atahoekid wrote:unless you are as talented as the fiberglasser of the goldbrand, (I'm not) the body would be easier in canvas. Maybe fiberglass epoxy on the pop up and canvas and glue for the rest of the body. BTW, epoxy and fiberglass are not inexpensive products and can be more difficult to source unless you're OK with buying on the internet and paying shipping or finding a marine supply and paying a small fortune for it.
Those are both concerns of mine as well. I rebuilt the entire back fender and gate of a Cherokee Chief when I was in high school, but that was over 30 years ago. I am sure my ability has slipped somewhat in the last 30 years. Would the drop cloths from Harbor Freight be stout enough, based on your experience? Occasionally they run them for $6 each, so the cost would definitely be less. A friend gave me some drawings for a bunkhouse type tent pop-up last night, so I may look into that as well. The biggest expense there would be getting someone to sew the tent portion.
But I personally think the idea of a pop up camper gets exponentially complicated the more corners you start popping up ... The models where one end of the roof lifts up making a standy' at one end, seem practical and easy to do ... Lifting the entire roof up is much more complicated , requiring a “mechanism” , unless you have a couple strong arms around to do the lifting . And then adding a tent structure to it like a regular commercial pop up , seems to stray far from the idea of a foamie' in general. 
Wonder if you could add a Foamie shell over where the tent is, using the original “box” ...? 