Rooftop Tent

I designed and built this solid-walled rooftop tent to support my mountaineering/ running adventures.

Rooftop tents are readily available to buy. However:

- Often only feature a few mm of fabric between you and wind, weather, other people.

- Are generally dull, gray, uninteresting.

- Are priced at one to two thousand dollars.

My requirements were that it:

- Sleeps two tall humans comfortably in any wind or weather as well as allowing upright sitting position

- Feels safe and private

- Has <$500 material cost

- Can be fabricated easily and quickly using hobbyist tools

- Can be set up/ packed away in under 1 minute

- Is suited for highway travel

- Is roof-rack compatible

Following sketching and ideating to determine the overall shape and functionality, I took it to Fusion 360 to complete the design.

The roof is constructed from a single sheet of 4mm ACM (aluminium composite material), with channels cut such that it can be bent over the plywood profiles. All plywood parts are cut from two 12mm thick sheets.

The roof hinges at the front (an important safety feature - it cannot open at speed) around an aluminium tube.

Gas struts provide adequate pressure to push the entire roof section up, then clip-in window panels pull it back down and form a watertight seal - completing the wall on either side.

The back door mechanism was a bit tricky to design in such a way that it was easily accessible, waterproof and packed away in the shell, but I found a double-folding solution that works well.

It also allows bedding to remain stored inside when driving.

The door hinges upward and provides pleasant shelter from rain if one wants to relax with a view.

The largest self-inflicted constraint on this design was the use of a single 2.4m x 1.2m ACM panel for the roof.

I wanted to minimize cost and waste material as well as making the waterproofing process easy.

Using a single sheet without any need for joins/ seals was very helpful, but did drive a lot of other design aspects.

Overall, the tent has been a massive success - It's seen thousands of kilometres of New Zealand road and has enabled many running, hiking and holiday trips.

Aspects I would aim to change with a second iteration:

- Less cramped in a sitting position and a design that is easier to get in and out of

- Reduced possibility of structural failure due to material fatigue (ACM does not perform well in this way if used improperly)

- Reduced overall weight and aerodynamic drag