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moparman76_69
moparman76_69 HalfDork
2/19/13 7:05 p.m.

Ok I give up, how does that tent work?

mazdeuce
mazdeuce Dork
2/19/13 7:33 p.m.

They're somewhere between a folding beach chair and the sunshade thingy on an infant car seat. Quite awesome.

andrave
andrave Dork
2/19/13 8:21 p.m.

that harbor freight tongue jack was a waste of money, I went through a few of those before I realized spending $20 or $30 every year on a new POS jack didn't save money and certainly not time over buying a $60 bulldog jack once. and the bulldog jacks are smoother and have serviceable and replaceable parts, to boot.

also I've grown to hate the wheeled tongue jacks. I like a sturdy foot. especially for some sort of sleeping structure I might want to unhook from the car.

aussiesmg
aussiesmg UltimaDork
2/20/13 4:31 a.m.
AngryCorvair wrote: you know Wayne is taller than that, yes?

Adjusted that slightly

Tom Suddard
Tom Suddard Intern
2/20/13 10:00 a.m.

In reply to moparman76_69:

There's a video on the front page of this site: http://www.tepuitents.com that explains it quite well. It takes me about 5 minutes to set it up with all the awnings.

914Driver
914Driver MegaDork
2/20/13 10:48 a.m.

Because I'm anal, I would probably put some cross bracing inside to keep the thing from feeling "Tippy". It could be that the tippiness is actually the trailer suspension moving around.

AngryCorvair
AngryCorvair PowerDork
2/20/13 11:21 a.m.
aussiesmg wrote:
AngryCorvair wrote: you know Wayne is taller than that, yes?
Adjusted that slightly

And made it more frightening!

Tom Suddard
Tom Suddard Intern
2/20/13 10:57 p.m.

So, what color scheme should I go with? I was thinking something two-toned, just to make it look shorter. Red and black like my Trooper?

wlkelley3
wlkelley3 SuperDork
2/21/13 9:22 p.m.

I would either go with matching the color of the primary tow vehicle (Trooper?) or match the color of the tent.

mazdeuce
mazdeuce Dork
2/21/13 9:25 p.m.

Paint it like a sky scraper.

Tom Suddard
Tom Suddard Intern
2/22/13 8:21 a.m.

Lol, like the last Top Gear America?

mtn
mtn PowerDork
4/8/13 12:19 p.m.

Tom, couple of questions about the box--Did you use only glue for the sides, and what kind? Also, do you plan on doing any kind of weather proofing at all aside from paint?

mtn
mtn PowerDork
4/15/13 10:41 p.m.
mtn wrote: Tom, couple of questions about the box--Did you use only glue for the sides, and what kind? Also, do you plan on doing any kind of weather proofing at all aside from paint?

Bumpity

Tom Suddard
Tom Suddard Intern
4/16/13 8:27 p.m.

Sorry, missed this. I used Gorilla glue and lots of screws for the side. And I did weatherproof the back door opening with extruded rubber moulding; I need to get a picture.

Also, I finally painted it! Two coats of latex primer followed by two coats of the best exterior paint Lowes had. Here's a picture:

Tom Suddard
Tom Suddard Associate Editor
4/16/13 8:29 p.m.

Also notice Karl La Follette's excellent tint job.

Bumboclot
Bumboclot Reader
4/16/13 9:37 p.m.

The link to your picture is broken. I really want to see it.

Tom Suddard
Tom Suddard Intern
4/17/13 7:41 a.m.

Better?

Bumboclot
Bumboclot Reader
5/6/13 11:14 p.m.

Si. Gracias.

Tom Suddard
Tom Suddard Associate Editor
3/30/15 10:59 a.m.

I will say that I can no longer recommend this method. Here's what it looks like now, after the steel on the trailer failed and the tongue fell off:

T.J.
T.J. PowerDork
3/30/15 11:09 a.m.

Damn, that sucks. I'm assuming that nobody was hurt when those shenanigans went down, so that is at least something positive to keep in mind. How far from home were you when that happened and were you able to recover much of your gear?

oldtin
oldtin UberDork
3/30/15 11:12 a.m.

looks like an eventful trip home. Hopefully nothing except trailer was damaged. What part failed? Steel itself or bolted on hitch mount,

Adrian_Thompson
Adrian_Thompson UltimaDork
3/30/15 11:21 a.m.

Ouch, I'm glad (I hope) that everyone is OK. Can you provide pics of the failure, or did you abandon the wreckage?

golfduke
golfduke Reader
3/30/15 11:37 a.m.

shoot. did the tent survive or no? this is why I'm so afraid of HF anything on the road.

Tom Suddard
Tom Suddard Associate Editor
3/30/15 11:45 a.m.

It happened on my way south to Sebring for the 12 hours. I dragged the trailer into the median with the Trooper (it was on its back in the middle lane of I-4), unbolted the tent, put it on the roof of the Trooper, pried open the rear doors, grabbed all of my stuff and threw it into the Trooper, dragged the trailer wreckage into a safe spot under a bridge, and kept heading south to Sebring. Naturally, traffic was heavy and it was pouring rain for most of the ordeal. My dad and Gary came and grabbed the wreckage for me the next morning, since I had to man our booth at Sebring. I haven't looked it over too closely yet, but my inspection on the side of the road made it obvious that the cheap steel had failed. The tongue tore right off with about a 3" piece of metal from the rest of the trailer still bolted to it at each attachment.

Luckily, nobody was hurt, and my tent is fine except for a few friction burns on the cover. I still had a lovely weekend camping at Sebring.

Tom Suddard
Tom Suddard Associate Editor
3/30/15 11:46 a.m.

Oh, and I should add that I was just cruising down the road in the middle lane–no acceleration, bumps, etc. Just heard a giant "thud" and looked back to see my trailer tumbling down the highway.

I'll also add that orange emergency strobes are awesome, and the Trooper was lit up like a Christmas tree during the ordeal. Traffic gave me lots of room.

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