Lack of skyview windows

[jtakau]

After spending some three weeks on a road with my JB RTT (love it, at least for my quite civilized use), a thought hit me in one of the camping sites:

Why isn't there a skyview window on the top shell of a hard shell RTT? That would give you absolutely amazing views and increased light.

Now, I suspect that the reason is in rigidity of the shell i.e. a single piece top shell makes the whole tent more rigid and far easier to manufacture. Of course, you would also need some kind of cover for the window so that it would not get covered by mud and insects on the road but that should not be too hard to do.

 

[concretejungle]

I personally think that it opens up issues with the strength of the shell, plus it's another place to leak. But most importantly in my mind, heat. I would think it would allow the sun to beam into the tent making it hot as heck.

I am glad mine does not have any roof top windows.

The thing i do wish is that the ventilation fan moved more air. It does the job of keeping the condensation out which really is it's intention, but it sure would be nice on those hot nights to have it blow down on you. Mine, even with the fan swapped doesn't really blow any noticeable air onto you.

 

[libarata]

Should not be too hard to make your own though? Find a bubble window from a marine shop, snip a hole(ouch), make sure you use marine grade sealant, etc etc. As for dirty stuff, a clean rag should work fine.

 

[rayra]

skylight would be nice. Rooftop solar panel could cover it during the day, generating juice. At night you move the panel and enjoy the view. Or fit a roll-up fabric interior cover with velcro around the interior edges of the window, so you can seal it up. Or fashion a sliding cover out of fabric-covered pressboard slding in some channels affixed to the ceiling. Lots of ways to block the sun out.


As for fans, look at computer modding forums, there are a huge array of high volume near-silent fan solutions in 12VDC. Lots of snazzy options with a little bit of fabricating effort.

 

[jtakau]

I wonder how a bubble window on top would affect the mileage. Currently we experienced a little to no increase in consumption (BMW X5 with diesel engine, no off-road travel) and we could drive almost at European highway speed (110 km / h, at higher speed it felt that the rack was starting to catch too much wind to be comfortable).

Using fairly flat bubble window (similar to campers?), one could have a sensible cover above it. Although from practical point of view having the sun cover underneath would make it easier to adjust it when the tent is open, if you don’t go all fancy and install the cover on rails and rig it to electrical motors…

Would an ordinary cargo box be in any shape comparable to a hard shell RTT? Just thinking whether one could purchase some cheap cargo box to be used as testing ground for construction of a skyview window.

 

[rino]

Strength would be the biggest concern, followed by the heat that it would allow into the tent. Not a bad idea though!