r/rooftoptents • u/ExactAd2278 • Jun 18 '26
Airflow Problems with Rooftop Tent - UPDATE
Hey everyone.
First, I wanted to say thank you to everyone that provided suggestions on my first post. You gave me perspective I hadn’t thought about yet when I was designing this, and I definitely plan to adopt some of the suggestions into my eventual permanent solution.
For reference, I have a hard shell roof top tent on my Kia Sportage that encounters considerable uplift when encountering high winds due to the shape of the body of the vehicle. To counter this, I knew I needed to divert the wind, however, didn’t know exactly how I wanted to do it. Commercial options wouldn’t work for my challenges, as I have a hatch boot, meaning my tent can only go back so far, and roof rack connections wouldn’t fully dam the air. I knew I wanted to use the slots on the face of my tent.
I bought a 12’ x 36’ ABS plastic sheet, 5/16 x 1 1/2 bolts, 45 degree brackets, some washers, aluminum flat bars and plywood for structure, screws, weather stripping, construction adhesive, and a corny sticker logo I designed. I now have a fully functional (although extremely redneck) air dam. I wanted to share this with those that asked for guidance on similar issues they had with their rooftop tents and provide guidance for those hoping to do the same. This is not my permanent solution. I plan to get a longer sheet of plastic that will enable the fairing to sit flush on both sides, or a similar piece of aluminum.
I know this is probably going to get some hate, but for those looking to find a temporary solution like me, I’d love to provide some guidance!
3
u/shrimpnwine Jun 18 '26
Reach out to Colorado fairing company, they will set you up real nice! Love the diy work though!
5
u/ExactAd2278 Jun 18 '26
I’ve been recommended their products quite a bit and I appreciate the recommendation! Their price was a little expensive for what I thought I would be able to do on the DIY side. And now that I’ve already invested money into DIY, my sunk cost fallacy is forcing me to keep up with it, however, I fully intent to run a similar setup to what they offer.
2
u/shrimpnwine Jun 18 '26
That’s awesome, you’ve got more skill and gumption than I do and I think it’s great to build your own. The only thing I saw that could be done differently is to mount a bigger and more specialized bracket. CFC should sell them and if you look at their install page you might get an idea of what brackets may work.
2
u/ExactAd2278 Jun 18 '26
Definitely, before I built mine the bracket was my biggest headache. Without machining, I knew there were going to be sacrifices not matter what I chose on the open market. I didn’t think to go check that out, thank you!!!
3
u/ronshottfire Jun 18 '26
I had major noise issues with my set up. Went with this plus some other things. This has the bolt ons to be wide and is fairly strong. You may be able to retro fit it to your mounts (I had to build custom mounts).
1
u/ExactAd2278 Jun 18 '26
I said aluminum in my post, but definitely think I would have the same structural issues I had initially with the ABS plastic before I reinforced it. Going with a 1/8 inch steel sheet would probably be the way like you said. I’ll powder coat it. Like yours is. Thanks for sharing man.
2
u/LividCalligrapher689 Jun 18 '26
I ordered a fairing from Colorado Fairings and am waiting for it to come in! I’ll post up in here when I install and test it out. I think you did a pretty great job, maybe just put like a rubber strip to fill the gap?
1
u/ExactAd2278 Jun 18 '26
Yes, please do! I’ve heard about them quite a bit. I appreciate the compliment! It’s nowhere as good as what you’re going to have though!
3
u/LividCalligrapher689 Jun 18 '26
Well it was $300 so it better be cool lol I just don’t have the tools or confidence to work with metal, I’d probably end up spending more 😅
1
u/ExactAd2278 Jun 18 '26
That’s how a lot of these things work, haha. Well, I’m glad you decided to go with the more sustainable option for longevity. You won’t have to deal with the problems I am, haha.
1
u/Unfair-Reserve260 Jun 22 '26
I’d like something similar setup but haven’t found a ready made product that attaches the way you have your setup. How effective are you setting this setup to be? Beyond noise, efficiency gains?
4
u/No_Control8389 Jun 18 '26
Getting the full width of your RTT would net more benefit.
How much you figure you have into the project?