Delica Canada | Mitsubishi Van Club

So high up there on my Delica wish-list is the ability to temporarily and painlessly expand the sleeping arrangements. I love camping with my boys, but hate the tent pitching/teardown routine. And 4 on the floor inside the van is getting pretty tight these days.

Rooftop tents fall into a similar category a bit IMO; for a whack of $$$ you get a tent on your roof that goes up and down quicker for sure, but it's still a tent.

City-living practicality around low parkades dictates something removable for the inevitable 97% of the time that I am *not* camping in my van. Plus, I am not keen at all on the idea of cutting into my roof; the van spends a fair amount of it's life outdoors in the rain as it is and my experience with leaky/rusty vehicles makes me swear "Never again".

Lastly, I don't want to tow a trailer if I can avoid it.

Picky, picky, picky!!!

So my current plan revolves around making a lightweight fibreglass pod that attaches onto the roof; throw some bedding up there when travelling, arrive onsite, pull sleeping bags inside the van for Mom and Dad, kids climb upstairs; everyone's happy. My plans do not involve severe cold, so huge levels of insulation is not my top priority; keeping it lightweight is. I want my wife and I to be able to lift it on/off without too much trouble.

Now fibreglass itself is great stuff, and I have ideas on ways to make hard points and attach it to the roof, but you still need a core over which to lay the glass to provide the real structure.

Lots of core material options out there (foam/metal/plastic/wood/etc...) but the one that stuck out in my mind was one I'd never considered - corrugated cardboard (of all things).

Apparently some folks have had great success with either single- or double-walled cardboard structures; buy 4'X8' panels of the stuff, use a knife to cut the shapes, hot-melt glue them together (perhaps over a sparse metal frame to hold the correct shape) and fibreglass over the lot for an end result that is stiff, strong, lightweight and while it may not survive for years in a fully-immersed marine environment like a boat, it is more than adequate for keeping the rain out for occasional usage.

Never having worked with fibreglass before, I'm curious if anyone on the forum has ever...

- Tried fibreglass over cardboard with success?
- Tried fibreglass over cardboard and failed miserably?
- Had much experience with fibreglassing at all to point me in the right direction and avoid major newbie pitfalls?

Plenty of internet info out there; I am pretty much sold on epoxy instead of polyester stuff, and the standard-issue 5-1 mix should be OK for me (no stringent marine or aircraft specs here), but I'm aggressively seeking good advice before I drop $500 on supplies only to have it go horribly wrong.

I imagine I'll try a really small project first to get the concept down, then go from there.

Thanks in advance!

Tony, prod Jay's noggin on this one.

I've glassed my own surfboards but the rooftop is a whole other animal.

Boat building recipes is what you're after. Wood or foam core with glass/cloth/resin sheet on top.

jfarsang wrote:Tony, prod Jay's noggin on this one.

I've glassed my own surfboards but the rooftop is a whole other animal.

Boat building recipes is what you're after. Wood or foam core with glass/cloth/resin sheet on top.

I'm actually thinking a flat-bottom pod with an external conformal layer (foam?) between the pad and the roof. Makes the build easier as I don't have to make a mold of my roof.

As far as the structure itself goes, foam-core gets expensive, because you need the stuff that doesn't dissolve in the resin (EPS aka Styrofoam won't work). And wood/metal framing starts to get heavy fast too.

Tricky design tradeoffs; that's why cardboard caught my attention. Especially since I don't need the extreme structural strength of a boat hull. If the water gets pounding *that* hard on my roof, I'll have bigger problems to worry about

I know it is a tent but the principle is similar.
I found this on ebay in Australia.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/300654802036 ... 1438.l2649
It might give you some ideas

I also found this one also
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Roof-top-cam ... 4cfe39be8f

A rooftop tent is still a valid option, just don't put it on the roof of your vehicle. Try something like this instead: http://compactcampingconcepts.com/trailers.htm

It worked well for me when I had a Star Wagon.

1.Personally my rear slide allows for 4 of use to sleep in the van no problem (5, 8, and really old X2)....I have the eight year old across the front seat, 5 year old in middle (moving up in the roof soon) and mom and me on the back slide.

easy to build (weekend) works for 2.5 years so far no problems, never wet.

2. Not needed to sleep 4 but sure makes it nice to stand up!!! Fibreglass talk to Jay (my hero). My hightop is problem free no leaks. I think it adds serious value to the van (campers in demand). I bought the roof for $200. off a dodge. Cut in 1/4s and glassed back together (much easier then starting from scratch). It spends 100% of its time out doors. And is leak free for 1.5 years. My wife says it is the best thing we did to the van. (I am so happy we did not do the poptop given the amount of rain in the North West.

I'm in the same situation - 2 adults two growing kids.

Before you get started - don't rule out the trailer. Do you really want to put a bunch of weight on the top of your van? Nice thing about a little trailer - you can always leave it behind when you want. If you haven't looked into it, there is a very thriving community of teardrop trailer builders here:

http://mikenchell.com/forums/

You will find plenty of advice, trailer plans, construction techniques, hinges, aperture details etc. They commonly use foam board as a core - which makes a lot more sense the cardboard because it won't turn to oatmeal if it gets wet. A teardrop trailer can be made light enough to be pulled by a motorcycle.

I was set to start building my teardrop, when I decided to gut my 1968 tent trailer and rebuild it as a folding trailer instead. The yellow top, by the way, is skinned with 1/8" plywood over a 1/2"plywood frame - I fiberglassed all the seams and painted it - it's light, bright, and water tight. Right now we all sleep in the trailer, two adults on the floor (mattress) and the two kids on the L shaped cabinets. Ultimately, the plan is to put two in the trailer, two in the van. The fabric ends are a repurposed tent - one day I will have a proper canvas end made.

edit:I hated setting up a tent too, and I don't like sleeping on the ground. This tent trailer is set up in under 10 mins

I too have thought about how sweet a pop-top would be in a delica. Not all of us can find gold like Jesse though and I am not that confident in my abilities to create without destroying so I have been lurking and looking for a Boler or something like it to pull behind. I really like the idea of putting it somewhere and driving away to do stuff to come back and have it all ready to go. I have an 85 Westy and while it is awesome and a great camping vehicle, it can be a PITA when you want to go do something after you have set up. Taking down the awning, stashing everything, un-popping the top, putting car seats back in, etc. Here is a link to a trailer that has caught my eye:

http://bc.kijiji.ca/c-cars-vehicles-RVs ... Z325758658

I think I will be investing in a Boler or trillium, or some other light weight trailer soon. Gives me one more thing to obsess about fiddle with

Craig

To heck with fibergalssing, to get more room just stretch it!!!!!

here's a nice looking teardrop in arizona for only 3000.
http://mikenchell.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=48292

if you follow his link, he has pics of his build too

here's a nice looking teardrop in arizona for only 3000.
http://mikenchell.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=48292

if you follow his link, he has pics of his build too

Another option is to find a Thule box from the 80's. They were made out of extremely thick plastic. Mine has been on top of a Volvo when the driver rolled the vehicle and there isn't a spec of damage. Attach some canvas to it and when you open it you have a bed. Also, if the kids are being annoying you just close the box and lock them in. I call mine the "hobo box"

Hitop is maybe 80lbs heavier then the steel roof with all the interior done.....

I loved my Trillium (it was fixed to the back chassis of my 1964 Willys FC170) but I would not want to pull it with the L300 uphill!

I like teardrops but not the outside kitchens....too many bugs and rain in these parts......

Lotsa good feedback - I especially like the trailer pics glenn - nice job there!

I can see the attraction of a trailer - I really can. But unless you have a completely self-contained unit with sleeping/cooking/washing inside it (i.e. nothing at all to do in the van), then there is bound to be some stashing and putting away before you disconnect and leave it at camp to explore around. So to go that route, yeah - I'd probably just pony up for a Trillium or Boler equivalent and be done with it.

But I currently have a half-dozen weatherproof stacking Tupperware totes that fit perfectly in the back of the van. Holds all my gear except the perishable stuff and water.

I'd like to make up a very thin sliding food prep/cooking/washing drawer on arms similar to jfarsang's rig for his Safari, but one that when retracted fits underneath the bottoms of the rear seats.

Sleeping pod containing 4 sleeping bags and pillows on the roof; a rollout awning on each side of the pod base.

So when travelling, totes-food-water in the rear of the van on the sliding drawer with all sleeping gear up top. Everything is in or on the van.

Stop for lunch at a scenic spot or dinner at camp? Rear door goes up, remove totes, drawer slides out - mealtime. Quick and easy. Awnings come out if shade or rain cover needed.

Bedtime? Stack totes together outside under an awning, slide in food drawer, fold rear seats down, retrieve two sleeping bags from up top, close rear hatch - done. Kids up top, grownups and dog down below.

Breakfast? Totes are already outside; open rear hatch and slide out food drawer without needing to put away the bed in the van (yet). Boom. Lazy mornings on the beach or the mountains.

Staying a while? Just leave everything as it is.

Time to move on? Sleeping bags back up top, awnings in, fold up rear seats, totes back inside on top of food drawer - away we go.

Repeat as needed.

I know that's best case, and everyone's ideas on camping might be different, but that's a usage model I can see would work well for my current needs. So that's what I'm going after at the moment.

Plus I don't have to drop $5-8K on a Boler...

Paid $1300 for my trillium (better then the boler as the floor was fibreglass) deals out there knock on doors!

Your plan sounds good...my experience with cooking outdoors has been insects having me for a meal while I make mine. Just depends on where you camp...