An RTT mounted on top of camper shell with crawl thru entry from inside shell?

[AbleGuy]

Has anyone successfully tried to mount a RTT on top of their camper shell, seal the edges of the mounting and then cut out an entry hole into it?......kinda like a homemade version of an Ursa or this:

https://expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/the-next-evolution-in-truck-camper-tent-tops.184003/

I’m thinking of doing that with my existing shell and a used RTT.

any ideas? Advice?

 

[ennored]

S10 Build Getting Started

And the KiraVan did it with a hardshell tent: http://www.doityourselfrv.com/kiravan-extreme-rv/

 

[Factoid]

This was exactly what I looked for last year and couldn’t find anything other than DIY. So, I am biting the bullet and planning a DIY pop top. My other concern was having the hatch and still having enough sleeping area. My wife and I are both over 6 feet tall and would prefer a queen size bed. I will be following this thread as we have some very ingenious people on this board and someone may have come up with a great solution.

 

[Factoid]

Wow, that KiraVan is amazing!

It says it has everything, but I did discover something it doesn’t have. While it has an array of imaging, detecting, range finding and other surveillance systems, it lacks a passive holographic stealth system to make it look like a giant boulder if any ne’re-do-wells approach.

 

[ennored]

Meili (S10 build) did it with some removable panels. He can have a large opening, small opening, or none, depending what panels he drops in.

 

[4x4JeepCamper]

Has anyone successfully tried to mount a RTT on top of their camper shell, seal the edges of the mounting and then cut out an entry hole into it?......kinda like a homemade version of an Ursa or this:

https://expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/the-next-evolution-in-truck-camper-tent-tops.184003/

I’m thinking of doing that with my existing shell and a used RTT.

any ideas? Advice?

See my reply in the other thread you started.

 

[AbleGuy]

Thx for the replies

 

[compactcamping]

I was thinking about something similar the other day after looking at a VW van pic with a RTT and slide back roof. On the canopy make a crawl thru hole with a removable cover. Then use a cover entry style roof top tent so the covered entry goes over the crawl thru hole when opened.

 

[Smoker]

A guy who posts on the van section did this in an ambulance. I think he used a JB tent. Cut a hole in the bottom and mounted directly to the roof of the ambulance so you could enter the tent from inside. It’s pretty slick. Search for the thread and check out the pics of his build. I think the application to a shell would be similar but you may need to reenforce the shell.

Edit: Here's a post with the ambulance I noted. If you search postings by this member you can find build pics and details. https://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/pics-of-your-van-post-up.17756/page-275. Very cool build.

 

[justbecause]

this guy hard mounted one to a trooper, he is also on here but this link was easier to find.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuTXVAA3KG1DoP_NEpm1l5g