Amescador Rear hatch Tent ...REVIEW

Amescador Rear Hatch Tent





I had seen pictures of the Amescador convertion many years ago, and always liked the look of their rear tent extension.
I have searched for a used tent for years, but could never source one, until now.
Ruud Rams of www.reprowesty.com has finally been able to have these made to the exact specifications as Amescador used to manufacture.. So much so that, with permission, Amescador allows the use of their logo and a seal of approval.





Reprowesty is based in Norway, and they make the tents to order. Depending of Van type and roof type. Mine was made for a Bay with rear hinging Westy Roof.

To save on Postage costs I was only supplied with the Tent and Poles. I really didn’t want to pay for half a sheet of ply to be posted…. But Ruud emailed me the dimensions for the wooden base.


The base can be made out of half a sheet of 18mm plywood, simple carpentry skills, I just used a hand saw, plane, jigsaw and drill… plus a plaster or two.



Once the ply is cut to size and the part of the pole assembly is fixed to the board. There are two hanger poles that attach to the van by the tail gate hinges,.. Tee’d off of these hangers are poles that attach to the tail gate.. These poles only add rigidity to the tent fabric and prevent the tail gat being lowered.

The board itself is fixed to the van using a couple 6mm screw bolts and rivnuts (Captive-rivet type fixings) . The rivnuts are easy to use if you have the kit, but most garages have them, I borrowed my mates.


Once the board and poles are in place the Tent is thrown over the tail gate and strapped down… I broke a strap, tightening to hard !!!!







The edges of the tent is held in place with four sections of awning track. These came pre-moulded with fixings.






The only problem I had was these were very sharp on the ends, initially the fabric snagged and tore if I pulled too hard, a little filing and all will be fine.



Job done, mattress in the back.. shortly followed by the children…


Now I have a double bed and retain the lounge/dining area in the van…

I will add to this after our first family outing.

It it value for money...I can't answer that yet.. but it's cheaper than a Doubleback

 

zed

 

Ta baghead.

 

That's an impressive coffee table. Makes my effort look pointless now



I like it. Gives that extra space and a sofa too.

 

how/ where does it all go when its got hanging out the back ?

 

that looks good keep us posted on how it performs after some use..

 

In the boot. The board fits in, although a tight squeeze with the spare wheel. The canvas packs up quite small, and the poles aren't a problem.

 

Cool, thanks for the review.

Really interesting stuff, looking forward to a 'in camp' review.

 

youve had to drill and screw that track to the body?

 

Yeah, no biggy... Easily rectified if need be.

 

could make carrying 4.2 meter lengths of timber easier

 

No worse than drilling holes for a wheel carrier. A blob of weld and if needs be it'll be a thing of the past.

 

Great for the kids.
Did you have to remove some headlining to fit the two hanger poles? How much weight do you think they'll take?

 

true enough, bet you hesitated for a second before doing the first one?

 

do you have another piece of bed foam just for the extension?

 

I do, but it didn't come with the tent

 

Nice one, thanks for all the details in the review.......

 

where do you keep it when the tent isn't up? the tent base looks a lot deeper than the space behind the seat.
love the tent, btw

 

It does fit in the back.., just

 

Hiya Baghead,
Looks cool,You gunna bring it to Hogs Back so we can have a nose?You could turn it into a cocktail bar.Dual purpose!!