More Pop Top Design Ideas
More Pop Top Design Ideas
After working through all your comments and suggestions, I talk about each option and the pros and cons before talking about the solution I’m going with
00:00 Introduction
00:36 The Flip Over
02:37 Linear Actuators
07:14 Bungee Cords For the Canvas
08:32 Bi-Fold Bed Platform
10:24 So, What’s the Solution?
Want to know where in the world I’m…
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Why are people still using canvas? Spectra fiber fabric is lighter, stronger, highly UV resistant, anti microbial and waterproof. The only downside is price.
Pop up wedge on a 6' truck bed… life changing experience for me
Hey just seen you driving down in California!
Hi Dan, I watch your videos about your vehicle choices and your experience speaks a huge volume. Is FORD RANGER a good international platform since it's everywhere and recently brought back to the State too?
Hi Dan, I love your wheel choice. What wheels/offsets are those? Sorry if this question has been answered but I can’t find it. Thanks, and I love this camper!
We recently rented a van in Baja that had a Maxair fan. It is something we have contemplated installing on our own van at home. I was surprised how much electricity it used. Whenever we used it, the house battery in the rental was down below 11 volts by morning and the fridge wouldn't work until the solar panels had a few hours to bump the battery back up. Granted, the battery was probably AGM, where a lithium battery wouldn't have dropped volts the way it did. When we didn't use the maxair fan, all else being equal, the battery volts stayed in the mid to upper 12v range all night long. Something to consider.
For air flow under the mattress The Froli Systems gives you air flow and is more comfortable then just a foam mattress.
I’ve seen a base that allows air flow to place your bed on that’s commonly used on boats. Maybe look into some yacht or sailboat products for that sort of thing you can still have a solid bed platform with that woven section between the platform and your mattress. Sounds like it’s going to be a cool build.
I say keep with the triangular clamshell. Having the rigidity of a hinged side will make for more cozy nights in windy weather.
From this video, why should anyone make any suggestions. You used this type of platform through the last two builds you did. You take the comments of your viewers go over them and than you shred them to pieces.
In australia there are air bag roof raising systems, light weight just need on board compressor.
Dan is 200% correct on the slats under the mattress idea . My wife is very heavy smoker , I went to flip the mattress over the other day , and as Dan said a mattress needs to breath , sadly this mattress has been breathing so much so the area between the slats is yellow . Yes this is gross , but it shows how much a mattress needs to breathe . I live in Florida where it is very Humid but not as bad as the places Dan will be traveling, and in these types of climates all a mattress has to do is lay against a hard surface for just a little to long and black mold will form . Another thought about lineal actuators , when one of these things dies , one when it’s when you and in the middle of nowhere in the middle a monsoon rain storm trying to get the top up , you have really low batterie power for days of said storms and your solar system is not charging hardly at all Also where do you get parts . Well you could take extra parts with , Would like to be standing out in a monsoon rain storm changing out a accuator . When doing the type of traveling Dan & his wife the K.I.S.S. principal is the best way forward . Oh a tip I got from a pro who runs a business fighting mold ,use a ammonia based solution for mold removal , because ammonia will kill the molds roots ,bleach only takes the color away . Safe travels
We have the AT Overland Atlas. It is great in the wind .
Copying the AT Atlas (full pop up) is a good idea. Its a proven design. I have a Summit (the wedge pop) and its good but doesn't give the inside living space you want. Overall I'd say you chose well.
We’re on the road in our van in Colombia and I just wanted to say thanks for the good ideas. They made us think even if we didn’t adopt them all! My wife said we needed more room but here we are… whatever it takes !
Dan, Check out a Hypervent. It's a plastic mesh you slide under your mattress. The mesh allows air flow under the mattress which allows the condensation to evaporate. Another pop-up manufacturer is OVRLND Campers in Flagstaff, AZ. Jay, the owner, might be able to give you some suggestions. Best of luck, Tim
Great info! Look forward to seeing it! I think I like the Oru Designs popup the best, their hybrid hard/canvas Bruin camper seems to solve the need for the big locking hinge mechanism on each end, and no need for bungee cords when closing. I want to make one like that
Have a look at the froli system for below the mattress. Light weight, adds comfort and allows airflow. Used on lots of camper vans.
Smart well thought out build! Who makes the new version of the Downtomob scissor lift?
I head what you are saying about actuators, and I've noticed the same issues with them that you have. I've always thought there was an option that would work. Maybe I'm wrong. I'd think you could put the actuators in the corners, as you described, but then put the canvas inside of that's it still folded properly. Yes, the canvas would be a few inches further inside than ideal, but it would be of no significant consequence. You could even make the corners of the canvas a 45° corner "cutting inside of the actuators and maintain the canvas on the outside edge yet.
Could you share the source info on the linear actuator scissor kit you showed at the 4:10 mark? I'd really like to research this!
This entire build is a joke to be honest. You trying to build a camper out of a Jeep which is one of the worst vehicles for reliability, payload capacity and fuel consumption. You are making videos and money off of a build, fine, but when do you plan on actually traveling? So much energy and money wasted, but your Jeep you used through Africa was fine and should have kept using it.
Buying a truck and putting the Alu Cab canopy camper on would be a better choice.
Nice this Will be great! Well Done!
Use a hammock 😂
The flip version is great in warm and dry climates. Hard to keep warm with body heat and you need to put away a wet canvas top.
I love the wedge as I harvest the Ursa Minor and it’s perfect for the wrangler.
I also have the pop up on the FWC, which if great because there is the area that overhangs the truck, which becomes a loft and is totally usable space when in day use…. Without the overhang it does not help.
Good luck with the decision. I found a vent mat for under the mattress. Forgot there I got it.
Wind performance for the FWC and Ursa Minor are pretty close. Ursa wins if you are oriented towards wind, but the FWC canvas flaps less and is less noisy given it isn’t as tall. In bad wind and rain, I just drop one side of the room and make it a wedge.
Dan if your not aware of them, Hiatus Campers have a nice solution with no canvas, no complicated mechanisms. They seem to have ramped up production and are cranking them out. I'd wager they can help with a custom solution.
Why not getting one camper off road trailer you can tow?
Instead of a roof fan, check out the MaxxFan Dome. You can mount it on one of the sides of your box instead of the roof.
Where will you put the solar panels? On top of this? And the wiring? Nice talk, I wish you well on your search.
bifold bed seems worth further thought. You could definitely still have slats or another way to ventilate. The additional weight needn't be huge.
There are multiple products for mattress condensation. Mesh mat type items. Do a search and many will pop up.
Did you consider Accuair (Full airbag suspension) for leveling at camp, offroading and lowering to fit into a container?
You tube channel van city van life has a video on what he put under his bed for the mold and moisture problem
I think you have made the right choice. For a breathable fabric/mattress support I have looked a little into using the same fabric that is used for trampolines. A challenge would be to tension it. Slats are most likely the simplest and easiest to do. They could also be made out of a host of different materials. Wood, carbon, aluminum extrusion are just some of the obvious choices.
Hi Dan, I’ve experienced this same design conundrum while building my pop top. I started with a very old chinook fiberglass (non-pop) slide-in and cut the roof off and made it into a wedge style pop. After failing to find a used westfalia H-bar I decided to build my own out of the SS tubing they use for “canvas boat Biminis” it ended up rattling and just kinda sucked. Then I added gas struts from a distributor who helped me with selecting the size struts. It was good after that till I got into -15 deg c and the roof came down (struts didn’t like the cold). Then I decided to use the Bimini tubing to simply have a straight pipe on a pivot (all Bimini fittings sold at boat shops). The pipe pivot is fixed to the rear end roof and the other end is mounted to the roof. So it’s parallel to roof when popped down. Then struts lift the roof up and you remove the Bimini “pin” (currently parallel to roof) and drop the pipe down to its vertical position and connect the bottom of pipe to the base of camper. Hope that illustrates it for you haha. It works so friggin good! Simple is best. The folding thing can be difficult to manufacture but if you go that route I look forward to your final product. Happy to share an image of my system if you think it would be helpful.
I’m building a roof top pop up with a truck camper shell and a bed topper the topper came with the hardware to lift it. I’m mounting it on the roof of a 144 Sprinter. Total cost $125. Needed 2 bedrooms and didn’t want bunks. The shell will be upside down and backwards with most of the roof removed it’s even got windows with screens.
There is a mesh that is used on sailboats under the matress to allow airflow.
Keep it Simple Silly….
The whole video I was looking at the picture in the background and wondering if Ursa Minor would be able to provide a solid solution but I think what you have in mind is the right idea.
On your second book by the way. Love your material. (Africa)
Great idea, I'm in the middle of building my pop top for my gladiator chassis build. Great job researching/planning. You should post your calculations too. As a fellow numbers nerd
You do such a great job walking us through all the possible solutions on this build!
I would sew a pocket into the canvas to hold some shock cord. I wouldn't sew the shock cord into it. I would make it so you can easily replace the shock cord from the inside of the camper. Like the draw string on a sweatshirt hood. You can release tension when you want to and it will keep the cord out of the sun. The rubber inside the shock cord doesn't last long. You should consider it a disposable item.
Minor nitpick, you're describing an Atlas not a Summit. The Summit is the wedge. And that commenter about gale force winds was me. 🙂 Good luck!