aluminum skin. Thanks for watching and commenting. TbT ✌🏼
Thanks. I wouldn’t say perfection lol, but it’s working out so far. I’m pretty happy with the design. Thanks for watching and commenting, it’s appreciated. TbT
@@TravelingbyTacoma It is coming up amazingly. I have seen hundreds of hours of DIY campers all around youtube, and by far this is THE one I would like to build myself. You have put a lot of thought on it and it is being seen in every video. I love your idea of the hard-sided camper. I am willing to see next video. Thanks for sharing! and good luck!
Been watching all these episodes and didn't know you were building a pop up. Amazing!!!! I've been looking for ideas on building a hard side pop up and your project has some awesome details I want to utilize.
I have so many questions! This gives me so many ideas on how to modify my Jayco Sportster 7. It has lift issues. I can possibly do it your way. Thank you for the idea!
Nice work Jason! The popup walls and roof are looking awesome. Nice clean work. It's going to look great when it's all done. It's nice to see you clean up often... Sign of a professional! Time for me to head to the garage and continue my build which has been inspired by yours. I'm at episode 2. You have a lot of good ideas. Thank you so much for sharing. 🤗
Thanks. Yes, cleaning up and having a clean workspace is part of the process and helps keep your mind clear. Good luck on your build and enjoy the process. Happy thanksgiving.
@@TravelingbyTacoma Thanks Jason. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family. I'm enjoying the build. Taking my time. If you ever come to Winnipeg, drop by. It will be beer o'clock for sure!
Hi! I like your work. I also built a hard wall tc for my Tacoma 6 foot bed. Cabover is for storage, we sleep on pullout sofa. Sitting height ceiling only to keep cog low. Propane fridge, furnace, sink and counter for camp stove if bad weather outside. Weighs +\- 550 lbs. dry. With gear 2 of us and 30 lbs dog we max gvw. We’ve covered 40K km with it so far and happy with 18 mpg average at speed limit. I’ll keep following your project.
Thanks. Your set up sounds really cool. I’m shooting for a similar weight to yours. I can’t wait to start building the interior out. Should be starting that soon. Need to find time to do the finish painting on the outside first. Been too busy with responsibilities 🙄. Thanks for commenting, watching and following along. 🤙🏼
@@TravelingbyTacoma I understand. It took us 2 years to build when we were in the mood but it felt great to head out in -15 C temp on our maiden voyage. I bolt it through the bed in the front with reinforcement plates and chains to the bed D rings at the back. When off roading I loosen the chains some to compensate for frame flex of Taco and spare the camper. Have to go under the truck each time load or unload for the bolts. No fun but cheap and looks clean.
I’m looking forward to testing it out out there. We don’t do much off-roading, mostly forest roads and desert trails /dirt roads. I’m hoping my mounting points will be enough. I think they will be but you never know.
Thanks man, it’s a roller coaster and a head scratcher at times, but I’m feeling pretty good about the build right now. I’m basically done with the exterior rough build. Now on to paint, sealing, and covering the roof. Thanks for following along and commenting. Much appreciated. TbT
Thanks. Good luck with your build. I should have a new episode out at the end of the month (before Xmas). Cool YT name (I raced ABA BMX from about 83 to 91) I’m old. Lol. 🤙🏼
Excellent build! This design has been bouncing around my head for a few years, butI don't think my Colorado is worth the effort. You have great ideas in the design. Thanks for the video.
Thanks for watching? Thanks for the Master Class. Really happy to see the wood frame of the roof turned out so light. Any chance of a weight when the roof is all assembled?
Haha. Thanks, glad you’re enjoying the build. Yes I would guesstimate the roof will weigh under 50lbs. I currently have 60lb gas struts lifting the roof (next video) and it’s still kind of hard to close at this point. Once I add the top sheet ( aluminum sheet about 11-14 more pounds) and interior roof covering (probably light weight marine grade carpet) I think it will max out at right around 50-55. TbT
been watching from the start - gonna have to use some of these ideas! can we get a tacoma salute going where we stick our hands out the window and hold an imaginary taco? if bikers can wave to other motorcyclists why can't we have our own thing? lol
Hahahaa. We just went on a 2 week road trip from Cali to Oregon and I tried to connect with the homies in tacos along the way. I think I went 0-200. 🤦🏼♂️. My girl drives a Jeep and when we’re in that they (Jeepers) all wave. 🤷🏼♂️. Thanks for watching and commenting. TbT.
Like others, I've enjoyed this build and am inspired to try building one. I'm curious how you lock the walls in the upright position? (Okay, never mind. I saw in the full tour video you have barrel bolts to lock it in place). But I am still amazed those fabric stabilizers do anything to keep the roof from racking. :) Really innovative design overall. I've seen several hard-side pop-up camper build videos, and so far I like how you did the walls best. Cheers!
Thanks. It’s working well so far. We have several trips in it now and even a crazy wind night out in Anza Borrego last weekend. Camper did amazing in the wind. Soooo much quieter than our old rooftop tent for sure. The stabilizers were the best solution I could come up with for the transition from popping up and putting the walls down, they work really well though I wish I had a way to bypass that step and keep the roof stable during setup. Thanks for watching and commenting. Good luck with your build. Tbt
Thanks! I don’t have an exact weight yet, but if I have to guess no more than 350lbs. I’m going to weigh my truck empty and then weight it again with the camper on it so I know where I’m at before I build interior. Should give me a better idea of how much I can add or if I need to be more minimalist on the inside. Trying to have an overall dry weight of strong 550lbs. Before, water, propane, gear, people etc. Thanks for commenting, much appreciated. TbT
Sound good. I am very impressed that way is coming. I got a little be confused on the top part but I will be looking the video a few more times. I saw a roofer doing a roof on a single wide using a membrane. He said it’s the way of go today May be cheaper than aluminum for the roof. You doing an excellent job. 👍🏽
So i have been planning a similar build with fold up pannels and I never thought of offsetting the hinges as you did. I was thinking of making the front and rear non folding walls an inch taller than the side walls to allow them to nest on top of the side walls. Your approach looks better to me, I never thought of mounting the hinges as you did. One thing I am thinking of doing different from your build is to have the permenant walls have a 45 degree bevel down on the outside so after you raise the folding walls they would have a coresponding 45 degree angle to reduce the likelyhood of water intrusion. Was thinking of doing a similar thing on the top of the folding walls but with the 45 degree angle reversed to that when the roof is lowered on them a 45 dergee wedge shape would push them outward against the roof overhang along the entire length of the folding wall. Anyhow, cheers on the build and thanks for the good idea about the hinges, will simplify things for me.
Good luck with your build, glad my videos are helping you plan your build. I would build a small mockup of your design (maybe out of foam) before you commit just to be sure it will work. Things change off the paper to reality. Good luck. Thanks for watching and commenting. TbT.
Gate hinges are longer reach and allow the upper side walls to fold down lower than the front and back upper walls. That’s the way the 4 upper walls fold down on each other. The longer side walls are about 1.75” below the top of the lower fixed side wall (when folded down) and the front upper walls fold down on top of those. This allows the roof to come down and sit on the lower fixed camper wall better. Hope that makes sense. Thanks for watching and commenting. TbT
What!? what!? It's not the first of the month and not even a Monday! Oh yah, the season, I'm so thankful😂. That looks great, the roof must be close to only 100lbs.(after the 70lb weighing) or less. This is getting better & better. Your Taco is a 6' bed? No more flack about waiting for the next episode, but I can't wait to see the Christmas one... or maybe sooner, ok just a little flack. Good work!
Haha. I wanted to get this one out for the holiday break. The roof is only 20lbs in this video. I don’t think it will weigh more than 50 when complete. No, have the short bed, but that’s ok. The overall length of the camper is 8’. We spend 99% of our time outside. This will be a warmer and quieter (no tent flap from the wind) set up. Basically for sleeping. Thanks for following along and the great comments. Happy thanksgiving. TbT
@@TravelingbyTacoma Oh 20 lbs!! a food splat on my screen made it look like a 70. Your design concept and intended use is exactly inline with my ideas. Happy Thanksgiving to you also.
Sorry been traveling and using the camper. Can you be more specific. Do you want the roof cap side walls or the depth of the cantilever (cab over) portion of the lower camper? Thanks for watching and commenting. TbT
@TravelingbyTacoma thanks for replying. Yeah if you can share the cab over and the wall that fold down. TY.. Can't wait to see the finish build, I wanna make one for my 3rd gen.
What size are the struts? I think im gonna try building something similar! I’ve watched your videos so many times lol building up the confidence to jump into it!
I used 35” 40# struts for mine. Look at the newer videos in the video description and most of the stuff I used is linked there. Good luck and thanks for watching and commenting. TbT. ✌🏼
Thanks. I may do a basic list of materials and design specs when I complete the project. For now there are too many design changes in the field to draw something up. Thanks for watching and commenting. Working on a new episode now. TbT
Looking forward to the next episode. I’m trying to wrap my head around how you did the pop up part, even after watching it I’m not sure I understand exactly how it was done. Any chance you plan on doing a detailed explanation at some point? Also, how are you planning on waterproofing it? I keep going back and forth on using epoxy and fiber glass.
I’ll try to show it more in depth in future episodes and when I get to the interior build out. As far as waterproofing I have sealed all the exterior wood with marine grade interlux wood sealer, Interlux Pre-coat primer and will have a finish coat of Interlux marine paint. I’ve used all of these on my boat and they are excellent for waterproofing wood. Just my choice for waterproofing though, your ideas would likely be fine too. Thanks for watching and commenting. New episode out later this month. TbT
Hi it's me again, can i get your advice regarding what lbs of gas/lift strut will i get? My top is quite heavy, around 100 lbs and by the way, i will use a soft wall rather than hard wall. Thank you so much, your help is much appreciated...❤❤
I’m not an expert, but I would start with 100lb struts if you’re roof is that much. The roof weight will help pull it closed. Be careful when it’s popped up and make sure you have some type of stabilizers (like your soft walls) so the roof isn’t swaying around when up. That’s a lot of weight to not be secured and just having the roof on the struts is very unstable. Ask me how I know. 🙄😂 good luck.
…also order your struts from somewhere that has free returns (ie Amazon) in case you find out 100 is too much or too little. I started with 60lb and they were way too strong for my roof.
Now I have to watch to see the end project only because when you had the walls up and roof in place I could see sunlight coming through, there shouldn't be light coming through!. water is like sunlight it likes to find its way in !
@TravelingbyTacoma I'm glad it doesn't leak! There is nothing worse than a leak, especially if you buy new and it wasn't cheap, lol just don't ever buy from a manufacturer it's always better to build from scratch! Well done, my friend
Hi from Belgium! Finally I found someone who builds something clean without thousand tools ;). Really appreciate that! Can't wait to see to next episode! Do you know the cost of all this? Thanks! Phil
Thanks! Tools are expensive and unless you’re using them for making a living you can get by with the basics. Thanks for noticing that aspect of my channel. If I had to guess (because I haven’t really kept a log unfortunately) I’d say I have spent about $1200 so far and I think I can finish the whole project for a total of $2500. Thanks for watching and commenting. PS, send Belgian beer, we love it. 🍻
So far so good. We just did 2 weeks in Oregon (not a ton of off roading and we were solo, so not eating dust in a group) but dust wasn’t an issue. I tried to weather seal as tightly as possible. Thanks for watching and commenting. TbT.
2” 18 gauge galvanized brad nails, but they just hold everything in place where the wood glue and 2.5 inch screws hold the structure together. Hope that helps. Thanks for watching and commenting. TbT. ✌🏻
If I lived in a wetter climate, I would have probably done the whole camper the same way I did the roof with an aluminum skin. I would have still used a wooded frame, because that’s what I know, but mine is holding up great. Thanks for watching and commenting. TbT.
Wow, I’m very happy to found your channel! Are you in Northern Cali or Southern Cali? I’m interested to build one for my 8’ bed Tundra. No more tent and no more camper shelve for my family. Do you sell the blueprint for this built? I think you should! I don’t like the factory built, they are too heavy and not what I wanted in the laid out. Or you can help me build it. I buy the material and assist you with this build so I know how to repair it in future. I’ll pay you for your labor! Thank you in advance, Dino from north Orange County California. BTW how can I leave you my phone # without seeing it on here?
Thanks for watching and commenting, glad you’re inspired by the build. I don’t have plans to offer, just the build series for reference. I wouldn’t be able to build you one… the reason 4 wheel campers and others are so expensive is the time it takes to build one (plus R&D) not the materials. Let alone I have a full time regular carrier. UA-cam is just for fun and like you we wanted out of the noisy cold RTT. You can DM me if you have any questions on my instagram if you have any questions. 🤙🏼 Good luck.
Great job love your work can you please tell me how you worked out the placement of your fold up top sections the hinges to get your sides to fold down like that i have a small car that im building a small camper but its very short i would like to be able to expand it for more head room Great work thanks for sharing
Basically the first sides (the long sides in my case) have to have the hing offset lower so when they fold down they are lower that the top of the wall (flush) then the front walls fold down on top of those. They …the front and back wall are about 1 3/4 thick so you need to make your roof compensate for that thickness. If you look at my roof edge (inner edge not the overhang) you’ll see it steps to allow room for the 1 3/4 thickness of the front and back wall. And rests on the camper wall in the middle of the side walls and on the front and back camper wall. Hope that makes sense. Depending on how wide your camper is will determine how tall your wall can be. If your camper is 60” wide for example your side walls can only be 28 inches tall max or they will hit In the middle (2 inch gap) when folded down. Hope that all helps Thanks for watching and commenting. Good luck. TbT
I feel like I missed an entire episode. Where is the episode where you decided what size gas struts you needed? Where to place them? And how to mount them? Thanks
Yeah. I think I missed focusing on that unfortunately. Hard to go back and film when you miss something like that. Basically there are 3 steps. Figure out how tall you pop up is and make sure your struts are long enough for that height, second make sure they have room to collapse when closed and third make sure they’re strong enough to lift your roof, but not so strong you can’t close it. I started with 60lb struts and ended up with 40lb because I couldn’t pull the 60’s down. Hope that helps. Thanks for watching and commenting. TbT
Mostly because paint should be last in the critical path and after you’re sure all the fabrication fits and really works. Once you’re sure it all works you can pull it off and properly seal behind and paint behind the edge metal …scuff and clean it properly for a better finish. It’s just the right way to do it right in my opinion/experience. Thanks for watching and commenting. TbT.
I thought about a slight slop or ridge, but went with flat. I think 4wheel campers are flat as well. I’m not too worried, for one I live in SoCal and it never rains lol, and I’m going to cover it and seal with a sheet of aluminum. I’ll be sure to seal (sikaflex) all seams and edges as well. Thanks for following along and commenting. TbT
@@TravelingbyTacoma I recently covered my motorhome with semco. It might work great for your build here as you can apply it like paint and it really makes a nice seal against the elements. I used aluminum for my corners, sanded it where the semco was going to make contact and wiped it down with acetone. Seems to have bonded well. Does not adhere to silicone, so I had to remove and replace all of that. Comes in a variety of colors. I have no affiliation with them other than using their products. Semcoworks.
At 5:50 you said "store bought from Lowe's" but then you also said "straight and not too many knots". Well, which is it? Because those two statements are exclusive of each other. Lol
Thanks for watching and commenting. Are you talking about the lift struts? They should be fine on the outside. Most pop up campers have them this way. I’ll keep an eye on them though. Stay safe out there. TbT
Another question if I may Jason. You added small triangular 1\4" plywood pieces to screw your hinges on the popup walls. Now the wall is pushed out 1\4". What's the reasoning behind that?
The lower walls are covered in that area I believe and in order to keep the upper wall in line (flush) with the lower wall when folded up on the hing the upper wall needed to be furred out to match that lower plain. Hope that make sense.
I used an quality exterior grade house plaint. Should be fine I think and easy to touch up or repaint if needed. Top side will have a marine grade polyurethane paint with wood sealer and marine primer underneath. Thanks for watching and commenting. TbT
@@TravelingbyTacoma I am debating doing this to the diy camper, instead of vinyl/canvas. My concern, however, is when the camper is on the truck and trying to pop up the side that hangs over the cab of the truck. Have you tested this while the camper is on the truck? Thanks!
Yeah, I have thought about that. It may be a slight pain if I’m by myself (which is very rare) but with 2 people it will be no problem. The camper is pretty small and the upper walls are super light weight as well. It’s not like some huge heavy slab I’ll have to tilt up. Thanks for watching and commenting. TbT
@@TravelingbyTacoma Yeah that makes sense. Well you have convinced me to pivot away from the vinyl soft pop up. One final question, what size struts are you using? excited for more videos! thanks for sharing your work
I was going to do the vinyl pop up but we have a roof top tent and we’re tired of it flapping in the wind. So we went this route. I started with 80lb struts, but they were too powerful. I went with 60lb and they are fine.
I plan on installing my interior stuff (cabinets, bed platform, bench,etc) then backfilling any areas that need of can get insulated then covering any open wall with marine grade carpet.
We have a little busy heater that we use to warm our rooftop tent and that works well, so I think that will be plenty for the camper since it’s insulated. Nothing built in though.
Hi, may i know what is the specs of the gas strut did you used? and what is the approximate weight of the top? Thank you so much, im also building my top up camper. Greetings from the Philippines....
Nice. Good luck with your build and thanks for watching. I used 40lbs lift struts door my roof. I don’t have an exact weight, but it’s probably 40 to 50lbs maybe. If you look in more current videos (later episodes) description I have linked the struts and a lot of items I used to build out my camper. Thanks for watching and commenting. TbT
It’s about a 1/2 inch. It will have a foam strip so when the upper wall is folded up int will compress the foam creating a dust/ water seal around the top of the bottom walls. I think I will have some sort of overhang drip edge there as well for an added layer of protection. Hope that helps. TbT
I think I’m going to use a sheet of aluminum. Some type of aluminum they use on the white enclosed utility trailers. There is a material supplier who Carrie’s it near me and I’ve seen others use it with success. 4x8 sheet is 11lbs I believe.
That's probably a great option. I'm exploring a different product that a friend of mine talked about but I can't remember the name of it. I'll let you know when I do.
The whole project was under 5k and it’s basically 99% done. The bed foam and seat foam upholstery (had that made professionally)was $1200 (haven’t shown that in a video yet been out using the camper) hope that helps. TbT
Sorry. I really don’t have a list. For as much pre planning and drawings I did building this is a Enginner as I go project so I don’t have a full on list. Most everything I used is documented on the vids. Thanks for watching and commenting. TbT
While I agree they are extremely expensive, there is so much engineering, design, labor and overhead that goes into to build one that I understand why they cost so much. Material wise it’s not that much…it’s all the other stuff you’re paying for when you buy from a manufacturer. Thanks for watching and commenting, it’s appreciated. TbT
Haha. My day job pays pretty well lol. I may sit down at the end after all the field engineering is sorted out and draw up a set of plans. Thanks for watching and commenting. TbT.
In my op this is the BEST of the DIY builds, it keeps an eye on weight, aerodynamics and function. well done sir.
Thanks a lot, that’s really cool. We’re enjoying it. Thanks for watching and commenting, it’s appreciated. TbT
Calm, no hectic, no shouting, great music and great ideas.
I am planning to build something like yours for my 2007 Land Rover with aluminum composite. But now I like your system with plywood, wood and NGX foam from the processing much better. I think it's more DIY friendly😁
Subscribed.
Greetings from Munich
Thanks! I think if you framed the camper with wood but sided it with aluminum and sealed everywhere it could be a better solution for a wetter climate. That’s how I did my roof and it worked well. My sealed plywood sides are fine and leak free, but aluminum sides would have been easier I think. Less steps. Good luck with your build. Thanks for subscribing too. TbT
And no lame side stories, dogs, cats, or kids, or watching you drive to and shop at the box store
Straight up informational and pleasant
Haha. Thanks. ✌🏼
Good job
Thanks
real diy and real worker with the tool on the ground 👍
👍🏻thanks.
Very nice
Thanks!
@@TravelingbyTacoma is it done yet?
Basically done, but these projects are never really “done” lol. Thanks for watching and commenting. TbT
Bloody impressive work!
Thanks, glad you like it. Thanks for watching and commenting, it’s appreciated. TbT.
Thanks for sharing this
Glad you liked it. TbT
Awesome build! Gonna go watch your other videos
Thanks for watching and commenting it is appreciated. TbT
Very nice thanks for sharing that with with us. Looking forward to some more videos on it. God bless you and yours.
Thanks
Can't wait to see it!!!
Thanks for watching. TbT
Brilliant!
Thanks!
Your camper build is awesome, I have watched a lot of these builds on YT and yours is by far my favorite. The design and the workmanship is top notch. Love how the top folds down while your traveling. Great job look forward to watching the next episode.
Thanks, much appreciated. TbT
U😅 chcihcan’t can h😅iic
@@TravelingbyTacoma can’t c😅h xh x
😊
😊
I’m feeling inspired! Love to see the progress
Thanks. Glad you’re enjoying the build. Thanks for watching and commenting. TbT
Excellent design !!
I thought i missed something at the end .On how the top rises. Next episode lol
Haha, yeah I think I have the whole lift (pop up) sorted out. I’ll show that in the next video. Thanks for watching and commenting. TbT
Didn't think I'd like it because it's wood, I'm more of an aluminum guy, but this is actually one of the best builds I've seen, I might copy it with aluminum supports.
Thanks. It’s been holding up great. That being said, if I didn’t live in dry socal I would have skinned the exterior with the same aluminum I used on the roof for water resistance. My wood sealed skin is fine down here, but under constant moisture like the PNW, I’d prefer an aluminum skin. Thanks for watching and commenting. TbT ✌🏼
Pretty cool! Masterful feat of field engineering.
Thanks!
perfection!
Thanks. I wouldn’t say perfection lol, but it’s working out so far. I’m pretty happy with the design. Thanks for watching and commenting, it’s appreciated. TbT
@@TravelingbyTacoma It is coming up amazingly. I have seen hundreds of hours of DIY campers all around youtube, and by far this is THE one I would like to build myself. You have put a lot of thought on it and it is being seen in every video. I love your idea of the hard-sided camper. I am willing to see next video. Thanks for sharing! and good luck!
Been watching all these episodes and didn't know you were building a pop up. Amazing!!!! I've been looking for ideas on building a hard side pop up and your project has some awesome details I want to utilize.
Thanks. Should have a new episode out by next month. Lots of rain in SoCal and I’m to the painting stage. Had to hold off for a bit.
Glad I came across your videos of your camper build. Looks good and looking forward to seeing the completed camper.
Thanks for watching, commenting and following along. TbT
The camper is coming together nicely! Looks great excited to see the rest of the series!
Thanks! Glad you’re enjoying the build. Thanks for following along. TbT
I have so many questions! This gives me so many ideas on how to modify my Jayco Sportster 7. It has lift issues. I can possibly do it your way. Thank you for the idea!
Thanks for watching and commenting. Let me if you have any questions and maybe I can answer them. ✌🏻
this is so cool, thank you !
Thanks and thanks for watching and commenting. TbT ✌🏼
Nice work Jason! The popup walls and roof are looking awesome. Nice clean work. It's going to look great when it's all done. It's nice to see you clean up often... Sign of a professional! Time for me to head to the garage and continue my build which has been inspired by yours. I'm at episode 2. You have a lot of good ideas. Thank you so much for sharing. 🤗
Thanks. Yes, cleaning up and having a clean workspace is part of the process and helps keep your mind clear. Good luck on your build and enjoy the process. Happy thanksgiving.
@@TravelingbyTacoma Thanks Jason. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family. I'm enjoying the build. Taking my time. If you ever come to Winnipeg, drop by. It will be beer o'clock for sure!
Hi! I like your work. I also built a hard wall tc for my Tacoma 6 foot bed. Cabover is for storage, we sleep on pullout sofa. Sitting height ceiling only to keep cog low. Propane fridge, furnace, sink and counter for camp stove if bad weather outside. Weighs +\- 550 lbs. dry. With gear 2 of us and 30 lbs dog we max gvw. We’ve covered 40K km with it so far and happy with 18 mpg average at speed limit. I’ll keep following your project.
Thanks. Your set up sounds really cool. I’m shooting for a similar weight to yours. I can’t wait to start building the interior out. Should be starting that soon. Need to find time to do the finish painting on the outside first. Been too busy with responsibilities 🙄. Thanks for commenting, watching and following along. 🤙🏼
@@TravelingbyTacoma I understand. It took us 2 years to build when we were in the mood but it felt great to head out in -15 C temp on our maiden voyage. I bolt it through the bed in the front with reinforcement plates and chains to the bed D rings at the back. When off roading I loosen the chains some to compensate for frame flex of Taco and spare the camper. Have to go under the truck each time load or unload for the bolts. No fun but cheap and looks clean.
I’m looking forward to testing it out out there. We don’t do much off-roading, mostly forest roads and desert trails /dirt roads. I’m hoping my mounting points will be enough. I think they will be but you never know.
Dude! Looks great! This is really coming along nicely!
Thanks man, it’s a roller coaster and a head scratcher at times, but I’m feeling pretty good about the build right now. I’m basically done with the exterior rough build. Now on to paint, sealing, and covering the roof. Thanks for following along and commenting. Much appreciated. TbT
Can’t wait for the next episode! I’ve always wanted to build something like this but never had the know how, helps me a lot!
Thanks. Good luck with your build. I should have a new episode out at the end of the month (before Xmas). Cool YT name (I raced ABA BMX from about 83 to 91) I’m old. Lol. 🤙🏼
Excellent build! This design has been bouncing around my head for a few years, butI don't think my Colorado is worth the effort. You have great ideas in the design. Thanks for the video.
Thanks and thanks for the comment. Stay safe out there. TbT.
Thanks for watching? Thanks for the Master Class. Really happy to see the wood frame of the roof turned out so light. Any chance of a weight when the roof is all assembled?
Haha. Thanks, glad you’re enjoying the build. Yes I would guesstimate the roof will weigh under 50lbs. I currently have 60lb gas struts lifting the roof (next video) and it’s still kind of hard to close at this point. Once I add the top sheet ( aluminum sheet about 11-14 more pounds) and interior roof covering (probably light weight marine grade carpet) I think it will max out at right around 50-55. TbT
I want it!!!
Ha. Thanks for the comment and views. TbT
been watching from the start - gonna have to use some of these ideas!
can we get a tacoma salute going where we stick our hands out the window and hold an imaginary taco? if bikers can wave to other motorcyclists why can't we have our own thing? lol
Hahahaa. We just went on a 2 week road trip from Cali to Oregon and I tried to connect with the homies in tacos along the way. I think I went 0-200. 🤦🏼♂️. My girl drives a Jeep and when we’re in that they (Jeepers) all wave. 🤷🏼♂️. Thanks for watching and commenting. TbT.
Like others, I've enjoyed this build and am inspired to try building one. I'm curious how you lock the walls in the upright position? (Okay, never mind. I saw in the full tour video you have barrel bolts to lock it in place). But I am still amazed those fabric stabilizers do anything to keep the roof from racking. :) Really innovative design overall. I've seen several hard-side pop-up camper build videos, and so far I like how you did the walls best. Cheers!
Thanks. It’s working well so far. We have several trips in it now and even a crazy wind night out in Anza Borrego last weekend. Camper did amazing in the wind. Soooo much quieter than our old rooftop tent for sure. The stabilizers were the best solution I could come up with for the transition from popping up and putting the walls down, they work really well though I wish I had a way to bypass that step and keep the roof stable during setup. Thanks for watching and commenting. Good luck with your build. Tbt
How heavy so far. Great job 👍🏽
Thanks! I don’t have an exact weight yet, but if I have to guess no more than 350lbs. I’m going to weigh my truck empty and then weight it again with the camper on it so I know where I’m at before I build interior. Should give me a better idea of how much I can add or if I need to be more minimalist on the inside. Trying to have an overall dry weight of strong 550lbs. Before, water, propane, gear, people etc. Thanks for commenting, much appreciated. TbT
Sound good. I am very impressed that way is coming. I got a little be confused on the top part but I will be looking the video a few more times. I saw a roofer doing a roof on a single wide using a membrane. He said it’s the way of go today May be cheaper than aluminum for the roof. You doing an excellent job. 👍🏽
So i have been planning a similar build with fold up pannels and I never thought of offsetting the hinges as you did. I was thinking of making the front and rear non folding walls an inch taller than the side walls to allow them to nest on top of the side walls. Your approach looks better to me, I never thought of mounting the hinges as you did. One thing I am thinking of doing different from your build is to have the permenant walls have a 45 degree bevel down on the outside so after you raise the folding walls they would have a coresponding 45 degree angle to reduce the likelyhood of water intrusion. Was thinking of doing a similar thing on the top of the folding walls but with the 45 degree angle reversed to that when the roof is lowered on them a 45 dergee wedge shape would push them outward against the roof overhang along the entire length of the folding wall. Anyhow, cheers on the build and thanks for the good idea about the hinges, will simplify things for me.
Good luck with your build, glad my videos are helping you plan your build. I would build a small mockup of your design (maybe out of foam) before you commit just to be sure it will work. Things change off the paper to reality. Good luck. Thanks for watching and commenting. TbT.
Very nice build. On the hinges, I was wondering why gate hinge versus door type or piano?
Gate hinges are longer reach and allow the upper side walls to fold down lower than the front and back upper walls. That’s the way the 4 upper walls fold down on each other. The longer side walls are about 1.75” below the top of the lower fixed side wall (when folded down) and the front upper walls fold down on top of those. This allows the roof to come down and sit on the lower fixed camper wall better. Hope that makes sense. Thanks for watching and commenting. TbT
What!? what!? It's not the first of the month and not even a Monday! Oh yah, the season, I'm so thankful😂. That looks great, the roof must be close to only 100lbs.(after the 70lb weighing) or less. This is getting better & better. Your Taco is a 6' bed? No more flack about waiting for the next episode, but I can't wait to see the Christmas one... or maybe sooner, ok just a little flack. Good work!
Haha. I wanted to get this one out for the holiday break. The roof is only 20lbs in this video. I don’t think it will weigh more than 50 when complete. No, have the short bed, but that’s ok. The overall length of the camper is 8’. We spend 99% of our time outside. This will be a warmer and quieter (no tent flap from the wind) set up. Basically for sleeping. Thanks for following along and the great comments. Happy thanksgiving. TbT
@@TravelingbyTacoma Oh 20 lbs!! a food splat on my screen made it look like a 70. Your design concept and intended use is exactly inline with my ideas. Happy Thanksgiving to you also.
Hahahaha. 😂Thanks!
Can you share the measurements for the roof sidewalls and over the cab section. TY great build btw..
Sorry been traveling and using the camper. Can you be more specific. Do you want the roof cap side walls or the depth of the cantilever (cab over) portion of the lower camper? Thanks for watching and commenting. TbT
@TravelingbyTacoma thanks for replying. Yeah if you can share the cab over and the wall that fold down. TY.. Can't wait to see the finish build, I wanna make one for my 3rd gen.
Cab over is about 10” overall and the fold up walls are 24”.
What size are the struts? I think im gonna try building something similar! I’ve watched your videos so many times lol building up the confidence to jump into it!
I used 35” 40# struts for mine. Look at the newer videos in the video description and most of the stuff I used is linked there. Good luck and thanks for watching and commenting. TbT. ✌🏼
So nice your campervan. May i know how weight is it?
Thanks. It weighs about 750lbs. One of the build videos in the series goes over the weight. Thanks for watching. TbT
I Love this channel I wish there was a place for me to get the measurements and list of tools and items I would love that
Thanks. I may do a basic list of materials and design specs when I complete the project. For now there are too many design changes in the field to draw something up. Thanks for watching and commenting. Working on a new episode now. TbT
Looking forward to the next episode. I’m trying to wrap my head around how you did the pop up part, even after watching it I’m not sure I understand exactly how it was done. Any chance you plan on doing a detailed explanation at some point? Also, how are you planning on waterproofing it? I keep going back and forth on using epoxy and fiber glass.
I’ll try to show it more in depth in future episodes and when I get to the interior build out. As far as waterproofing I have sealed all the exterior wood with marine grade interlux wood sealer, Interlux Pre-coat primer and will have a finish coat of Interlux marine paint. I’ve used all of these on my boat and they are excellent for waterproofing wood. Just my choice for waterproofing though, your ideas would likely be fine too. Thanks for watching and commenting. New episode out
later this month. TbT
Thank you! I’m looking forward to the next episode!
Hi it's me again, can i get your advice regarding what lbs of gas/lift strut will i get? My top is quite heavy, around 100 lbs and by the way, i will use a soft wall rather than hard wall. Thank you so much, your help is much appreciated...❤❤
I’m not an expert, but I would start with 100lb struts if you’re roof is that much. The roof weight will help pull it closed. Be careful when it’s popped up and make sure you have some type of stabilizers (like your soft walls) so the roof isn’t swaying around when up. That’s a lot of weight to not be secured and just having the roof on the struts is very unstable. Ask me how I know. 🙄😂 good luck.
…also order your struts from somewhere that has free returns (ie Amazon) in case you find out 100 is too much or too little. I started with 60lb and they were way too strong for my roof.
I advise you wear eye protection when using a brad gun, as a wayward nail might hit a knot of wood or who knows what and ricochet into your eye. 🇦🇺
Roger that. Thanks for watching and commenting. TbT.
Nice design do you have the episode 8 yet .
Working on that now. Should be out this month towards the end I hope. Thanks for watching and commenting. TbT
Now I have to watch to see the end project only because when you had the walls up and roof in place I could see sunlight coming through, there shouldn't be light coming through!. water is like sunlight it likes to find its way in !
👍🏼
Thanks for watching. No leaks. Been on the truck in rain, snow,wind for over a year.
@TravelingbyTacoma I'm glad it doesn't leak! There is nothing worse than a leak, especially if you buy new and it wasn't cheap, lol just don't ever buy from a manufacturer it's always better to build from scratch! Well done, my friend
✌🏼
Hi from Belgium! Finally I found someone who builds something clean without thousand tools ;). Really appreciate that! Can't wait to see to next episode! Do you know the cost of all this? Thanks! Phil
Thanks! Tools are expensive and unless you’re using them for making a living you can get by with the basics. Thanks for noticing that aspect of my channel. If I had to guess (because I haven’t really kept a log unfortunately) I’d say I have spent about $1200 so far and I think I can finish the whole project for a total of $2500. Thanks for watching and commenting. PS, send Belgian beer, we love it. 🍻
Have you used this offroad, particularly dusty conditions, and noticed much dust ingress?
So far so good. We just did 2 weeks in Oregon (not a ton of off roading and we were solo, so not eating dust in a group) but dust wasn’t an issue. I tried to weather seal as tightly as possible. Thanks for watching and commenting. TbT.
Do you have an idea of total weight at this point? Thanks. Nice job.
I’d guess it’s under 325lbs at this point. Thanks for watching and commenting. TbT
@@TravelingbyTacoma thank you very much!
What type of nails are you using in the nail gun? Thanks. John
2” 18 gauge galvanized brad nails, but they just hold everything in place where the wood glue and 2.5 inch screws hold the structure together. Hope that helps. Thanks for watching and commenting. TbT. ✌🏻
Do you think using lightweight aluminum extrusion, andACP as the skin would be a substitute for organic material
If I lived in a wetter climate, I would have probably done the whole camper the same way I did the roof with an aluminum skin. I would have still used a wooded frame, because that’s what I know, but mine is holding up great. Thanks for watching and commenting. TbT.
Wow, I’m very happy to found your channel!
Are you in Northern Cali or Southern Cali?
I’m interested to build one for my 8’ bed Tundra. No more tent and no more camper shelve for my family.
Do you sell the blueprint for this built? I think you should! I don’t like the factory built, they are too heavy and not what I wanted in the laid out. Or you can help me build it. I buy the material and assist you with this build so I know how to repair it in future. I’ll pay you for your labor!
Thank you in advance, Dino from north Orange County California.
BTW how can I leave you my phone # without seeing it on here?
Thanks for watching and commenting, glad you’re inspired by the build. I don’t have plans to offer, just the build series for reference. I wouldn’t be able to build you one… the reason 4 wheel campers and others are so expensive is the time it takes to build one (plus R&D) not the materials. Let alone I have a full time regular carrier. UA-cam is just for fun and like you we wanted out of the noisy cold RTT. You can DM me if you have any questions on my instagram if you have any questions. 🤙🏼 Good luck.
Great job love your work can you please tell me how you worked out the placement of your fold up top sections the hinges to get your sides to fold down like that i have a small car that im building a small camper but its very short i would like to be able to expand it for more head room Great work thanks for sharing
Basically the first sides (the long sides in my case) have to have the hing offset lower so when they fold down they are lower that the top of the wall (flush) then the front walls fold down on top of those. They …the front and back wall are about 1 3/4 thick so you need to make your roof compensate for that thickness. If you look at my roof edge (inner edge not the overhang) you’ll see it steps to allow room for the 1 3/4 thickness of the front and back wall. And rests on the camper wall in the middle of the side walls and on the front and back camper wall. Hope that makes sense. Depending on how wide your camper is will determine how tall your wall can be. If your camper is 60” wide for example your side walls can only be 28 inches tall max or they will hit
In the middle (2 inch gap) when folded down. Hope that all helps Thanks for watching and commenting. Good luck. TbT
Man I appreciate you taking the time to help me out I watched your videos many times and I see what you are saying thanks for sharing keep it up
Good luck with your build. TbT
I feel like I missed an entire episode. Where is the episode where you decided what size gas struts you needed? Where to place them? And how to mount them? Thanks
Yeah. I think I missed focusing on that unfortunately. Hard to go back and film when you miss something like that. Basically there are 3 steps. Figure out how tall you pop up is and make sure your struts are long enough for that height, second make sure they have room to collapse when closed and third make sure they’re strong enough to lift your roof, but not so strong you can’t close it. I started with 60lb struts and ended up with 40lb because I couldn’t pull the 60’s down. Hope that helps. Thanks for watching and commenting. TbT
Thank you. That information does help
Was there a particular reason you chose to not paint the metal before the first install?
Mostly because paint should be last in the critical path and after you’re sure all the fabrication fits and really works. Once you’re sure it all works you can pull it off and properly seal behind and paint behind the edge metal …scuff and clean it properly for a better finish. It’s just the right way to do it right in my opinion/experience. Thanks for watching and commenting. TbT.
Any worry about a completely flat roof and eventual water intrusion? Maybe a little camber like on a boat deck could be introduced.
I thought about a slight slop or ridge, but went with flat. I think 4wheel campers are flat as well. I’m not too worried, for one I live in SoCal and it never rains lol, and I’m going to cover it and seal with a sheet of aluminum. I’ll be sure to seal (sikaflex) all seams and edges as well. Thanks for following along and commenting. TbT
Just make sure you park off level a little! LOL
Ha! Exactly.
@@TravelingbyTacoma I recently covered my motorhome with semco. It might work great for your build here as you can apply it like paint and it really makes a nice seal against the elements. I used aluminum for my corners, sanded it where the semco was going to make contact and wiped it down with acetone. Seems to have bonded well. Does not adhere to silicone, so I had to remove and replace all of that. Comes in a variety of colors. I have no affiliation with them other than using their products. Semcoworks.
Thanks for the tip. I’ll take a look. Thanks for watching and commenting. TBT
At 5:50 you said "store bought from Lowe's" but then you also said "straight and not too many knots". Well, which is it? Because those two statements are exclusive of each other.
Lol
Haha. I hear yah. They’re there, you just have to dig …like way deep
Into the stack. lol. 🤙🏼
Those are mostly 2 x 2" for the framing?
1x2 and 2x2 in critical weight/ shear points.
Wow coming out nicely, any fear of rusting the shocks, was there no way to mount them on the inside? BIG thumbs up!
Thanks for watching and commenting. Are you talking about the lift struts? They should be fine on the outside. Most pop up campers have them this way. I’ll keep an eye on them though. Stay safe out there. TbT
Another question if I may Jason. You added small triangular 1\4" plywood pieces to screw your hinges on the popup walls. Now the wall is pushed out 1\4". What's the reasoning behind that?
The lower walls are covered in that area I believe and in order to keep the upper wall in line (flush) with the lower wall when folded up on the hing the upper wall needed to be furred out to match that lower plain. Hope that make sense.
Totally makes sense. I will watch for that. Thanks.
Awesome build! what kind of paint did you use for the base?
I used an quality exterior grade house plaint. Should be fine I think and easy to touch up or repaint if needed. Top side will have a marine grade polyurethane paint with wood sealer and marine primer underneath. Thanks for watching and commenting. TbT
@@TravelingbyTacoma I am debating doing this to the diy camper, instead of vinyl/canvas. My concern, however, is when the camper is on the truck and trying to pop up the side that hangs over the cab of the truck. Have you tested this while the camper is on the truck? Thanks!
Yeah, I have thought about that. It may be a slight pain if I’m by myself (which is very rare) but with 2 people it will be no problem. The camper is pretty small and the upper walls are super light weight as well. It’s not like some huge heavy slab I’ll have to tilt up. Thanks for watching and commenting. TbT
@@TravelingbyTacoma Yeah that makes sense. Well you have convinced me to pivot away from the vinyl soft pop up. One final question, what size struts are you using?
excited for more videos! thanks for sharing your work
I was going to do the vinyl pop up but we have a roof top tent and we’re tired of it flapping in the wind. So we went this route. I started with 80lb struts, but they were too powerful. I went with 60lb and they are fine.
Hi Jason. Are you planning on putting the same skin on the inside?
I plan on installing my interior stuff (cabinets, bed platform, bench,etc) then backfilling any areas that need of can get insulated then covering any open wall with marine grade carpet.
Also is it going to be heated or just a 3 season camper?
We have a little busy heater that we use to warm our rooftop tent and that works well, so I think that will be plenty for the camper since it’s insulated. Nothing built in though.
Hi, may i know what is the specs of the gas strut did you used? and what is the approximate weight of the top? Thank you so much, im also building my top up camper. Greetings from the Philippines....
Nice. Good luck with your build and thanks for watching. I used 40lbs lift struts door my roof. I don’t have an exact weight, but it’s probably 40 to 50lbs maybe. If you look in more current videos (later episodes) description I have linked the struts and a lot of items I used to build out my camper. Thanks for watching and commenting. TbT
Thank you so much for the inputs, will update you once i finish my build, by the way, you and your videos inspired me to pursue the build 😉
Good luck 👍🏻
What is the gap size between the lower and upper walls Jason? Is that 1\2"?
It’s about a 1/2 inch. It will have a foam strip so when the upper wall is folded up int will compress the foam creating a dust/ water seal around the top of the bottom walls. I think I will have some sort of overhang drip edge there as well for an added layer of protection. Hope that helps. TbT
Hi Jason. What materials are you planning to use for the roof?
I think I’m going to use a sheet of aluminum. Some type of aluminum they use on the white enclosed utility trailers. There is a material supplier who Carrie’s it near me and I’ve seen others use it with success. 4x8 sheet is 11lbs I believe.
That's probably a great option. I'm exploring a different product that a friend of mine talked about but I can't remember the name of it. I'll let you know when I do.
Are you still being affected by the rain storms?
Hi Jason. Where did you find the drip sill for the door?
Amazon. - it’s pretty flimsy, but should work.
Grace 302700 27" Mill-Finish Aluminum Drip Cap a.co/d/4pauWTT.
How expensive was to get this point?
The whole project was under 5k and it’s basically 99% done. The bed foam and seat foam upholstery (had that made professionally)was $1200 (haven’t shown that in a video yet been out using the camper) hope that helps. TbT
Can you tell me what the cost was to build this please??
So far I have about $1200 to $1400 into it. Hopefully be under $3000 when done. Thanks for watching. TbT
Can you put a material list down?
Sorry. I really don’t have a list. For as much pre planning and drawings I did building this is a Enginner as I go project so I don’t have a full on list. Most everything I used is documented on the vids. Thanks for watching and commenting. TbT
If you built a house, shed, or tree house. Building a camper is very very achievable. These things are way over priced.
While I agree they are extremely expensive, there is so much engineering, design, labor and overhead that goes into to build one that I understand why they cost so much. Material wise it’s not that much…it’s all the other stuff you’re paying for when you buy from a manufacturer. Thanks for watching and commenting, it’s appreciated. TbT
@@TravelingbyTacoma Just do it out of 1" or 2" Aluminum.
I also had an idea to put a gutter on the top of mine to catch 💦 for showering.
did you just build a camper you can't stand up in?
I can stand in it just fine bruh. Thanks for watching and commenting. TbT
Quit your day job! Sell us the plans.
Haha. My day job pays pretty well lol. I may sit down at the end after all the field engineering is sorted out and draw up a set of plans. Thanks for watching and commenting. TbT.
I love watching all your amazing videos! I think you will be interested in "Promosm"!!!
Thanks.