Amazing brother! Greatly appreciate you sharing your thought process and techniques for this build. My father is a retired welder and I’ve always wanted to learn that skill, so big props to you on your welding knowledge and beautiful craftsmanship.
Very cool! Most impressive part is the very basic fab tooling you were able to accomplish this with. Learning a new skill or two never hurt anyone. Now you are a pro, bro! The next project will be just that much simpler.
Just found your YT channel and this is amazing! I’m also in Oregon and have a 1st gen Sequoia which I did a super basic drawer build with. Currently looking into 1st gen Tundras with the idea of doing a DIY camper like you did! Thanks for making this video!
Really nice build, I am super impressed, I saw your video of the cabinets and I had in my brain that it was a GFCamper !! until I keep watching your videos, nice work, you must have a lot of patience to make everything looking good, keep making videos, I love it.
Amazing! this looks like a unit bought from. a local commercial shop! I would love to replicate this for my one ton instead of spending the money on expensive unit. I've had my eyes on a Dirtbox overland canopy for reference.
Ok, I just spent time watching your documented and very detailed forum page.. wow! you could start your own wedge canopy business with those skills! amazing job bud, I mean it.
Hey thank you! I wasn’t the one who started the forum thread, Ripcord was the one who really pioneered these self built campers. I followed his build list to help gather parts for my own build and then I put my own spin on things. It’s definitely a rewarding project, but takes a good amount of time. My advice is to not do it on a timeline and just take your time. Thanks for tuning in!
What material did you use for the sleeping platform. Would you provide a link to the detailed build description. Great job. Thanking you in advance for your consideration of my request.
Great video! Not trying to be negative troll or anything but you really shouldn’t grind or cut metal near your vehicles as the sparks of molten metal will burn right into your paint and glass. Might not see it right away but I assure you it does. Great job though
Awesome build bro!! Thank you for sharing the process. I'm thinking about doing something similar and I'd like to know where did you get that aluminium frame tent? did you build it or did you buy it? If you could share a link I'll be very grateful to you
I was thinking about building one too! Your video explained everything so clearly! Nice job! Btw, how did you cut the ACM panel? Looks very clean and accurate cut, did you use a CNC machine to cut?
Awesome build! I am starting a similar one for my 2nd Gen. I noticed you also used the HF 125 flux core Welder for the spaceframe, I'm having a hard time dialing in the settings to keep from blowing through the material. Any tips or settings you remember working well? I am using 1.5x.065 wall tubing. Thanks!
Thank you! I don’t remember my settings but the best thing you can do and what I did was get some scrap of the same walll tubing and cut it up and just weld the scraps together and dial it in that way before you work on the camper
I'd like to see a 45 degree slanted piece at the front for aerodynamics. Is there a way to put the Tnutz EX-3075 - 0.75″ x 3″ Smooth T-Slotted Aluminum Extrusion in front at a 45 degree angle?
Do you think this could be done with a wooden frame? Just curious how the space frame is bolted to the wedge camper and if it would be possible as a I don't have the skills or access to a welder.
I’m sure it’s possible, but it would likely be very heavy in comparison. There are versions of this build that are made out of 100% 80/20 extrusion, which eliminates any need to weld. You should give those a look!
The odds of you seeing this are pretty slim, but I’m getting ready to build this for my 2019 Tacoma. I’m really struggling on wether I want to skin it with alupannel or maxmetal. If you still have the camper, would you go the route you did? Or would you do aluminum siding? Thank you soo much!! Also, out of curiosity, what did you pay for 1 4x8 sheet of alupannel?
Alupanel and maxmetal are the same thing I believe. The composite side is stronger and cheaper than solid aluminum. I like having the side doors. I do not recall what I paid for a sheet, but I know I paid around $600 for two sheets and the CNC cutting
@@pnwxplore Sweet! Also, what are your thoughts about potentially having a higher height of the space frame? Wondering if this would work so one could also have the the option of sitting fully upright while in the trunk of the bed (allowing the option for stealth camping as well). Thank you!
Yeah that’s definitely an option, but it could look odd depending on how high it is. But that’s the beauty of building it it, you can do whatever you want!
Awesome video. I’m in process of gathering materials for my own on a 97 Tacoma. How different were the measurements of the space frame over 2nd gen? Really curious how you find the tilt bed frame is working. Thanks
Q: @3:45.....what is the size tubing that you used? Looks like 1 1/2SQ X .063? Maybe? Lol....found it further down in the comments, lol.....16ga. Thanks !!
This was awesome! Great documentation and building skills. I am in Portland and am tossing around the idea of buying a Super Light from GFC and fast tracking the whole thing... lots up in the air as I am trying to figure it out based on any info I can gather about that tent online. Goal would be to mount it to a diy space frame and cut their panels. Not sure if it will be water proof enough for the PNW and my truck that is parked in the driveway. Thanks for sharing and inspiring!
Thanks man! I would say having access into the tent from the bed plus the standing room is huge! IMO it makes it all worth it. A canopy with doors on all sides is incredibly useful, but don’t underestimate the utility of also being able to access the tent in there. Mine has been in freezing rain, pressure washed and snow so far and just some small leaks that I have addressed. It’s always parked in the driveway as well.
@@pnwxplore I should have been more clear- cut the Superlight so that it functions the same as a GFC. That’s where it’s tough to figure out. I am thinking just cutting the bag material slightly smaller than the top of the space frame, cutting the honeycomb very similarly to ripcords single panel design (but larger standing area like yours), probably bolt some aluminum to the honeycomb so it has rails to sit on. Any ideas are welcome! Filling you on IG so we can talk there sometime if you’re interested!
What did you do at the front (the wedge) for tent/waterproofing? The layed out tent didn't seem to have the small section to cover that area. Maybe I didn't notice, but it looked like you only made the tent 3 sides.
Awesome build! What model of Brother sewing machine did you get, and would you buy that one again? I'm thinking of doing a very similar build and worry about the machine not being able to handle the heavier fabrics.
Mate - this is just awesome! You have a unique combination of skills - engineering & technical, video making and storytelling! Loved watching this - please make more content! This is totally inspirational but also made me realize I don’t have the space or the gear needed so I have to ask - are you considering building and selling these? I would be seriously interested in one for my 2nd Gen Tacoma...! Thanks again - great video!
Thanks man, I appreciate the kind words! There will definitely be more videos to come. I am not planning on building these, too much work to make it worth while!
Such a neat DIY option for these campers. I have always owned vans but am currently making the move to a Tacoma and this is helping with the build cost! I was hoping you would have advice on where to source the extremal corners for the extruded aluminum used on the wedge portion. It seems Ripcord had them custom machined. di you go that route or were you able to source them? Thanks!
I sourced the corners from both 80/20 and Tnutz. I just stacked the right profiles to make it what was needed and avoided and need to machine. Machining corners however is the optimal route
Awesome Build. I am going to be doing the same for my truck, but only creating a camper shell (without the tent above). The biggest issue I am running into is those 4 canted support posts. I have modeled my frame in Fusion 360, but I am still having trouble wrapping my mind around the cuts that need to be made to make sure those angles are spot on (canted in and forwards), do you have any suggestions on how to nail down those angles/cuts? My metal working skills are pretty novice.
Thanks! You’ll need a compound miter saw ideally. Then you can cut both angles at once. Then it’s simply a means of setting the saw up for that cut. You might check out a video on making a compound cut. I used fusion to find the angles of the tubes to get the angles my cuts need to be and then just paid extra attention to the orientation I needed them to be in when I was cutting. I believe you can cut two supports with one setup and then adjust and cut the other two, but don’t take my word as fact cause that was a few years ago now lol. Good luck!
Fantastic Job. Looking forward to trying something like this on my 04 Taco extra cab. Any reason you went with a steel sub frame vs. Aluminum? Just looking at ways of keeping weight down as much as possible, and I have the ability to weld aluminum.
Cost and durability are the largest reasons. Aluminum is more expensive to buy and to weld. It isn’t as resilient as steel either and can fail from even the smallest repetitive movements. So aluminum is will eventually fatigue and crack if it moves. How long that takes depends
No way on the space frame. Especially not on a 6ft bed. You could probably get away with 1” on the extrusion width though. But mating up to 1.5” tube becomes a fun time
ripchord stated he use 1 inch on the spaceframe. Probably would be strong enough, the height of the alu extrusion provides lots of strength for the overhang. 1-1/2 lines up nicer with the extrusion, being similar width
How much room did you keep between the cab roof and overhang of the bed ? Due to the truck articulation off road , I’m concerned that it would hit if it was too close
Only the frame is steel and it weighed in at 83lbs itself. The entire rest of the build is aluminum or composite. Weighs about the same as a fiberglass topper. Aluminum isn’t used because it’s A) much more expensive, not only to buy, but also to weld and B) isn’t as strong as steel in a dynamic environment when there are vibrations and movement. So it would require a lot more bracing to keep it from cracking over time at the joints.
Lots of discussion on the Tacoma world thread around that. All sorts of issues you will need to think about lol. Not like it can’t be done, but you’ll have to engineer all sorts of work arounds
Loved the idea of the center flip up so much I had to copy it on my build! Did you ever find a solution to keep this in the upright position? I tried going the gas strut route and welded ball sockets into the frame but it doesn’t clear the keter rail so I’m looking for an alternative solution!
It is my favorite modification! I simply used a small little hook on the lifting portion of the floor and then a hook on the roof of the wedge mounted in the extrusion and some paracord.
Very nic job guy. I would like to ask you how did you solve a rear part of tent close to hinges. I saw in your video you had cuted it from one piece of fabric, triangels and aquare. I would afraid of water penetration in the rear part that is not covered with fabric. Thanks for explanation.
Nice! Yeah I had a hard time there too. I mocked mine in Fusion360 to figure the angle out. You could use a string and tape it and then measure the angle.
I built it in fusion360 as well. I’m just having fun cutting it in the real world. I’ve got 2x4’s I cut down to the same dimension as the steel to dial it all in.
awesome job dude! I love the pivoting bed floor idea. I'm curious what your thoughts are on welding the frame. I saw GFC making a point that welds won't hold up so they bolted parts wherever possible. Have you had any trouble with it? Also, I saw ripcord put an L brace in by the tailgate so it wouldn't bow out from the weight of the frame. Have you considered something like that? Thanks a ton for sharing this info! definitely gets me stoked to start panning a DIY wedge camper.
Thanks man! GFC will say what is needed to market their product. Whether there is truth in that depends. Lots of things are welded vs bolted that see heavy use. I don’t anticipate any issues. I have bed side supports that I built and installed to help with any bedside issues. It’s more a problem on later Tacoma’s with their composite beds. Thanks for watching! The Tacoma world thread is a wealth of knowledge
@@pnwxplore thanks, stoked to dig in more! so much at tacomaworld... I realized after I posted that they're talking about welding aluminum, and you're working with steel so completely different things. I would love to see a weight comparison... I wish you could just guy the aluminum frame from GFC then build the rest yourself lol
Cost was somewhere around $3k at the time. Prices have gone up a lot since then however. It’s held up awesomely for over 2 years now. It’s on to its new owner now.
