Random Twitch
Forum Member
- Joined
- Apr 16, 2021
- Messages
- 16
- Location
- Australia
- Car Year
- 2007
- Car Model
- Forester X
- Transmission
- Manual
I've been toying with the idea of making a sleeping platform for a swag on my 2007 Forester. The reasons are
1) many free campsites cater to campervans, the ground is rough.
2) fellow DUI-ing campers may drive around without a lot of care, sleeping in a low tent feels like not always a good idea
3) creepies, crawlies, crocs etc,
4) the dream of something quick, clean and easy - roll out the swag on a clean surface, roll it up and go in the morning.
Crucially, I'd like it to take up less that my whole roof rack - I'd like room for a payload on the other side (e.g. water, fuel, etc), maybe in a half-roof basket.
Thought I'd post in case someone is interested. My rate of progress is going to be quite slow.
My objective is to make a lightweight frame that can accommodate a swag 2000 x 750mm. It would have to be rolled out and rolled up with every use/pack-up. It has to be *easy*, or its just not viable realistically after a long day's drive.
This means a couple of things:
- final version will be aluminium, probably extrusion like t-slot, maybe a security mesh (e.g. a screen door) for the base, maybe plywood.
- the platform will have to have a) a support for the swag itself, and b) space and support to handle a person standing up to move around the swag. They might be different materials.
- there will have to be pins/holes/clamps to receive the corners of the swag, easily accessed and released.
I snagged a roofrack with three crossbars on Ebay, to help spread the weight (the heaviest component being, myself. Sigh...).
This weekend I put together a prototype from framing timber (~ 2 x 4s) and plywood. I instantly understood the challenge differently.
I first tried it without the swag rolled out, just the bare plywood.
Firstly, light is good! (Wood is not). This is something I am supposed to put on and off, between trips and living in the urban matrix. The risk of banging up paintwork is pretty real. (I might go so far as to paint the roof with truckliner).
Roof slope is a real thing, and takes/gives about ~20mm more height in the middle than the ends. Simple but important. Easy to deal with in wood frame, anyway - note the different notching.
Positioning: I like the left side rather than the right. Just a little more distance from roadside, leaves driver side clear. Access would have to be from a ladder much better than this one, but the positioning on the left rear corner is right. I'm envisioning a canopy extending off the left side, so this would sit behind it.
I thought the front overhang might be excessive, but honestly I think that's fine. I haven't trimmed the plywood back (I want to use it for something else later), but the real extent of the platform would only be to the frame timbers underneath.
The aerodynamic penalty ("cupping" the wind between windscreen and the platform) would be minimal - I think - if its made with something permeable like security mesh (which would hopefully too be wide a mesh for whistling at highway speeds). There is no appreciable difference to the view from the driver's seat. I don't believe its enough to trigger any regulations for roof loads in Victoria (or Australia generally) - but I could be wrong.
The height is uncomfortable. It was a hot, muggy day after a heatwave, I hadn't slept much and just pushing the saw around left me dripping with sweat. Also, I'm old and knees and hips creak a bit more than they used to, which doesn't *take* your balance, but does weaken it. That's a pretty good allegory for being really tired after a long drive. As it stands, this strategy is not particularly safe. I place extra emphasis on this - safety - because I'll be using it in often isolated situations. Best way to deal with an accident is not to have one.
The ladder needs to go right to full height, and be fixed at the top and solid at the base - lateral movement is inevitable. I would like it to be further back near the base, giving more clearance to a canopy and camp underneath, but still clear for rear hatch access.
It would be VERY nice to have an upright handle at the back there to hold onto, even when on the platform. I wonder if proper roof tents solve this by using a bigger platform and a better entry angle *into* a tent rather than *onto* a roof? I can only think of something that folds up, but I think that's ambitious on the highway (or tracks with trees...). Don't know about that one yet.
The platform itself needs railings. Its really clear. Even wrapped in the swag, I would want something on either side, especially on the left. Just asking for trouble without it.
Positioning on the rack is an interesting question. I am not sure there is enough space left on the right of the platform for anything useful. I am thinking that not only do I need to support the footprint of the swag (2000mmx750mm), but I need a 'ribbon' of platform to stand on - like 300m of strong plywood supported by a framing member - on the rear and right (middle-of-roof) side. That would give room to maneuver, especially when rolling the swag. But that comes at the expense of the payload rack.
https://cdn.snowys.com.au/content/images/thumbs/1253681_mitchell-expedition-single-swag.jpeg
The swag itself has poles (Oztrail Biker), with a 'hoop' at the front and the back. The centre is held aloft by tension between those two hoops and two guy-lines, front and back. I can't see any other way of assembling this other than getting up on the roof and doing it. I didn't try. Even if it was safe, it would be a pretty tiresome job if you drop the pole.
One dreamy little thought would be to build in a replacement for those hoops, as part of the platform frame - I could just flip them up and attach the canvass to them. Much quicker than the OEM poles, potentially. Of course, then I'd be effectively making a couple of masts with the swag canvass as a sail, and I'd want that to be pretty strong.
Finally, I am thinking that maybe the whole platform could be folded in half lengthways. I could move the centreline to a point just near the roofrack feet, and effectively hang the left half over the side. That would make the whole thing more slimline, giving more room to the payload on the right.
Just ideas, thought some might find it interesting.
1) many free campsites cater to campervans, the ground is rough.
2) fellow DUI-ing campers may drive around without a lot of care, sleeping in a low tent feels like not always a good idea
3) creepies, crawlies, crocs etc,
4) the dream of something quick, clean and easy - roll out the swag on a clean surface, roll it up and go in the morning.
Crucially, I'd like it to take up less that my whole roof rack - I'd like room for a payload on the other side (e.g. water, fuel, etc), maybe in a half-roof basket.
Thought I'd post in case someone is interested. My rate of progress is going to be quite slow.
My objective is to make a lightweight frame that can accommodate a swag 2000 x 750mm. It would have to be rolled out and rolled up with every use/pack-up. It has to be *easy*, or its just not viable realistically after a long day's drive.
This means a couple of things:
- final version will be aluminium, probably extrusion like t-slot, maybe a security mesh (e.g. a screen door) for the base, maybe plywood.
- the platform will have to have a) a support for the swag itself, and b) space and support to handle a person standing up to move around the swag. They might be different materials.
- there will have to be pins/holes/clamps to receive the corners of the swag, easily accessed and released.
I snagged a roofrack with three crossbars on Ebay, to help spread the weight (the heaviest component being, myself. Sigh...).
This weekend I put together a prototype from framing timber (~ 2 x 4s) and plywood. I instantly understood the challenge differently.
I first tried it without the swag rolled out, just the bare plywood.
Firstly, light is good! (Wood is not). This is something I am supposed to put on and off, between trips and living in the urban matrix. The risk of banging up paintwork is pretty real. (I might go so far as to paint the roof with truckliner).
Roof slope is a real thing, and takes/gives about ~20mm more height in the middle than the ends. Simple but important. Easy to deal with in wood frame, anyway - note the different notching.
Positioning: I like the left side rather than the right. Just a little more distance from roadside, leaves driver side clear. Access would have to be from a ladder much better than this one, but the positioning on the left rear corner is right. I'm envisioning a canopy extending off the left side, so this would sit behind it.
I thought the front overhang might be excessive, but honestly I think that's fine. I haven't trimmed the plywood back (I want to use it for something else later), but the real extent of the platform would only be to the frame timbers underneath.
The aerodynamic penalty ("cupping" the wind between windscreen and the platform) would be minimal - I think - if its made with something permeable like security mesh (which would hopefully too be wide a mesh for whistling at highway speeds). There is no appreciable difference to the view from the driver's seat. I don't believe its enough to trigger any regulations for roof loads in Victoria (or Australia generally) - but I could be wrong.
The height is uncomfortable. It was a hot, muggy day after a heatwave, I hadn't slept much and just pushing the saw around left me dripping with sweat. Also, I'm old and knees and hips creak a bit more than they used to, which doesn't *take* your balance, but does weaken it. That's a pretty good allegory for being really tired after a long drive. As it stands, this strategy is not particularly safe. I place extra emphasis on this - safety - because I'll be using it in often isolated situations. Best way to deal with an accident is not to have one.
The ladder needs to go right to full height, and be fixed at the top and solid at the base - lateral movement is inevitable. I would like it to be further back near the base, giving more clearance to a canopy and camp underneath, but still clear for rear hatch access.
It would be VERY nice to have an upright handle at the back there to hold onto, even when on the platform. I wonder if proper roof tents solve this by using a bigger platform and a better entry angle *into* a tent rather than *onto* a roof? I can only think of something that folds up, but I think that's ambitious on the highway (or tracks with trees...). Don't know about that one yet.
The platform itself needs railings. Its really clear. Even wrapped in the swag, I would want something on either side, especially on the left. Just asking for trouble without it.
Positioning on the rack is an interesting question. I am not sure there is enough space left on the right of the platform for anything useful. I am thinking that not only do I need to support the footprint of the swag (2000mmx750mm), but I need a 'ribbon' of platform to stand on - like 300m of strong plywood supported by a framing member - on the rear and right (middle-of-roof) side. That would give room to maneuver, especially when rolling the swag. But that comes at the expense of the payload rack.
https://cdn.snowys.com.au/content/images/thumbs/1253681_mitchell-expedition-single-swag.jpeg
The swag itself has poles (Oztrail Biker), with a 'hoop' at the front and the back. The centre is held aloft by tension between those two hoops and two guy-lines, front and back. I can't see any other way of assembling this other than getting up on the roof and doing it. I didn't try. Even if it was safe, it would be a pretty tiresome job if you drop the pole.
One dreamy little thought would be to build in a replacement for those hoops, as part of the platform frame - I could just flip them up and attach the canvass to them. Much quicker than the OEM poles, potentially. Of course, then I'd be effectively making a couple of masts with the swag canvass as a sail, and I'd want that to be pretty strong.
Finally, I am thinking that maybe the whole platform could be folded in half lengthways. I could move the centreline to a point just near the roofrack feet, and effectively hang the left half over the side. That would make the whole thing more slimline, giving more room to the payload on the right.
Just ideas, thought some might find it interesting.
