Not sure it gets any simpler than this...

[GPW]

That Is pretty cool ... imagine it as a solid (non folding) model ... Now let’s talk Simple !!!

Apologies TJ, my idea is , if you want a tent , get one ... never liked pop ups or “folders” , and if you look around they never seem to “last” without extraordinary care... Just too complicated for my simplistic sensibilities..

[TJinPgh]

Oh, it's simple enough. Just not sure that it doesn't look like a door stop, LOL.

With respect to tents and such.

I get your point. And, for the record, if I could find a tent that was a decent size that I could put and and take down in less than 2 minutes we might not be having this conversation.

That said, building anything you can stand-up in is going to require dealing with multiple seams. Taping. Spackling. Whatever.

And, the larger the continuous width of canvas you're looking at the more expensive you're going to be as well.

Not sure about where you are, but the fabric stores around here don't sell canvas in 6-7 foot widths. It needs to be ordered from someplace.

[crumbruiser]

That profile wouldn't that bad.

Frank

[TJinPgh]

I was referring to that Aliner when I said it looked like a door stop.

I've seen the profile you posted. I like it. I've seen a few commercial trailers out there with a similar profile that are pretty cool.

I was just looking for something that didn't involve dealing with curves and hatches.

[GPW]

TJ, you could always build one like I did , just make it bigger ... it was very EASY ...

Door stop ? Mine looks more like a Toaster from a hunting camp ...

[TJinPgh]

When I first started looking at this plan, the thought was to come up with something that fit the following criteria.

1) Room for a larger double/queen size bed (54" wide?)
2) A way that you can sit comfortably inside if it's raining and there isn't an additional shelter/canopy/awning connected.
3) Something where no one dimension would ever require stretching the material required to build it (nothing larger than a 4x8 sheets would be used)
4) Reasonable storage space.
5) Reasonably easy to build.

The notion of a standy led to the pop-top idea as it would be the only way to get 6' high while retaining the 4x8 profile of the sides.

A standy was never a necessary part of the design, though certainly a nice thought.

The bunker style camper, as originally built, seemed like a pretty simple design to build. It is essentially just a box. It met need 1 & 5 as created.

Building it up on a box, similar to the microcamper builds from Steve allowed it to meet 2 & 4.

It occurred to me along the way that none of these designs completely meets number 3. There's no way to do either a 5x8 or 6x8 solid roof and not stretch the foam or ply.

The only designs I could come up with that fits 1-4 don't necessary fit number 5.

The first is a trolley top idea, which I never did a sketchup for. I'd played around with that idea a little before and didn't like the way it looked.

No offense to those who have done them. It looks good on some profiles. Just not this one, IMHO.

The second did make a little use of that, though. It was a variation of GPW's idea of doing a solid version of a pop-top.

I called this one a Slope Top...









I figured the only benefit of doing this was to make it a standy. But, doing a 2' slope on a 4' high box, IMHO, didn't look right. So, I raised the cabin up 1' at the bottom and then a 1' slope at the top for a total of 6'.

I like the look of this. But, it's worth noting that it's only 6' at the very rear. And, even at 5'10 it's only actually a standy about 1' into it. Still, though, I like the profile and it meets MOST of the needs.

I'd like input on how difficult that roof would be to build, though.

The other idea is what I call a cathedral top.







Eliminated the raised base and did a 2' cathedral roof line on top. This gives 4'x8' worth of 6' high ceiling, sloping down to 4' high on all four sides.

I like the profile of the slope roof better than this, but this makes better use of the floor space by having full ceiling height through out.

Same basic question. How hard would that roof be to build.

Any advantages or disadvantages you can see to either of these over the other ideas that have been in this thread?

[KCStudly]

Nice renderings.

The Mansard style roof (Mansard roof images) wouldn't be that hard to build but it does have a large flat area. The wedge roof will shed water better if you do not factor in the small flat areas and chances for leaks there.

My thought on the wedge shaped roof would be to put a flat section at the top back of the wedge (where the standy part is) and then slope down and forward from the leading edge of this following the same line as the front slant (maybe lay the front part back a touch to match). The area over the bed doesn't need to be full height.

Neither are "simpler". Maybe time to think about revising your subject line. I appologize if it is already in here, but have you given your project a name yet?

[TJinPgh]

Nice renderings.

The Mansard style roof (Mansard roof images) wouldn't be that hard to build but it does have a large flat area. The wedge roof will shed water better if you do not factor in the small flat areas and chances for leaks there.

My biggest concern with this one is getting all the angles right at the corners.

Can I get it right? Probably.

Can I get it right without wasting a dozen sheets of foam? I'm having my doubts.

The slope seemed a little easier to figure out with respect to that?

My thought on the wedge shaped roof would be to put a flat section at the top back of the wedge (where the standy part is) and then slope down and forward from the leading edge of this following the same line as the front slant (maybe lay the front part back a touch to match). The area over the bed doesn't need to be full height.

I think that this is sort of what you're talking about?





I had played around with this when I started working those ones above. Not completely sure why I passed on it other than I just liked the sloped roof profile that I posted a bit better.

That said, if kept at the same slope as the front it does have the advantage of the "T" shape being able to be one 4x8 section. So, it does minimize the number of angles needed over the other two.

Neither are "simpler". Maybe time to think about revising your subject line. I appologize if it is already in here, but have you given your project a name yet?

No, not yet.

The whole thing with the "simple" part of the subject line was referring to the original Bunker as it was commercialy produced.

Like I said, it was pretty much just a box. No galley. No cabinets. A couple of doors and a couple of windows and that was it.

It's still the simplest idea I can conceive of and a sketch that I find myself coming back to as a kick-off point for everything else that's come in this thread. My only real objection to it is the expense of skinning the roof. Once you go beyond 4' wide, there are limited options available to avoid either shelling out a lot more money for 5' or 6' wide materials or having a seam.

Of course, some would argue that any place you have a "corner" on the roof you have a seam, anyway. So, the more corners you have the more leak potential you introduce, even if you are avoiding flat line seams.

Not sure. Just thinking that those seams are able to be more easily covered and sealed with molding. You can do it with any seam, of course. Just looks better on corners than one placed in the middle of a roof line.

[GPW]

What happened to Simple ???

[crumbruiser]

Just my opinion, I believe that a simpler solution is to join the foam to make larger sheets than to join all of those angles. You may be better at angles than what I am though. To properly join sheets takes a bit of room with gluing and clamping or adding weights to keep the parts together. You do have a challenge here but you are doing it right with your planning and seeking input from others.
Frank

[TJinPgh]

GPW,
Simple is usually a matter of relativity. Compared to many of the designs I've seen, these are ALL simple. That is, however, why I'm posting them. To see whether what LOOKS like it might be simple enough to build really is.

I agree, though. These all add at least some degree of complexity over a standard box. But then, so do the curves that most of the designs on this board implement.

Just saying...

Frank,
Like I said, I agree with your comments. Doing a foam roof that's 5' or 6' wide, in and of itself, isn't that difficult.

I should have added another need to the list, though, and that's the need to keep the cost down.

My general thought, and what I figure to be the most cost effective, is to skin the outside with glued/painted canvas. I, personally, don't know of any local sources where I can get even 62" wide canvas for a 5' wide, let alone the 74" wide that would be necessary for a 6' wide.

So far as I can tell, none of the local fabric shops carry anything wider than 54". Which means that to use anything larger than a 4' wide sheet in any one spot requires either having a seam or sourcing wider material from either a specialty shop or online. Both of which tend to be rather pricey.

So, while doing the roof in sections may well be more difficult, I'm of the opinion that it might also be cheaper?

[TJinPgh]

On a related note, I dug through the canvas tarp thread again and looked into that Chicago Canvas store on Ebay.

They have 12oz natural artist canvas, 100% cotton duck, in 10' wide for $17 a yard. At that width, I could wrap the top and two long sides in one long 14' length and not even have any seams at the top-side corrners. And another 2+ yards would be enough to do the ends.

7 yards total, I guess.

Doesn't say how much shipping is, though.

Anybody used that canvas or that supplier?

EDIT:
Nevermind... found the shipping calculator. $17 for 7 yards.

[GPW]

"Simple is usually a matter of relativity “ ... Perhaps .. Until you confirm there is something simpler than that ...

Since I had mostly 3’wide canvas , I did mine in strips ... No problem with a modest overlap ... Nothing says you have to have one piece covering ... and if you think about , the more overlaps of canvas over canvas , the thicker /stronger the skin becomes...

[wagondude]

If you do go with the raised or sloped roof, Why not utilize the increased hieght at the rear and put a taller door in. Seems kind of pointless (to me anyway) to build standing room then have to bend over to go through the door.

[loaderman]

Another way to gain interior height is to do a drop down area in the floor.
But with 4' walls i'd have to drop 2'-4" probably too much.

I agree simplest is to join sheets to make it taller.

Have roof slope/curve from front to back.
Put bed under front and have it so can stand at back.
54" bed leaves you 42" at back, room for storage, kitchen with barn doors on the back would be simple.
Simple overall.