November 21, 2024
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Having camped once in the car top tent, I decided that putting it on and removing it every time I want to use it would be a pain! So I decided to take my little 4’x 4′ Harbor Freight trailer and build it into a dedicated home for the roof-top tent. Step zero is always, do a mock up in Sketchup. I got lucky. Someone had already built my ancient Harbor Freight trailer in Sketchup.


And a quick caveat about my welds. I know they suck!


I started by removing the existing deck and welding on 3″ x 1/4″ angle iron in the corners as uprights.

Next was cross braces. They were also made of the 3″ angle iron. I have A LOT of it that we pulled out of the ceiling of the brewery.

The next step was to put cross braces on the top. I really wish I had a welding table. It is slightly out of square in every dimension. 🙁

I next jumped the gun a little bit and started cladding the sides before I figured out how I was going to put the roof rack on. I have made all of the side panels removeable. I used RivNuts and hex screws to put it all together. A little bit of Blue Loctite and it should be good to go! The wooden cross braces are for attaching things inside.

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