Lil' bit of Camper on Top

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Accessories and Modifications' started by WesleyRiccipio, Aug 20, 2022.

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  1. WesleyRiccipio

    WesleyRiccipio Junior Member

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    Hi everyone,

    I hope you all are having a lovely saturday afternoon/evening/or morning. For Gen 3:

    Has anyone ever looked into the physics of:
    1. mount roof frame
    2. cut hole in car roof big enough to crawl through
    3. design rooftop camper out of some hard shell reasonably durable plastic.
    -when designing..maximize in this order aerodynamics, security and space.

    I don't care what it looks like. If one has heavy duty springs and perhaps lifts, they could proceed to figuring out how to not collapse the roof open :ROFLMAO:
     
    #1 WesleyRiccipio, Aug 20, 2022
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  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    nope :)
     
    #2 bisco, Aug 20, 2022
  3. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

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    If you have a budget for this and live near the PNW I'll build this for you... I used to run a camper van conversions shop in the 90's and installed lots of pop tops and would love to take on a challenge like this.
     
    #3 PriusCamper, Aug 21, 2022
  4. WesleyRiccipio

    WesleyRiccipio Junior Member

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    I'm not too close to you unfortunately. That's great to know. If I get serious about it I'll contact you. This is more of a v3.0 for my prius and right now I am still finishing 1.0 upgrades.
     
    #4 WesleyRiccipio, Aug 21, 2022
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  5. Johnny Cakes

    Johnny Cakes Senior Member

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    Like this?
    maxresdefault.jpg
     
    #5 Johnny Cakes, Aug 21, 2022
  6. WesleyRiccipio

    WesleyRiccipio Junior Member

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    Honestly, I hate the design of this but I love it at the same time for what it provides. From the side, it looks a bit, eh, eggplant like. Anyways, this is a japanese company and they don't make it anymore. $20k.

    I was thinking of something smaller without any doors, with as much of a harder shell exterior as possible and some fabric for allowing it to collapse. There just aren't any buyable ones that I can find that have a cut out to connect it to a roof cut out.
     
    #6 WesleyRiccipio, Aug 21, 2022
  7. Leadfoot J. McCoalroller

    Leadfoot J. McCoalroller Senior Member

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    I think I'd start with a Prius equipped with a moonroof, and then delete the roof cassette. Then the car still has all the structure it needs.

    It's a proven method: VW did exactly this for their early pop-top campers.

    To be honest, I wonder why I don't see more threads about re-powering one of those with prius guts.
     
    #7 Leadfoot J. McCoalroller, Aug 21, 2022
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  8. WesleyRiccipio

    WesleyRiccipio Junior Member

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    I am very happy for those that have a moon roof! Yeah that would be a minimum width to squeeze through. But I have to deal with what I'm working with. I was thinking earlier about reinforcing the roof with something. That would require ripping out the liner so I don't look like I'm in some mad max movie.
     
    #8 WesleyRiccipio, Aug 21, 2022
  9. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

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    Roof reinforcements are easy... Finding a popup structure that you don't have to build your own mold or fiberglass shape for is harder... Your best bet would be something small like this one to modify/build off of. You could redo the canvas so it folds out to the front or back or both so it's long enough for sleeping.

    products-1967-vw-camper-pop-up.jpg
     
    #9 PriusCamper, Aug 22, 2022
  10. WesleyRiccipio

    WesleyRiccipio Junior Member

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    good ideas. Ok but by canvas do you mean the fabric in the container that opens up?

    so something like what you shared and then improve it from there
     
    #10 WesleyRiccipio, Aug 22, 2022
  11. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

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    correct... You want the plastic/fiberglass cap and metal frame & springs... Then modify the cap edge to match contour of Prius roof and then get a heavy duty sewing machine the make a canvas, windows, screens and add some foam and upholstery on a plywood board to sleep on.
     
    #11 PriusCamper, Aug 22, 2022
  12. WesleyRiccipio

    WesleyRiccipio Junior Member

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    1. Thanks for sharing. I need to prioritize security so there is a big need to minimize any fabric even if there is some sort of kevlar weave that could keep a bear out. A new design is always possible. I think we can take away some components from what you posted by leveraging design principles from something like this
    I think it would give the prius like mini christopher nolan batmobile wings
     

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    #12 WesleyRiccipio, Aug 22, 2022
  13. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

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    The exterior design is one thing... Defining your needs on the inside is where it starts before you turn the outside into origami plastics. Currently I lack confidence in your ability to define your needs in the inside, so thinking your outside design is a waste of my/our time until you define what you want on the inside.
     
    #13 PriusCamper, Aug 23, 2022
  14. Donald Sheardown

    Donald Sheardown New Member

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    This is my Prius camper that I built myself.
     

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    #14 Donald Sheardown, Sep 12, 2022
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  15. WesleyRiccipio

    WesleyRiccipio Junior Member

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    Beautiful!!

    Do you have any videos or a walk through of it?
     
    #15 WesleyRiccipio, Sep 12, 2022
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