I started building without any plans because I wasn't sure what I wanted to do. Part way through the process I drew this pencil sketch.
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It takes about an hour to raise the roof and convert our 26 T pickup from a canope express to the tent camper. I think with practice I can reduce the setup time to 30 minutes.
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Eventually I will add side curtains to protect the cab from rainy day camping.
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The end result exceeded my pencil sketch expectation.
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I figured it would take a week and about $100 to complete the project. Better an optimist than a pessimist.
Projected started August 2004 and completed February 2005.
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The fold down sides are 2' x 6' and will hold a foam "egg crate" matress. A 27" width would have been better but would have required that I use 2 sheets of 4x8 1/2 fir plywood in stead of 1.
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A few years ago while doing business in Medicine Hat I happened upon a garage sale. The person hosting the sale decided that he needed my six dollars more than his old Sears Kenmore sewing machine so an exchange was made and I had a new hobby.
The bottom of portable sewing machine case often caught and held the fabric that was being feed through the presser foot which caused me no small amount of anxiety. On a whim I solved the hindrance by sinking the into my office desk.
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The feed dogs on this old machine are worn smooth so stitch spacing is often determined by how smoothly I drag the fabric under the presser foot.Sometimes just getting the several layers of canvas to fit under the needle was a challenge. I used water resistant marine canvas that I have just learned shrinks significantly when it gets wet. I hope the fasteners hold up.
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At the National Museum in Reno I snapped this photo of a purpose built Model T Camper.
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I have been itching to build a vintage camper ever since I saw this photo on the cover of an early Horseless Carriage Gazette.
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For several years I have been toying with the idea of building a vintage camping trailer. While sewing side curtains for our 26 T pickup it occurred to me that the box could easily be converted into a tent camper. My thinking was that storing a tent would take up less space than a camping trailer and it would be keeping with Henry's theme of the universal car. In other words that is all the incentive I needed to get started on another project.
As it turned out it wasn't so easy. I learned the right way to do things by first doing them the wrong way but the end result exceeded my pencil sketch expectation.
More on the history of this pickup can be found under the "Stories" category on this site under "Cars of My Dreams II".