Experience with Chinese Wedge Camper

I am just completing assembling a wedge camper for my Gen 3 short box Tacoma using components from China and thought I would share my experience.



I spent a total of $3520 US for the basic camper to be made to my specs (I made some minor changes to a design they had) plus a 270-degree awning which is not yet installed.

The combined cost of the camper and awning was $2520 US plus an extra $1000 US for shipping, customs, etc. including delivery to my home address in Vancouver, BC.

It took me around 2 weeks going back and forth by text to get everything agreed before I placed my order and paid a deposit. It took about a month to build the unit and a further 6-7 weeks before it showed up at my house.

The manufacturer was very responsive and before final payment showed me a video of the unit more or less fully assembled in their factory and showed all the important dimensions being checked. The maker is called: Qingdao Xinkuo Metal Products and I contacted them thru the Alibaba App to ask if I could buy a sample.

I ordered it in late November 2023 and it was delivered at the end of February 2024 a few weeks early. Because I only have a carport in which to work on it, I didn’t start assembly until recently when it became warmer and less rainy here in Vancouver.

It arrived as 3 large boxes, one for the lower half parts, one for the fully built top ‘wedge’ and one for the awning. Altogether it weighed about 350 lbs.

Assembling it was quite easy - it was broken down into 4 panels plus the wedge roof part and came with a booklet a bit like you get with Ikea furniture showing which screws and bolts to use, etc.

I have lost the photos of the assembly but I did it in about 5-6 hours spread over 2 days. I was quite impressed by the quality of the build and the aluminum, seals and stainless steel fasteners used.

To help with assembly I made a large wooden dolly measuring about 6’ x 5’ and added 4 cheap block and tackle units to my carport roof to allow the parts to be moved around and raised and lowered. Overrall the conditions for assembling it were quite primitive.

With the jumbo dolly and the four block and tackle units (shown in the photo) I was able to assemble and install it with very little extra assistance.





It came with 8 clamps to fix it to the truck but they did not fit well with the Tacoma so I bought some made just for the Tacoma on Amazon. I use 8 of them, having once had a canopy held on with only 4 start moving around when driving on I5 near Seattle.

In the past couple of weeks, I have been making some interior storage boxes/seats and a ladder to get up to the top. I have used pre-finished 5/8” plywood for the boxes. The setup allows inserts to put between the boxes to make a platform to allow a short person (like me) to sleep diagonally if they don’t want to go up top.


I have All left to do is fix on the awning and do a simple battery and electrical system inside (It came with LED lights in the top). I will also want to add some bug screens and fit some roof bars to mount a solar panel.

There was only one latch/clamp to hold the roof down so I added two more clamps to hold down the top as shown in one of the photos – they are not the greatest but after trying a lot of different ones from Amazon, I settled on the ones shown.


So far, I have not seen any leaks after I had plugged the infamous gaps where the front of the truck box and sides meet. That is despite it being outside in some pretty grim and wet weather here in Vancouver

Maybe I should have made one from scratch, but I don’t have all the expertise or tools to do that. I would never want to pay the $10,000+ that a brand name camper would cost here and so far, it seems quite good.

Altogether with the basic purchase plus the cost of plywood and other materials, dolly and other items, it now adds up to around $3800 US or so.

Overall, my experience in sourcing the camper from China has been pretty positive and has allowed me to complete the project at less than half the cost of buying a unit locally.

 

Creative and interesting!

Hoping your use of it brings many enjoyable adventures.

 

That’s a great setup! Keep updating as you finish your upgrades and start using it.

 

Looks so good.

 

I'm very impressed! Both with the unit itself AND your build of the interior! Is there a website for the camper company? The price seems really good.

 

Please post pictures of the tent insides. Looks amazing for the price you paid.

 

I have added the Chinese manufacturer's name to the posting (Qingdao Xinkuo Metal Products).

When I chose them from among several manufacturers on Alibaba I based it on a number of factors including price and overall responsiveness.

I will add some more photos of the tent part when I have got the lighting and other things sorted out.

 

That looks good.

 

That’s fantastic! I am looking at doing the same. After a few months using it, are you still happy with it? Cheers