Rear Window in the Pop-top

The finished product with trim in place ready for summer.

Stapling the screen in place.

The rear "window" was designed to serve a number of critical needs for the trailer.

1. Bring in much needed natural light to prevent the need to use indoor lighting during the day, complementing the available light from the two windows.

2. Provide ventilation for hot days and cooking.

3. Allow for the outdoor camping feel with all the amenities of an indoor space, and keeping the trailer effectively free of bugs...a solution is needed for the door though as it is tough with 2 kids to keep it closed when camping!

4. Finally, offer structural support for the pop-top when deployed.

When the pop-top was first designed (below) it was intended to pop-up completely with four sides and no hinges. It would slide on industrial drawer slides and have 4 adjustable gas struts to lift. With this in mind, I designed the back "pocket" where the rear wall/window would tuck inside to be just big enough for the width of a window to move up and down.

Original pop-top design.

After a necessary redesign to the pop-top, due to complications lifting a heavy wood structure with minimal margin of error for flex, I transitioned to a version that attached at the fore end of the trailer via three industrial door hinges and only requires two gas struts near the aft end of the trailer. These struts are also a standard 125 pound version and cost about $40 each versus the adjustable version I had previously spec'd that would have cost at least $150 each and needed to be shipped from Europe...I could not find any produced or sold in the US.

Close up of the hinged rear window.

After the transition to the new design, the back wall came in and out of the "pocket" at an angle and no longer would allow a window to fit. Because of this, the rear window now has hinges and moves fore and aft as needed to lift and lower. In the future, I will be building a removable and insulated panel with a sliding window for the rainy and cold months of the year. For summer time, the large screened in window is quite nice! I am also conceptualizing a cover for the back that will button in place using sunbrella fabric, the same time used on exterior boat covers. This will act as a rain fly in wet weather, an insulated barrier during shoulder season adventures, and extra insulation when the removable and insulated panel is installed for winter camping. It will be a bit of work to make the seasonal transition, but allows us to have the best of all seasons.