Quote:
Originally Posted by Angel And The Wolf
I like the idea of extending upward for camping. Would you use hydraulics? Would you enter from between the seats in the cab? Could solve the "door" problem.
Are you using the long chassis?
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I cannot read your .bmp attachment.
I would imagine the rear door to be magnetic strips or zipper, just a plastic or cloth flap like a tent - simple.
The sides also roll down tent material, this is all similar to one of those pop-up tents in operation.
The telescoping posts could be manual, but then four people would be needed. Hand crank or electric gear driven I would favor over hydraulics but I'm not an engineer. I just suspect that it need more than a gas spring or two, it would have to be idiot proof so that putting it up in the dark would be a safe operation.
I was originally favoring a hinged at the high point of the roof an accordion or baffle-like hinged top. This would allow the five feet at the hinged end at the back of the cabin and the 7-8 feet at the tail where a flap door or curtain would be. However when I though about it I wasn't sure that it would be any simpler, lighter and cheaper, but I was sure that it offered less internal space.
Going back to a straight vertical scheme, solid panels in lieu of tent fabric could rise out of the substructure, but that is less of a home made scheme and would be cause for additional engineering, money and time. I'm not trying to make this bear proof, but solid sides would make winter travels better.
EDIT: Sketched up the hinged version, should be able to use heavy duty gas springs like on trap floor doors.