MAZDA BT 50
Like Most Dual Cab utes on the Australian market - BT50 and Ford Ranger Dual Cab Utes can be complex vehicles to add Roof top tents and Pole Less awnings - Due to their Articulating cab / tray.
We have found that Roof top tent and Awning installations over the cabin of most Dual Cab utes is the best way to keep the vehicles body roll minimal - and maintain the vehicles climbing and handling capabilities on and off road. There are benefits too with Forward mounted roof top tents in regard to walk up access to the tent via the Tub or tray...
Why fit rooftop tents over the cab on the BT 50 and Other Dual cab Vehicles?
Over-cab mounting of Roof top Loads reduces vehicle body roll. Fitting a Roof Top Tent over the Dual Cab Cabin can also create a bit of room on the rear canopy to help you access the ladder, or if customised - Have WALK UP ENTRY into the tent... (See more on this here on Canopy Tray vehicles link here ) In most cases, Dual Cab Utes on and off-road performance is best maintained by keeping 'up high' weight centred over the middle of the vehicle (Over the cab) and as low as possible on the vehicle.
More on this here on our Dual Cab Roof top tent racks page.
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The best roof top tent for the BT 50
As per our reccommendations elsewhere on the website - The shortlist of Quality tents leading the way for all different reasons (Pro's and Cons) are all listed here :
The Roof top tent of particular noteworthy mention would be the
Bundutec Bundutop...
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a super comfortable all weather tent with the shortest footprint at just 2.1m - a great size for the BT 50.
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FITTING YOUR POLE LESS AWNING DIRECTLY TO YOUR ROOF TOP TENT ON DUAL CAB BT 50
When Fitting Awnings to the BT 50/Ford Ranger - please note its easiest to fit awnings directly to the tent to get the height you need to stand under the awning.
* It also gives the Awning a long object to mount an awning too. Not all roof top tents can support a pole less awning, Tough Touring Makes Brackets to do just this - see the tents you can do this on here - Awning to Tent brackets
This also Means Fibreglass and plastic Tents are Much harder to integrate with an awning (Because you can't bolt a 30Kg Awning to a plastic tent)
DIFFICULTIES FITTING ROOF RACKS TO NEWER MODEL MAZDA BT 50...
(2012 to 2021) BT50 of these years can often have no roof rack mount points built into their roof - probably due to the entire roof pillar being filled with side protrusion air bags.: Newer BT 50 since 2022 we've seen are not affected as far as we've seen but its wise to check.
- DO NOT DRILL THROUGH THE ROOF SKIN WITHOUT CAREFULL EXAMINATION FIRST - THIS USUALLY MEANS DROPPING THE HEAD LINING.
Roof rack rails can only be fitted by drilling into the roof and inserting the required bolts.
This must be done with precision, avoiding the internal Air bag Cavity (on any vehicle) - as Piercing an airbag Unit could cause an explosion and or prevent the airbags working in an accident down the track.
In The event of no factory mounting points in the roof - Tough Touring manufactures its own "reverse DOME NUT High tensile bolt Kit - to Allow the fitting of Over cab roof racks. The Reverse Dome nut kit is installed Bolt 'thread out' to provide the ultimate in rack strength, whilst not providing anything sharp on the inside of the roof cavity that could pop an airbag on deployment (Example on our shop page here )
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Of course if there are already 4 x M8 Bolt holes already visibile each side. Excellent - You can mount rack feet straight to the provided bolt holes and then our 1750mm roof rail roof rack.
FITTING A POLE LESS AWNING TO A SHORTER DUAL CAB CANOPY
FULL SIZE 270 AWNING OPTIONS:
If you want to fit a full size wing awning Like the Ostrich 270 Wing awning directly to any Dual Cab Ute running a 1650mm Canopy - You can fit them using our 'Flexing Awning mounts' - More on these Mounting Brackets here.
We have listed our picks of top performing awnings (For Victorian/SA weather conditions) here.
SHORT /SMALL 270 AWNING OPTIONS
If you wish to run a Pole Less Wing awning on short canopy Utes without bridging the awning across canopy and Cabin on Dual cab utes - The Choices are limited due to the short mounting lengths available on the Ranger (and all dual cabs). ... At time of writing the one to check out is the 'Ostrich Junior Wing' It is as large as much of the competition at 2.2m span - and can be fitted with mounting points at only 1500mm apart... One shown below on a ford ranger for example below... See more on these here - https://www.toughtouring.com.au/product-page/ostrich-junior-270-pole-less-wing-awning
SLIDE IN PORTABLE EASY INSTALL AND REMOVAL OF DUAL BATTERY SYSTEMS
Tough Touring Builds a Range of Renewable Power Stations for Dual Cab Utes and Canopies
Designed to Be totally portable - you can put them in for trips and take them out again when your back at work -
The RPS are water resistant and Easy to move between vehicles, making your tub tray or canopy a full blown power station when in camping mode, when back at work - slide out the power system and its back to open to use with tools and equipment like the day you bought it. The Benefits of a Plug and Play removable unit (Even in canopies) is limitless.
