Lowering a full size truck with RTT for garage height clearance...

Oman4x4

Laurie Bridger
Wondering if anyone's given this some thought... the Raptor is getting a roof top rack above the bed with awnings and a roof top tent. The problem is while this is going to make for a great fun camping rig, it won't fit in some of the garages I occasionally have to park in.

I can get the front end of the tent to clear but the rear is raised and that's where it needs some help.

Options at the moment that I can think of:




1) Crazy over-complicated folding roof rack mechanism to bring it back behind the cabin and down to bed height.:

Pros:
Look like something out of transformers
Stock Suspension
Solves the problem

Cons:
Complicated
Something that can rattle to pieces while off roading.
Increases the length significantly while retracted.







2) Warn ATV Winch on the chassis to compress the rear suspension to the bump stops to enter the garage. In most cases once inside and parked I could release the tension and let the truck sit at rest. Just need to clear pipes and signs and things on the way in and out.

Pros:
Solid Roof Rack
Stock Suspension

Cons:
Stress on the leaf suspension?



3) Third option is to maybe look at doing a link suspension in the rear with Air Bags instead of leafs.

Pros:
Solid Rack
Can lower without straining anything
Ride may be a little less truck-like.

Cons:
Could it handle the abuse.
Cost.
Major modification to the suspension.





4) Keep the Mountain Bike on the back for when I have to park far away.

Pros:
Simplest Solution

Cons:
In the summer time it's 125 Farenheit here. Sometimes you just need to park as close to the door as you can.




Anyone got any other thoughts / inputs?





RTclosed.jpg
 

xbox73

Adventurer
One option is to build a rack so that the RTT mounting height is below the roof line by the same amount (or a fraction more) than the height of the RTT when folded & packed up. That way with the RTT mounted on the rack and folded & packed up, the top of it will sit at the same height (or a fraction lower) than the top of the cab.

Like this (not my vehicle, just a picture borrowed from ExPo):

20120903_150505.jpg


20120903_133012.jpg


Source: http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/53001-Photos-of-mid-sized-vehicles-Post-Here?p=1182944#post1182944
 
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Oman4x4

Laurie Bridger
One option is to build a rack so that the RTT mounting height is below the roof line by the same amount (or a fraction more) than the height of the RTT when folded & packed up. That way with the RTT mounted on the rack and folded & packed up, the top of it will sit at the same height (or a fraction lower) than the top of the cab.

Like this (not my vehicle, just a picture borrowed from ExPo):

20120903_150505.jpg


20120903_133012.jpg


Source: http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/53001-Photos-of-mid-sized-vehicles-Post-Here?p=1182944#post1182944

Only problem with that is the tent I've chosen is a different design - and is longer than the bed is...

RTopen.jpg


Plus it will be accompanied by awnings on either side so really need to be above the door height anyway.

1501436_10151891356442647_399157761_o.jpg
 

XRrider

Observer
RTclosed.jpg

Why use a roof top tent if you are concerned about height? Why use a Raptor if you are concerned about height and have to have a roof top tent?
 

Oman4x4

Laurie Bridger
View attachment 208177

Why use a roof top tent if you are concerned about height? Why use a Raptor if you are concerned about height and have to have a roof top tent?

Wanted the Raptor for a long time. Something I can keep the drivetrain and suspension stock and not have to modify.

Funny thing is - sold the Toyota 86 to help pay for the Raptor. One of the lowest affordable sports cars out there. Back when I was driving that car - all these car park ceilings looked so far away that it wasn't even a concern. Now I've actually got the Raptor it's always "holy ******* that's close"

The low mount & overhang could work... Only thing is it sacrifices the bed height but maybe that is the lesser of two problems... will play with the CAD some more tonight :)
 

XRrider

Observer
MS Paint is rather crude, I thought it looked funny so I threw a crude jerry can and tire off the tailgate...compromise. Modifying the suspension to loose ride height for the purpose of indoor parking seems counter productive.


Just read thru your Brute build up thread, coming to a solution on a tent should be easy compared to that under taking. Cool project.
 
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Oman4x4

Laurie Bridger
MS Paint is rather crude, I thought it looked funny so I threw a crude jerry can and tire off the tailgate...compromise. Modifying the suspension to loose ride height for the purpose of indoor parking seems counter productive.


The idea was to have it controllable - normal ride height under normal conditions - just a way to drop it down.


I think I'm just going to go with making a hoist to easily remove the upper part of the rack at home for daily driving duties and then drop on the lightbar, tent and awnings for off road use.

The MSPaint design looks great and would be ideal for just the roof top tent. The only thing is my original Photoshop never had the awnings that are now in the CAD data and they need to be above the doors. Without the awnings your setup would work well.
 

jdinevens

Adventurer
IMG_20130704_154849_087.jpg

I was late for a wedding and this happened. Honestly I'd figure out how much room you have at your garage and then see how much space is available. This is with a 4" spring lift where they re-used the blocks in the back, so it sits high in the rear. I forget how tall the garage was but it never touched.
 

redthies

Renaissance Redneck
Do you already own the rtt? Is there another option that might work better? Why not mount the rtt on the brute, and just use the raptor for dd and day trips?
 

86tuning

Adventurer
How tall is a raptor? Most parking garages are at least 6'8" and I sneak into those all the time even though my land cruiser is almost 6'10". Just got to watch those sprinkler heads.

As for corollas, you'll be getting another one some day. They're in your blood.
 

IdaSHO

IDACAMPER
Leave it to a raptor owner to complain about not being able to fit his truck into a garage :friday:
 

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