Cheap RTT for those on a budget.

Haha thank you for checking!

 

How many people have bought one of these in the past week?

 

Brilliant idea! Great RTT substitute. Much cheaper than an RTT for those that will use it just a few times a year, which equals spending the remaining cash on other mods. Winning!

Sub'd

 

i added a few pics for the group here on my mods.....
When i did mine a few years back (before roof top tents can to America). I removed the legs and attached the frame to a piece of plywood with an aluminum channel as a stiffener.. It can get a bit chilly with the air gap under you compared to a tent- I would recommend a reflective foil bubble wrap under an air mattress for comfort (and no foam to absorb rain water). The tent cot has a thick neoprene mat on the bottom but I could still feel the bar on the underside when using the leg set up.
pics of the mods I did here..... (thin profile mode)
https://hightechcoonass.smugmug.com/Other/Roof-top-tents/





see link for detailed pictures of how I cut the backer board, attached the frame, etc.....There is a center bar. I think it could be removed as well as the hinges...as you can see from the pictures here all of the legs and parts bolt together so there is no risk with experimenting...

 

I decided to add a little extra support to my Thule bars. I cut some pieces from an extra bar I had and riveted it to the load bars with stainless L brackets. I also used some rubber feet meant for chair legs which I couldn't get from HD in other color than white. Maybe I will paint them black at some point.

 

Very cool idea!

 

So I finally had a chance to test my setup out on a trip I took the NH. We arrived in the pouring rain and cold which sucked for setup but thankfully the setup was fast. The tent stayed dry other than some small amounts of water that got in while setting it up. We stayed at a RV campground so we had electric which was awesome to use with a small electric heater in the tent. My impressions of the cheap RTT were really good! Although I will admit that probably the best setup is to have it on a trailer that you can leave behind while doing some wheeling. Taking it down and setting it up each day was not a huge deal but when you come back from a long day of driving off-road it would be nice not to have to set anything up. Of course this is assuming you are setting up a base camp that you would be coming back to each night. Anyways it worked very well for me and my uses and I wanted to make sure I passed on some real world experience with it. Hope it helps!

 

This is awesome, I will be doing this!

My wonder as an extra. Kamp-rite makes a kid tent cot. I wonder if I could somehow mount it on my OEM roof rack. My 4 year old weighed in at a whopping 28lbs at his checkup last week. So I don't think weight would be an issue. He could even get in through the side. He'd seriously think this is SO cool.

 

Thank you OP for being ingenious and frugal. I couldn't stomach spending a ton of money on a RTT that I may use a few times a year to justify the cost. This however is a great great idea.

@hightechcoonass I'm curious if you can source some honeycomb flat stock and use it in lieu of plywood, would be lighter and stronger in the long run vs conventional plywood.

Edit: did a little googling and you can get aluminum honeycomb panels with T slots incorporated into the panel. This solves the problem of attaching the panel to the crossbars in a clean fashion.

 

I do something similar with the tent cot, except I like to be able to use it on the truck or on the ground at a moment's notice. So I left the legs on and it just sits on the storage platform that I built into the bed.

 

sea otter!!

 

Sea Otter!

 

Damn thats a great find... Thats the same structure members prinsu racks are constructed from.

 

it's fairly common in other industries, I like to play PC sim car racing and some of them construct their entire sim rig out of this 70 20 extruded aluminum and the prices aren't that bad and very versatile.

 

That seems cool but how much are those panels?

 

I sent an email inquiry will post back when I get a response.

I asked for a quote for a sheet that's 36x36 judging by the footprint of the tent in relations to how it is situated over the bed. Unless you think I should get a quote for a different size panel?

The beauty of it with the T slot it will essentially be a breeze to bolt the platform onto the crossbars if you run the T slots perpendicular to the crossbars.

 

I really like the idea! My only concern was the price. I am very interested in seeing what you find out.

 

I am as well

 

You could construct something for much less cost that does the same thing using plywood or and rigid foam board. Called a SIP or Structurally Insulated Panel. I did some testing of this a while back using 1" rigid foam board and 1/8" luan. It did not deflect with 150# at a 4 foot span!

*edit: I almost forgot the glue! It holds everything together! Loctite PL300

 

That tent cot would fit right in the bed, right?