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View Full Version : Roof-top tent platform



Ted_Z
12-29-2008, 07:22 PM
After seeing the roof mounted pop-up tents over here
http://www.pangaea-expeditions.com/eeziawn/index.html and here
http://www.autohomeus.com/ I started thinking...

I have a nice REI tent that we love, but its just a plain tent that you set up on the ground. What's to stop you from making a roof platform and pitching a tent up there. I'm thinking a couple sheets of plywood, reinforced with some steel tube, add a hinge and a few tie down points (in leu of tent pegs) and you're set. Instant level surface.

Granted, its not an instant setup type system, but sure is cheaper and would get the job done.

Thoughts?

The draw back to the roof-tent is where do you put the dogs? :)

Cody
12-29-2008, 07:38 PM
you can pick up the previous generation of the roof top tent (http://www.car-top-tent.com/page.asp?id=3) for $200-400 new sometimes. When they updated the base material they ended up blowing a ton of them out at such a low price that many people bought them just because they were a good deal and decided to sell down the road.

I don't see why you douldn't create some sort of a platform. My only concern would be the support for the base. if you have load bars spread out pretty wide, then you would need a pretty heavy board to support the weight between them. Probably have to design a support pole of some sort that goes to the ground, similar to what the latter does for the traditional RTT's.

For just the reason you bring up, I don't have a dog. I love dogs and would love to have them, but there is no way I would be able to bring them on 1/2 of the trips I go on, and then I'd have to figure out a way to constantly keep track of them when on the trips that I do take them on. There is nothing more irritating to me than dogs running around on the trail with the owners not paying attention to where they are (like in front of a moving vehicle)

Ted_Z
12-29-2008, 07:55 PM
I was thinking of using the ladder as a support or diagonal braces to the rock rails and a free standing ladder.