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Heads up alert, Campster popup tops are not all made exactly the same way for every year so my dimension might very well not work at all for your Campster if you want to make cross braces for yours. Also I added a thick bulb seal to the bottom of my top which has a flange on it whereas other years of Campster do not have a flange on the edge. So it is highly unlikely that you can exactly copy what I have done using the dimensions I am stating. But at least my custom modification will give you an idea how to approach this project and put your own spin on it.
It is about time I showed the cross bracing I installed in the narrow ends of the canvas top this summer. My top had taken a decided lean to one side which bugged me a lot plus I plan to be full time on the road and want to leave the top up even on windy days. The new cross braces are a real success, the top is now very stable and does not move side to side even in strong winds. Of course you absolutely do have to take the braces out, lower the top and clamp it down for travel.
Because I removed the thin metal trim and put some 3/4" thick wood trim around the inside edges of my popup top it was a pretty easy job to add cross bracing. I made my upper trim 1-1/2" wide and my lower trim is 2-38" wide. That allows my top to sit down flush but still have a gap between the wood frame for the canvas to come inside the interior when the top is lowered. My hold downs are not the original ones and they too are installed through and into those wood trim pieces. I showed those hold downs previously.
The cross brace pieces are 1/8" thick by 3/4" wide T 6061 aluminum bar stock. Not that difficult to find in hardware store sources. I wanted all four of the bars to be the same length. So first I had to figure out the center point of the upper edge and the lower edge then measure over the same distance to the sides, make a mark that would become the center of a drilled hole in the wood into which I would install an 8-24 threaded insert. Those are also easy to find in a hardware store but a little tricky to get them going into the wood in really straight unless you have a special tool for it which I did not bring along with me.
Next you make sure the top is fully extended and then you have to make sure that the centerline on the top and the bottom are in line with each other and side to side the top must be squared up true. Easier to do with two people or the assistance of some clamps and boards. It has to be squared up at 90 degress so that you can measure the diagonal length for the braces from the center of the hole on the top to the center of the hole on the bottom. That and a little extra length at the ends for edge margin around the holes gives you the overall length to make each of the 4 cross brace bars.
My 4 braces are 27-1/2" in length between the center point of the holes that secure them I don't know if all of the popup openings remained the same over the 3 years of production but that might be possible. I would hope it did but truly don't know that for sure.
You need to make your own measurements and not just use mine because of all the variations I have such as having installed that wood trim inside the opening.
My braces are secured into the threaded inserts using 8/24 socket cap machine screws. The hardware stores sell caps with knurled edges that you can push onto the socket cap machine screws. Those caps mean you don't need any tools to remove and reinstall the braces. If you have measured and drilled carefully all four braces will be interchangeable. If the socket cap screws are a little too long you can trim them shorter. I trimmed mine using a fiber reinforced cutoff wheel in my Dremel Motor.
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