The roof is actually the least of the concerns, that material has Air pockets in it so it is very warm. My current solution is permanently installed for the winter, it folds with the tent. If I needed to take it out, it would take me about five minutes.
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[quote=“Dogandajeep, post:6, topic:25267, full:true”]
I feel like it’s a no brained but I’ll tap in and say yes I’ll be the Guinea pig as I’ve been camping in -20 and below in the GFC this year with no insulation.
The biggest issue I’m curious to see fixed is how to avoid frost buildup inside at these temperatures because the aluminum frame is taking any moisture and immediately freezing it.
Do you think it’s plausible to cover the bare aluminum with like the soft side of Velcro? Obviously in the warmer months to give the sticky side a chance. I don’t know if that would stay on but that’s my first thought.
Probably but then I’d lose the interior track (I don’t use it anyways) worth a shot over the summer
My mounting solution uses the track on the sides with studded fabric snaps to hang the blankets, could put fuzzy material on the inside of the top edge of the insulation kit to take care of the condensation. Currently I just have the top edge encased in webbing.
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If the aluminum rail icing up is that big of an issue could always just heat it with some 12v heat tape 
KEPOHK 12V Self-regulating Heating Cable Water Pipe Anti-Freeze Protection do Joint Selection 2 Meters do Joint Cable https://a.co/d/4aFrRk0
i am interested but depends on how much and how it works!
This would make my energy budget problem go from bad to worse. Heating all of the affected rails would probably cost 100W, which isn’t trivial. I like the thinking though.
Some vents to let moisture flow out better might be a less power hungry solution
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Given how popular this thread has been I think this would be a slam dunk if someone offered it. That said: @WrinkledPants - who it seems knows what he is talking about when it comes to textiles seems to have tried and failed to bring this product to market. Perhaps you have a better shot?
I think the issue you will run into, is if you use any sort of higher performance insulation, or construction techniques you’ll be priced out of the market either by limited scale or by per unit cost.
If you have it made overseas which is the only way to control the price, your minimums will be pretty high, if you go domestic because low unit runs are easier done in the states you’ll run into a price per piece issue.
Not saying don’t take a swing at it, but I am saying soft goods are hard to make money at. You might consider modifying Woobies to fit and selling a DIY install kit with some of @Rancho s snap track inserts.
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I’m willing to churn those out for anyone that needs them. Btw I’ve been thinking about doing the woobie insulation for over a year lol!!!
I’ve got a great connection in Northern Utah that I’m going to chat with about making these. They have a shop that does tons of overlanding gear just like this, low to mid volume, made in the US.
@Rancho have you prototyped anything for this? Looks like your hooks could work. The solution I’ve come up with is using the GFC tee nuts with 10-32 studded snaps. Then you can use male to female snaps in the blankets through some webbing to reinforce the edges. Best part is you could use the snaps to hang other things (lights?) whether or not the blankets are in.
I sewed a technical puffy jacket as a final project one semester in school, so I’m very familiar with how challenging these tech fabrics are to sew with insulation when you don’t have the right machines. It would probably be cheaper for an outfit with the right machinery to do this. Not to say it can’t be done, but it takes a ton of patience to sew a thin, sheer fabric with insulation between.
Anyway, I’m chatting with my contact this week to see if they could do something like this.
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I like those!!
here you go man, they are super easy and probably a lot cheaper than the aluminum. I already shipped these to a GFC owner from Ohio to test out. If you want a few for testing and checking I am more than willing to set you up with some for free. If you like it we can definitely work something out that can both save money for you and get you supplied if you go into production mode.
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Sweet. I like these!
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We can definitely work something out however you want. Basically it has a pilot hole so teh buttons screw into the material which I print 100% infill so it’s solid and the thread can grab nicely.
FYI Part of my gig is to help support other makers and builders of all sorts, not just what we’re doing with the campers and such. Mutual benefit is the goal.
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How are folks insulating their truck beds? Insulating the panels is easy enough but I’m curious how you’re insulating the bed itself
More Rumpl blankets and reflectix. You’re going to lose the side panels, but half the problem is the actual truck beds. I use the accessory points and some custom clips to hang them. NRS strap over the back door with carabiners holding the blankets up. Seal every. last. hole. with duct tape. I put a subfloor of 1.5" foam and 3/16" HDPE sheet on the floor to keep my feet warmer. Quilt on the floor. You’ll want to run your heater output tube across the floor and have the inlet placed on the opposite corner floor if possible. If your insulation is good enough, the heat will rise into your camper and you will be very happy.
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So I gave it a first attempt tonight and ran some insulation inside the truckbed ahead of the -30 to -40 below temps hitting fairbanks over the next 10 days. Heading out camping tomorrow with the folks from Alaska Overland to do some testing and figured I’d better do some prep for the trip.
The before:
A layer of reflective insulation along the entire truckbed floor
Outdoor felt carpet ontopnofnthe reflective insulation and then I ran as much of it along the panels and front wall as I could without disassembling the heater. I’ll redo the driver side over the summer if this makes an improvement.
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I’m calling success! -24 overnight and the truck bed stayed above freezing and the tent stayed above 50 degrees. There is froze buildup all along the aluminum track inside the tent but that’s par for the course for winters up here.
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Nice!!! that silver insulation is actually pretty efficient.
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