Building a RTT Rack

[jim65wagon]

Just saw this thread and thought I may as well show mine.It's not an RTT rack, but it could very easily become one if I desired. I do have a short write up here,:
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As it's stored in the garage for the winter:

As it sits on the truck. The side rails keep the main body of the rack high enough to unroll the tonneau cover all the way.

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Loaded on the truck

 

[pray4surf]

I want the best of both worlds; stowed at/below the roofline during transportation, but raised to deploy (take advantage of the changing room).

So I need a way to raise/lower the tent - and came up with this idea.



Just two hoops front and rear of bed, connected with the horizontal bar. When stowed, the tent 'rests' (and is secured) on the rack.

When ready to deploy the tent, the closed RTT is lifted up and back. As soon as the RTT get over TDC (of the arc it is following), the base of the RTT settles onto the back crossbar.



I've left out a lot of the detail in these sketches. And wanted a healthy debate over the merits of the design and suggestions...

I have an idea using a torsion spring to assist with the raising/lowering of the tent. With the right spring, you could reposition the RTT using just a finger - LOL

 

[Andy@AAV]

How about having it deploy over the cab? This would not interfere with using the tailgate for a table (use mine as a cooking surface) and being able to access gear in the back of the bed from the rear.

 

[java]

Planning the same thing for my trailer, just 2' tall.

 

[pray4surf]

So, how are you going to do this?

To complicate matters, I want to remove the tent from the rack when not in use. I stow it strapped below the rafters in the garage and use a block&tackle setup to raise lower - worked well when I had Trumps rack... With that rack, two crossbars span the pipe running the length of the bed, to which the RTT is bolted - unbolt the crossbars and the tent is free of the truck.

Here, I plan on constructing 4 of these - cardboard fitting



Spanning the two forward (and to rearward) hangers runs a 1" dia pipe. The struts that connect to the bottom of the RTT are attached to this 1" dia pipe. This pipe rotates as the RTT is raised/lowered (full travel < 1/2 a complete rotation). At each end the pipe is supported by 2 bearings.

Here is a sketch of that thought - End View



Top view



And here is a rough sketch of the entire assy



So when I wish to remove the RTT, I'll unbolt the four hangers from the rack tube and lift away...

OK - Am I Crazy?

 

[trump]

OK - Am I Crazy?

It's a cool design Rick, but I worry about how stable those struts will be when deployed. What kind of bearings are you thinking of using?

 

[pray4surf]

Thanks for the comment Mark

I'm eyeing these 'football' bearings


Re: strut stability - been on my mind too... Keep in mind, when deployed the base of the RTT is going to rest/set on the rear hoop. Which concerns you? side-to-side or front-to-back(of the truck) stability? FWIW - strut length isn't going to be much over 12" :ylsmoke:

Added: Rather than hijack this thread, you can follow my build, offer criticism/comments/ideas here:
http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/75222-A-new-twist-on-bed-mounted-RTT-s

 

[trump]

Which concerns you? side-to-side or front-to-back(of the truck) stability? FWIW - strut length isn't going to be much over 12" :ylsmoke:

I forgot that it will be resting on one hoop. That will probably help with the stability quite a bit. I was concerned with side-to-side movement with the bearings. Seems like a couple people moving around in the tent could create a lot of force on them with a 12" lever.

 

[java]

here is a tall one on a trailer powered by a gear motor as far as i can tell. someone else made a smaller one on a trailer here on expo but i cant seem to find it right now.

 

[womacje]

here is a tall one on a trailer powered by a gear motor as far as i can tell. someone else made a smaller one on a trailer here on expo but i cant seem to find it right now.

http://youtu.be/USBU3MxjEmQ
Here's how I did it.

Jeremy

 

[motoz]

Here's mine. All aluminum.

 

[2scars]

Mine








HomeFab! I love getting out the welder

 

[pray4surf]

Nice thread bump 2scars.

Here's mine





Entire build thread in sig...