How to improve your (cheap) Rooftop Tent

I bought a new roof top tent of eBay a while ago. It was at the $700 mark. It looks just like the ARBs or Ironmans; I've even checked them out on expos to see if details are different but of course had no chance to set them up or pack them.

We've slept in ours for around 13 weeks by now all added up. Here are some of my DIY improvements:

The main thing is packing it up. The cover is just that little bit too small. OK, I do want to have my bedding all packed up in there for convenience and space. The biggest change was to extend the cover with some decent tarp. Took about a day to do, a sewing machine and a good needle or two.
Attachment 45498

Then the straps which hold the cover (other than the zipper) were always to short so a bit of string first and then a $1 shackle extended those nicely. The shackle lets the other strap slide through better than the string as well.
Attachment 45499

The tie downs on the side (which help to compact the closed tent) were always a pain and started falling apart. Velcro doesn't work that well under a pull neither. I replaced them with the cheapest real tie downs I could get. Works brilliant.
Attachment 45496

It's always good to have some lubrication for zippers which are exposed to dust. Not really DIY but keeps things going.
Attachment 45497

Last but not least I've put a LED light in the tent. I had a bit left over from the awning and boot LED-job so that was for free. I also had some clear hose lying around which I sanded to make it distribute the light better (LEDs are quite focused). Bit's of cable and a small Anderson plug to finish it off. Total cost $5 for the Anderson. Pro tip: make the cable which runs up from your car long enough to have its lowest point outside your window or else you'll funnel water into your car if it rains.
Attachment 45495


What have YOU done to your roof tent? What experience do you have with your tent? Are there similar issues with the brand tents?

I have a Hannibal tent where one half of the ladder is permanently attached to the tent. I drilled a small hole in the ladder and fitted a pad bolt lock so that the ladder can be swung up and stowed out of the way when not required

What do you guys do with the cover when the tent is up? Detach it or roll up?

I just roll mine up at the front of the tent as i have a solar panel on the roof rack

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by dannypatrol

What do you guys do with the cover when the tent is up? Detach it or roll up?

---

I have a Shippshape tent. The cover is held on with bungee cord around mushroom knobs. When the tent is up the cover becomes the awning. Great design. Also has walls that zip onto it to create a full enclosed annexe.

Will be selling it once we’ve bought a Tvan (going to look at one this weekend) & filling the roofspace with fixed solar instead. (Just thought It might be worth putting in a plug now whilst the rooftop tent topic is current). :)

Hi all.

I've seen a few roof top tents come onto the market lately and just want your opinion/advice.

As some of you know, I've got an ex Telstra 4.2 TDi, 2005 ute with a pod on the back.

On the roof of my pod, I have a plethora of aerials and 2 x 120w solar panels - all of which nearly occupy the whole roof space.

I was thinking about putting a roof top tent on the roof, on sliders, so that when I pull up in a parking bay (lol), I can just slide it out to the back of the pod to still allow my solar panels to charge.

Will the centre of gravity be too high whilst travelling? Constructive comments/other ideas would be appreciated.

Rossco

What do they weigh 45KG ?
you wouldnt want more than 100kg up top including panels IMO
way too dangerous

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by threedogs

What do they weigh 45KG ?
you wouldnt want more than 100kg up top including panels IMO
way too dangerous

---

Not sure what a roof top tent weighs.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by DX grunt

Hi all.

I've seen a few roof top tents come onto the market lately and just want your opinion/advice.

As some of you know, I've got an ex Telstra 4.2 TDi, 2005 ute with a pod on the back.

On the roof of my pod, I have a plethora of aerials and 2 x 120w solar panels - all of which nearly occupy the whole roof space.

I was thinking about putting a roof top tent on the roof, on sliders, so that when I pull up in a parking bay (lol), I can just slide it out to the back of the pod to still allow my solar panels to charge.

Will the centre of gravity be too high whilst travelling? Constructive comments/other ideas would be appreciated.

Rossco

---

I think Cuppa still has his and plans on selling it. Obviously on the same car too so I'm sure you could work something out with him!

Running an arb rooftop tent.. have led strips.. usb ports and 12v outlets all wired up inside to an anderson plug which i can plug streight into the solar during the day or the rear of the 4b at night...

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by DX grunt

Hi all.

I've seen a few roof top tents come onto the market lately and just want your opinion/advice.

As some of you know, I've got an ex Telstra 4.2 TDi, 2005 ute with a pod on the back.

On the roof of my pod, I have a plethora of aerials and 2 x 120w solar panels - all of which nearly occupy the whole roof space.

I was thinking about putting a roof top tent on the roof, on sliders, so that when I pull up in a parking bay (lol), I can just slide it out to the back of the pod to still allow my solar panels to charge.

Will the centre of gravity be too high whilst travelling? Constructive comments/other ideas would be appreciated.

Rossco

---

Moving from the basement to the Penthouse suite eh...

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

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by DX grunt

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 Clunk

So does that mean you're planning on doing away with your fancy setup that you had made?

---

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Cuppa

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.

---

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?

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.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Cuppa

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?

---

Cuppa me old china, wind your neck in mate. Clearly you missed who's post I quoted. New glasses maybe???

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

Cuppa me old china, wind your neck in mate. Clearly you missed who's post I quoted. New glasses maybe???

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.

---

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