Only a couple things I would do different - one is to use nylock nuts instead of lock washers on the bolts that I used to fasten the top to the van/metal frame - one came loose after a few months of driving. The other thing is to find a way to make a trap door maybe to get up and down easier...
So does it leak!????
Hell no! - works great! The top of the tent is larger than the bottom, so when the van is relatively flat, the rain drips straight off and not in. The bottom of the tent sticks up 3-4 inches above the fiberglass top, so puddles and rain don't come in there either and...
Ok - insulate the rest of the top:
Trim and stick the old roof panel back in - or fit out with whatever roof you like as you build out the rest of the van
Damn, looks sharp!
With the awning out:
I am actually very impressed with the quality of the Trustmade tent! Is is the best one on the market? Probably not - is it the best value though? I think so! and at $1500, it is awesome for this mod.
My friend has a 4k James Baroud and he was also impressed. Now you could upgrade the...
Superstrut all around...
Bed platform is 3/4 Birch plywood cut into several panels to allow various configurations. There are short sections that cover the 'fixed' ends of the tent.
The original tent is secured on the outside...
But we want to be able to secure it and open it from...
Now we need to fine tune the front and rear cuts to match the profile of the end of the tent base:
From the side, before tightening:
Add butyl tape all around the base where the tent base will seal to the fiberglass top:
Edit - forgot a step - after you tighten down the tent to the...
Mock fitting the tent and now you can see the superstrut going front to back on both sides. This is welded into each of the side supports as well as at the ends, creating a super strong rectangle in the top of the van.
A bonus of the superstrut is that the collapsable ladder that comes with...
Steel frame from tent is clamped in place where it will go to check everything lines up properly:
You can see there is full steel support under each end now...
Now remember we left some meat on each end of the tent - so marking out the top where the actual opening is - measure 2x cut 1x...
Cut out the steel supports that are in the way of the opening... we will be boxing in the opening and welding to what is left of these...
Note the welding blanket over the front seats to shield them from sparks...
You can see the outline drawn on the inside of where the opening will be...
Ok, keep cutting the tent there are just 2 layers, the plastic base, and the faux wood bed...
Now you can take the cutout on top of the van and use it for basic sizing / layout, we know the ridge part needs to go no matter what, so cut that out first leaving some extra on the front and back...
Ok, now get the roof top tent...
Unbox it:
Looking good so far...
Let's see how the tent is constructed so we can figure out how to attach it to the van...
There is a stainless steel frame with 10 bolts that makes up the main support structure, we can use this to mount directly...
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