jimgrms
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Campers
Several times i have seen pictures of canper's on this thread ,
they are a little over cab higk ,and i guess the roof raises and they expand , any one have any info on them thanks
jim
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David K
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Those are called 'Pop up' campers... Neal Johns loves his... See it in the two Neal Johns web sites:
http://vivabaja.com/neal
http://vivabaja.com/neal2
[Edited on 3-2-2006 by David K]
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Axel
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A few of my buddies have them. If you ask me, there the way to go. Light weight and stiil low enough for offroad. Some have toilets and shower inside.
They seem to be hard to find used.
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bajajudy
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Why are there always people gathered around one of Neal's tires in your pix, DK?
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jimgrms
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Thanks folks them's the one's now i will try to find out how much they cost, I plan on putting one in a trailer , any one have comments, reason is
don,t want to part with my cherokee
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TMW
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I think Neal sticks things into his tires so he'll have something to do since Toyotas never break.
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Barry A.
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Trailers--------and campers
Back-road Baja is extremely hard on Trailer suspensions. Few (if any) can stand up to the pounding. If you go that way (which I would not recommend)
make sure that the trailer has a custom suspension with shock-absorbers-----no slipper springs!!!
Also, any "campers" used for long periods in back-road Baja should be a metal framed camper (steel or aluminum). The wooden ones disintegrate rapidly
with desastrous results when you least expect it. Callen Campers in El Cajon are great, but they do not have a "pop-up", I don't believe. They do
have custom made campers that you can stand up in, with cabover storage-----I have one that is 26 years old, and still intact. It is steel framed,
heavy, but bullet proof.
Finally, I do not believe that ANY camper mounted on a trailer would hold up very long on the dirt roads of Baja------just to much torqueing, and
harsh rattling about.
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Slowmad
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Have had years of good experiences with my friend in his pop-up (Sunlite Eagle SB).
I don't think it's a bombproof steel or alum. frame like Four Wheel or Callen, but it's been placed in some challenging situations with no sign of it
going all house of cards on us.
Nothing like setting up camp in the one minute it takes to crank the roof, chuck out the firewood, and extend the canopy.
Light and low-pro enough to leave on back home.
I prefer cooking outside, so I plan to go with the "delete galley" option on mine.
And while not cheap, the utility bed makes a good marriage with a pop-up.
Chuck a portadumper under the gaucho (convertible dinette) and it's even wife-approved.
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jimgrms
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Barry now that i give it some thought you are correct, i am just lookink for a economicle way tocamp that is not in a tent as i will camp in
colorado too
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Bob and jane
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We've had a Northstar pop-up for at least five years. We've had it on rough back roads in the Rockies, on endless miles of bone-jarring washboards in
Baja. It's gone over the mountains and down into San Evaristo and out to La Paz along the coast. It's gone to Agua Verde and San Luis Gonzaga. It's
been to fishing villages on Magdalena Bay. It's going many more places, as well. Sure, the drawers come loose and screws have to be replaced, but it
just keeps hanging in. We use it A LOT! And love it. Just enough storage space but not enough so you over pack. Not top heavy. Yet when we stop
for the night in just moments we have a house complete with kitchen, living room and bedroom, all in the bed of our pickup.
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Barry A.
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Bob & Jane-----
What is the frame of the NORTHSTAR pop-up camper that you have, made of? Do you know?
Sounds like it is a great camper.
I have totally destroyed two different wood-framed campers on the Baja roads----simply fell apart---unrepairable. My CALLEN steel-framed camper is
now 26 years old, and still rocking.
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Neal Johns
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Hi folks,
The picture of my "being worked on" camper posted by David K. above, was taken in Baja while we were wiring a separated ball joint back together with
a steel dog leash! I had hit a center road separator in Las Vegas at night a few months earlier which was the probable cause. My sat phone brought two
friends from the USA with a new one.
Pop-tops are a little more top heavy than a shell. My personal limit for my Tacoma with two inch lift is 30 degrees of side tilt (with a high pucker
factor). This 30 degrees is also the most tilt I have seen on a two track road, quad tracks excepted.
Glad to hear Northstar campers http://northstarcampers.com/popup.asp hold up as a friend has one and I like it. The construction is wood frame. I suggest anyone buying a wood
frame camper (pop-top or otherwise) buy some two inch angle aluminum and reinforce all 90 degree joints if they drive like a madman over the top of
Baja washboard (Mrs. Johns little boy, for example :lol
My pop top camper is a Phoenix Coyote http://www.phoenixcampers.com/coyote.html . It is 3/4 inch plywood single wall construction with no insulation. The outer skin is Filon, a smooth
fiberglass reinforced nylon that stands up under tree branch scrapes very well. Filon is an option on several campers, including the Northstar.
Many Baja four wheel drivers have aluminum frame pop tops made by Four Wheel Campers http://www.fourwheelcampers.com/ . It holds together very well. Some storage space and mattress thickness is given up along with the front and
rear windows.
[Edited on 3-3-2006 by Neal Johns]
My motto:
Never let a Dragon pass by without pulling its tail!
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Barry A.
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Neil------
I am impressed!!!! and you have taken your camper over the "Pole Line" road, also, I believe. Amazing!!!!
They must be making the wood-framed campers better these days than they used to, or I was just unlucky. And I certainly do not drive like a maniac,
like you do. 
Good info-------thanks. barry
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jimgrms
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For any one interested, i found a site for roof top campers ,that looks very good . i found a dealer here in denver,and am going to see one today
they will work or car,s trucks and suv any thinh from a vw to a hummer, ,
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jimgrms
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oop's forgot the address
wwwloftyshelters.com
wwwcar-top-tent.com
www.autohomeus.com
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Neal Johns
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Roof-top tents still have the main disadvantage of wind noise. Wind noise drove me to putting a plywood board in my FJ-40 from the passenger side dash
to the rear floor of the vehicle. All you had to do was fine a ditch or hill to get the nose down so the bed would be level.
Then I discovered gurlzs and got a pick-up with a shell. You could not sit up, but, hey, who cares if you have a girl.
Then, I got a WIFE who used to sleep crossways in a CJ-5. --- And she told me we needed a Pop-Top camper. --- And now I am old and can't go back!
My motto:
Never let a Dragon pass by without pulling its tail!
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Capt. George
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Bronco Palomino by Vanguard Industries. Have a buddy of mine here in Ojos. Been using it past 7 yrs...all over Baja...Says he would buy another in a
minute "if and when this one goes"...
capt g
\"The penalty good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men\" Plato
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