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Moving from the basement to the Penthouse suite eh...Quote:
Originally Posted by DX grunt
You will pay a fortune for sliders that have sufficient reach and weight rating mate.
Keep in mind that the way they rate a lot of slide racks is tricky and they will not hold the rated weight at full extension.
If it was me I would be more tempted to pod mount the tent and put the panels sideways on a slider with maybe 1 over the other and the top one slides forward over the cab or whatever.
out of interest do you have scrub bars protecting the front guards ??
Wanting your cake & eating it eh?
Creative thinking but regardless of which slides - tent or panels - (& I agree it would be much easier to slide the panels) the height of the erected rooftop tent may place panels in shade. Depending upon the design of the RTT it may not be practical to move the vehicle to keep the panels in the sun without first taking the tent down. This could become pretty tiresome when done several times a day. However if all the panels were slid out on the same side it should be easy enough to park facing the right direction to allow the sun to track across the panels east to west. However sliding them out to the side is likely to make opening the pod doors an issue, so sliding out to either the front or rear would be better. To be honest I reckon a single panel mounted on top of the cap + portables would be way easier to set up. If I remember correctly you have two 125w panels? if so one will fit on top of the cab, & moving a single portable 3 or 4 times a day isn’t that much drama. Storage wise it might make sense to get a folding one & find another use for the redundant 125 watter.
Keeping centre of gravity as low as possible is also important. A rooftop tent, + solar panels + slides will amount to quite a bit of weight up high.
Another factor to be aware of is that the top of an ex telstra pod is higher than most if not all 4wd’s. Adding a tent makes it higher still of course, but this is only an issue if likely to be driving anywhere with low hanging branches, or if the rooftop tent has an annexe incorporated in it’s design. I had to get some additional length added to my Shippshape RTT in order for the annexe to reach the ground. Many RTT’s are also taller than the Shippshape when packed up, although they may have a smaller footprint.
Another left of centre thought ............ if you mounted a panel on top of the cab (using roof bars) you could hinge a second panel to it & unfold it when at camp. A pair of legs which sat on the bonnet could hold the folded out panel at an optimum angle, & also act as a sunshade for the cab. If you wanted to charge batteries whilst driving this could be done from the alternator, switching to solar when stopped. With a RTT still weight up top, but centre of gravity would be a bit lower than if the panels were on top of the pod.
If our setup were intended for weekend & holiday use the RTT would certainly be the go, but for extended touring I feel it has limitations I’m not prepared to put up with long term so our intention is now to go the opposite direction you are considering - removing the tent & permanently mounting our portable solar in it’s place. The price we pay is to tow our sleeping quarters.
Ps. If you do decide to buy a RTT, take your time & have a very careful look at all the various designs, as well as the quality. Some are far easier to live with than others.
Thanks everybody. Definitely food for thought.
Low branches aren't an issue, Cuppa. I stick to the bitumen. lol.
One thing I do remember is that on our first camping trip, I was sleeping in the pod and had to get up in the middle of the night, but forgot where I was.
and rolled out of the pod and ended up on all fours on the sand, then woke up. lol
So does that mean you're planning on doing away with your fancy setup that you had made?Quote:
Originally Posted by DX grunt
Quote:
Originally Posted by Clunk
I hope that answers your question, & to clarify I didn’t have my setup made. I made it myself. Do you intend to continue make digs & to make a hippo of yourself?Quote:
Originally Posted by Cuppa
All good. It was an 'off the cuff' thought, but I was looking for options.
My goal is to try and not buy a camper/caravan - at this stage. I'm still fit and healthy. lol
Edit: My set up on the roof is pretty well set in concrete. I had the solar panels joined together, then securely mounted on a bracket. It aint going no where.
Cuppa me old china, wind your neck in mate. Clearly you missed who's post I quoted. New glasses maybe???Quote:
Originally Posted by Cuppa
and as far as making a hippo of myself, I think you're doing that quite nicely yourself and out of respect to you and the forum I shall say no more.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Clunk
Apologies Clunk, I was feeling a little ‘got at’ from the cooker thread. I have my glasses on now & can see that you were not making a dig at me as I had wrongly thought.
Cuppa