Campone Unilift Combo Camper Shell Review Thread

[JTdiRtyD]

I decided to start a new thread for my initial impressions and review of the Campone Unilift Combo camper shell. I didn't want new readers to get lost in the first few pages of the original post before getting to the good stuff. You can read through the original conversation about it here;
https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/...y-tent-anyone-seen-this-design-before.108202/

I had been looking for a RTT solution that would allow me to fit in a 7ft height garage door without sacrificing all of my bed storage space. I stumbled upon this camper shell on bookface, couldn't find any information on it or any other brands with the design, so I reached out to the guy, Rosen, who posted it. He stated he was starting a business selling them, that the website would be up shortly, and that he had a shipment of them on the way. Once the shipment arrived I spoke with Rosen on the phone and a couple days later I had one on the way.

As I state in the video, I haven't actually camped in it yet. I have a trip coming in a couple weeks where I'll be spending 10 nights in it while in the Bighorn Mountains, and I'll give a good review of it after that as well.

I'm not good at this whole Youtubes thing.

Things I like:
- All aluminum and welded main construction, not bolted together together like some of the other aluminum caps out there.
- Locking latches with weather covers. Comes with different seals if you dont want to use the covers.
- Integrated lift points that can be used for attaching other items
- Exterior channels for mounting lights, tie down points, etc. (similar to extruded aluminum channels)
- Ladder steps are wide and angled so they are flat when the ladder is in place. Much easier on the feet, especially if wearing camp shoes/slippers
- Tent is very easy to deploy and stow. Fabric doesn't get hung up on the corners of the floor like my Topoak does, and it tucks away much easier when closing up.
- Large side windows
- Hard plexiglass stargazer window instead of the clear plastic film glued into the rain fly of other tents. Shouldn't get foggy or yellow, can actually see through it.
- Diesel heater ports have zippable screens to keep bugs from getting through
- Sectioned passthrough tent floor
- Zipper around the main entrance awning, so possibility of annex or attachable awnings in the future (maybe my Topoak awning will fit it?)

Things I had/have to fix:
- Rear door latch covers need to be flipped. Easy to do, and I spoke with Rosen and he has already talked with the manufacturer to do this during assembly.
- Bolts/studs for mounting to your trucks accessory rail are too short. I was able to make them work by not using the washers, but the studs need to be about 1/4in longer. I spoke with Rosen about this, and I'll be making some new ones and sending him the specs and he will pass onto the manufacturer.
- No full length hinge on the doors, so water will leak/run through the gap when doors are open. This is the case with most aluminum caps on the market that I've seen, so it's not just a bad design on Campones part. Should be easily mitigated, I cover this in the video.

Things to keep in mind:
- No way to mount an awning. Not a huge deal for me since I seldom use them anyways. Looking at a Moonshade for the few times I do need one.
- Ladder can not be left attached to tent when closed and must be stored separately.
- No anti-condensation pad included. Might not be much of an issue being it's a passthrough floor.

Things I haven't determined yet:
- Can bedding be left in tent when closed? I'm not thinking so, the roof shape leaves a lot of room in the middle, but since it tapers down on the edges I think thats where the floor will get hung up. (floor piece that folds outwards needs room to be pushed up a little when folded in, I think the edges of the roof will want to push it back down too much)
- Will my Topoak entrance awning zip to the entrance of this tent? If so, it's a good and cheap alternative to a vehicle mounted awning, although not freestanding.

Price is $5,980, which as I state in the video, I feel this is a great price. Once Rosen gets the website up and running I'll link it here. In the meantime, if you're interested in one of these camper shells, you can contact Rosen by cell or on Facebook. If you want his number please PM me, I don't want to put it in plain text for any nefarious types to scan.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Ccewool

Any questions about it just post em up and I'll answer as best I can.

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[JTdiRtyD]

Couple small updates:

Mattress size is 83x50.

I found one potential water intrusion spot behind the brake light on the back. Theres no seal on the backside of the light, but there are a couple cutouts on the top and bottom side of the light housing. When inside the cap I can see light through the hole where the wiring goes through to the light. Super easy to just remove the light and put some silicone behind it.

Rubber strips to try and stop water from getting past the door hinge gap should be arriving today. I'll post up how that goes.

 

[ChrisNLA]

That's really neat. I think I would still prefer a wedge style camper (GFC or equivelant) as I would want to leave bedding material in place - but this looks super cool for folks like you with a height restriction or just want a more streamlined package.

 

[JTdiRtyD]

8 nights spent in the tent and I have a few things to mention, but overall it went great and I'm really happy with the purchase.

Pros:
- Very fast to set up and take down. Much faster and easier than my previous Topoak tent, and almost as fast as my buddies wedge style tent.
- Plenty of interior room.
- Mattress, while not as comfortable as my self inflating memory foam mattress, was still plenty comfortable and I was not tossing and turning (and I have a bad back and neck).
- Zippered heater ports are awesome.
- No leaks, minimal dust intrusion, mainly through the rear door.
- MOORFlate 10SIX PSI Pro compressor will fit in the side cubby if you remove the base plate! So this will be getting mounted and air lines plumbed.

Things to mention:
- Zippers are noisy. Need to wrap or replace the pulls with paracord so they don't clink together all night.
- Blackout fabric is great, but the window on the lid still lets some light through even with the cover over it.
- The lower edge of the tent material where it attaches to the hard shell isn't continuous in the corners, so you get a small gap at the corners (hard to explain, but will show in my next video review). I don't think this will be an issue, but I'm going to fill them in with some silicone.
- Same goes for the top op the tent material, the upper corners of the lid theres a small gap. It's in a place where its protected from rain by the lid, but you can see it. Again, will show in next video.
- Cold draft comes up between the lid and enclosure. Common for this type of design, but I think you feel it more with this one because of how the lid pivots. I just placed my hoodie over this area and was fine, going to see about making a strip of blanket or something for this.


Readdressing things from my initial post:

- No full length hinge on the doors, so water will leak/run through the gap when doors are open. This is the case with most aluminum caps on the market that I've seen, so it's not just a bad design on Campones part. Should be easily mitigated, I cover this in the video.

I tried some 2in wide, 1/16th thick rubber strips running the length of the door to stop water from dripping through the hinge gap. While this idea will work, my first attempt did not. The rubber cracked after a couple days, so I need to find a better material. I also found the rear door fits tighter than the side doors, so even the 1/16th thick rubber was too thick for the rear door. I've got some more ideas on this to try.

- No way to mount an awning. Not a huge deal for me since I seldom use them anyways. Looking at a Moonshade for the few times I do need one.

I have an idea to make brackets to allow for mounting an awning to the lid of the tent. I did similar on my Topoak and it worked well. I don't think you'll want to mount a large awning, but something like the OVS 270 LTE should be fine. I'm going to try this, however, being that this is a pass-through design my main focus is going to be designing the bed of the truck to allow me to utilize the pass-through during inclement weather instead of needing an awning.

- Can bedding be left in tent when closed? I'm not thinking so, the roof shape leaves a lot of room in the middle, but since it tapers down on the edges I think thats where the floor will get hung up. (floor piece that folds outwards needs room to be pushed up a little when folded in, I think the edges of the roof will want to push it back down too much)
- Will my Topoak entrance awning zip to the entrance of this tent? If so, it's a good and cheap alternative to a vehicle mounted awning, although not freestanding.

No and no.

I was able to leave my sheets and a light blanket in the tent, but my pillow and thicker blanket had to be removed.

Topoak awning would not zip to the Campone tent. The Topoak zipper pull is on the tent side, whereas the Campone does not have the pull on the tent.

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