1.3 K1 tent camper design lessons learned

Okay, let’s review the stated original goals for the camper and how this current tent camper design measured up:

• Light weight. Check.
• Safe towing dimensions. Check.
• Decent cargo capacity. Yes.
• Roadworthy. Yes.
• Fast, easy setup. Eh.
• Standing area for easy ingress/dressing. No.
• Easy access to cargo. No.

I had a decent, working pop up camper but it didn’t yet achieve what I set out to do. Setup consisted of setting up the poles, then throwing the tent over the framework and snapping it around the base. That is not a big deal, but what I really wanted was a setup where you raise a couple of bows and BAM, you’re camping.

The other big issue was access to cargo. On the one hand, cargo access was easy when the tent wasn’t setup because I could remove the two lower bed partitions and have total access to my gear. The problem was getting to anything AFTER the tent was setup or if I was IN the tent. At that point it was tricky. With nowhere to stand, I could only lean to one side, partially lift a panel with one hand and snatch what I wanted with the other hand.

I developed a workaround for this issue by using a cartop luggage bag. At the campsite, I’d put the luggage bag on the table, take gear out of the cargo area and load it in the bag. I still use this method for my cooking box and my gadget box even though I don’t have to unload them. It’s just more convenient.

So all in all, with this version I felt like I was making good progress. Still, I could do better. As I sat in camp, I thought about what I could do to tick some of those unchecked boxes. I kept coming back to the same limitations as before–no sewing ability, no pipe bending ability. What kind of design could I come up with that I could build with a design that required no sewing and a simple support structure?

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