Roof Tent Installation for 2014+ GMC/Chevy 1500's

[noahguy13]

Hey Guys,

 

After lurking on the forums and finding nothing on how to install a roof tent onto our trucks; I decided to take the plunge and see what it would take to get this done. As these style of tents are up there in pricing, (even more so for those of us in Canada), I didn't want to deal spending money excessively on rack systems that wouldn't be compatible with the tent, so I spoke directly with Smittybilt to see what they would recommend for mounting the tent on our trucks.

 

At first I was considering using one of their contractor ladder racks as they were rated for 1000lbs and offered the ability to mount additional accessories such as light bars, tools and etc. however, their tech-line representative stated that the contractor racks would not only be too wide to properly secure tent but would be limited to having only one position of how the tent opens provided I found or made the appropriate brackets to make it work. Since I was already going into reasonably uncharted territory, I wanted to take the simpler route that even the entry level novice would be comfortable installing using regular household tools with a buddy or two.

 

This led me to the TracRac ladder rack system - as every tent and roof related accessory supplier has led me to believe our roofs aren't rated for carrying weight in general - since it installs in the bed and has cross rails to mount additional items on the sides.

 

In the interest of not making this post redundant, as both kits have fairly reasonable supplied instructions, I will note the key aspects and tips for installation.

 

Installation was performed on: 2015 Sierra 1500 crew with 5’8” box

 

Part numbers used:

1x TracRac 37002

1x Smittybilt 2783

4x 773680 -5” zinc bracket Home Depot

 

Additional tools:

7/32 Allen key and/or Socket

3/16 Allen key and/or Socket

Tape measure - preferably one that reads in inches

Drill and drill kit

Dust pan and brush or vaccum

1-2 additional sets of hands

Assemble TracRac: https://c2.rt-static.com/shared/pdf/manufacturers/297/tracrac-pro2.pdf

• I found it easier to mount the posts first then worry about attaching the crossbars afterwards.
• The clamps supplied from TracRac are drilled on both sides and the instructions will not make it clear which side is the top or bottom. They are also lined with paint on the inside so before installing the clamps it is a good idea feed the recommended screws into the clamp a few times beforehand just to make it easier to install.

• The side that forms an inner ridge is the side that goes on top. This will go into the groove found on the posts. The Smittybilt tent has a 47" x57" spread, so be sure to make sure the distance between the front and rear bars posts is around 3.5FT to 3.75FT, this will allow you ample space to properly position the tent onto the bars.
• The supplied instructions state that for the front the required spacing between clamps must be at least 3” apart, and for the rear 7” apart. I chose to have both the front and rear to have the same spacing since I do not plan on mounting a tool box in the bed of the truck.
• Once the posts have installed measure lengths of the cross bars to be equally spaced out from the posts as best you can. So that they are evenly placed.
• I did not install the supplied tie downs on the crossbars yet as I wanted to make sure the roof tent will fit correctly before installing them.

[noahguy13]

Roof tent Assembly: https://static.summitracing.com/global/images/instructions/smt-2783.pdf

 

• Depending on how you wish to have your tent open (to the side or open to the rear of the truck) you may have to cut the tent’s supplied rails. I chose to mount it on the side, since it was the “no cut” method.
• Mounting the supplied rails onto the floor of the tent requires you to reposition the mattress from the inside of the tent to insert the screws and feed it through the rails.
• Once the tent rails have been installed, I would recommend to open the tent completely to clean out all of the metal shavings found on the mattress.
• Looking at the supplied brackets from Smittybilt, they would be too short to cover the width of the TracRac bars, so I went to Home Depot and found the closest sized brackets I could find.

• Unfortunately the brackets holes were not equally spaced, so I used a drill to create new holes in the brackets and also to widen the existing holes I was going to use. In hindsight, I should have gone for blank steel and used the supplied bracket from Smittybilt a template so that the holes would have been centered.

[noahguy13]

Roof tent mounted and inside it's protective cover:

 

[noahguy13]

Roof tent open:

[Shane T.]

Nice install!

[noahguy13]

Nice install!

 

Thanks! After this week I will test what the affected MPG's will be like when the roof tent is mounted.

[RaGeFeAr]

iiiiinteresting....

 

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

[Silver16]

Is this for bear/moose preventative measures?

[silveradosid]

looks like it could be a nice deer stand

[Crstfr]

great job OP... looks ligit!...

[bndawgs]

I like the concept of these roof top tents. except in the case where i'm having to wake up at 3am to take a leak. hard enough trying to get out of my sleeping bag and tent still drunk/sleepy while it's on the ground

[noahguy13]

Is this for bear/moose preventative measures?

 

Haha Nope, as Moose can jump quite high and Bears can climb.

 

I bought it because I plan on taking my truck overlanding across North America and there's guarantee that the ground is going to suitable for pitching a normal tent.

[noahguy13]

looks like it could be a nice deer stand

 

I'm fairly certain it could be used for that if you really wanted to, maybe without the tent mounted though lol

[noahguy13]

great job OP... looks ligit!...

 

Thanks! Took a while to get the correct information from manufacturers as no one with K2's (or full size GM's for that matter) appears to have done this. I'd definitely recommend having a second person to help out with the install the roof tent, regardless of what rack you intend to use.

[noahguy13]

I like the concept of these roof top tents. except in the case where i'm having to wake up at 3am to take a leak. hard enough trying to get out of my sleeping bag and tent still drunk/sleepy while it's on the ground

 

LOL This! Still haven't worked out a solution for that one...yet