Transform Your Vehicle Into a Year-Round Living "Duplex" With a Budget-Friendly Magic Fort

Let's face it; nearly everyone wants to get in on the mobile living action. However, the most common roadblock is cost. Pure and simple, most of us don't have tens of thousands of dollars to spend on an RV or mobile habitat. That's where Thecatal comes in.

If this name sounds unfamiliar to you, you aren't alone. Until I encountered the Magic Fort project on Kickstarter, I'd never heard of this outdoor goods brand. Nonetheless, they seem to be offering outdoor lovers a tool that's a bit different than what we may be used to. Best of all, by selling the Magic Fort for as little as $2,570 (€2,300 at current exchange rates, Early Bird), it's bound to get some attention. Heck, at this time, 35 backers have pumped $61,800 into this project.

So, what's so special about this outdoor tent that it has to cost nearly $3K? Well, if you happened to check out the video below, you may have noticed that Magic Fort is a different kind of tent; you drive your car into it, park it, and keep it safe from the elements, all the while camping out on top on an elevated bed that sits hovering above the roof of your car, sometimes on the car itself.

Now, there's a whole bunch to talk about here, so I'll try and keep things brief, all the while offering you a clear understanding of what we're in store for, and all that starts off with your vehicle, be it a van, pick-up truck, SUV, van, or your average compact car. From here, pack up your car with the goods you need on your next outdoor adventure - don't forget the Fort - and off you go.

This is where the magic starts to happen. First of all, you'll be traveling with nothing more than your vehicle and possibly a little cargo trailer behind you. This means you can break away from the RV park and really go deep into the bush. Once you arrive, pick a spot, one that spans nearly 40 sq m (430 sq ft), and start setting up your Fort.

To do so, we'll be relying upon the way Thecatal designed this bugger to be set up by nothing more than just one person. While the precise steps needed to set up the Fort aren't visible anywhere, judging by the GIFs on the project page, you'll first need to secure your guy ropes to the ground and then start pumping air into several columns designed to raise the structure into place.

And technically, that's supposed to be it... technically. I've encountered these sorts of systems before, and they're rarely as simple as 1-2-3. So be sure to spend more than two to three minutes setting up this mobile campsite; 20 minutes, according to the manufacturer. Heck, there's a sort of frame or cage I spotted inside the Fort, and that's clearly going to require some time and attention to put into place.

Once this stage is complete, we can technically back our vehicle into the tent, throw an inflatable mattress onto the roof of the car, secure it to that frame I mentioned, and now you have a bedroom out in the wild, elevated above the ground to keep the local critters at bay. And frankly, that's all the Fort is and does, or is it?

According to the manufacturer, this outdoor tent is one that can even be used while there's snow all around you. This is made possible by the tent canvas used and an "innovative" air vent system that relies on cross-ventilation to function; it keeps the interior cool during the summer and warm during the winter, assuming you're using a heater of sorts.

That ventilation system isn't, however, efficient enough to pump fumes from your car out of the enclosure, so don't start your car's exhaust to heat the interior of your Fort unless you want to be a statistic on the six o'clock news. Go for a heater or wood-burning stove instead because there's a stove jack integrated into the tent.

As for a few other abilities, Thecatal points out, in the absence of a car, the lower half of this outdoor "duplex" can be used as a bedroom for multiple cots or sleeping bags, includes a fitting room, and if you're traveling with the entire family, you can pick up the Fort's smaller brother, the Smart Shell, and grow, grow, grow.

Sure, there isn't much to the Magic Fort than that, and honestly, that's partly what Thecatal is relying on; a good product doesn't need to be complicated. It just needs to work for those who want or need its abilities when they need it, and for the outdoor lover, this oversized tent is but one solution we can look forward to in the coming months, I hope. Between crowdfunding and eventual shipping, so much can go wrong, so keep your fingers crossed for this budget outdoor living solution.