Nissan Patrol 4x4 (Africa)

Peter , well done

I like your design.The headroom ect , I will put lot of windows in.
Would like to see closer pics of the mechanism of the pole system, the way the elbow work and how you incorporate the T joint from the roof section into this elbow.

I have seen nice ways to open that tent with gas struts as well.You just release the clips and it opens it self without effort.Also needs a strap over the top to pull it close from the one side.

I buy my canvas from Cedarbrook in Jhb,011 708 3884 approx R 50.00 per meter x 1.8m wide A roll approx 50m
I use 500grm/sqm,Ripblock and not the Tenting one for my chairs but you can go down to 400grm/sqm I think. I like the ripblock , so that there is no tearing.

Dankie Koos, I will give them a call.

At some stage I will take some close-up photos for you, but in effect the central arm is bolted to the frame at the hinge point. The bolt passes through the arm, then through a threaded top-hat style bush wich passes through the extensions of the floor panels: From higher up on this arm, there are two two-piece links going to each floor panel. each linkage arm is equally long, and the distance from the hinge to the mounting hole is the same on the floor panel as it is on the arm. The length of these arms is carefully calculated so that when the floor is flat (IE the tent is fully open) the links are straight. The other two arms that hold the tent open are bolted to the joint between these linkage arms: The actual angle of these arms are not controlled by the frame, but by the canvas.

The plan is that the basic tent will be made from 380gsm poly-cotton ripstop canvas, the spine (which is exposed when the tent is folded closed) will be PVC tarpaulin and the flysheet will be320GSM Polyester ripstop. I have made the windows and doors as large as possible, and there are also vents in the roof under the flysheet. I am also thinking of making the divider between the two rooms from some other material to allow it to absorb the moisture condensing from our breath.

At this stage I am unfolding and folding it using the ladder, which seems to work fairly easily. At this stage closing the tent is a two-person job though as somebody needs to fold the canvas in when the tent is nearly closed, but I am experimenting with bunjee cords to do that.

Peter Connan wrote:Nikolai gelukkig is daar net een van jou, so jy het nie so 'n lang tent nodig nie. Dalk net 'n swag?

Weet niet wat een swag is ?? domme Hollander!!

Een Swag is een kleine tent:

Piet daai tent is n YSTER !!!!! Even ek met my lang lyf pas in hom!!!

Gerrit Loubser wrote:Een Swag is een kleine tent:

dan kan ik nog beter achter in mijn Patrol gaan liggen! zitten geen achterstoelen in!

Kyk n SWAG is vir geen persoon om van n kamp n lekker experience te maak nie. Dit is ongemaklik, klein, beknop en vir troepe gemaak.
Ja Nikolai , die agterkant van n Trollie baie beter.

Peter, thx for the pics, I understand fully now.
Bunjee cords, you can buy 50m rolls from BRAITEX , 4/5/6/7/8MM . I just bought a 8mm roll in Dbn, they manufacture the cords.
The access opening to climb into the tent, it's a bit open to the elements when the tent is folded, aint you scared of water, dust ingress while travelling?
Once again I like your design.

My dream camping set up , will be a tent like yours but, on a slide on camper ie. the one side will be about queen size mattress that opens up and the other half which is on the camper will be where you stand in. I will post some pics.

This is what I mean a slide on, it slide on and stand on 4 legs when camping , you use your vehicle normally as a flatbed.

The design of this camper , you stand inside, BUT here is the PERFECT design, look everything thats inside you can access from the outside, ie, you can cook inside or outside.

Queen size bed !!!!!, n man is nie n klip nie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The 1 st pic is approx the same design as Peter's design, just much larger.

Koos my dad has something like that, although probably a bit smaller, but which fits onto a standard bakkie loadbed.

This particular one was made by Radical Tops (they have since sold it to somebody else) and has room for two people. We have modified it extensively to make it easier to put on and remove from the bakkie, and it is a wonderfull device from this point of view, as you can arrive in camp and within 2minutes be ready to camp for the night, or you can unload it from the vehicle in about 20 minutes ready for an extended stay.

It has one problem though: It is very heavy (particularly when loaded) and the centre of gravity is fairly far back. This affects the handling of the bakkie (in this case a previous-shape 2.7 hilux) on corrugated roads very badly. The worst are the long corrugations found on the soft sand roads of the Kalahari, where it starts bouncing to the extent that my dad practically has to stop. I guess it would work better on a Patrol bakkie or a cruiser, but on the normal bakkie this is a problem.

On a more personal note it would not work for me because I need the seven seats of the Patrol, and cannot afford both a big bakkie and a big SUV, so I needed to make the Patrol work. I also don't want to tow, and I just prefer the patrol to any bakkie I have ever used.

Koos that gap in front of the door you are worried about will get an aluminium clip-on cover with sealing strips shortly.

Managed to get a couple of more things done this weekend.

I made a clip-on cover for the dooway: When the door is removed, it clips onto the bottom of the tent, so that there is somewhere to put your muddy shoes: I also fitted two strip lights into each room, with both lights in each room connected through a conveniently located switch. The lights plug into a hella plug I mounted in the wheelarch a while ago, so that the car can be completely closed and all the doors can be operated as per normal without having to worry about wires etc.: Weather permitting, I will be trying it out on the weekend of the 24th. A fitting occasion indeed?