Ghillie_Ohio
Observer
What is needed to mount a Roof top tent for up to 4 adults ? Do i need a Baja rack in addition to two thule rack ?
Roof top tent on a tocoma double cab
- Thread starter Ghillie_Ohio
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Ghillie_Ohio
Observer
This is why i posted this question . I knew weight was going to be problem . I don't want to ruin the roof of the truck in order to use the roof top tent . I would like to be able to use http://www.viperlift.com/ and sleep at the same time (no trailer ) . I would say the majority of time i would sleep in a roof top tent via a custom rack for the truck bed .
devortex
Adventurer
I thought the viperlift required a full size truck. Isn't it too wide for a Tacoma? IMO, you will have a difficult time mounting a tent on the roof. I have a BajaRack on my DC and when I load it with camping gear (maybe 150 lbs +-) I can already see some deflection in the roof at the mounting points. Your average RTT is 100+ lbs empty so you'll quickly exceed the weight capacity of the stock mounting points. A Thule or one of the fixed position variants is the best solution but that will negate the viperlift (which may be a moot point anyway since it may not work on the narrower truck).
Ghillie_Ohio
Observer
What about rear bumper ? http://www.westernmule.com/bumper_cranes.html . I'm looking to customize http://www.texasbraggtrailers.com/trailers/equipment/big-pipe-tandem-axle-trailers.htm as alternative ( custom platform for RTT . I will have take another look at bumper crane . Thanks .
I have a maggiolina extreme on mine sometimes via a normal thule rack. I'm not going to say it's my favorite mounting setup in the world, but it does work. In review of it I would say this.....The RTT is securely mounted but does make a squeeking noise (either RTT to roof rack or rack to truck....not sure). On my quest to figure out the noise, I found that the roof is taking a little bit of a beating mainly where the fit kit grabs onto the inside of the door. That said, I've hauled this thing around for 6 months at a time, and covered 15k miles. In that time, I drove trails in Moab and all over the west without any issues.
I'm currently looking for a new way, that's how I stumbled onto your thread! Trying to figure out if the the thule 422xt bed mounted setup will work. Good Luck with your search!
I'm currently looking for a new way, that's how I stumbled onto your thread! Trying to figure out if the the thule 422xt bed mounted setup will work. Good Luck with your search!
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Triarius
I built such a rack for my truck. There are some others on this forum, too.
In doing my research I found that the stated maximum for the bedrails was presumed to be 400 lbs. However, this is seems to be based on the rating of the bed cleat rail system having a capacity of 200 lbs (2x200 = 400). I never found a definitive answer to the loading capacity of the bed rail tops.
I had me and my dad, with the RTT loaded on the rack jumping on the rails to see if we could get some deformation and we weren't able to get very much. The bed is pretty rigid, actually. I am going to out on a limb and say that the bed rails on the Taco are capable of at least a 1000 lbs static load. This seems to truck with others who report carrying a couple hundred pounds on top of a topper shell without trouble.
That being said - our RTT is enormous by RTT standards (6x8 open) and getting 4 adults in there would be.... cozy. I think your best bet is to count on two adults in the RTT and buying an annex/dressing room for the other two. The annex we got with ours is 9x7 and would comfortably house 2-3 adults in cots.
I don't know how you might accommodate the bed crane though.
Wicked 2007
Observer
Which baja rack do you have? the one that mounts on the factory rack or the newer baja rack that mounts in the factory rail mounts?
They rate it at 200lb (dynamic/moving load - this is what toyota says/recommends) - typically you can double that for static load/parked (un-moving), but I would err on the side that if toyota says 200lb dynamic that even that number is conservative so I would put the static load in the 500lb range for the rack that mounts to the factory rail holes.
RTT (125lb) + 2 adults (300) + rack weight (60) = 485lb I think that is acceptable.
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Ghillie_Ohio
Observer
Factory rail mounts . So it doable ?
Wicked 2007
Observer
This is how I am doing it. Just mounted a flat utility style (no cage) Baja Rack yesterday - the tent will go on next week. It mounted as I pictured in my previous post. Into the factory rails where there is built in threaded holes. All you do is drill through the rubber rain guard and then run the bolts through it.
Ghillie_Ohio
Observer
I also , in the process of checking out a frame hitch horse trailer that has pull out sleeper . Have not heard back from the company . My guess is the trailer will be too heavy and costly .
Wicked 2007
Observer
Quick photo mounted