I am getting a little too old to be sleeping in a pup tent and the crawling around on the ground is hard on the old knees and back
Looking over the net, most that I find are rather expensive for my budget.
This one is from Leesurelite and retails for more than $5,000 dollars. I like the layout and the room as well as the low weight of the trailer [250 lbs].
So why can't I build one for less?
I started doodling and doing some planning and this is what I come up with.
It should be simple enough to build the box, bend a little conduit piping and manufacture the hardware needed, take it to an upholsterer and get them to sew up a tent. The box would be about 5 feet long-40 inches wide and 18 inches tall. Once opened up the whole thing sets up quickly. As you lift the top of the box it pulls the canvas and the tent poles into position. The tubing can be made adjustable and pushed upward to make the canvas taut. Then a small board is extended to make the sleeping area 6'6 feet long.
If all goes well it should end up looking something like this. Granted it will not have the sleek look of fiberglass like the retail model but it should be sufficient to keep one off the ground and have room to stand up in.
The tubing had me stumped for a little while but with a tubing bender and some additional hardware the whole thing could fold down into the box neatly.
Attach the box to the top of a trailer, stick a cooler on the front frame and away you go camping.
Anyhoo, this is as far as I have gotten, the tent tarp still has a few wrinkles left to be ironed out and I don't want to get started on a doomed project unless I am sure that I can finish it and have a decent looking trailer to haul behind the Wing.
I think I can keep the cost down as I already have the trailer, just need to add stabilizer jacks to the bottom of it, buy some plywood and piano hinge, get the tubing, tubing bender and then find some fabric for the tent.
