Roof Top Tent Fairing Material? DIY

[harrydunn]

Slapped a Smittybilt Overlander XL on the '03 and am fabbing up a fairing to cut down on the wind noise. I've got the heavy duty brackets bent and mounted solidly but I'm still on the fence on what material to make the fairing out of. I suppose some 1/4" Plexiglas will do? 22 gauge sheet steel? I've considered even going with smooth sanded birch plywood as it will only be up there several times per year. If it gets wet, no big deal. Your suggestions?

 

[TXLX100]

I've made many out of Aluminum, it's pretty easy to work with and very durable. Metal Supermarkets has cut off what I needed before, as opposed to buying a whole sheet. I cut it with a jigsaw and then finish it lightly with a grinder.

 

[harrydunn]

Good deal. What gauge did you go with?

I've made many out of Aluminum, it's pretty easy to work with and very durable. Metal Supermarkets has cut off what I needed before, as opposed to buying a whole sheet. I cut it with a jigsaw and then finish it lightly with a grinder.

 

[TXLX100]

Good deal. What gauge did you go with?

1/8", it's rigid when bolted down. The ones I made went down to the roof and I trimmed the edge of the fairing with flexible edge molding.

 

[harrydunn]

That's what I'm looking to do. Run it down just above the roof line and edge it. Good deal. Thanks.

1/8", it's rigid when bolted down. The ones I made went down to the roof and I trimmed the edge of the fairing with flexible edge molding.

 

[harrydunn]

Mocked one up out of 1/4” birch. It’s HUGE currently but I wanted to start big and whittle it down. Nice and quiet at 70 mph. I may try to increase the angle 10-degrees.

 

[Ayune]

“Your Ad Here”. Heck, it could even pay for the RTT.

 

[harrydunn]

Ha. I’ll probably end up using this as a template for plexiglass or something a little sexier. Who knows though, I may just keep the birch plywood since the rooftop tent is only up there during dry conditions most of the year. I want to shrink it down to the smallest size possible while still getting maximum noise level benefits. It’s been a fun little project.

 

[bozncsurf]

Ha. I’ll probably end up using this as a template for plexiglass or something a little sexier. Who knows though, I may just keep the birch plywood since the rooftop tent is only up there during dry conditions most of the year. I want to shrink it down to the smallest size possible while still getting maximum noise level benefits. It’s been a fun little project.

It would be pretty cool if you could use a skinny camp side table as the fairing so when you got to your camp site it could be removed and set up for use.

Maybe not necessary but - Just a thought

 

[harrydunn]

I like it. That’s a neat idea. I’ve actually got two camping tables about the size of this fairing. I cut 4” off the height tonight. I’m going to leave it this size. Still nice and quiet up there.

 

[harrydunn]

 

[bozncsurf]

Looking good. I think the brackets are my favorite part!

 

[harrydunn]

Bent those by putting a 1.5” pipe around them in a vise. Took a few tweaks to get them both matching perfectly. Ha.

 

[harrydunn]

Day time pic. I guess we’ll see how the birch holds up in rain. Ha.