Bit of a project going on.....

[karl webster]

Thats not looking half bad there Karl. Looking forward to the internal pics and seeing it finished off beautifully inside. I’ve got a roll of roof lining type material in chocolate brown if it’s any help but I’m guessing your colour scheme inside is grey.

Thanks Rich. Yep mines grey.
I'll get my head around the internals once I have a bit More time. It will have to stay as a project that I keep adding to.

It's a shame borris isn't a better truck visually but for us it doesn't matter. We can use him hard and not be afraid of scratches etc. The mark two roof project will be more of a professional job on a better truck

 

[nick_the_fish]

Love what you are doing here Karl and following with much interest. I really like the pop top style camper conversion and would love to do one with my 105.

That black frame that meets the body in the first photos - is that a custom fab or off the shelf? Could the frame then take an off the shelf Alu Cab or something similar. I saw your putting an 'outback alloy shell tent' on but not sure what that actually is.

Keep up the good work

 

[karl webster]

Hi nick.
We have made the frame yes. So you could buy a tent to fit my frame.
As I've mentioned earlier. This is just for us to use and I'll be tweaking it and learning from this build and doing another/others.

 

[Dave_S]

Nice job mate - rocking up to camp and not having to faff about outside is a major bonus when its peeing down. I can imagine you may have an orderly queue forming if you started doing these at a decent price.

 

[Michael Montgomery]

That looks awesome Karl you have undertaken a huge but rare task and so looking forward to you sharing more as you finalise the build.

 

[karl webster]

Nice job mate - rocking up to camp and not having to faff about outside is a major bonus when its peeing down. I can imagine you may have an orderly queue forming if you started doing these at a decent price.

Thanks dave.
Yes the Scotland trip gave me the push to do what I've pondered over for a while. Can't wait to set up camp in the wet up in the highlands next time

We shall see what the next tent turns out like to see if I can do anything that's sellable

 

[Gary820]

Looking really good mate

 

[Bmonck]

This is really interesting to follow. Was thinking of doing something similar Karl. Kudos for leading the way. Can I ask what is the length and width of the mattress you get inside that pop top? Cheers.

 

[karl webster]

This is really interesting to follow. Was thinking of doing something similar Karl. Kudos for leading the way. Can I ask what is the length and width of the mattress you get inside that pop top? Cheers.

Off the top of my head it's 4foot wide by around 2300 long. Not as wide as if like with having two dogs in the tent as well as the girlfriend. What we have found is everything is a compromise. I think the slightly smaller bed out weighs all the other pluses for us.

 

[StarCruiser]

I think the whole 80 series overlanding/camping thing is a compromise. Whatever is done, there’s always a better way to do it. A vehicle for one can accommodate far more compromises without issue than a vehicle for two.

 

[Iwan]

Really tidy job there man!

 

[Bmonck]

us.

That’s a great length. True not that wide. Do you access it from inside the vehicle (like the alucab pop top for the Toyota 78) or do you access it from outside? Thanks Karl

 

[karl webster]

That’s a great length. True not that wide. Do you access it from inside the vehicle (like the alucab pop top for the Toyota 78) or do you access it from outside? Thanks Karl

Inside mate. The whole point of the build was for camping and setting up in bad weather. It should work great when the weathers bad. Just get out of the drivers seat into the back.

 

[karl webster]

I've had to split the bed though. Three quarters of it will fold up into the roof like the Alucab and the other quarter will fold back towards the back of the tent. That allows you to get up into the tent. The 78s have a longer roof than the 80 so I've had to comprise slightly. I can live with it though.

 

[karl webster]

First test camp with project Boris

Bit of snow.

A photo of the bed hinged up against the roof. As you can see i still have lots to do.

 

[karl webster]

This is the trap door to allow us to get into the roof.

The bed up into the roof. I have lath as props at the min as I'm playing around with ideas.

The trap door down. This folds down to form the full bed when we have got into bed.

Trap door up.

This is a storage shelf that will home light stuff. Chairs,table etc.

We have around 5inches of room on this shelf. Doesn't seem much but obviously every bit of room must be used.

After driving the truck since fitting the roof I'm surprised how good it drives. I was expecting it to be top heavy. It's nicer to drive than when the rack was on with the roof tent fitted.

 

[Michael Montgomery]

Nice job there Karl. Yes every inch counts when planning to pack anything and everything one would want & need.

A concern of mine is rattles and things moving around in the cab whilst driving that for me is annoying whilst best efforts to avoid.

How’s this for you?

 

[karl webster]

Nice job there Karl. Yes every inch counts when planning to pack anything and everything one would want & need.

A concern of mine is rattles and things moving around in the cab whilst driving that for me is annoying whilst best efforts to avoid.

How’s this for you?

At the min Dervis we obviously have things moving around. We haven't done any lanning yet so I'll have to make sure things are secure then. We travel with the dogs so I have to take more care nowadays when we lane compared to the past.
I suppose to minimalise rattling things need to be packed in tight with limited room for moving around.

 

[Michael Montgomery]

At the min Dervis we obviously have things moving around. We haven't done any lanning yet so I'll have to make sure things are secure then. We travel with the dogs so I have to take more care nowadays when we lane compared to the past.
I suppose to minimalise rattling things need to be packed in tight with limited room for moving around.

You got the hard work done now Karl and tested in the most extreme conditions so that says a lot. After you get those packing requirements set up right are you looking at carpeting the panels?

 

[karl webster]

You got the hard work done now Karl and tested in the most extreme conditions so that says a lot. After you get those packing requirements set up right are you looking at carpeting the panels?

I'm hoping to carpet it all yes.
It will help the small amount of noise.
I'll be using it a while before I finish it properly. I'm not looking for a factory build though. I'd rather be using the truck than making it look too pretty. I have a nice truck for best