Flippac Custom Build

AdventureAnne

New member
Some of you may have seen my post a few months ago about wanting to buy a used/damaged Flippac.

After reading a ton of build threads and looking through pictures, I decided what ever Flippac I ended up with I wanted to make two major modifications. 1. Remove the torsion bar. Torsion bars are great, but not for this application. 2. Replace the tent with a waterproof one. I know you can buy a rain fly, but I have access to a sew lab and outdoor fabric so I can make a new tent for almost nothing. How does a $5,000+ outdoor product not have a waterproof tent?!?!

Well, I found exactly what I was looking for! The Flippac I bought was located in Cali, in really good condition, and has zero hardware. No idea what the story is behind it, other than that it came off a ford ranger. I think it must be fairly new because the fiberglass and all the parts are in really good condition.

After picking up the Flippac I swung through the FRP factory in Rverside to see if I could buy the 4 pieces that the lid hinges on and the two clamps for the lid. FRP wanted to charge $95 PER hinge piece and $60 PER clamp. Considering you can buy RV clamps off amazon for about $10 and I can fabricate my own hinge pieces for well under $400 I promptly left. Not impressed by FRP as a business, they seemed to have no idea what was going on with their own business

Anyway, since I decided not to buy their stock parts, I now have the opportunity to redesign how the Flippac hinges/opens. So, this is the start of my build thread. I have a few ideas, but would love to hear any thoughts you guys have! (Currently debating between doing a westy style pop-top or restoring it to the full 180 degree flipping Flippac glory).

Here are some pics of the Flippac currently:
Install.jpg

The lid is attached on the inside via a bunch of metal strips with holes in them.
inside.jpg

There was sealant over the hinge openings, which I took off to see how good of shape the tubing is in.
hinges.jpg
 

billy bee

Adventurer
I saw this for sale in Fillmore or Santa Paula or some such place. I know you got a good deal on it. Congrats.

We may have the hinge parts. I'll check with Karl and see if he is interested in selling them. You'll also need the bows for the tent if you plan to recreate a flipPac. They are easy to fab using conduit and a bender, but that's another thing to consider.

Tents are very difficult to fabricate, as I am sure you know. The tolerances are very tight. That said, one thought I had for a revised Flip Pac tent is for a two-layer tent/fly like you see with most camping tents. The bows could go above the tent rather than inside of it. A permanently attached waterproof shell could go over the bows. I imagine a very airy and light tent with lots of mesh for ventilation and a fly that can be pulled down around the lid and shell for a very tight seal.

bb
 

AdventureAnne

New member
I saw this for sale in Fillmore or Santa Paula or some such place. I know you got a good deal on it. Congrats.

We may have the hinge parts. I'll check with Karl and see if he is interested in selling them. You'll also need the bows for the tent if you plan to recreate a flipPac. They are easy to fab using conduit and a bender, but that's another thing to consider.

Tents are very difficult to fabricate, as I am sure you know. The tolerances are very tight. That said, one thought I had for a revised Flip Pac tent is for a two-layer tent/fly like you see with most camping tents. The bows could go above the tent rather than inside of it. A permanently attached waterproof shell could go over the bows. I imagine a very airy and light tent with lots of mesh for ventilation and a fly that can be pulled down around the lid and shell for a very tight seal.

bb

Ventura :) And yeah, thanks!

I'd definitely be interested in the hinge parts if you have them. That would certainly save me some fabrication time.

Tents are indeed very hard to fabricate, so it should be a fun challenge. I had thought about the bows, not too worried about making those. If I got with more of a westy pop-top I won't need them.

I like your 2 layer tent idea with the fly fitting over the lid. That would be significantly more waterproof than the standard setup. I was originally thinking just a 1 layer tent because I may be able to get my hands on some bibler fabric, but the two layer may be where I head if I can't get the bibler.
 

dman93

Adventurer
I'll follow this with interest. For what it's worth, after owning both a Westy and a FlipPac, my opinion is that the full 180 degree opening of the FP creates a huge amount of usable space that a ~30 degree tilt just can't match. And since you need a new tent anyway, it can be waterproof which was the one weakness of the 180 design as it fully exposes the entire tent to the sky and rain. Without the torsion bar's loads fed into the shell, you don't really need to replicate the FRP hinge bracket design, and could use leaf hinges as you'd proposed when we traded messages on this a few months ago. Good luck!!
 

billy bee

Adventurer
Have not had a chance to circle back with Karl about those parts. I'm hoping you restore this to its original intended purpose. It is a great and flexible platform for travel and camping. Anxious to hear your plans.

bb
 

AdventureAnne

New member
Thanks for the input dman93 and billy bee! The more I think about it the I know I'll want the full 180 degrees at some point so I might as well do it now.

No worries about the parts billy bee, I'm not in a hurry. PM whenever you get the chance to talk to Karl. In the mean time I'll keep brainstorming ideas with leaf hinges, springs, etc.

Small update:
Took off the inside brackets holding the lid down, replaced them with nice camper latches on the outside (two in the original locations and two additional latches towards the front), and patched the holes with bondo fiberglass.

Swiss cheese :( Not sure why the previous owner felt they needed so many holes...
Bracket holes.jpg

Working with fiberglass is SO much fun! Not.
Holes filled.jpg

Minor lid patching, wet and dry/sanded.
Roof patches.jpg

Sweet new latches!
Latches side.jpg

Next up is cleaning out the minor rust that has formed in the bottom of the tubing and then sealing them. Then on to hinge design!
 

austintaco

Explorer
I'll follow this thread daily. I want to replace the latches on mine. Did you find exact replacement latches on Amazon? I want to avoid drilling more holes into the Flippac, so I would rather buy a set that matches up perfectly. If you found some, do you mind posting up the info? Also, how are you going to access the rust in the metal tubes? Thanks for putting your project on the forum.
 

dman93

Adventurer
Annie, check out pictures of the AT Tacoma Habitat and also AluCab rooftop tents. They use individual leaf hinges, not continuous, and that seems to work well, though the shell material there is aluminum, so perhaps it handles the localized loading better than 'glass. I had a chance to play with the Habitat recently and it felt very sturdy. It uses three big leaf hinges on the lid. Also, the gas strut geometry seemed set up to make closing a little less supported than opening, since the collapsing tent helps damp the "fall" of the lid into the closed position. The tradeoff was that I found it a bit harder to open the tent through the first 45 degrees or so, but it seemed like a good tradeoff. It was still an easy one-person job compared to my t-bar delete FlipPac. The Habitat also has the aluminum skin doubled where the springs attach, on the outside, which would be easy to do with the 'glass FlipPac and would eliminate any need for de-rusting or reinforcing the internal steel tubes.
 

AdventureAnne

New member
I'll follow this thread daily. I want to replace the latches on mine. Did you find exact replacement latches on Amazon? I want to avoid drilling more holes into the Flippac, so I would rather buy a set that matches up perfectly. If you found some, do you mind posting up the info? Also, how are you going to access the rust in the metal tubes? Thanks for putting your project on the forum.

I found two latches at a local RV store and the other two at a State Trailer supply store. The latches I got are JR Products Camper White Fold Down Camper Latch 10845 and they fit the existing holes on the Flippac perfectly. If you google the name and number you'll find plenty of places to buy online. Here's a link to the store I got mine, check them out for other camping needs too. They have pretty much everything you could ever need for car/RV camping. http://www.statetrailer.com/products.php?item=CAMPER+LID+LATCH%2CLOCKING&cat=H1&subcat=16L&item_no=16046415&detail=true

The latches I got fit the existing holes, however I did have to grind the threaded portion of the latch down because it was too long to actually clamp the lid down, even when screwed down as much as possible. Also, the screws that come with the latches will be way to long. I'll check what screws I ended up using when I get home, can't remember off the top of my head.

As for the rust in the tubes, that is going to require some creative shenanigans. My current plan is to try to duplicate how people clean the interior of bike frames. So a screwdriver + a long, small diameter metal rod + surfacing disks. I'm hoping to borrow an air compressor to help blow out the rust I get removed and then I'll park the truck on a hill and pour rust converter in the uphill end the tubing and let it drain out the downhill end.
 

AdventureAnne

New member
Annie, check out pictures of the AT Tacoma Habitat and also AluCab rooftop tents. They use individual leaf hinges, not continuous, and that seems to work well, though the shell material there is aluminum, so perhaps it handles the localized loading better than 'glass. I had a chance to play with the Habitat recently and it felt very sturdy. It uses three big leaf hinges on the lid. Also, the gas strut geometry seemed set up to make closing a little less supported than opening, since the collapsing tent helps damp the "fall" of the lid into the closed position. The tradeoff was that I found it a bit harder to open the tent through the first 45 degrees or so, but it seemed like a good tradeoff. It was still an easy one-person job compared to my t-bar delete FlipPac. The Habitat also has the aluminum skin doubled where the springs attach, on the outside, which would be easy to do with the 'glass FlipPac and would eliminate any need for de-rusting or reinforcing the internal steel tubes.

I've definitely been drooling over and taking notes from pictures of the Habitat! I don't think I'll get to see one in person for awhile, so I appreciate your thoughts from actually playing with one.
 

austintaco

Explorer
Anne,
Thanks for the link to the hinges. On the tubes, I talked with Diane at Flippac some time ago, and her suggestion was somewhat similar to what you have described. I'm going to try the spray on converter with a 10" "red straw" to get some reach down the tube. It won't be perfect, but it will make me feel better if I find any rust. Looking up the hinges now and ordering a set. Thanks again!
 

dman93

Adventurer
I've definitely been drooling over and taking notes from pictures of the Habitat! I don't think I'll get to see one in person for awhile, so I appreciate your thoughts from actually playing with one.
FYI the owner of the Four Wheel Camper store in Jackson, Wyoming has an AT Tacoma Habitat. That's where I looked at it. Not too far from you ...
 

AdventureAnne

New member
Update!

This has been a long time coming. Funny how life gets away from ya sometimes.

Anyway, I managed to scrub most of the light rust out from inside the tubing using a 6ft rod and a srub pad made for rust removal. The dust was vacuumed out by attaching 6ft of small diameter clear PVC tubing to a shop vac. I then sealed the tubing with a liquid rust converter and paint sponge attached to the 6ft rod. Currently in the process of finding the right parts for the hinge I want. Most likely going to find two solid bars that will insert inside the existing tubing and then use something similar to a tie rod end for the pivot.

I'm still trying to figure out the tent structure and design. Anyone have a flippac in Utah that I could take a close look at??

As a side note, just switched jobs and will be traveling a ton which is good and bad depending on how you look at it. SO, if you are interested in this Flippac make an offer. As much as I want to finish this project, I may be traveling too much to do so. :(
 
Anne, do you have any pictures of the hinge setup you did or did you not finish it? I have a broken. Hinge and looking at all my options for replacement. Thanks
 

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