Alu-Cab Canopy Camper Roll Call

[DR.]

New guy checking in. A few weeks ago I bought a well equipped 2021 Rubicon AEV 370. I've added the hood mount hi-lift bracket and a Rotopax fender mount on the driver's side, although no Rotopax yet as I couldn't find a 3 gallon in stock.

It came with the ACCC and 270 awning, 3 of 4 Goose Gear cabinets in the bed, snorkel, and a Dickinson fireplace. I added the Alu-Cab awning walls kit that included the two extra legs, although we only put walls 3 and 4 up for this spot. We spent a week camping in the Kofa in southern AZ and in some BLM land for the American Adventurist Desert Rendezvous.

During the trip, I took notes on additional modifications we will make. These include the 4th GG cabinet for the rear and moving the fridge to a Goose Gear 40% seat delete. It was just a bit in the way in the bed. I also ordered the AEV HD springs. Although the standard springs performed better than I thought, on some technical stuff I was on the bump stops a bit too much. RSE slider steps have been ordered as well. These were always in the plan for ease of entry. A Blue Ridge Overland Gear attic and 67Designs rail mount should be here in a few days to finish out the interior. An Alu-Cab shower awning and some load bars will finish out the exterior.

This is the 7th vehicle I've built up and it gave me a nice head start equipped as it is. I'm coming from a 2022 Ram Power Wagon with an ACCC and Goose Gear interior. It is a great truck but some complications from knee replacement force me to get something a bit smaller. Prior to that we had an Alu-Cab RTT 3.1 on a 200 Series Land Cruiser and a 3.0 on a 4Runner.

Looking forward to seeing how this build goes and the adventures it will take us on.

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[Geared4adventure]

New guy checking in. A few weeks ago I bought a well equipped 2021 Rubicon AEV 370. I've added the hood mount hi-lift bracket and a Rotopax fender mount on the driver's side, although no Rotopax yet as I couldn't find a 3 gallon in stock.

It came with the ACCC and 270 awning, 3 of 4 Goose Gear cabinets in the bed, snorkel, and a Dickinson fireplace. I added the Alu-Cab awning walls kit that included the two extra legs, although we only put walls 3 and 4 up for this spot. We spent a week camping in the Kofa in southern AZ and in some BLM land for the American Adventurist Desert Rendezvous.

During the trip, I took notes on additional modifications we will make. These include the 4th GG cabinet for the rear and moving the fridge to a Goose Gear 40% seat delete. It was just a bit in the way in the bed. I also ordered the AEV HD springs. Although the standard springs performed better than I thought, on some technical stuff I was on the bump stops a bit too much. RSE slider steps have been ordered as well. These were always in the plan for ease of entry. A Blue Ridge Overland Gear attic and 67Designs rail mount should be here in a few days to finish out the interior. An Alu-Cab shower awning and some load bars will finish out the exterior.

This is the 7th vehicle I've built up and it gave me a nice head start equipped as it is. I'm coming from a 2022 Ram Power Wagon with an ACCC and Goose Gear interior. It is a great truck but some complications from knee replacement force me to get something a bit smaller. Prior to that we had an Alu-Cab RTT 3.1 on a 200 Series Land Cruiser and a 3.0 on a 4Runner.

Looking forward to seeing how this build goes and the adventures it will take us on.

Nice to see Tommy’s rig going to work right away. I loved this rig. I had down to upgrade the springs and also the cabinet in back / fridge. Along with a better mattress.

See you out there!

 

[mquetel]

New guy checking in. A few weeks ago I bought a well equipped 2021 Rubicon AEV 370. I've added the hood mount hi-lift bracket and a Rotopax fender mount on the driver's side, although no Rotopax yet as I couldn't find a 3 gallon in stock.

It came with the ACCC and 270 awning, 3 of 4 Goose Gear cabinets in the bed, snorkel, and a Dickinson fireplace. I added the Alu-Cab awning walls kit that included the two extra legs, although we only put walls 3 and 4 up for this spot. We spent a week camping in the Kofa in southern AZ and in some BLM land for the American Adventurist Desert Rendezvous.

During the trip, I took notes on additional modifications we will make. These include the 4th GG cabinet for the rear and moving the fridge to a Goose Gear 40% seat delete. It was just a bit in the way in the bed. I also ordered the AEV HD springs. Although the standard springs performed better than I thought, on some technical stuff I was on the bump stops a bit too much. RSE slider steps have been ordered as well. These were always in the plan for ease of entry. A Blue Ridge Overland Gear attic and 67Designs rail mount should be here in a few days to finish out the interior. An Alu-Cab shower awning and some load bars will finish out the exterior.

This is the 7th vehicle I've built up and it gave me a nice head start equipped as it is. I'm coming from a 2022 Ram Power Wagon with an ACCC and Goose Gear interior. It is a great truck but some complications from knee replacement force me to get something a bit smaller. Prior to that we had an Alu-Cab RTT 3.1 on a 200 Series Land Cruiser and a 3.0 on a 4Runner.

Looking forward to seeing how this build goes and the adventures it will take us on.

Nice rig! Curious about your thoughts on the awning room. Wondering about ease of setup/teardown, how stable is it when deployed and where do you store it when not in use? It looks like a cool option, but I’ve heard it’s a big thing to haul around.

 

[DR.]

Nice to see Tommy’s rig going to work right away. I loved this rig. I had down to upgrade the springs and also the cabinet in back / fridge. Along with a better mattress.

See you out there!

Tommy's a great guy, too bad he didn't end up getting to use this, but we're happy to! I did move my Hest mattress over from my previous ACCC. It was fantastic on this trip as well.

 

[DR.]

Nice rig! Curious about your thoughts on the awning room. Wondering about ease of setup/teardown, how stable is it when deployed and where do you store it when not in use? It looks like a cool option, but I’ve heard it’s a big thing to haul around.

I had it from my previous build but thankfully hadn't installed the legs yet. It was an easy job with a couple of bolts and some pop rivets. As for the room/walls themselves they're classic Alu-Cab, heavy, overbuilt, and perform flawlessly. The bag with the walls weighs 33 pounds. I store it behind the passenger seat where it meets up perfectly with the rear seat to make a simple platform for a dog bed.

We deployed the two walls fairly easily, although it was a bit time consuming. We planned on staying put for 5 days and have had some rain and wind come though in the past so we staked it down very well for no surprises. It didn't move at all. The lower portion of the walls have a section you tuck under and can add additional weight and have stake loops. On 37s with the mild lift the AEV 370 provides, we had to tie loops of 550 cord in order to stake it down. That took a but of time but we left them attached when we folded everything back up.

Using every loop, staking the legs and guy wires resulted in a ridiculous amount of stakes being used but ultimately we never worried once about wind. It provided a ton of shade and excellent wind protection. the zip down windows in the wall allowed for light and air when we wanted it. I wouldn't have bought it had my wife not insisted. We've spent more than a few days battling wind and rain in the past and only one rig had awning walls. They were a godsend that trip. It's ridiculously expensive but also completely bomb proof.

 

[cug]

We've spent more than a few days battling wind and rain in the past and only one rig had awning walls. They were a godsend that trip. It's ridiculously expensive but also completely bomb proof.

Nice rig, great that you got such a good headstart. That's worth a lot ...

I'm wondering how well it closes up towards the camper.

We have our awning on the other side and there is a pretty sizable gap between the camper and the awning. It would make an awning room much less useful than it could be ...

See here:

I'm wondering whether this is actually the correct bracket there ...

 

[DR.]

Nice rig, great that you got such a good headstart. That's worth a lot ...

I'm wondering how well it closes up towards the camper.

We have our awning on the other side and there is a pretty sizable gap between the camper and the awning. It would make an awning room much less useful than it could be ...

See here:

I'm wondering whether this is actually the correct bracket there ...

Mine might be mounted a tad closer but it looks like the same one. In my experience, the unzipped awning case fills that gap fairly well. You can buy a gutter for the rear section to cover that gap.

 

[cug]

Mine might be mounted a tad closer but it looks like the same one. In my experience, the unzipped awning case fills that gap fairly well. You can buy a gutter for the rear section to cover that gap.

Ah, thank you for the photo. That helps! Yeah, the awning back is helpful in this case. So far, we only used the awning only for sun protection. Maybe one day I'll get the awning walls, although they are a bit against our desire for this this: everything has to be very quick to set up and take down. But they might be useful at some point.

 

[mquetel]

I had it from my previous build but thankfully hadn't installed the legs yet. It was an easy job with a couple of bolts and some pop rivets. As for the room/walls themselves they're classic Alu-Cab, heavy, overbuilt, and perform flawlessly. The bag with the walls weighs 33 pounds. I store it behind the passenger seat where it meets up perfectly with the rear seat to make a simple platform for a dog bed.

We deployed the two walls fairly easily, although it was a bit time consuming. We planned on staying put for 5 days and have had some rain and wind come though in the past so we staked it down very well for no surprises. It didn't move at all. The lower portion of the walls have a section you tuck under and can add additional weight and have stake loops. On 37s with the mild lift the AEV 370 provides, we had to tie loops of 550 cord in order to stake it down. That took a but of time but we left them attached when we folded everything back up.

Using every loop, staking the legs and guy wires resulted in a ridiculous amount of stakes being used but ultimately we never worried once about wind. It provided a ton of shade and excellent wind protection. the zip down windows in the wall allowed for light and air when we wanted it. I wouldn't have bought it had my wife not insisted. We've spent more than a few days battling wind and rain in the past and only one rig had awning walls. They were a godsend that trip. It's ridiculously expensive but also completely bomb proof.

Thanks for all that detail, very informative. I’m sure having that is a game changer when you are base camping and the weather goes south.

 

[caryt]

I got the camper installed doing by myself wasn't to hard but I do have a lift and my wife helped lowering the lift the last few inches while I lined all up.

Doesn't sit to bad with the Synergy 3.5" rear's but to soft and the Fox's are not up to the best ride quality on or off the street.

Test drive..went well but will be better as parts arrive.
Ordered Clayton 3.5" HD springs and once I get them installed..next Tuesday I can start with the rest of the build. Once done I'll get the ADS 3 tube bypass shocks, air bumps , custom fabbed rear sway bar all installed and tuned by Phil Licciardi

Need some outside lighting and get the alt wiring ran into the canopy then can install the Redvision Manager 30 system. I installed 2ea 200w Redarc panels and got a Li Time 230ah battery. 3000w Redarc inverter will handle any potential 115v needs.

Need to plan out what to do with the interior..have a full set of Goose gear cabinets but since they are for a Toyota I'll need to mod unless I can find a buyer for them.

Reading and looking at every build I can find for ideas..

 

[cug]

Need to plan out what to do with the interior..have a full set of Goose gear cabinets but since they are for a Toyota I'll need to mod unless I can find a buyer for them.

You mentioned that they are too high – how much is the difference? I have no idea how Goose Gear cabinets are built exactly, but from what I know they use an extrusion system with wood panels bolted on. So the boxes over the wheel wells should be easy to trim IF they fit with the wheel well dimensions.

The main problem is probably with drawer boxes IF they use the actual full available height for the drawers. If they have a standard set of drawers, which is used in all similar sized trucks, it should be reasonably straightforward to also trim the drawer modules. If they use bigger drawers in the Tacoma than the Gladiator, then it'll be more involved.

Plus, there is always the question whether you want the Goose Gear furniture to fit. We thought long and hard about it and but decided it just doesn't do what we want/need it to do.

 

[caryt]

I would prefer to sell as I just don't require all the storage they provide. Then just get a few of their pieces.
I've looked at the parts and can mod them to fit. The height will be fine.

I have a Goose Gear complete rear seat delete system so I can pack the cab with a lot of stuff, plus better weight distribution.

 

[Redruby]

Got a question, how is everyone doing with insurance for the ACCC? My insurance is more for the camper than the Gladiator!

 

[caryt]

I do stated value on my MH so I'll do the same..its always cheaper.

 

[cug]

I would prefer to sell as I just don't require all the storage they provide. Then just get a few of their pieces.

It makes sense to keep as much as possible and make it work – just from a cost perspective. On the other hand, it depends on how you value your time.

I have a Goose Gear complete rear seat delete system so I can pack the cab with a lot of stuff, plus better weight distribution.

Makes a lot of sense. We put a lot of our stuff on the rear seat delete platform as well, our fridge is there, tools, heavy food items (cans, etc.). Also stuff we don't want in the camper with us when camping in bear country when there are no bear boxes available.

There's a lot that can be done and no two persons requirements/wishes are the same. I've looked at many, many builds and ideas, and started out thinking one way, then went another ... We believe we've been building something that REALLY satisfies our own wishes really well. That's something no ready made "off the shelf" furniture can do.

Wishing you best of luck finding the right solution for you!

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