Black ZJ, I like the Alaskan, I have the small V-8 and I have had no problem hauling a 5,000 lb boat on a trailer.
Right now I have a tanoue (sp?) cover on my bed, fiberglass and it lifts from the rear. I could use it by making attachments along the edges under the lip and make some simple sides and back that would provide a decent sleeping platform. Great for weekends or a week out, not so much for any long haul.
POD8 I believe had a build from foam and fiberglass that was lifted like the Alaskan, a very nice build. Someting along those lines would be great, much lughter than the Alaskan I'm sure. There is also the issue of any build.....I enjoy such projects, designing and building. I did a custom van, out of materials I got from a limo manufacture, used 1X2s no 2X4s, masonite, foam rubber and covered it in material, I used PVC gutters cut down for valances and a custom ceiling console, covered with a fake leather stuff, that ran the full length. I went to a custom van shop to get a table and the owner looked inside to see what would fit best, ask where I got the van and told him I did it, he offered me a job on the spot.....LOL. It's not just about saving a ton of money but also about the build itself.
HillbillyAL, I know what you're talking about. We did adjust the pool cover to get snow off, and break the ice just along the sides, this cover was very stiff but it did not crack or break. There is a weave of material in this cover, it's not pure PVC, but have no idea what the weave is. I need to track down the manufacture and ask, but really, even knowing probably won't keep me from using it. Taking a sample to test is a very good idea, I'll do that when I have a plan and know where my cuts will be so that I don't slice off a piece in the wrong spot. I do wish it was tan and not blue, but it is what it is.
Black ZJ, I think you're right too about a hard sided shelter, I think that has really been in my mind from the start and incorporating this giant tarp as a tent over a build, being more of the outter shell or the cover from one area to another. I don't see this as a wall tent standing alone.
What if you had something like two Alaskan pods, one on a trailer and one on a truck that could be connected and cover the whole thing, top and sides with hard walls at the ends? I'm thinking fold out or panels set in to make the transition between the two pods.
I think 1" foam board (blueboard) with 1x2 frames and 1/8" ply skins would be light enough and when topped with a thick tent cover would provide sufficient insulation for heat and air. Paint the ply with a marine epoxy paint, I don't see the need to fiberglass, wood boats properly sealed and painted will out last me.
Hopefully, there will be enough material left over for some storage bags, like those shoe bags that hang up, a cover for the genset, etc.
Even if it was brittle in the cold as long as it doesn't break once it warms back up its normally fine. My Uncle used a pool cover to go ontop of a trailer he had, that was the year the ice storms hot the south pretty good, the cover cracked all over and when it thawed it got tons of water in the trailer. We had put a couple of table saws in there to protect them from the elements on a jobsite.