Maggiolina; anyone ever mount one directly to the roof?
- Thread starter mudshark
- Start date
You could mount it to a rack and use a product like this,
http://m.accordionboot.com/
to make a skirt/boot.
I think that would be easier, unless your vehicle has a totally flat roof and hummers are the only vehicle I can think if that does.
It would be nice to set it up so you could stand in the vehicle with your upper body in the tent, would make getting dressed a lot easier.
I like your outside-the-box thinking.
http://m.accordionboot.com/
to make a skirt/boot.
I think that would be easier, unless your vehicle has a totally flat roof and hummers are the only vehicle I can think if that does.
It would be nice to set it up so you could stand in the vehicle with your upper body in the tent, would make getting dressed a lot easier.
I like your outside-the-box thinking.
BIGdaddy
Expedition Leader
My old Maggiolina was bought and mounted just as you describe onto the roof of a Volvo C404 radio truck. The gentleman used it as a standing height area much like a campmobile-type pop roof on a VW bus.
He cut an opening just like you mentioned and I believe kept the pieces so that he could sleep up above when they were replaced.
He cut an opening just like you mentioned and I believe kept the pieces so that he could sleep up above when they were replaced.
Abitibi
Explorer
As said above, much easier with a flat roof. I might have got the idea from the Volvo pictures when it was for sale :sombrero:
So I bought one for that exact purpose on my ambulance build.
What to keep in mind is how you will open it as most have the external crank handle. The one I bought is the Autohome Airtop which opens with gas struts so I can push it open from the inside. I'm simply removing the external secure latches and mounting them inside. I'll be cutting a large access hole between the two and securing the tent to the roof with Sikaflex or the like along with rivets or bolts...
Also, you need to keep a decent interior edge along the perimeter to keep it structurally sound ie. the interior opening will be 4-6" smaller that the overall length and width of the tent's floor base so keep that in mind when choosing between small, medium or large...
I think its a fairly simple mod, a costly one (especially when you put the saw through your roof!) but efficient. Wish I'd be ready to post pictures but although I have the top waiting I'm not ready to mount it yet ~it now resides on my Patrol, very practical!
Good luck!
Mr. D
So I bought one for that exact purpose on my ambulance build.
What to keep in mind is how you will open it as most have the external crank handle. The one I bought is the Autohome Airtop which opens with gas struts so I can push it open from the inside. I'm simply removing the external secure latches and mounting them inside. I'll be cutting a large access hole between the two and securing the tent to the roof with Sikaflex or the like along with rivets or bolts...
Also, you need to keep a decent interior edge along the perimeter to keep it structurally sound ie. the interior opening will be 4-6" smaller that the overall length and width of the tent's floor base so keep that in mind when choosing between small, medium or large...
I think its a fairly simple mod, a costly one (especially when you put the saw through your roof!) but efficient. Wish I'd be ready to post pictures but although I have the top waiting I'm not ready to mount it yet ~it now resides on my Patrol, very practical!
Good luck!
Mr. D
4x4overlander
New member
If you do cut a big hole in the bottom of your roof tent you immeadiately invalidate any warranty on the roof tent!
Also any hole in the roof will seriously effect the strength of the roof and may well compromise the strength of the body shell.
Brendan
Also any hole in the roof will seriously effect the strength of the roof and may well compromise the strength of the body shell.
Brendan
Abitibi
Explorer
It's not like you need to buy a new one if you plan on cutting it. What's the warranty on those anyway, 5 years or so? Wouldn't stop me from doing it especially if the benefits out weight the risk...
I think the main issue is if your roof isn't flat. If it is then nothing a good dose of Sikaflex couldn't cure.
For example, look at all the ambulance out there. The box is attached to the cutaway body with bolts, sealant and an outside seal, they don't leak...
There's always the option of building your own top, I might go that route but I'd doubt it'd be as pretty!
Cheers
Mr. D
Sent from my iPorn using TapaChat
I think the main issue is if your roof isn't flat. If it is then nothing a good dose of Sikaflex couldn't cure.
For example, look at all the ambulance out there. The box is attached to the cutaway body with bolts, sealant and an outside seal, they don't leak...
There's always the option of building your own top, I might go that route but I'd doubt it'd be as pretty!
Cheers
Mr. D
Sent from my iPorn using TapaChat
Sahararover
New member
Looks like a good project for a Land Rover D110, it has a flat top...
I'm still very curious about the feasibility of this idea. My astro has "ridges" on the roof that run from front to back. They are about 1 1/2 " wide, and have about 8 1/2 " between them. There are 4 of these between the outside rails of the roof-rack. Each ridge has a metal moulding screwed down its full length. Presumably, these are intended to keep the cargo from coming into contact with the painted surface of the roof.
My idea is to create a box of some suitable wood on which to set the Airtop. I'm thinking that this box would be about the same width and length as the bottom of the Airtop, and about 2 1/2 " deep. The plan would be to cut notches into the side-to-side walls of the box to accommodate the ridges in the roof. I'm thinking that I would remove the roof rack, as well as the mouldings on the rood ridges. I would probably install the van's roof rack on the top of the Airtop. I need it there to hold my 2 X 100W solar panels. Once I'd remove the roof rack, I'd caulk all of the holes, and screw down the box directly to the roof from inside the van. Naturally I would use Sikaflex or similar to seal it.
I currently have a Fan-Tastic Vent installed at the back of my roof. I would remove it, enlarge the vent hole to serve as a hatch for passage into the Airtop, and re-install the vet on the top of the Airtop, behind the solar panels. This last part would depend on a determination of whether or not I felt that the top of the Airtop was sufficiently strong enough to stand up to this amount of alteration (including the addition of the solar panels). I should think that, overall, this approach to mounting it should make for an even stronger assembly than "stock", and I could even add a crossing piece to the middle of the box to reinforce the attachment of the bottom half of the Airtop.
This is as far as I've developed this idea. Any feedback?
My idea is to create a box of some suitable wood on which to set the Airtop. I'm thinking that this box would be about the same width and length as the bottom of the Airtop, and about 2 1/2 " deep. The plan would be to cut notches into the side-to-side walls of the box to accommodate the ridges in the roof. I'm thinking that I would remove the roof rack, as well as the mouldings on the rood ridges. I would probably install the van's roof rack on the top of the Airtop. I need it there to hold my 2 X 100W solar panels. Once I'd remove the roof rack, I'd caulk all of the holes, and screw down the box directly to the roof from inside the van. Naturally I would use Sikaflex or similar to seal it.
I currently have a Fan-Tastic Vent installed at the back of my roof. I would remove it, enlarge the vent hole to serve as a hatch for passage into the Airtop, and re-install the vet on the top of the Airtop, behind the solar panels. This last part would depend on a determination of whether or not I felt that the top of the Airtop was sufficiently strong enough to stand up to this amount of alteration (including the addition of the solar panels). I should think that, overall, this approach to mounting it should make for an even stronger assembly than "stock", and I could even add a crossing piece to the middle of the box to reinforce the attachment of the bottom half of the Airtop.
This is as far as I've developed this idea. Any feedback?
The Rover Shop
Explorer
I am currently thinking of doing just this conversion.. I will be installing it to the flat roof of my defender 130 utility box that I am prepping for around the world..I have been in touch with autohome and they are interested in working with me on this.. I do have to make a raised platform for the tent to sit on as the rear box is slightly lower than the roof of the front of the truck and it will hang over the roof some.. I want this system for the extreme colds and wet weather situations I intend to encounter.. I have some big plans for this build and will be doing a complete thread for a magazine article also... See my last thread in the land rovers section where I prepped a defender 110 camel trophy truck for round the world.. (It's a sticky on top) and I have started a thread in the same section under .. Prepping a defender 130 for round the world..the gear mechanisms of the crank system are reported to be more reliable than the gas strut versions and only require a couple of inches around the inside edge of the tent, this would be kept anyway for the structural I tegrity of the tent sides anyway... There are plenty of excellent adhesion products available now that would allow you to adhere the tent directly to the roof without any fear of water ingress or lifting..I will probably use a system called panelbond... They assemble cars with this stuff now and to say it sticks like **** to a blanket is an understatement ..)
)
mhiscox
Expedition Leader
We're going to do it with an Autohome Columbus:
Feel free to follow along at http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/132612. Be aware, though, that we're pretty much making it up as we go.