Thread: tent on a roof & storage system.

I'd better go cut the rack in half then.

Defender bodies and roofs are aluminium and rivetted aren't they? Might be a reason why the full steel rack gave problems.

Top rail on mine only goes part way round the rack so it wouldn't be as ridged as a rack with two rails right round. The body is steel and welded so maybe I'll have less problems with the Disco.

Chris

Originally Posted by scrambler

I'm not sure if I want to know if they were burned, bashed, buried or carried

In these environmentally responsible times, that's a lot of smelly stuff to lug out again!

Steve

Proper disposal of all things is a bit of a worry. Nappies, plastic, cans...it all has to go somewhere. We try to take all rubbish out and dispose of it in a tip, or rubbish bin but in reality it still ends up as land fill somewhere. At least none of my rubbish will be found strewn around some overflowing bin in a place that its certain it will never be emptied, as you all too often find.

No...the nappies mostly got burnt each night. Not the ideal way to deal with them but probably the best considering the type of trip and distance between towns. Otherwise it would be a case of

Numpty's Missus

WOW what a lot of great responses. Thanks everyone. This forum really is great

I am going to start working through your responses after the kids are in bed later.

The only thing I will say now is that on our last trip we burnt the nappies each night. They seemed to dissapear leaving no trace. The only people that didn't find this solution optimal were the people sleeping around the fire in swags

EDIT: I forgot to mention that I'm fairly big (6"3) the wife is tall to. We will have a 3.5yo who should be over a metre tall by then and a 1yo which should still be fairly "compact"

Originally Posted by Tusker

Tourer tent is heavy enough without whacking more weight in it.. even heavier when wet..
I've had enough of trying to discus-throw the tourer tent onto the roofrack.
I've seen two roof tents on a Defender before. Only have to solve where to store clothes in this instance.
And where do you have your second spare?
Regards
Max P

Tusker... this was our original plan.. but I think you're right. It would be too much having to heave a bag up there with a travelling tent and all the bedding in.

Our second spare will be in the back (should be enough room) or on the bonnet.

Originally Posted by Omaroo

You could always buy our rooftop tent and the rack to go with it. Tent is for sale in the "Markets" section, and is designed to mountthe way I have it in this photo - with the ladder going to the bull bar.

The rack will take an ARB space case or two - so that you have a way to keep your stuff dry and dust-free - and are able to access it from the tent when you need.

Cheers
Chris

Chris... what are the exact internal dimensions of your tent? As mentioned we have two adults, a 3.5 yo and a 1 yo. They are a bit small to be sleeping separately from us yet I think.

Originally Posted by weeds

hey steve
can i tag along, damn wish i could but with megs going to canada in may next year i have no $$$ to go on an really long trip
if i can talk megs into an extended trip i will go with a hannibal self supporting awaning with zip on/clip on sides, good for shade during the day and put the sides on for night. with the awning being self supporting no need for ropes and pegs. a maye of mine has a similar setup with one on each side of the roof rack one an under cover eating/cooking area and the other with sides to sleep in.
when i crossed the simpson i took swags for a quick setup, everything is rolled, matress, sheets, doona, pillow. I hate sleeping bags as they are not wide enough

Talk to me about the tag along As to swags.. It's not really a practical idea for a 1yo and wife

Originally Posted by PCH

Like Greylandy said.
Rooftop tent with annex like this works well. The roofrack is full length and has storage space out the front of the tent (about 1000mm by 1200mm).
2 adults and a 6 year old can sleep up in the tent up top (very cosy). The annex has heaps of room for 2 adults or 3 kids and bags etc... when camping.

Looks great... how long did it take to set up each night? How much did the setup weigh?

Originally Posted by numpty

We did the same sort of trip years ago with 2 small children. As I recall we had the tent poles on the roof, along with jerrycans (never again), and a canoe.

Everything else was in the back, including the tent, but it was one of the first items out and last in on packing up. We found apple boxes ideal to pack not only food in but all our clothes as well. We had sleeping bags and air beds pumped up by hand. It means the back is packed to the roof but we somehow managed to get set-up time down to about 30mins, and no matter what system we use set-up time is still about 30mins.

Bushie's daughter was only 6 months old and he had 180 disposable nappies on his roof rack

Numpty's Missus

This is basically how we did our Simpson trip. I'm not sure how old your kids are.. but ours are at a age when 1 of the two parents needs to be on guard all the time so that only leaves 1 parent to set up camp.

I'm afraid that setting up even a quick tent (tourer) and then deploying bedding was too much for us on a everyday basis. When the kids are old enough to play while the adults set up I think this will be viable for us. The packing up is a double whammy in the morning.

So, given that is our scenario, I reckon I'll be setting up camp for another 2 trips single handed, so I'd really like something **quick**.

On our last trip we were travelling with 6 other people and none had kids. By the time we stopped, and then set up camp and bedding, had dinner and washed up it was 8-8:30. We'd get to sit in our chair around the fire for 30 minutes before everyone went to bed because they had already been lounging around in front of the fire for an hour or more.

Packing up in the morning was the same thing... we were working like crazy to match everyone elses leisurely pack up. It was the only major negative to the trip. Anything that helps is good.

Greylandy/hannibal whore we need to talk! Any solutions for 2 adults and two small children?

Captain Rightfoot,

The Howling Moon Rooftop tourer has external dimensions of 1200mm W * 2400mm L (when folded out). I'm not sure of the internal dims but they would be only marginally smaller. The tent weighs 65kg. The annex weighs around 6-7kg.

It takes about 20 mins to unpack and set up. The zip on annex takes about 10 mins to fit and then peg down.

I'm 6' my wife is 5' and my 6yo is 3.5' and it is cosy for all three. When the 6yo gets bigger he won't be able to sleep up top.

Chris.

Originally Posted by Greylandy

Get a Hannibal or rackmaster full length rack. The are made from alu and will flex under load. I am surprised it has taken so long for these products to reach Australia, arguably one of the biggest markets for 4WD gear. They've been available in Europe/US for yonks and are far superior to the ARB/TJM variants.

Sorry I can't help myself ... I'll change my username to Hannibal_whore!!

Henry, frighten me. What is the price of the HR09 rack for the P38A?

I'm sitting down.

Ron

Ok... we've been thinking about this. I think the 1400x2400 size is nearly big enough for us. I would like one that's just a little bigger though. Any ideas?

I know it won't be a long term solution for us but the kids are too small yet to sleep away from us.

We are all off to arb to have a lie in one this weekend.

You missed out on my Fully Sealled Fibreglass ones...
There is still one avail in WA but it is Used....
i think $800