A Camper is born at.TrailX
The idea to build the first pop-up camper started with first building a model.
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| Once the basic concept was established, the next step was to do the CAD drawings |  |
| Then work started on the chassis of the trailer... Arrival of the Camper's Chassis in the workshop |  |
The CAD drawings were sent to the sheet metal supplier, and after lots of design meetings, they were able to cut, bend, assemble and weld the parts together. Finally, the body of the first prototype was ready for collection |  |
| 2020/02/25 - The first prototype camper body arrives at our workshop after 5 months of dreaming, designing and planning. |  |
| First assembly of the prototype camper to check the fit of all the components. |  |  |  |
| The roof in the open position, showing the split roof design. The roof will eventually contain a double bed in the nose part with a single bed in the rear part. |  |  |
| The main body of the camper and nose cone after a coat of etch primer has been applied. What a difference! |  |  |
| Development of the rear lid supports. This lid contains a bed suitable for a child under 1.4M tall as can be seen from the top view. |  |  |
A dining space by day, and a full length bed at night, the internal bins offer huge storage space. |  |  |
The front has a double bed for two adults, side by side. So, there is no need to climb over your partner in the middle of the night! What a pleasure. This brings the total sleeping capacity inside the at.TrailX camper to 3 Adults and a child... |  |
at.TrailX camper ready for it's first on-road test, on our way to the tent builder in Rosslyn. It tows true and easily. Due to the 1.6 meter width, the rear vision past the sides of the camper is excellent. It is also sits nicely in the slipstream of the Everest, which should help with fuel consumption behind most SUV's and Double Cab Pickups. The run-in braking system works excellently and the rear lights are clear and easy to see. I must add that there was a surprising amount of curiosity from other road users, possibly as there are no brand markings on the camper at this stage. Branding will only be done once the final paint colour has been applied (the Sand colour is only the undercoat). I'm very happy with the project. Can't wait to get it back from the tent suppliers and then finish it! |  |
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| With the tent poles now in place, the tent is being constructed. Apologies for the poor photo, but at this point I had to collect the trailer from the tent supplier and shut down operations for Covid-19.... |  |
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| May 1, 2020... With the lock-down moving to Level 4, we have been able to restart work on our off-road Camper. We decided to hold a design and review meeting with our group of avid 4x4'ers. We presented at.TrailX open for them to see and feel. We are delighted to have received such positive feedback from everyone. We have taken their suggested enhancements to heart and will certainly incorporate them in the design of the camper. Here are two sneak peeks, (with the tent still missing) so that you can get an idea of the inside space. Headroom easily accommodates a person of 6'; we tested that too! |  |  |
More to come as we progress...
