I want a CAMPTEQ rtt!!!

[LandCruiserPhil]

@LandCruiserPhil any update with maltec? That maltec box will sure be comfortable for you!
I want an rtt soon. Really soon! So get with it!

If I get lucky and it happens it will not be overnight but in the mean time I will enjoy the Campteq. Picture out of my back window this past Wednesday morning as the sun gets ready to break over the horizon, north of Gonzaga Bay Baja Mexico.

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

It should be easy enough to reproduce yourself if you're willing to work with fiberglass. I'm guessing someone could draw up a "kit" for all the parts that you'd make and assembly instructions if there was enough interest. Something like cad files for CNC router cutting all the panels and typical fiberglass/plywood building. I would think two or three weekends would be plenty to build the box. And maybe a day to sew the fabric part and install it if you had all the pre-cut fabric parts. My guess is that most 80 owners would probably be more willing to pay a few hundred dollars for plans/files and $1000 on materials than $5k+ for a complete kit when most 80's around here are selling for less than $5k.

Just a thought from someone who's built a fiberglass kit boat. This looks really easy in comparison. And should be well within the skill level of most weekend warriors. The biggest issue for most people is that they don't know much about fiberglass work. It's pretty easy. Especially if you had a relatively simple project with tabbed pre-cut panels.

I would be most interested if you could provide some more general info on the procedure like the meaning of pre-cut panels and such.

 

[Jetboy]

I would be most interested if you could provide some more general info on the procedure like the meaning of pre-cut panels and such.

I built a sailboat a few year ago and the method looks very adaptable to this type of RTT. Typically in the case of boats a designer (naval architect or engineer for the bigger ones) designs a complete boat. Then they sell the boat in various versions. So starting with a basic set of drawings and instructions all the way up to a fully assembled boat. So in this case my thought would be something like either CAD drawing set with assembly instructions for a lower price - boats range anywhere from $100 to ??? but this is so simple I think $1-200 per set would be reasonable. The designs should come with every part broken down into a flat 2d cad drawing that you could have someone local cut on a CNC router, all the joint and assembly instructions, a materials sheet with everything you need to complete the project, and it should come with a complete set of patterns for the fabric parts, bedding size, and lift shock calculations - or at least what length/force, etc. So there's no guess work. Typically the patterns also come for home builders - so they have measurements that you transfer to the base material by measuring out marks every 10cm then using a flexible edge to connect them and cut with a jig saw.

Usually you also would have a few options for materials. The best plywood is the real marine grade Lloyds stamped stuff. But it's crazy expensive where I live - $150 per sheet. And probably not necessary at all for this task. I'd recommend just regular home depot high quality finish grade plywood. I personally like honeycomb polypropylene or pvc plastic sheets - but they're pretty expensive too and we don't need the weight savings for this. Saving 100lbs on a 20 foot sailboat is a big deal. Saving the equivalent of 10lbs on this wouldn't be worth it IMO.

So with that as a basic idea of how it's normally done, this is kind of what the drawings should entail. This is a set of study plans from a couple very complex boats. But the idea is kinda similar to what drawings might look like. However, this would be something MUCH simpler. No prior experience necessary. http://www.f-boat.com/pdf/StudyBook2012.pdf This is probably more like what it would entail. Stitch-and-Glue Boat Building - An Illustrated Tutorial - Assembling a Boat Kit

I'd suggest just watching a few youtube videos of "stitch and glue" plywood boat construction for a good idea of how it would to together. I think it could be made very strong and very durable in that method for reasonable costs.

This is a quick drawing of the basics of how I think it woudl be the easiest to home-build one. It can get a lot more streamlined if folks would play for CNC cut parts. Tortured plywood can make some pretty nice shapes. What I don't have is an actual landcruiser to take a pattern off of. I don't own an 80 series. My design would probably be designed to attach on the drip rails because it's easiest. Though if you wanted it to be permanent you could easily fiberglass it right onto the roof.

I think it should also have patterns for all of the fabric that you can have someone with a plotter cut for you so you take all the fitment and guesswork out of the fabric too. You can have the entire fabric made up if you have the patterns by any sailmaker for probably around $500ish or less. Maybe a lot less. I'd just have to get an estimate. I'm sure there are other options too, but that's just what I know from prior experience and costs vary a lot depending on fabric and such. There's still a lot of little details - like how to make everything idiot proof in assembly, breaking down all the parts and designing tabs so it all just fits easy the first time, etc. etc. I like tabbed parts if you CNC cut them. (I happen to have a 4x8 CNC router - so for me it's free other than the time to design stuff) Here's a good idea of how they can be done so you can't really screw it up.

Parts come like this:

This is just a 30 minute idea of how someone would go about doing it. I could make up a set of plans, but at a minimum I'd need an 80 to measure/fit and a free weekend to build the first prototype. And then a few years of testing to make sure everything works correctly and such. My my best off the cuff guess - for the best mix of time/money I'd budget $1000 for materials for the shell and $500 for the fabric part, and 6 days of work. I have no idea what a local CNC shop would charge to cut if you had the cad files. My guess would be somewhere around $200. The simple design I drew below is easy enough to make at home - it's almost all straight cuts. At a bare minimum you'd need the regular carpentry tools and somewhere to work. A more aerodynamic lid would probably require either a lot of layout time or a CNC.

 

[Jetboy]

Now I'm kinda interested in this. Why did I comment? I don't even have an 80 or want a RTT. But it's kinda fun in my down time to design stuff. Assuming the width is 4 feet?? makes life easy if that will work. And 8 feet long. I can nest all the parts in 3 4x8 sheets. Plus you'd still need at least 2 more full sheets. And some other small pieces of solid wood - I think Pine would work, but I tend to prefer to use a harder wood like Maple or oak if available. I also really like to use Home Depot's exterior PVC trim. It's flexible, works great with heat to soften, and impervious to just about everything. Plus it epoxies well to fiberglass.

So I think the total materials list would look something like:

3 - 4'x8' 3/8" plywood (lower subframe and cap)
1 - 4'x8' 3/8" plywood (bed subsurface)
1 4'x8' 1/8" Luan (Bottom curved board - probably optional, but I'd use it)

8 yards of 10ish oz/yd or ~450gsm 45*/45* biaxial fiberglass fabric 60" wide ($150)
3 gallons of Epoxy Resin - or polyester/vinylester ($150)
20 yards of 4" 6oz biaxial fiberglass tape. ($25)
5 yards of 4" 6oz uni fiberglass tape. (not sure if this is necessary - I'd have to think about it) ($25)
Some volume, maybe 1 gallon?, of fillet powder mix, anything works - wood flower, phenolic micro beads, ?? basically it's just filler to thicken the epoxy into a paste. The purpose of this is to make the interior corners rounded so the fiberglass lays across the curve. ($50)
8-10 yards of Peel Ply (Walmart dress liner fabric works awesome and only costs $2/yd!) ($20).

Whatever finish you decide. I like 2 part Urethane, but any boat top paint would probably work just fine. Even exterior latex paint would probably work pretty well for a long time on these. They wouldn't get the wear of a boat. And the epoxy is waterproof, so it's really just for looks and UV protection of the resin underneath if you don't use UV stabilized epoxy. You could leave it unpainted too if you really wanted. If you're looking for a pro quality finish, you'll probably need to think about some sanding fillers, high build primer, etc.

1 box of Harbor Freight chip brushes. ($15)
Assorted disposible containers for mixing epoxy. ($25)
Lots of rubber gloves. ($10)


Hinges
GAS shocks ($150)
Fabric ?? ($500)
Bedding?
Mounting hardware to the drip rails

This is a pretty good idea of a materials list and costs I've added to the stuff that most people who haven't done it before wouldn't really have a good idea of costs for. I did a simple layout of the parts and here's an idea of how you'd lay them out at home to nest most of the stuff into two sheets. And realistically as I drew this I thought that you could probably get away with having only 1 sheet cut by a CNC router and do the rest yourself with regular home tools. And obviously if you want to spend some time with a jig saw you could do it all at home pretty easily. The key with a jig saw to do it fast would be to cut one of the parts very well, then use your palm router with a following bit to make the rest. No sense in doing the hard part multiple times. (Also keep in mind this is just a random drawing I made up in a few minutes. It's not matched to any vehicle, just using a 4x8 size as a starting point because it's easy and I'm not going to spend a lot of time doing more drawings for an imaginary project. ).

Edit: Looks like the rails are about 52" wide, so this wouldn't fit even if I did make a finished set of plans.

 

[fj62max]

This would be great! I would perfer if the cad file would work for aluminum. The aluminum would require bending and welding tho.

 

[Salue]

Now I'm kinda interested in this. Why did I comment? I don't even have an 80 or want a RTT.

Where are you located Jetboy, anywhere near Washington state?

 

[foeix]

I've been thinking of making a CampTeq'ish RTT out of a Prinsu Rack. You would just need to seal the sleeping surface, find mounts for struts / hinge and fabricate a lid. Easier said then done, but the Prinsu gets you off to a good start.

 

[Jetboy]

Where are you located Jetboy, anywhere near Washington state?

No... I'm in Utah. The Prinsu rack is actually a great idea. I wasn't really thinking about using an off the shelf rack as a base, but the Prinsu design would be pretty ideal; flat, easy to attach to, relatively low cost, and strong. And then you can stick with a 4x8" base - so it's a lot easier to make if you don't have to join pieces. It's kind of a PITA to make special extra long plywood.

 

[Salue]

The Prinsu rack is actually a great idea. I wasn't really thinking about using an off the shelf rack as a base, but the Prinsu design would be pretty ideal; flat, easy to attach to, relatively low cost, and strong. And then you can stick with a 4x8" base - so it's a lot easier to make if you don't have to join pieces. It's kind of a PITA to make special extra long plywood.

Maybe that's where @dogfishlake comes into play........

 

[dogfishlake]

Nice idea. I want one too. Kinda what I was thinking in that earlier post. The cross bars are 51" wide on my 80 rack. Honestly, if it needed to be the crossbars could be wider to work here, it just means that the bend I do on the side profile has to change or be eliminated.

If you guys are totally serious, I would be up for the necessary mods to make a pop top tent work for the 80 that used the entire roof. It would be amazingly cool because it would maximize space and still come off as well.

I forgot to watch this thread but I will now. I am a Cruiser guy first, vendor second.

Here is the Bowfin Cruisers rack.

 

[dogfishlake]

Another thing is getting different cross bars but not a big deal really. The 100 rack will use 49" bars and the 60 rack will be 53". If all tents were based inside those numbers, then a change in front and side profiles means the tent fits on all 3 with a base change.

 

[dogfishlake]

I will spend some brain time on this idea. The outer shell could be aluminum, no problem. Bottom shell, incorporated side rails, top shell. I have a source for excellent mattresses for camp equipment near me. Now I just need a production fabric outfit for the sides and back. Doesn't sound bad. Hmmmm again.

 

[Fj81]

The Campteq I think is narrower at the top since it follows the side profile of the body, if you made flat sides on yours it would probably be 53 to 54 inches. That would allow room for a nice size matress, and still have space for a strut and the bulb seals all around. SS Piano hinge up front and bam! Sort of. Like a previous poster said, "Easier said than done" but it is doable. I had thought a bit about this before I ended up building my own rack and scoring a good deal on an RTT. I am curious to see where this goes!

 

[foeix]

And then you can stick with a 4x8" base - so it's a lot easier to make if you don't have to join pieces. It's kind of a PITA to make special extra long plywood.

Honeycomb aluminum might work well too, provided there are a enough cross bars for support. Lets make this happen.

 

[fj62max]

I will spend some brain time on this idea. The outer shell could be aluminum, no problem. Bottom shell, incorporated side rails, top shell. I have a source for excellent mattresses for camp equipment near me. Now I just need a production fabric outfit for the sides and back. Doesn't sound bad. Hmmmm again.

Lets make this happen!!! If you need anything from me let me know.

 

[Salue]

I will spend some brain time on this idea. The outer shell could be aluminum, no problem. Bottom shell, incorporated side rails, top shell. I have a source for excellent mattresses for camp equipment near me. Now I just need a production fabric outfit for the sides and back. Doesn't sound bad. Hmmmm again.

I like the way this plan is coming together!

Cheers,
Salue

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

Time to put up or shut up

1994 Toyota Land Cruiser | eBay

 

[dogfishlake]

Time to put up or shut up

1994 Toyota Land Cruiser | eBay

Pretty cool, not a bad price as outfitted.

So Phil, does your Campteq enter from the inside like this one on ebay? I know it has been stated but I can't remember and seeing the ladder on the back of your 80 makes me think no. Thanks

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

Pretty cool, not a bad price as outfitted.

So Phil, does your Campteq enter from the inside like this one on ebay? I know it has been stated but I can't remember and seeing the ladder on the back of your 80 makes me think no. Thanks

Im the ONLY owner that has not cut his roof

 

[dogfishlake]

Top and bottom shell parts were supposed to get cut yesterday but didn't happen so hopefully monday. I have a test tent too, so it is going to happen in concept at least.