Tent camping with a Fiesta..

[scotman]

Last night I cut and welded a heavy duty bracket. Did some grinding and drilling to fit it onto the end of the basket tube this morning. The test fit looks good! So, now i am waiting for the primer to dry before I rattle can paint it and bolt it in place.
I will post up some night images of the effect of this addition later tonight.
This will conclude the project. I will put up some images of the setup unpacked and complete. I still have to do the auxiliary battery and low voltage harness to the tent that will give me led lighting and some limited 12 volt electrical possibilities. My goal is for three days of comfortable boondocking without a recharge.

 

[scotman]

night images without and with the added reverse lamp. Screen images first then outside from 15 feet away with flash setting on phone camera at "off". I left the proximity grid on to show the vehicle position is not changed just my phone cam is not the same distance from the screen. Last two images are of the removable bracket in place for the camera screen. Just a piece of aluminum cut and bent to a usable angle and urethane double faced tape attached. I'm satisfied with the outcome of this project. I am curious about what anyone else is working on or thinking about in regards to a camping setup for the Fiesta. Post up the pics and questions in this thread!

 

[LionsTooth]

View attachment 5581 night images without and with the added reverse lamp. Screen images first then outside from 15 feet away with flash setting on phone camera at "off". I left the proximity grid on to show the vehicle position is not changed just my phone cam is not the same distance from the screen. View attachment 5584 View attachment 5585
View attachment 5583

Yeah baby!!!!!!

 

[scotman]

Seeing clearly is a good thing! If the weather holds, i will be putting the tent up and getting the electrical cabling done in the next two days. I will post pics of the carrier box contents all set up to display the massive amount of camping "stuff" this micro setup is capable of bringing along.
I probably will be buying a slightly smaller tent than the one I have now. A 5 person dome tent is way more than i need. This thing is too much hassle for me to get set up. It's doable, but if it was raining when I arrived at the campsite, i would bail on this task faster than you can say Holiday inn express.

 

[LionsTooth]

OK...I came up with a non-weld way to get my basket almost 4 inches higher at the back end. I bolted the basket bar to the top of the 2-inch receiver. Because of the reinforcement on the receiver collar that added a bit of pitch to the equation. This arrangement removes all the slop (x & y axis) in the 2-inch receiver and so no need now for the rattle clamp or pin. It brought everything in about 5 inches closer; I can still open the hatch with the bin in place.

Before...fully loaded.
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Now...not loaded

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Just wanted to post the pics of tailgate clearance with this setup. Going to do some housesitting which involves possible wildfire evac; so taking the empty box with me just in case.

 

[LionsTooth]

All good with the back of the car crammed with about 250-lbs of stuff; nothing in the box. The only thing that bottoms now are the too-long u-bolts. Gonna have to cut them down when I return home. One bonus with raising the whole shabam is now I can now see the top 3-inches of the box. No more wondering if it is actually back there!

 

[scotman]

I went with a basket that's higher and closer to the rear bumper because I don't have any back seat. I can reach anything tossed "back there" without much contortion.
How long are those u bolts? I found one of those trick, anti rattle brackets you have.I used a chop saw to shorten the ubolt by just over an inch.
And i found an acceptably sized tent!
I haven't set it up yet. But it is much lighter than the previous one.

 

[LionsTooth]

I went with a basket that's higher and closer to the rear bumper because I don't have any back seat. I can reach anything tossed "back there" without much contortion.
How long are those u bolts? I found one of those trick, anti rattle brackets you have.I used a chop saw to shorten the ubolt by just over an inch.
And i found an acceptably sized tent!
I haven't set it up yet. But it is much lighter than the previous one.

The u-bolt came with the rattle bracket. It just needs a little death-wheel love.

 

[Lbrocato]

That's where i'm at. Picked up an aluminum carrier tray for just over $100 out the door at a local farm & home store.
I have a Curt hitch on the FiST.
I am weighing the advantage of using a good quality storage tote as the protection for the tent and some other things.
The 27 gallon one shown is a bit undersized. But if i can fit most of the gear into it i might just make a filler of Styrofoam sheet to set it into and stabilize the box. Then i can just strap it down. View attachment 4973 View attachment 4974

nice where did buy theis one at?

 

[LionsTooth]

nice where did buy theis one at?

Link to all the doodads I used for my setup.

 

[scotman]

These items are available from farm and home stores, discount stores or Harbor freight. Online sources like www. Autoanything or etrailer, as well as the many other camping equipment and trailer equipment sites.
A person who is even only a tiny bit creative could make themselves a very comfortable setup for not much money at all.

 

[scotman]

Giving this thread a bump! With the cost of almost everything going up, there must be more than a few people who are looking at a car camping setup for their Fiesta.