Are you searching for How to build a beautiful rooftop tent by yourself? You just landed on the right page. These 12 DIY rooftop tent projects are here to guide you through making your very own DIY rooftop tent.
Not all the projects listed teach you how to build a DIY rooftop tent, most of them will give you tips that you can apply to your ongoing rooftop tent project. This article is a must-read for people looking for tips on how to make a rooftop tent.
Table of Contents
1. Cheap Roof Top Tent
The first rooftop tent on my list is this cheap DIY tent made from a Pop-up tent, ladder, flat bar, super strut (to mount the tent to the roof rack), roof rack, bolts, and angle iron.
Use your desired length of plywood for the base and build your metal hinges. Make the metal hinges overlap and line it with a piece of wood, drill a hole at the tip of the overlapped metal. Cut down the super strut to size and bolt it to the plywood. Drill two holes on the flat bar and pass bolts through it to hold the roof rack. Mount the tent to the roof rack.
2. DIY Roof Top Tent
This is a waterproof rooftop tent made from aluminum trim, coroplast, waterproof zipper. The whole project was designed like a clamshell. The coroplast which serves as the roof was at an angle on the base of the tent. The tent was made from the denier waterproof canvas and the bar magnet made sure the canvas stuck to the aluminum trim. The zipper was attached at both sides of the canvas from bottom to the top and the inside was made from cushion foam. It is a very cool and watertight rooftop tent.
3. How To Build A Roof Top Tent On A Budget
This is a low budget rooftop tent for you to try out. It is made from a pop-up tent, ladder, plywood, and other materials. The pop-up tent is mounted on the roof rack. It is advisable to use a pop-up tent because it already has an entrance, a built-in net, and a cool dimension. This project is made for the low budget DIY. The materials needed for a project can be gathered from home depot.
4. DIY Roof Top Tent
This is among the fastest rooftop tents to set up and it is portable. It is made from 4x 8 sheets of the plywood base, 1x4 pine for A-frame, 1x6 for vehicle mounting frame and fabric. Pivot a U-frame on a bottom frame-mounted on ¼ bolts. Pipe roof hoops and tie wire at intersections, cut the fabric into larger sections, and fasten with a staple gun. Trim to fit and side fold it into the clamshell. Secure the tent top with w cords. Meanwhile, use silicone to seal all gaps and intersections. It is very reliable and fast to set up.
5. DIY Roof Top Tent Camper
This rooftop tent is made from a compact truck lumber rack, scrap steel square tubing, and plywood sheets. The skill needed to build this roof too is a good sewing skill for making the tent. Cut the overhanging portion of the rack and gently sand the rusted surface of the rack. Cut the square tuning in a cross manner that will allow the attachment of the rooftop tent.
Use the plywood sheets to make two platforms for the lid. You can add some metal strips to hold the lid still. After the lid is done, place the rack on top of the lid and use lag bolts to secure the rack firmly on the lid. Mount the tent on top of the rack and you are good to go!
6. Homemade Roof Top Tent
This DIY rooftop tent project is very simple to create and requires less capital. It is built from 4×8 feet of plywood, hinges from home depot, fabrics for the tent, and framing piped from home depot.
One very important skill needed for building this rooftop tent is sewing. Sewing fabrics for the panels is very essential. Cut and bend the pipes and plywood right inside the home depot. Cover the panels with nylon or vinyl as you prefer.
Once the panels are ready, make the frame and the platform sit perpendicularly to the var length, then fasten the tent to the wooden platform with webbing. Since the plywood is not comfortable for sleep you might want to add foam pads.
7. Roof Top Tent Build DIY
In making this DIY rooftop tent for your car, you will need a tongue and groove subfloor, plywood, gorilla glue, a jigsaw, and many more. Use the ¾" tongue & groove sunflower for the base and ¼" plywood to make the upper lip. Face glue it and add more ¼" to the upper lip. Cut out the joists for the frame with a jigsaw. Use a pocket hole jig on both cross members, one on each side of the joists. Add misc(¼" plywood for the diagonal members) and use epoxy to smudge all surfaces and seal all gaps.
Wood glue might not work efficiently for this project that's why gorilla glue is recommended.
8. Rooftop Car Camper DIY
The materials needed to build this rooftop car camper include 2 fiberglass rooftop shells, 2 pop-up spring bars, 2 slide hinges, ¼" plywood. A Lower one of the fiberglasses at all sides by 4" and attach 2 front hinges on the holes there. Attach 2 black folding upright to original holes at the top and bottom at 90degree. Close the shell and flip it upside down. Attach the reinforcing bar, drill the bar and the bottom shell for the 4 u-bolts.
Make a back hole and cut the back plywood and attach it to the top shell. Open the camper and attach the canvas with a staple gun.
9. DIY Roof Top Tent
You've probably wanted to try making a camper by yourself. This amazing DIY rooftop tent that is made from the crossbar, pop up tent, 1×1" wood, plywood and piano hinges will be a beautiful start.
Remove the legs of the pop-up tent, then frame the plywood with the 1×1" wood and fit it to the rack at the back of the car. Glue a piano hinges to the side of the board to allow an easy opening. After the platform is set, fit the remaining part of the tent on the board and stain it to a hole on the board in order not to fall off.
10. DIY Low Profile Roof Top Tent
This rooftop is made from a mesh tent, roof rack, plywood, and ladder. The roof rack was made from the metal rod and framed the plywood with 1×1" wood and attached the strut to the board. Install the board on the rack and bolt the mesh tent on the board. Attach the ladder to the opening of the tent and you are free to go camping.
The cost of making this DIY camper is very low and suitable for any kind of car.
11. DIY Roof Rack Build For Roof Top Tent
Before building the roof rack for this tent, two questions that you need to ask yourself are, what air are you building it for? And what will you place on it? When you have the answer to both questions it will help you to know the size of the rack you are designing.
After building the rack using a flat metal to hold the rack to the car firmly at both sites and the back. Install the plywood board and mount the tent on it. This DIY does not do not require any sewing skills. It is very simple and cool to set up.
12. DIY Roof Top Tent
Have you always wanted to make your car into a camper? This is an easy step for you to build a rooftop camper for your car.
The first step in making this is to build a sleeping cabin to map out the actual design you want to work with. Then, transfer the design to the coroplast. Cut and crease the coroplast where you want to fold it.
Build the doors and windows. Make a clean and straight cut with a box cutter or razor blade cut the three edges of the openings but leave the top edges untouched. Superglue a strip to the edges of the windows and doors to make it waterproof. Make the struts for the window and support for the platform. Make a home on the roof and attach the sleeping cabin. This rooftop was made from coroplast, super glue, grommets, velcro, and plywood.
Conclusion
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