I finally scored a used Flippac

[wantapinz2]

well used that is. Last week a Flippac ad appeared on the local CL. I've been checking CL and Craiglook.com almost everyday, so when one popped up in my own backyard I was really surprised to say the least. Of course I had just spent
a few hundred dollars on truck parts so timing seemed bad too. Anyway I called
and went to see it.[IMG]

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At least the price was right, FREE. it is a full size 8'x6' model at least 14 years old. Evan before the hinge broke free it was a well used tent, the lady that owned it would live in it for months at a time in a dessert community.

While I love the Flippac design, it's achilles heel must be the lack of engineering that went into the hinge design. How is this 8in. piece of metal supposed to support the weight of that 7 foot lid. It,s not a matter of if it's going to break but when. That hinge arm should be at least 24in. long.

Anyway the price was right

[thebrassnuckles]

that looks familiar, was the porevious owner a member here?

what are you planning on putting it on?

[Toyotero]

Nice find!

Best of luck with the rebuilt.

(ditto on what vehicle)

[wantapinz2]

Funny "dessert community". I'll take strawberry cheesecake please.

No the prior owner is not a EP board member, but I did tell her about EP and gave her a couple of old expedition journals when we met.

What is the flippac going on? Hmmm First I have a confession and an apology
make. When she asked me what my plans were for her flippac,I said I would rebuild it and put it on my project truck which was an older full size pick up.
Not entirely true. My project truck is a kaiser jeep m725 ambulance. Here is a photoshop photo of what it might look like with a flippac.
[IMG][/IMG]
Come on guys ,you can't just say "I will rebuild it and cut it in half and to mount on my jeep ambulance". I tried the totally honest method before and suddenly the seller had a buyer driving down from Canada to socal to buy it.

Anyway the flippac is on the back burner until I upgrade the m725 with axles, disc brakes, H1 hummer wheels & tires, detroit locker.

[thebrassnuckles]

thats BADASS!!!!

I just picked up a flippac to put on my 1st gen 4runner. still havent started on it, but i had to reallocate some fuds, and do some much needed maintenance and repars to the truck.

[sojourner]

Wow, I guess you really are serious about this!

So how do the measurements work out?
I think the box is 8' long by 6' wide in the M725.

If you are able to pull this off I'm not far behind you.

Having space for the bed separate from the box opens up more possibilities, sitting area, storage, space for shower/toilet. One issue is how low is the ceiling going to be when the top is closed?
Also, how do you graft the top to the steel box?

[wantapinz2]

The flippac narrows a little to 93"x 63" towards the top and will add 7" to12"
to the top of the jeep. The flippac is designed so that no storage space is lost when it is closed. So i'll probably gain a few inches of headroom.

As for the method of attachment, I'm doing alot of looking into how Sportsmobile and westfalia top are installed. There are also some really strong epoxy formulas designed for bonding panels together that can be glassed over when cured.
The flippac is heavy and may need additional support, we will see.

[thebrassnuckles]

Just a thought. Have you ever seen the earthroamer jk? Perhaps the flipac off the back would be an easier modification.

[Ford Prefect]

This guy has a great write up on how to put on and take off a high roof on a van, very similar to that of a westy if I understand correctly, so this may give you some ideas and thoughts as to how to put this thing on there!

It will be pretty cool to see.

OH and on the thought of opening it up over the rear end, that requires a LOT more structural engineering than you imagine. There is a reason That XV-JP sells for 100K and the flippak JK sells for about 4K. The flip over the front allows you to put polls down on the hook of the truck, without that you would have to find a way to support free hanging a bed off the end of your truck. Just saying...

Cheers

[Bella PSD]

While I love the Flippac design, it's achilles heel must be the lack of engineering that went into the hinge design. How is this 8in. piece of metal supposed to support the weight of that 7 foot lid. It,s not a matter of if it's going to break but when. That hinge arm should be at least 24in. long.

Anyway the price was right

Maybe it should be longer. But I think it broke from lack of maintenance. If water enters the hinge area it will rust it out and then unleash the power of the torsion bar on the lid/camper body. If maintained, I don’t think this would ever happen. Lesson here is always make sure the hinge area is well sealed.

BTW, super nice find. Since your building it onto something else, condition was not that big of deal. I am jealous!! I have been looking for one more Flip Pac to add to my M101A3 trailer.