BJ74 Poptop, modular top camper or something

[sethro]

I saw some pop top conversion that had one inner sleeping panel that was hinged from side to side...like having a square trap door in one part of the tent floor..not sure if you could visualize...but it was a way to access the upper tent area from the inside..I'll have to look for that pic..

My dream is to have some sort of troopy type set-up but be able to wheel the crap out of it. (Rubicon, fordyce,moab,etc). I really dig the 73/74 series platform, but it's a little tight...I don't have the same height issues, so something like this might actually work for me..could call it a "troopito"

 

[FJBen]

I saw some pop top conversion that had one inner sleeping panel that was hinged from side to side...like having a square trap door in one part of the tent floor..not sure if you could visualize...but it was a way to access the upper tent area from the inside..I'll have to look for that pic..

My dream is to have some sort of troopy type set-up but be able to wheel the crap out of it. (Rubicon, fordyce,moab,etc). I really dig the 73/74 series platform, but it's a little tight...I don't have the same height issues, so something like this might actually work for me..could call it a "troopito"

My friends (who owned it before me) called it Troopy Jr.

I like that hinged idea. Would still be a pain in the butt for 2 people and 1 needs to get out for the call of nature at night. My guess is I would still have the back have a door for breeze through and options.

They are definitely tighter than a troopy for sure, BUT the ability to still pull the top for that open air experience is awesome.

A flippac/wildernest would give you the most room.

Side flip.

Would have to look to see which way would be easiest. The issue on all these is that the hinge systems all look crude as they are on a topper so most people wouldn't care about that. Could be OK, I suppose, but I do like the more stealth look of the popup/wedge style.

 

[FJBen]

Another cool find on the interwebs.

This one has the whole back rebuilt. Not really what I'm wanting to do.

This from the same company is a little more interesting, but still quite a huge build.

As you can see, they still kept the main body and built a shell around it. Their website is still good, and while in German, I'm struggling to find and email address just for more pictures.

I will probably still focus on wedge/straight up or side/front flip IF I can get that shell off. Otherwise it's get the saw out.

 

[FJBen]

And I found 2 more of the tops like I have.

I gotta say they aren't as bad as I originally thought they would look.

 

[FJBen]

So this would be a wildernest/flippac style setup. By far the most room.

However, there are a few concerns I'd have to address.
*Is the FRP top strong enough to hold that weight of 2 people? Might need a few more layers of glass.
*bracing those hinges for strength
*fabricating/mimicking the wildernest


It's held up by the wires and hinges. Wires would be "fairly simple" to fabricate, will have to build in supports for it bolt to.

 

[cruiserpilot]

I've emailed both of the European companies you've shown here. The first was a one off, for about 90K
The Innovation Campers run well into the 6 figures. Like anywhere they have no shortage of people with
'one time' money for rigs. I've seen two Innovation Campers in Canada over the years, got to tour one
completely. The fellow was German and had lived in it already for two years.
I've thought about this for about two years since I got my BJ74 all together. I even have a second roof as well.
Toyota fiberglass is really tough, I'd try to keep the front door sills complete, so cut above that I think saves
a lot of complications. Look at RTT mechanisms, tried and tested methods of raising the roof.
Flip Pac back, not forwards. Much stronger, practical.

 

[FJBen]

I've emailed both of the European companies you've shown here. The first was a one off, for about 90K
The Innovation Campers run well into the 6 figures. Like anywhere they have no shortage of people with
'one time' money for rigs. I've seen two Innovation Campers in Canada over the years, got to tour one
completely. The fellow was German and had lived in it already for two years.
I've thought about this for about two years since I got my BJ74 all together. I even have a second roof as well.
Toyota fiberglass is really tough, I'd try to keep the front door sills complete, so cut above that I think saves
a lot of complications. Look at RTT mechanisms, tried and tested methods of raising the roof.
Flip Pac back, not forwards. Much stronger, practical.

Great input, WOW on those prices!


I'm hoping to not have to cut the top at all, since it appears this is a full length cap that goes over the original top.
However I don't know if I will be able to separate it.

I do agree after looking, the backwards would be stronger for the hinge as it's more vertical of a surface and the structure is beefed up for the doors. Just have to make sure it will clear the back doors. Still lots of options to be hashed out.

 

[NM Frontier]

I'd love the Flip Pac back style like the AT Habitat. Have you looked at or reached out to AT? They seem to be the North American Experts on this kind of stuff. Ill be watching very closely I would love to have the time and resources to do this exact thing! Keep it up!

 

[FJBen]

I'd love the Flip Pac back style like the AT Habitat. Have you looked at or reached out to AT? They seem to be the North American Experts on this kind of stuff. Ill be watching very closely I would love to have the time and resources to do this exact thing! Keep it up!

I forgot about that AT Habitat. Thanks for reminding me, I will reach out and see what they have.

 

[cruiserpilot]

I knew I had one here. This isn’t more than a camper conversion. Just thought people
like pics. This was in Dease Lake BC, grumpy old couple, parked beside my fully rigged 60
and they just didn’t even smile and say hello. Pfffft....
but a neat camper

 

[cruiserpilot]

I found an 80 conversion that has an idea as well. This one has merit if you can make straight cuts

 

[renago]

If I may , I'll drop in my 2 cents in this discussion.
All depends how much you want to keep your truck with the conversion .
What you want to do with it .
And how much €€€ you want /can invest in it .
I have done some thing similar , and it takes time ,effort ,€€€, but sadisfaction is great .
My personal advise is to aim at a popup roof that can give you a minimal living space in case of bad weather .
Seams easy and obvious, but will hugely improve the confort of overlanding also with rain, cold , windy conditions.
For Minimal living space , I mean standing inside the car , eating ,cooking ,get dressed,get dried.
Don't compromise ,because when you look at your rig , you will always see the bad side .
I have posted the build of my popup roof, in the forum , just go back 1-2 years .

Bye Renago

 

[thelal]

With the short wheelbase/space of the 73/74, I'd probably go with one of the two styles below.

I've been in that. With the high top it feels like loads of space and light

 

[gr8ful]

Can’t believe I didn’t find this earlier! This is going to be super cool! Just north of 76 on Wadsworth (I believe) is a VW place that seems to specialize in camper vans. He always has what looks to be a ton of vans in back that he must be using for parts. I wonder if he’s sell you the mechanisms out of one of his old vans? If he would I could pick them up for you & we could meet up to exchange the next time you come this way. Either Greeley or the same place as the other week. If it was cheap enough, it might be an easy way to move forward quickly.
Abe

 

[gr8ful]

Nu Vintage

Nu Vintage.

www.nuvintage.com

It’s on Sheridan, not Wads. Might be helpful at any rate.

 

[gilmorneau]

Holy Cow!! are those guys still there? I knew them way back in my air-cooled VW days in the 1980's. They started off as an offshoot from Randy's Stuff, another, even older, VW shop in Denver. Good to see there's still enough air-cooled VW business out there to keep them going. I still kinda dig those old cars--simple, reliable, elegant engineering.

My personal advise is to aim at a popup roof that can give you a minimal living space in case of bad weather .

Just my $.02, but I gotta agree with this. It doesn't seem like you're going to use it for any expeditions or anything like that, so you don't need much. Remember the KISS principle. With a simple pop-top, you'd have somewhere to go in bad weather. In good weather, you'll be outside most of the time. Put an awning on the exterior of the rig for hanging out under, but unless the weather's for sh*t, you won't be going inside except at bedtime. It's not a Troopy, there's never going to be enough room in there to live in it.

I'm thinking Step 1: try and separate the "high" portion of the spare top from the "original" part, trim it as necessary to fit over your top, then put a rubber seal (Westfalia, maybe?) around the perimeter.

You're not going to like Step 2, but then cut your roof (or source another one to cut) to allow stand-up space inside the back of the truck. That's assuming you can't save both the "high" and "original" portions of your extra top. If you can, all the better.

Step 3: Scissor hinges for straight up poptop, or Westfalia style hinges for wedge top. Gas struts (like a later Westy), or locking mechanism (like an early Westy) to hold it up. Latches to hold it down.

Step 4: Add wood or synthetic attaching "frame" for a tent to both halves. You'd do well to look at many vintages of VW Westfalia campers. Even the older ones will have good ideas for you. Especially 1960's, 1970's and up to the 1980's, the technology is pretty straightforward. Easy to duplicate and reliable. Go figure. German engineers.

Step 5: Consider separate left and right cots or "shelves" for sleeping instead of one solid platform. Not as cozy for you and the missus, and not as much room to spread out while you're sleeping, but plenty of space to get a good night's sleep, and allows for a gap between the cots for easy access. The cots could be made to fold out of the way easily. If it's just going to be for weekends, this solution should be fine.

Step 6: Remove your back seat. Use the seat and/or seat belt mounting points to mount a removable cabinet (or cabinets) for your camping stuff. I'm envisioning cabinets mounted along the sides of the back of the truck's interior. Could go all the way to the roof on the driver's side--not going to make a blind spot behind your head.

Obviously pretty shy on details, but, again, just my $.02.

Not sure if it's of any use to you, but I looked around in my files and found this:

 

[FJBen]

Can’t believe I didn’t find this earlier! This is going to be super cool! Just north of 76 on Wadsworth (I believe) is a VW place that seems to specialize in camper vans. He always has what looks to be a ton of vans in back that he must be using for parts. I wonder if he’s sell you the mechanisms out of one of his old vans? If he would I could pick them up for you & we could meet up to exchange the next time you come this way. Either Greeley or the same place as the other week. If it was cheap enough, it might be an easy way to move forward quickly.
Abe

Hey Abe! Thanks again. Thats a great lead! I knew you said you were on here, but I think I may have mis-tagged you. That would be awesome to meet there or Greeley, whichever is closer for you would be great if that comes to fruition. Hope this turns out as well as it is in my head!

 

[FJBen]

Holy Cow!! are those guys still there? I knew them way back in my air-cooled VW days in the 1980's. They started off as an offshoot from Randy's Stuff, another, even older, VW shop in Denver. Good to see there's still enough air-cooled VW business out there to keep them going. I still kinda dig those old cars--simple, reliable, elegant engineering.



Just my $.02, but I gotta agree with this. It doesn't seem like you're going to use it for any expeditions or anything like that, so you don't need much. Remember the KISS principle. With a simple pop-top, you'd have somewhere to go in bad weather. In good weather, you'll be outside most of the time. Put an awning on the exterior of the rig for hanging out under, but unless the weather's for sh*t, you won't be going inside except at bedtime. It's not a Troopy, there's never going to be enough room in there to live in it.

I'm thinking Step 1: try and separate the "high" portion of the spare top from the "original" part, trim it as necessary to fit over your top, then put a rubber seal (Westfalia, maybe?) around the perimeter.

You're not going to like Step 2, but then cut your roof (or source another one to cut) to allow stand-up space inside the back of the truck. That's assuming you can't save both the "high" and "original" portions of your extra top. If you can, all the better.

Step 3: Scissor hinges for straight up poptop, or Westfalia style hinges for wedge top. Gas struts (like a later Westy), or locking mechanism (like an early Westy) to hold it up. Latches to hold it down.

Step 4: Add wood or synthetic attaching "frame" for a tent to both halves. You'd do well to look at many vintages of VW Westfalia campers. Even the older ones will have good ideas for you. Especially 1960's, 1970's and up to the 1980's, the technology is pretty straightforward. Easy to duplicate and reliable. Go figure. German engineers.

Step 5: Consider separate left and right cots or "shelves" for sleeping instead of one solid platform. Not as cozy for you and the missus, and not as much room to spread out while you're sleeping, but plenty of space to get a good night's sleep, and allows for a gap between the cots for easy access. The cots could be made to fold out of the way easily. If it's just going to be for weekends, this solution should be fine.


Step 6: Remove your back seat. Use the seat and/or seat belt mounting points to mount a removable cabinet (or cabinets) for your camping stuff. I'm envisioning cabinets mounted along the sides of the back of the truck's interior. Could go all the way to the roof on the driver's side--not going to make a blind spot behind your head.

Obviously pretty shy on details, but, again, just my $.02.

Not sure if it's of any use to you, but I looked around in my files and found this:

Hit the nail on the head, it's not going to be an "expedition" long days gone trip vehicle at all. Best case in reality might be a Week for a Land Cruiser event, but at that point you are usually around civilization and don't need to bring everything you can possibly imagine.

Its more like a a fun build with a purpose without much risk of messing up a rare rig.

STEP 1: I fully agree with that. If I can separate that would be the easiest.

STEP 2: The bonus here is that they already cut the OEM top so thats its open for the high-top portion. I believe the only cuts I would have to make is if I wanted more room above the driver/passenger or just for Hinge supports where the grab handles are.

In a regular FRP you can see where the top ends tight where that trim piece is just above the hinges in the back.

random frp from web:

You can see where they just cut the regular back part off, just the very top of it and the sides are intact and the same as an OEM top.

IF...the front part is still in tact over the driver/passenger, I'd like to leave it as it's an already built/braced bed part for that section.

STEP 3: Still determining which would be the best option for hinges. Wedge would be up front, scissor hinge/gas strut would have to be more in the rear of the top. Which could work as I could use the OEM roll bar for support. I still believe straightup will give the most usable space.

STEP 4: I need to keep searching out different pop top styles to see which will be the best.

STEP 5: The 2 cots is interesting. I like that idea as it gives options for just 1 person if it's just me camping a night.

Pulling the back seat would definitely give more room, all just depends on the type of trip I'm going on I suppose. I would like to build kind of a modular/storage/cabinet section so I can somewhat easily put it in or out depending again on how I'm using it.

Great ideas. This is exactly why I started this thread. That PDF is excellent!!!

 

[FJBen]

If I may , I'll drop in my 2 cents in this discussion.
All depends how much you want to keep your truck with the conversion .
What you want to do with it .
And how much €€€ you want /can invest in it .
I have done some thing similar , and it takes time ,effort ,€€€, but sadisfaction is great .
My personal advise is to aim at a popup roof that can give you a minimal living space in case of bad weather .
Seams easy and obvious, but will hugely improve the confort of overlanding also with rain, cold , windy conditions.
For Minimal living space , I mean standing inside the car , eating ,cooking ,get dressed,get dried.
Don't compromise ,because when you look at your rig , you will always see the bad side .
I have posted the build of my popup roof, in the forum , just go back 1-2 years .

Bye Renago

Renago, thats a really good point, and basically what I'm wanting to have. We used my friends Eurovan Westfalia weekender and it was awesome to have bad weather, or good weather, just to hang out, have room and be out of the elements without bending down the whole time.

I will definitely check your thread out.

 

[renago]

Renago, thats a really good point, and basically what I'm wanting to have. We used my friends Eurovan Westfalia weekender and it was awesome to have bad weather, or good weather, just to hang out, have room and be out of the elements without bending down the whole time.

I will definitely check your thread out.

If you really want to use a car for off road and overlanding , I personally think that the 74 is too small .
It "could "do the job but you will be quite crapmed .
For 2 people , in 3 or 4 , it will be impossible , especially with bad weather .
Will be a pity to invest so much money ,time ,energy .for a cramped vehichle .
My suggestion would be a 75 or 78 .
The money you will be spending will be the same .
But the final result will be a complete different level.