REI Roof Top Tent (RTT) on Prinsu Designs Rack (2 Viewers)

[CanadianRockyCruiser]

Good question. The benefit is simple versatility. This idea was born from a run last May where our camp site was full of foot tall grasses, lots of ants and sparse trees that made it tricky to get two hammocks close together. That night we used the hammocks and my daughter used her tent because it was new and there was no way she wasn't going to use it. There is something to be said seeing your surroundings from 6 feet up that gives you a new perspective on the camping experience.

That's where I began thinking about a true RTT as 3-4 others had but after doing the math; money and weight, it just wasn't in the cards. I had to rig up a way to get it off and onto the truck, find a place to store it and the rig to mount it and I simply don't have that kind of room in the garage.

This took some work to design and build but my tent still works on the ground or I can plop it up on the truck. I always have a smooth flat surface and no stumps, pinecones, holes, water or rocks to deal with. I don't need any more real estate than what my truck takes up if the site is cramped. A huge benefit is that my tent stays so much cleaner. It's also a good ice breaker and I meet many curious people who never asked about my tent on the ground. There's little benefit to not doing it as the platform is out of the way and I don't even see it on a daily basis. The best reason is that it was a fun project to do.

A couple of guys at work are looking into Long Range Rifle shooting and we agreed this would make a heck of a platform for that as well.

I've used my frontrunner for long range shooting before... That makes sense for me!

 

[jdayment]

Ah, that may be the problem. The Acrylic Latex was supposed to be an all in one primer and color. I hate painting wood anyway which is why was initially leaning towards cutting board material but it was too expensive to get the size I needed, had to use 2x 4x8 sheets to get 44x40 measurements per panel. For the weight and expense, anodized aluminum is where I'm headed next.

A paint in primer in one doesnt actually seal a substrate it only is a high enough quality of paint that you would not need to prime to change colors it is a marketing term made by the coatings industry to sell higher qualities of paint to the DIY customer. For your setup I would buy a good bonding primer with a high quality exterior paint to hold up to the sun and rain. I used to be a Territory Manager for Valspar paints thats the only reason I know all of this just want to make sure you are able to enjoy this for a long time I thought about doing something similar in the past.

 

[chap79]

This is a great idea thinking outside the normal box and utilizing what you already have. Kudos Sir. When the time comes that I am forced to no longer sleep in the back on my rig (purchase a frig/build a drawer setup) I may borrow the idea.

 

[Dissent]

Thanks for the heads up on the paint. I did begin with this approach but with my proof of concept method and the time constraint, I didn't want to put the time/money into it. If I rebuild with wood, I'll go with higher quality marine grade plywood and your finishing recommendations. I'd also go with a hardwood edge band on the plywood to seal the edge. Routing and sealing the plywood was not a great experience. The plus side is I did learn a lot about how to build and edge finish plywood so that's a plus!

 

[jcardona1]

Forgive me for asking the obvious (an this is not intended to rain on your parade), but why not just set up the tent on the ground? What is the benefit of having a tent that has to be setup on the ground, and then put on the roof and climbed into?

Because it's the fashionable thing to do these days. Then you can start using all the cool kid hashtags #rtt #expo #overland #overlander #explore #wanderlust #neverstopexploring #expedition #yolo #mountainife #letsgoplaces #travelingtreehouse #getoutside #offthegrid

 

[Dissent]

#istilldontknowhowhastagswork

 

[romey]

awsome write up and pics dude! and congrats! this idea's been thrown around many times but this set up/build has got to be the best one. i pretty much had the same plan with my 2 person north face tent but the foot print is an odd shape so the hinges would be a little weird. anyway, ended up with a great deal on your standards fold out RTT and it's been great still.

what i really like about this idea is that you can quickly detach the tent and move it to the ground if you needed to boogie out with the truck for some reason. it's more of a hassle if' it's the standard fold out tent and having to redo it again, imho. all the times i've camped with the RTT it's basically staying put till we're done and ready to leave (which everyone knows is one of the drawbacks of that style of RTT vs say a quicker pop up clamshell/hardshell RTT).

another thing is that it's versatile and it allows you to store stuff on the roof (unlike an RTT that's bolted down and needs help to be taken down).

anyway, good on you for saving a lot of money and getting great use out of a great idea! version 2 is gonna be cool to see!
cheers.

 

[DocuDude]

Great write-up.
Thanks for sharing!

Are you crazy? This is 80 tech! You NEED cup holders. You NEED a snorkel. You NEED 37's and you NEED A RTT no matter what! The ground will NOT do.

Uhhh, the 80 definitely NEEDS more Cup Holders.

 

[Dissent]

Thanks! Oh, I've got the cup holders covered...in spades. The rear ones double as holders for the fan laying under the passenger seat to keep the kids from completely melting. Nalgene bottles are amazing resources.

 

[Dissent]

You've all got to remember that I have far more free time than free money. Idle hands....

 

[bajaphile]

I think you have a drinking problem!

 

[Dissent]

Its a family problem.

 

[Dissent]

Another huge benefit to this platform approach is that the rear of my truck is 25-30 degrees cooler than the front. A black truck soaks up the Phoenix sun and that extra shade on the rear has made a noticeable difference on the roof and inside the truck. I can lay my hand on the shaded roof, can barely touch the front in 115 degrees!

 

[dman93]

Very interesting! I have an REI HalfDome I use for solo camping (not really big enough for me and my wife) and now that I have a Tacoma DCSB with canopy, there really isn't room to sleep in the bed. I've been thinking of setting the tent on the roof just to see how it fit, then voila, I stumble across your post. Maybe tomorrow ...

 

[SupraTuRD]

Very cool. I ordered a swag tent from australia to do something similar on the Prinsu rack (mine should be here in a few weeks). I noticed that the rearmost crossbar on your Prinsu rack isn't all the way back. If you were to attach the crossbar as far back as possible, what is the length of the rack?

 

[Dissent]

The measurements are with the rearmost crossbar in mounted vertically. I only had it out for mockup early on. The later photos of the rear closed up include the crossbar.

 

[Hornd]

How does the tent holdup during freeway runs?
Have you had any sticks on trails poke thru?

 

[Dissent]

LOL, The kids didn't complain on the freeway (couldn't hear them anyway) and they love the view from the top during trail runs.

 

[DannyL]

Why can't I see the friggin pictures???? I get the mighty red X!

 

[jvazquez53]

I've come up with a highly functional roof top tent solution that fits my budget and my garage. I've mentioned to a few folks who wanted to see what all the hubub was about so here it is.

Why Do This?
My kids go out with me most every time now and sleeping in the truck and Hennessey hammocks has been working out well but lately we've been doing overnights without trees so that makes for a cramped truck and tents. I've looked at Tepui roof top tents but my budget and garage clearance (or garage storage for the tent when off the truck) is tight. I needed a better solution that would be as beneficial but not have any of the negatives (massive consumption of roof rack, high center of gravity, wind drag, off camber tipping, cost, storage, etc.) of a real RTT.

How Much?

I figure the total cost of the tent setup without the rack is about $450. Keep in mind, the beauty of this solution is it's portability and flexibility. Any RTT solution will need a rack so I figure that's an assumed expense.

I had an REI Half Dome tent which is a standard 2 person tent measuring 88x52 inches (these are the floor dimensions which is critical to note) that I've used for camping with Boy Scouts. I think I paid about $250 for it new.

I bought plywood, paint, hinges, a ladder, etc. for about $200

I have a Prinsu Designs flat roof rack that I paid about $1100 for when all was said and done. Awesome rack by the way, highly recommend one! The rack footprint across the load bar rails is 80x51 inches. There is about a 3/16 inch lip along each rail.

The Process
I had the tent out for some reason and decided it would fit on the top of my truck so I tossed it up there and it seemed like a good idea to keep going with it. I had a couple of warped sheets of 19/32 inch plywood cut to use as the base (it's all Home Depot had and I was in a rush for an upcoming run) which I laid up on the rack and moved around for a few hours to get the tent settled before I painted them, installed hinges and bolted them down.

Nothing was working and the tent was very floppy and messy.

I hadn't considered that the tent poles were protruding another 5" beyond the tent floor.

After a couple of more hours, I clamped a crescent wrench to the wood at a 45 degree angle on each corner and used the hole in the handle to wedge the mushroom shaped tent pole tip.

Eureka! This was the solution that I had been looking for! I clamped on 3 more wrenches and the tent came to life. It was taught, secure as heck and due to the mushroom shape, the poles wouldn't pull out of the wrenches.

I picked up some beefy 10" straps from Home Depot. They are about 1" wide and have a series of 1/4" holes staggered along them. These attach to the platform with a couple of thumb screws on each corner secured into "t-nuts" inserted in the plywood. When the brackets are screwed to the platform they are rock solid.

The platform fits the tent floor perfectly and the bathtub shape of the tent floor sweeps upward just as the edge wants to lay on the 3/16" lip of the rails. My daughter and I slept up there with a couple of Big Agnes air mattresses and the floor was perfectly flat and we fit very well.

I drilled holes and mounted "t-nuts" to reach up through the sun roof to secure the front of the platform to brackets on my crossbars but after deploying it, the platform is pretty heavy and the tent shape actually exerts pressure downward so it forces the wood down and negates me having to secure the front half of the folding platform. In extreme winds it may need to be secured but I doubt it.

Entry and exit is done using a Tepui tents telescoping ladder. This is the same type of telescoping ladder you can buy at Home Depot but it has the bolt on connection brackets at the top. I use a 1/4" clevis pin on one side and a TSA approved padlock on the other to keep honest people honest. The ladder is pinned to Tepui brackets that bolt on the Prinsu rack and live up there permanently. No holes had to be drilled thanks to the expansive slots on the rack. The ladder does block my rear driver's door but in a pinch I can remove it or just lift it up and hold it while the door is opened then it can be lowered. Not a big deal yet. The ladder leads perfectly to the large side entrance (there's an mirrored large entrance on each side) of the tent so the ladder could go on either side. One other great advantage of having a removable ladder is I can finally climb up those big trees to get the huge pinecones!

Securing the tent was the most challenging in my mind but once I found the bracket trick, it's so much more solid than I had imagined. By inserting the tent pole into the bracket straight then letting it angle naturally to maintain the tent shape, it locks the mushroom tip in and will not come out unless brought straight up once more. It's easy to bend the flexible pole to insert each corner. I learned to be mindful of the wind and always secure the upwind side first to prevent the tent from blowing over and bending the tips. Once secured, I then pull the stake loop around the tip of the 10" bracket and secure with a carabiner. This adds some peace of mind should a tip break off or something, the tent is securely fastened to the truck.

The platform measures 88x51 inches. Each panel is 44x51 inches. I have a nickel plated 4" piano hinge from Home Depot securing the two pieces. I painted the piano hinge black to match.

The platform is painted with Acrylic Latex gloss paint which should weather the best. The underside is black and the sleeping surface is all white. When closed, the exposed surface is white. All white surfaces have a 2" black border to keep it invisible against the black Prinsu rack. I figure the white would be a better option to reflect the desert sun and heat. The black is to match the black truck.

Referencing the black panel pic below, the far left white holes by themselves are meant for the 2x rear pins to secure the 2 panels when stowed. The grouping of 3x angled holes at the upper and lower left corners are meant for the corner braces; 2x angled holes for deployment and a third which was meant to swing them in and secure with the thumb screws for stowage but they hit the rear cross bar and I was afraid they would rattle loose and I'd lose the screws. The additional white holes on the black panel inboard and on the right side are to secure the panel to the Prinsu cross bars.

This leaves me with a 4'x4' white background just begging for some sort of graphic that can only be seen from high rise buildings...TEQ logo, Punisher (my son), My Little Pony (my daughter).

The black screws below are plugs to keep water out, the corner is for the brackets, the top ones are to secure the panel to the front cross bars when deployed if needed. The pins are the silver bolt/washer on the bottom.

The clevis pins that hold the two platforms shut stow nicely in the 1/4" holes in my quick fists and keeps them from getting misplaced.

The platform is bolted up through my Prinsu load bars into "t-nuts" that are sealed on the tent side, none of the bolts protrude through the "t-nuts" as I cut them all to length. This caused a small issue with the front mounts when stowed so I just plugged the bracket holes with extra black screws and neoprene washers. I can easily remove the 8x end screws from both Prinsu cross bars and remove them along with the folding platform for service. I'll need to do this to get to my plugged OEM roof rack foot holes to run new wiring for solar, lights, etc.

The flat profile of the wood platform only sticks up about 1" above the Prinsu rails so it's extremely low profile and I can still load up the entire roof rack for the trail run which is a big disadvantage for the real RTT.

I've been asked why I went with a folding platform that that is because the Prinsu rack only measures 80" long and my tent needed 88" inches. The platform extends rearward about 4" but since I have McMaster Carr struts and an extra 1" of lift on my rear hatch, I had to position the platform about 1/4" forward of the hatch spoiler.

This put the front of the platform extending about 7" beyond my Prinsu spoiler which won't work while I'm driving. The folding platform also helps keep the tent side cleaner during a dusty trail run which I had an opportunity to try out as the maiden voyage.

Setup, Tear Down and Storage
Setup takes about 6-8 minutes by myself, about 1/2 that time with a helper:
First I assemble the REI Half Dome on the ground without the footprint. The footprint is VERY loose on this tent and makes it impossible to get it on the truck. (3-5 minutes depending on rain fly usage)
Next I unpin and unfold the platform. (30 seconds)
Then I unscrew my waterproofing screws and attach the sturdy 10" brackets (3 minutes)
Then I lift the tent by grabbing the poles at one end and lifting it up onto the rack (5 seconds)
Then I insert each tent pole tip into the bracket and attach the safety lanyard (20 seconds)
Finally I pin on the ladder and extend it to the ground (30 seconds)

Tearing it down is about the same, two people can fold the tent and fly like a blanket. I have to unpin the ladder and replace the thumb screws with my waterproofing screws (screws with neoprene gaskets) to keep water out of the "t-nut" sockets. I keep the tent in the truck gear in the rear and my 10" brackets live in my air down bag kit along with a tiny tacklebox for the thumb screws, carabiners, and extra clevis pins and screws in case I drop one and lose it. The ladder stows in the rear of the truck with it's clevis pin and padlock attached. The clevis pins that hold the two platforms shut stow nicely in the 1/4" holes in my quick fists and keeps them from getting misplaced.

What I Would do Differently Next Time
It's been 3 months since I build this and to this day the paint is still tacky causing the two plywood panels to stick to one another when stowed. You can push on it with a finger and it feels sort of dry-sticky. An easy fix is to keep parchment paper between them where they contact. I will probably rebuild with 1/8" or 3/16" anodized aluminum or at least better wood and paint one day but the platform is only used a few times each year so it's no big deal right now. I've read that sticky Acrylic Latex is normal but usually clears up after a couple of months. It could also be bad paint. Not sure why it's still tacky.

I'd put more time into better plywood. I figured this was more of a proof of concept so I didn't sweat the materials but that warped wood is causing some grief. When I wash the truck, water tends to sit in the warped lower panel. No biggie but it makes a water stain there when you open it back up. It also causes some contact points along the rear edge where they pin together.

Ultimately, I'd go with aluminum drilled with 1" holes or long slots that would lighten it up, drain better and still provide a solid floor for the tent. From my research, since the Prinsu supports are 12" apart, I could do with an anodized 1/8" or 3/16" aluminum for less or the same weight as the 19/32" plywood. Aluminum is more expensive so I want to find a better way to integrate flat hinges (welded or riveted), some sort of slide out channels to hold the 10" brackets and tie down points for hauling gear. The aluminum would only be about 3/8" thick at most folded and would get me that little extra clearance for 35" tires.

I want to setup a solar panel on the roof for daily driving, storage and camping. I've selected one that will fit perfectly between two rails on my Prinsu rack but when the platform is opened for camping, it will block the solar panels. This will be alleviated by buying a second panel that will be portable for camping. I figure the rack mounted solar will work around town to keep up with the slow charging city driving and auxiliary electric fan as well as when the truck is sitting outside a long time without being driven and then the portable will work for camp as I would probably be parked in the shade anyway so I'll use an extension and stick the panel in the sun. Easy fix.

I'd use stainless steel screws on the piano hinges too, I just noticed they are already rusting.

Thoughts?
Do you see any room for immediate improvement or something that would make this solution easier to manage?

Sorry but there are no pictures.