Project Extended Pop-Top Aerodynamic Camper Shell ('99 Tacoma)

[Jasen]

I noticed no aero mods on your secondary transportation vehicle parked behind your truck, what gives?

I read your whole build thread, nice work

[Xist]

Originally Posted by Jasen

I noticed no aero mods on your secondary transportation vehicle parked behind your truck, what gives?

I read your whole build thread, nice work

Ha!

Do we have any good A-B-A testing on aeromodding bicycles? I have had a 4'x8' campaign sign for a year and somehow I think that it would be easier to modify my bike than my car--although I do not know how I could use it modified.

[a8ksh4]

Originally Posted by Jasen

I noticed no aero mods on your secondary transportation vehicle parked behind your truck, what gives?

I read your whole build thread, nice work

Ahh, I'm going to need some garage space again if I'm going to start making blown lexan shields for bikes... is anyone here set up to do that?

[a8ksh4]

A little progres this week. A friend of mine wanted to do some fiberglass work on his rig yesterday, so we both bought gallons of cheap polyester resin from home depot yesterday. I mixed up a few oz and sealed my rear hatch with it.

The polyester stuff seems nice to work with, especially being able to use it in all temps. I figured out this morning (after a bit of reading online) that the surface of my hatch is going to stay tacky unless I coat the reson with paint or something. Sounds like the last layer of polyester resin on a part has to be mixed with some kind of wax to make it cure fully. The oxygen in the air prevents its surface from curing.

Anyhow, I'm coating the outside with glazing putty and will get some paint on it once I get it sanded smooth and primed. Getting some work done on my little apartment balcony porch:


Do any of you know:
* Is it safe to primer and paint straight over the tacky surface of the polyester resin? I expect that its surface will cure fully once I get something sprayed onto it that will seal it.
* Can I use polyester resin with microspheres as sandable filler for smoothing out the exterior of the shell? It seems to NOT be sandable as it is, with the surface tacky... would I need to mix in some kind of wax with the microspheres for this to work? Would the was create problems for additional coats?


Oh, I guess I'm committed again to posting some mileage logs. I posted up my last 18 gallons (two fill-ups) today. I averaged 34 mpg. That's quite better than any tank I've previously recorded. I haven't done any EOffC, only EOnC.

Still need to get an ignition cutoff switch installed... I got a switchable fuse to install in place of my fuel injection fuse. I need to read a bit more, but assume that'll work for me.

[a8ksh4]

A friend pointed me to some cheap linear actuators.


I'm going to settle for an 18" lift using four of these. I think that'll give me enough headroom and still have room for a raised floor for snowboards and stuff. they should be much more simple to install and use than any other contraptions I was thinking of.

[freebeard]

Are you going to have an accordion-pleated skirt around the bottom for when it's raised?

[a8ksh4]

Probably not accordian... I'm not sure how I'd make that.

I'm thinking that I'll affix a strip of velcro to the rim of the bed, so while the shell's down, the side skirt can hang down inside the bed, and when I put it up, the skirt'll just velcro around the edge. I've thought about using a bit of elastic cord to put tension on the skirt so that, once it's un-velcroed, it pulls itself out of the way of the shell when it's lowered.

Attached is the most horrible-est drawing i could make :P

[freebeard]

Probably not accordian... I'm not sure how I'd make that.

You make it with two 'o's.

https://www.google.com/search?&q=%22...t%20folding%22

Basically, you'd take a strip of canvas and fold horizontal pleats in it. When you come to a corner, the pleats are staggered on the other side so the corner is a zig-zag.

Eyelets in the middle of each pleat with a bungie cord strung through would keep things organized.

Or you could do what this person did
Elisa Strozyk's Folded Wood Accordion Lamp is a Study of Material and Light | Inhabitat

Cut trapezoidal strips of luan plywood and tape the edges together, then you'd have a solid wood accordion.

[Galane]

There are three types of polyester resin. One is laminating resin, which as you've discovered stays tacky on the surface. That's so additional layers will have maximum adhesion. It will eventually fully cure on the surface but it takes a while.

The second type is finishing resin. It has a wax in it which floats to the surface, sealing it from air so it cures.

The third type is a "universal" resin. It has less wax than finishing resin so it surface cures slower and can have more layers added, but bond strength between layers can be compromised.

With finishing or universal resin, to add more layers, or primer/paint, after it's cured you need to scrub it with acetone to remove the wax.

And then there's gel coat, a thick resin with a lot of filler and color added. It's normally applied to the inside of a mold then backed with regular resin and glass or other reinforcement. It can be mixed and spread onto fiberglass then sanded and smoothed and polished and buffed to a high gloss - a huge amount of work but the result is a tough surface with a deep color no paint can match and it's possible to sand and buff out scratches.

[free radical]

Originally Posted by a8ksh4

Well, I've thought a bunch about it and am just going to keep picking away at this project. I put the shell back on the truck last week and camped in it over the weekend. Should be using for several days over this coming long weekend, too.

I need to go snap some photos, but I built the back door for it and put down some carpet inside to make it more comfortable. I've come to really enjoy the bits of construction I do I using lightweight wood, either with wood glue or fiberglass. The backdoor on this thing is super lightweight and only took a few minutes to assemble (will take a bit longer to finish and paint), sort of same as for the awning door.

hi,I just found this tread,and was wondering how strong is this kind of fiberglass over foam structure?
How much weight per square foot do,you think it can support?
I was thinking about doing a truck camper shell similar way mostly to save weight..
Thnx