To Camper or not to camper?

TrailJustin · 2026-02-12T23:10:55+00:00

I have been experimenting with a lot of 3D printed parts recently seeing how they compare to the injection molded counter parts in the field and I do think this is where the future is going. Here are some of the pros and cons I see. Pro - Advance Manufacturing Techniques and Material Pro - Parts on Demand Locally Con - Entry Level Manufactures using wrong material or parts Pro - Easier to enter the space and be competitive Con - Early adopters now may be judging to harshly Lets break these down. Pro - Advance Manufacturing Techniques and Material I started noticing this with my Perry Parts 3D-printed bump stops. They’re able to design internal air channels and venting systems directly into the bump stop base to help tune compression and rebound performance. Trying to create air channels of this size using traditional injection molding would be extremely difficult. It would likely require multiple molds or complex tooling, which would make the process very expensive. Pro - Parts on Demand Locally I believe that in the future there will be local print shops with collections of industrial printers. Manufacturers will be able to send print files to a shop near you, and the part will be printed on demand. Once it’s finished, you could simply pick it up locally. This would reduce costs associated with large-scale manufacturing, shipping, and storage. Con - Entry Level Manufactures using wrong material or parts I’ve seen this come up a lot on Facebook pages and forums where someone’s 3D-printed part they bought off eBay or Etsy starts to warp or fail. Most of the time, this happens because the part was printed using the wrong material for the heat or environment it’s exposed to. That’s why it’s important to research your manufacturer. Companies like Perry Parts have recently invested heavily in more enterprise-grade printers that can print high-temperature, high-strength polymers designed to survive these kinds of conditions. Not all 3D printing is the same. The material choice and printer capability matter just as much as the design itself. Pro - Easier to enter the space and be competitive There’s no doubt that competition between manufacturers is a good thing. It pushes companies to be better than one another and to come up with the next great idea. As consumers, we benefit from that competition by getting better, more affordable products. A perfect example is the smartphone. In the early years, manufacturers were constantly competing to offer the next best feature to get you to switch to their brand. That competition is what drove rapid innovation. Now, take that same concept and apply it to 3D printing. This technology allows smaller manufacturers to break into spaces that were traditionally dominated by big companies with deep pockets. Smaller shops can design and produce products in-house with just a printer and a computer, and sometimes create something even better than what’s currently on the market. That forces the larger companies to either innovate or adjust their pricing to stay competitive. Con - Early adopters now may be judging to harshly I see this time and time again, but the consumer base these days is honestly just entitled. People want their products to be cheap, fast, and perfect. That’s simply not how the world works. Then they jump on social media and call out a company that’s just trying to enter the space and compete with brands that have millions of dollars behind them. In this ever-changing market, a lot of people adopting 3D-printed parts don’t fully understand the technology or the manufacturing process, and they end up being overly critical of the product. I’ve even heard someone say, “I don’t like the lines on the product.” Well… design your own printer that doesn’t produce layer lines. If the product performs and the only thing you don’t like is the surface lines, your life might be going pretty well if that’s the biggest issue you have to complain about.

TrailJustin

Member

Jan 5, 2026

I came from the Tacoma world, and my last build was solid. Long story short, I got tired of it, needed more room for kids, and to be honest, my truck did camping and adventuring really well but that was about it.

Now here we are with a Tundra, and I’m asking myself: camper or no camper? My wife and I used to spend about one weekend a month camping before the baby, and we plan to continue once he’s older than six months. With that in mind, a camper on the Tundra would give us an even bigger and more comfortable sleeping area.

I originally sold the Tacoma because I anticipated life slowing down with a kid, and I was right. Having a truck that isn’t camper-only has been huge. From hauling stuff, to fishing, to hunting, and everything in between, I really missed having a usable truck bed.

But now that we’re here, I kind of miss being able to load up the truck and head out to places like Napa, CA for a weekend of camping. So is there a way to have my cake and eat it too?

I’ve thought about a trailer, but then I’d have to tow, and fitting into tight or small areas can be a challenge. I’d love a sealed slide-in camper, but something like a Scout or Four Wheel Camper is way outside the price range. That brings me back to the topper route.

If I go that direction, I’d definitely want to design a system that allows me to take it off and store it. But then that raises the question: will I ever actually take it off? With the rising cost of toppers, are they even worth it? Or is it better to wait for a good used deal on a Four Wheel Camper?

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