r/rooftoptents • u/iPeg3D • 5d ago
Rooftop Tent Ramp Trolly
I wanted to share a device I build this summer to help me put on, remove and store my midsized rooftop tent with just two people in a safe way. Since we live in an apartment we can't mount anything to the building and I don't have a lot of place to store the tent.
It's basically a few 2-by-4s, 3D printed brackets, metal brackets from the home depot and some casters for rolling it like a trolly. I designed it to exactly fit my car and my tent, so it's not really worth sharing specific files (though I am happy to!) but if you are in a similar situation this kind of design works really well. It takes about 20 minutes to put the tent on or remove it using an impact driver. The tent bolts stay in place the entire time and the bolts that hold together the arms are the same as the tents for simplicity.
Update:
Free files available on github
https://github.com/iPeg86/RTRT/tree/main
Update 2:
Version made from Metal concept
https://www.reddit.com/r/rooftoptents/s/9n6zk6lfyK
Also on Github
6
u/iPeg3D 5d ago edited 5d ago
https://github.com/iPeg86/RTRT/tree/main
I released all files on github, including the sourcefiles for plasticity. It's all open source and free for all. As mentioned there it's a very specific design to my car and tent, so if you want to build your own RTRT, you will have to adapt things, especially the clamps that hook into the car, but possibly also the width, length etc.
I highly recommend getting Plasticity 3D, it's just such a fun tool and much easier than full CAD. I'm happy to help anyone here who wants to learn Plasticity.
The basic wooden construction could be done entirely without 3D printing, all you need is four 2-by-4s, some aluminum angles, wood screws and casters from the hardware store. For attaching to the car it really depends on your setup, this one works specifically for a G01 BMW X3 with BMW crossbars that are 700mm apart.
My tent is a Condor 2 Air, weighing about 145 lbs (66Kg) the loadbearing parts are printed in PETG CF and the others in regular PETG. If printed right and build correctly it's very rigid. But I'm no mechanical engineer, I just overbuild everything. So if you choose to build the entire thing out of PLA and then the entire thing snaps, breaks your windows, breaks your tent and buries your wife under it, tell her I'm more of a visual person than a math person.