Vehicle roof-top tent
The present invention relates tents, and in particular, relates to various features and accessories for vehicle roof-top tents. The claimed inventions provide many advantages over tents in the prior art. For example, the roof-top design frees up space inside your vehicle, and height acts as a secondary safety defense against wildlife and ground-related elements. Other advantageous aspects of the claimed inventions include a superior curved frame, removable shoe bags, a roll up window awning, semicircular windows, a canopy PVC window, an aluminum honeycomb tent base, an advantageous stowing arrangement for the canopy pole, bungee cord pockets, dual PVC skylights and a quick release mounting for the vehicle roof rack. Other systems, methods, features and advantages of the invention are also described and presented in the figures and detailed description.
1. A vehicle roof-mounted tent comprising:
a base including a fixed portion for mounting on the roof of the vehicle and a pivoting portion connected to the fixed portion, arranged to pivot away from the vehicle;
a main tent portion, generally of tent fabric, supported by a pivoting frame, the main tent portion being positioned over the fixed and pivotal portions of the base;
a canopy portion, generally of tent fabric, extending beyond the end of the pivoting portion of the base;
an access ladder, a top end of the access ladder bearing against an edge of the pivoting portion of the base in a deployed orientation; and
a shoe/utility bag, suspended from the edge of the pivoting portion of the base, adjacent to the access ladder.
2. The tent of claim 1 further comprising a rain fly, positioned over the main tent portion and the canopy portion.
3. The tent of claim 2 wherein:
the main tent portion comprises two windows on a roof surface to serve as skylights; and
the rain fly comprises two PVC windows positioned above the two windows on the roof surface of the main tent, serving as skylights.
4. The tent of claim 1 wherein the base comprises:
an aluminum honeycomb material; and
a U-channel fixed about the perimeter of the aluminum honeycomb material.
5. The tent of claim 1 wherein the main tent portion and the canopy portion, in combination, comprise an aerodynamic, curved profile.
6. The tent of claim 1 , wherein the shoe/utility bag and the access ladder are sheltered by the canopy portion.
7. The tent of claim 6 , wherein the shoe/utility bag is removably connected to a groove in the pivoting portion of the base.
8. The tent of claim 7 , wherein the shoe/utility bag comprises a rubber rod sewn into the top edge of the shoe/utility bag, the rubber rod being sized to slide into the groove in the pivoting portion of the base.
9. The tent of claim 1 , wherein the main tent portion further comprises two large side windows.
10. The tent of claim 9 , wherein the large side windows are semi-circular in shape, having a straight, horizontal bottom edge.
11. The tent of claim 10 , further comprising roll-up window awnings shaped to accommodate the semi-circular shaped side windows, the roll-up window awnings being connected to the tent fabric along the complete semi-circular arc.
12. The tent of claim 1 wherein the canopy further comprises a PVC window.
13. The tent of claim 1 further comprising a removable canopy pole pivotally connected to the pivotal portion of the base, for supporting the canopy portion.
14. The tent of claim 13 further comprising loops and Velcro on the underside of the pivoting portion of the base, for storing the canopy pole while the tent is in a folded orientation.
15. The tent of claim 1 further comprising a generally rectangular utility pocket, removably connected to the underside of the pivoting portion of the base, whereby the utility may be used to store additional items while the tent is in a folded orientation.
16. The tent of claim 1 wherein the fixed portion of the base is secured to the roof of the vehicle by way of a quick release system.
17. The tent of claim 16 wherein the quick release system comprises:
slide channels connected to the fix portion of the base;
threaded rods in slidable engagement with the slide channels;
plates which may be positioned with the threaded rods passing therethrough; and
knurled hand screws for removably fixing the plates in position.
18. The tent of claim 1 , wherein the fixed portion of the base and the pivoting portion of the base are pivotally connected by way of a pair of brackets, the pair of brackets also serving as the pivot point for the pivoting frame.
19. The tent of claim 18 , wherein the pivoting frame comprises three arcuate poles, evenly spaced apart by way of two fabric straps fixed to the extreme ends of the base.
20. The tent of claim 1 , wherein the shoe/utility bag comprises a larger pocket and a smaller see-through pocket.
21. The tent of claim 1 , wherein the shoe/utility bag includes a first Velcro element which mates with a second Velcro element on the bottom of the pivoting portion of the base, so the shoe/utility bag can be stowed.
22. A tent for mounting on the roof of a vehicle comprising:
a base including a fixed portion for mounting on the roof of the vehicle and a pivoting portion connected to the fixed portion, arranged to pivot away from the vehicle;
a main tent portion of tent fabric, including:
a pivoting frame;
a door; and
at least one window on a roof surface to serve as a skylight;
the main tent portion being positioned over the fixed and pivotal portions of the base;
a canopy portion of tent fabric, extending beyond the end of the pivoting portion of the base;
a rain fly, comprising a PVC window positioned above the window on the roof surface of the main tent, the rain fly being positioned over the main tent portion and the canopy portion;
an access ladder having a top end pivotally connected to the end of the pivoting portion of the base; and
a shoe/utility bag, suspended from the end of the pivoting portion of the base, adjacent to the access ladder.
23. The tent of claim 22 , wherein the fixed portion of the base and the pivoting portion of the base are pivotally connected by way of a pair of brackets, the pair of brackets also providing pivot points for poles of the pivoting frame.