Jfet wrote:
Gary, we will be coming up there to Alaska in a few years in this camper, so make room! :)
I like the idea of curved sides...but that really makes my roof hard to build, plus all of the cabinets inside would be funky. Will just have to slow down when it is really gusty and deal with the possible hit in mpg.
Will just have to leave that cool feature to Avion and Airstream.
Not to disagree with the suggestion of curved sides.....I like that idea not so much for the wind resistence or fuel mileage, but for clearance issues. Trees branches (and even curved tunnel roofs) are higher in the middle of the road than on the edges. You guys get to thank the delivery trucks (and me?!?!) for automatically trimming the trees by hitting them with the trailers and cargo boxes. But also street signs can hang out over the road at the edge....and the worst thing is crowned roads in some towns where the outter-most lane is tilted enough that the upper edge of my camper can end up over the curb. I drive in the left lane in those cities as much as possible. Same idea off road, if the road is tilted, and the trees are vertical it is much more likely to hit branches or even trunks.
So having said that, Jfet - I wouldn't expect you will have much problem with sidewinds & semis blowing by the other way and that sort of thing. I can be driving at 70MPH one way on a two lane road and have a semi come the other way at 70......when we pass each other I HEAR the sound of the wind and only "feel" it in the rig the baremost bit. MOST of the time I literally can't tell that a semi went by from the handling of our truck. That is despite the fact that my rig is 12'8.5" tall at its highest. The difference is that it weighs about 19,000 pounds and 12K+ is in the chassis alone, down low. It handles wind WAY better than our old 3500# load in our old 2500 truck. Your rig will likely be similar, though your chassis is a whole lot lighter than mine.
I like the idea though and if I were designing something from scratch I would seriously think about an angled or curved top especially if it were smooth...branches and wires and that sort of thing would slip up and over much much more easily with a shape like that. It would help the off-road capability a lot I think. I would consider it, but might not build it that way. But with your 2WD truck and 20' bed it doesn't sound like you are planning on off-road too much so I honestly doubt it would be worth all the extra work and hassle to do.
PS: and thanks for the comment....we dig it too :)
