What were your goals for this week?
-finalize material selection and begin base construction
What did you accomplish, please reflect on your time management. What worked or didn't?
We finalized our materials and were able to lay out the concept for the base of the rooftop tent. The base will be made with aircraft grade square aluminum tubing. We will use canvas for the soft shell portion of the tent. We also have selected a fireman ladder made out of metal to use for the extending portion of the tent.
We have now begun construction of the base with a 4' x 4' footprint which can then extend for foot room.
Andre and Landis laying down on a prototype base
Landis's work has ample metal supplies which will be used for our construction
The extended footprint on top of a small sedan
What was unexpected / what lessons did you learn?
Most sedans have a rear door which when opened blocks longer objects on the roof. This was important for us to recognize because we want users to still be able to open their trunk with the tent fully open. So, we are designing it so that it extends out over the front hood.
We also learned how many cross braces we will need to reduce any sag in the design.
We also finalized the dimensions for the base after doing some user testing with someone 6'4" who represents the tall end of users.