The latest craze these days seem to be Roof Top Tents (RTT). There are hundreds of sites out there telling you the pros and cons of having one. I love the idea of quickly setting up camp, being able to sleep almost anywhere your rig fits. The main drawback for me and owning a RTT is ladders. I can not safely do ladders anymore. Let alone trying to climb up one carrying my 60lb meatball of a dog, Boomer. So what does that leave me with? I can set up a regular ground tent, which I have done countless of times, but there has to be a better way. Especially a quicker way to set up and tear down. And a more comfortable way of sleeping off the of the ground. I already had a 6×8 landscape trailer that I bought from Tractor Supply. I also had a really awesome OzTent Rv-1. Why not make both work together?
I brainstormed for a few days, doing some research online, and didn’t really see any ideas of what I was picturing this build to be. There were a few must haves. The trailer needed to be converted easily back into a utility trailer. I wanted to make setting up and breaking down the tent as easily as possible. All of my bedding must be in the tent while transporting.
I started out by building a 5×8 platform made of 2×4’s and 3/4″ plywood. I wanted this frame to be strong. That combination did the trick.
I then placed the OzTent on the platform where I wanted to be. One of the great features of an OzTent is their 30 second set up and take down time. Let me tell you, it really is that simple. Where the tent stakes would go, I built in D-Ring mounts into the platform. Using zipties, I attached the tent to the D-rings. This will allow me to easily take it apart when needed, but will give me a very strong mounting point for the tent.
I welded in table on the trailer rails. I used angle iron for the tabs and bolted right though each corner of the platform. The platform is extremely secure, and with just remodeling 4 bolts, I can easily remove it.
Next challenge.. How to transport everything without it going all over the road or trail.
