Cheap roof top tent idea: Is it practical?
- Thread starter SafariRumbler
- Start date
Sit down, because I'm going to call this like it is.
First: don't be a douchebag. Know that "stinger" is just an easier way to say "dumbass poser with a short dick." Take your best shot at answering the "name one realistic use for it" challenge if you feel like arguing that point. I'll wait.
Regarding your RTT ideas..
I'm just going to say this plainly: I get that you're trying to do something that seems appealing, and that you're trying to save money along the way...but you're stacking the deck against yourself and there's no reason for it. Rooftop tents are specialty items that have very limited uses, and they are NOT cheap; neither is a good rack to mount one on. The rack on my LJ cost $2,650 and a decent RTT would cost about the same amount... and I'm not telling you that to brag, but rather so that you'll know what you're trying to replicate for $400. Less than a tenth of the money? Not gonna happen, Cochise. Take my advice: skip the rack, forget what your friends think is cool, and spend your money on solid gear that doesn't make you look like a complete fucking idiot. You WANT a rooftop tent but you have zero actual use for one and you haven't accepted that fact, yet. Sublimate your ego, get serious about what will best fulfill your needs, recall that it will take longer to load your tent and platform into your rig than it will take to remove the rear seat that will have be to be removed if you want to stuff any reasonable amount of gear into a TJ, and start thinking clearly. I mean, seriously, use your noodle: for what you're going to spend on this project, you could be halfway to a real tent.
These are oddly popular where I am.
https://www.rei.com/product/114250/tentsile-stingray-tree-tentYou'll need 3 trees.
Or 2 trees and a jeep with a good parking brake. Or 3 jeeps.
Not a RTT but it gets you off the ground and packs small and light
https://www.rei.com/product/114250/tentsile-stingray-tree-tentYou'll need 3 trees.
Or 2 trees and a jeep with a good parking brake. Or 3 jeeps.
Not a RTT but it gets you off the ground and packs small and light
Ok I’ve written down and crunched lots of numbers and come up with pros and cons. Here’s what I’m going to do. I have a small one man tent and my friend has a TJ with the SRC Smittybilt roof rack. I’m going to go out with him and try my idea and when I get to the site I will set it up. I will time it and take notes and come up with a list of things I like and don’t like about the RTT. If it seems sturdy enough I will put one of my many tents on it along with a cheap camping cot I have. If I like this method of camping, I will continue to do it. If it seems impractical and all the things you said are true then I’m out no money for a tent, no money for a rack, and no money for a cot...
Smartest idea you've had yet...and since you're a Scout and know about such things: do it in the dark, in the rain, and preferably on minimal sleep while hungry. If it passes that test, proceed.
That is a good way to go about this. There really is no harm is seeing how this will really work. Learn from it. That is all that matters.
Also I appreciate how your helping and giving advice but I’m still new and this was all an idea to start with. I came up with this crazy idea 2 days ago and posted to get advice. You don’t have to get so worked up about it, I haven’t spent a penny. At least I am using my brain and asking for advice before I go out and fail at something. As far as buying a small bolt on stinger, I happen to like the way they look, As long as you have a solid aftermarket bumper and your adding a stinger I see no issue. It protects your winch, can be used to hang a hammock from, and will let you know if your parking too close to something that could bend your frame. If you don’t like it then that’s your opinion but don’t trash others for liking and wanting a stinger. A lot of people on the forum have stingers.
Thank you I appreciate that. I will and I’ll let y’all know what the cons are. I’m going camping in 2 weeks so we shall see what it brings.
Hey it may be really cool, or it may be a pain In the ass, to test it out as long as I don’t spend any money on it I’m fine trying it haha.
Years ago, I built a tent stove. It is surprisingly elaborate and well thought out. It worked so well that I learned what the Curie point of steel is in the middle of the night when the flue thermometer fell off. There are a lot of really great bad ideas here that I hope to revisit in the future.
If I interpreted your tone wrong let me know but all I’m doing is getting advice and ideas and seeing if anyone did anything similar. If it was a stupid idea then oh well at least I haven’t spent any money on it haha we shall see with my mock up if it’s practical
Lol that is amazing, that’s the creativity I have. I don’t have a use for it in the hot Florida sun but if it could cook. Ammo cans are awesome.
Worked up? No...this isn't me being worked up. This is me being direct with you.
Let's talk about stingers for a minute...and - again - this isn't a slam: it's directness, so read it as such. Do you want a stinger just for the looks? Okay, fine...do what you like, as long as you understand that doing something just for the looks and for the visual impact it has on others is the literal definition of a poser. Read carefully: stingers. do. not. work. They don't even really work that well on competition rigs with thousands of dollars of tube work and people that can build better than you or I ever will. Stingers are just for looks: they get in the way in the front of your rig, they decrease visibility, they will NOT hold up to a front-end impact, and they won't prevent damage to your frame (seriously, go look at your frame... it's massive and it will crush a bolt-on stinger). Also, parking? If you need to tap something with a stinger in order to park successfully, you just need to practice your parking; nothing is going to happen that will damage your frame when parking unless you are trying to damage it. You already said that you can't use a hammock, so you're not going to be able to justify it that way, although that may be the best potential use for a stinger that I've ever heard (totes serious about that). So we're back to you just wanting one...and that's fine if you want it for looks, but they're bumper jewelry of the highest order and I'm going to call them such.
As far as you saying "If you don’t like it then that’s your opinion but don’t trash others for liking and wanting a stinger. A lot of people on the forum have stingers" is concerned: do you know what you just said? You just told me that it's okay to have an opinion, but that you don't want me to share it...and that's probably because I don't agree with you. Would you have said something similar if I had sided with you and slammed someone else for disagreeing? Probably not (although I would hope so). So let's cut that speculation short with a simple fact: like it or not, my opinions in this thread have been based around my hoping to help you 1) avoid wasting hard-earned money, 2) find a workable solution, and 3) avoid bolting a useless, juvenile and expensive decoration on your rig...and just as I and everyone else are free to have such opinions AND express them, you're free to not like them or accept them. If I jumped on you too hard, okay; I apologize for doing so because it wasn't my intention. However, if you post ideas and ask for critique, you'd better be ready to hear it, heed it, understand it, and - if necessary - apply it.
You did get it slightly wrong, but it's no big deal; you just don't know what it's like when I actually do go off on someone, so it's easy to think that to be what happened here. No biggie.
Your idea isn't stupid; it's actually very similar to how most rooftop tents and cots work. The concept is essentially sound, but it's simply not as easy as you think. Recall what @Mr. Bills said: "most abandoned them after a season or two." If I was you, I would recognize that for what it is - direct, personal experience - and I would be picking his brain to no end to understand what those guys either did wrong, or didn't like. I also think that your mock-up idea is very practical, because someone else has already paid for the experiment. Can't hurt to give it a shot; the worst you'll get is firsthand experience for what doesn't work, and all night to think about it.
