About

Fast forward several years after getting married and having 3 kids. I was working in IT, and life felt like I was just going through the motions.  I was making  decent money in IT,  but my heart wasn't in it.  I came across this quote from John Eldredge while reading his book, Wild at Heart "don't ask yourself what the world needs, ask yourself what makes you come alive, because what the world needs are men who have come alive".  Then, in 2015 my wife and I attended  a married conference at our church listening to a pastor named Ted Cunningham. He challenged us to camp more as a family, and I knew this was something our family needed.  My wife jumped on board with the idea and in 2016 we did our first cross country trip from Georgia to Oregon and back with our 3 young kids. My fiberglass cap set up didn't work as well as it used to, and we ended up buying a tent on that trip. I started researching RV's and realized my 1/2 ton truck wasn't going to support any of the truck campers on the market. Towing a trailer presented challenges as well, especially with all the bikes we like to bring. This started me down the path of trying to figure out a way to make the fiberglass cap bigger and better.  The idea came to me one day getting some exercise at lunch. A structural slide inside an outer shell that provides support from the bed of the truck so a cap can be bigger and taller. Through a church connection, I found a fantastic patent consultant by the name of Jay Rowland who informed me that he felt like my idea had a good chance of securing a patent. After being awarded my patent in Sept. 2022 I was hoping just to license my design and let the passive income flow in. I was warned that things don't always work out like that once you get a patent. Companies want to see proof that your idea can sell.  I had to build some of these and start selling them, so Jay connected me with an engineer who was well versed in the automotive industry by the name of Craig Harrison. Craig convinced me to look into CNC cut plywood over fiberglass to build my first prototypes. He assured me that plywood could be engineered just as strong and lightweight as fiberglass, and that properly sealed with a polyurethane could last a long time. Here I am 5 years later, we just completed an amazing summer camp adventure as a family of 8 in our 2 prototype truck campers.  We met so many people at all the campgrounds we visited just because of how unique our truck campers were,  and also because we are a big crew.  People were very curious to know where all these kids were sleeping with no tents on the ground and 8 bikes parked at our site. There are a few design and process tweaks that need to be made, but we are getting very close to having these ready to sell.  Since we are using CNC cut plywood, we are able to price these below anything else offered on the market. If you are DIYer like myself, you can  build one of these for the same price as a fiberglass cap. You will be getting so much more than any of the fiberglass caps offered on the market with Truck Camper Hybrid. Taller straighter walls that can support bigger emergency exit type windows.  The ability to go wider beyond the bed rails for east/west sleeping arrangements.  King or Queen size memory foam mattresses so that everyone can sleep as comfortably as home if not more.  Roof top fans that can run for days on cheaper portable power stations like EcoFlow/Jackery, and keep you from needing A/C even in summer camping up the East Coast like we did.  The structural framing of the shell can be screwed into supporting things like hanging bunk beds for the younger kids.  If you are a big family like ours, you can sleep up to 6 comfortably in one of these. Because our inner slide can push in, you will have full access to towing a trailer. Our small gear trailer can hold 6 bikes, paddle boards, extra tools, larger cooking stoves, pop up shelters, and even a roof top tent on a ladder rack for the older kids who want their own space.