Fitting My TentBox Alone with a Crane – The DIY Method That (Mostly) Worked
James
June 17, 2025
Let’s be honest — this isn’t the easiest way to mount a rooftop tent, but if you’ve got no help and a dodgy driveway, it might be the only way. I used an engine hoist to lift my TentBox XL onto my Fabia. Here’s how it went, what went wrong, and how I fixed it.
So, I bought a TentBox XL for my Skoda Fabia, fully aware that the size and weight might be a bit of a challenge. I wasn’t confident fitting it solo for the first time, so I drove to Wales to visit Winston’s Adventure Equipment. Shoutout to Jamie – top bloke – he made it look easy, lifting it on with a hoist in no time.
After a great stay at Foxtails Holiday Park, Wales, which you can read about here, we headed back home and thought, “How hard can it be to take the TentBox off ourselves?” Well… turns out, pretty hard.
First problem – our driveway is on a slope toward the garage, and the street outside slopes the opposite way. No level ground at all to work with.
Second problem – I didn’t fully remove the brackets, just loosened them, assuming I could lift the box off anyway. Spoiler: that was a mistake.
Now, I’m 6’3″, but my partner’s only 5’4″, so the lifting wasn’t exactly balanced. After a few failed attempts, we managed to scratch the car roof thanks to the bolts still being half-attached.
Then came the genius idea to “slide” the TentBox off the roof bars down the side of the car. That led to us denting and scratching the underside of our brand-new TentBox. The missus was not impressed. The whole thing just killed the vibe.
We finally got it off in one piece, but the bigger issue hit me — there’s no way we’d get it back on again. I couldn’t leave it on the car full-time either — the MPG was awful with it up there, plus there’s always the risk of someone nicking it.
So… I bit the bullet and bought an engine hoist, this is the one i purchased from amazon, around £170.
Now, the hoist arrived completely flat-packed. I’d read a few reviews saying it took someone over 4 hours to build it solo, so I roped in a neighbour to give me a hand. Between us, we had it fully assembled in just under 2 hours — so if you’re doing it on your own, that 4-hour estimate sounds about right.
Here’s what came in the box:
A mountain of bolts, washers, pins, and brackets
The main frame sections, all wrapped in heavy-duty oil
Basic instructions (emphasis on basic — not the most helpful, but just enough to figure it out)
It was one of those builds where everything looks kind of the same, and half the job is just working out which bolt goes where. But once it started coming together, it all made sense. Having an extra set of hands definitely saved time (and my sanity), see the gallery below.
Once it was all assembled, the hoist folded away neatly like a suitcase — a massive bonus if you’re tight on storage space.
I tested the height with the hoist fully assembled and loaded, and while it worked fine for my small Skoda Fabia, it’s worth noting that this could be an issue depending on your vehicle. If you’ve got something taller — like a van or SUV — the hoist might not clear the roof straight out of the box.
WITHOUT Extension
WITH Extension
Before I dive into the extension part, I first tested lifting the TentBox onto the car without any modifications. The crane did lift it high enough for me to get under it and help guide it onto the roof. But here’s the catch — while it has the height, it doesn’t have the reach. As it lifts, the TentBox starts to tilt and bump into the arm of the crane, because the lifting point stays too close to the centre post. This might not be a big issue if your car is short like my Skoda Fabia, but anything taller and it’s going to be a problem.
Technically, I didn’t need an extension… but it would definitely make life easier. So, I popped down to my local Metal Supermarket (i think they’re nation wide so check this) found here, and took the original hoist arm with me to make sure I got the sizing spot on.
I picked up a steel box section that could slot inside the existing hoist arm, effectively creating an extension. It cost me a grand total of £10. Back home, I drilled through the new piece to allow the original bolt and butterfly pin to pass through both arms, securing it just like the original setup.
With the extension added, the crane can now lift the TentBox over 8ft high. Yes, it does sway a bit more when extended, but to be clear — it’s never tipped over. A lot of people seem worried about that, but here’s the logic: the TentBox weighs around 64kg, and the crane is rated to lift 1 ton, even at its weakest point. I’m no physicist, but I’m confident it’s not going anywhere… let’s just hope I don’t live to regret saying that.
One issue I did run into though — now that the crane can go higher, I can roll it fully under the car, but that brought it into contact with the doors and fenders. I didn’t fancy scratching the paint, so I grabbed some garage wall foam (the type you stick to your garage wall to stop your car door hitting it), from amazon, cut it to size, and padded every point where the crane could make contact. It still folds up fine, and now everything’s protected, as seen below:
At this point, the job’s pretty much done. I managed to lift the TentBox on completely by myself — no extra hands needed.
First, I laid the TentBox flat on the ground, wrapped a couple of ratchet straps, about £10 for x9 of Amazon, and used a support bar in the middle, from where? You guessed it, amazon around £35. I then carefully tilted it onto the crane’s legs, lowered the hoist arm, hooked it up, and started pumping it up until it was higher than the car.
Once it was high enough, I just slowly wheeled the crane toward the car, lined it up, and gently lowered the TentBox onto the roof rails. Nice and steady. Taking it off is just the same process in reverse — in fact, it’s probably even easier. As soon as it’s clear of the car and you drive away, releasing the arm feels smooth and satisfying.
Just to be clear before anyone suggests it — no, I can’t just use an electric hoist in the garage. My car doesn’t fit inside with the TentBox on due to the sloped driveway, and the garage roof itself is angled, which rules out mounting a hoist to the beams. It would’ve been ideal, but it’s just not an option for me.
So, what’s next now that the crane setup is sorted?
I’m planning to upgrade the wheels. The standard castors it comes with are rubbish on gravel — the moment a small stone gets underneath, the whole thing jams up and won’t budge. Since I’ve got a gravel drive, that’s a proper pain. I’ll be fitting some larger, heavy-duty rubber wheels to make it roll smoother and give it a bit more clearance.
Final thoughts:
No — this method isn’t necessarily faster or easier than asking a neighbour to give you a hand. But compared to other options, like using a plasterboard lift (which I seriously considered), it’s actually more practical. Those only start their lift about 2ft off the ground, so you’d still have to get the full weight of the TentBox onto it before even using the lift — and if you can do that, you don’t need the lift in the first place.
But if you’re on your own or just don’t have anyone around to help, this setup genuinely works. It might not be the simplest solution, but it is a solution — and sometimes, that’s all you need.
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