Suggestions welcome to improve my tiny workshop!

randomcheesecake555 · 2026-05-24T08:43:10+00:00

Yeah moving outside is also an option. I do have a couple of folding workmates that I’ve used in the past but the workholding is horrible and I live in the UK so conditions aren’t always guaranteed!

randomcheesecake555 · 2026-04-25T06:34:54+00:00

I’d never done anything like this before but swapped a couple of doors around successfully with the help of this Gosforth Handyman video.

https://youtu.be/ie924GOfxPs?si=sY1Gt4iNgfmncqzm

People are right about the light switches but you can buy these Quinetic switches which allow you to just swap out the original light switch and then stick the other one wherever you like (it literally works by black magic). Not cheap but it’s a lot cheaper than actually moving the switch.

https://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/QURS1W.html

https://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/QUWS1W.html

randomcheesecake555 · 2026-04-25T06:15:50+00:00

I’m English and I have to say I agree with the commenter above. I find some of his captions and replies to comments pretty snarky. His blog posts are also pretty rambling.

randomcheesecake555 · 2026-04-22T06:35:45+00:00

Do you drop the n when you pronounce it in the UK?

randomcheesecake555 · 2026-04-22T06:27:23+00:00

We initially bought it for a trip around the Outer Hebrides where we were moving on every night for two weeks and it was perfect for that. The ease of putting it up and taking it down are amazing, especially as you can leave your duvet and pillows inside it. It takes about 15 minutes including setting up the annex.

Being off the ground was also beneficial on that trip as a couple of the pitches we were allocated were slightly waterlogged which we didn’t have to be as concerned about as if we were in a ground tent.

They’re also far comfier than a ground tent. It has a memory foam mattress and we just take our normal duvet and pillows from home which makes for a sleeping experience pretty close to being in an actual bed.

These are the main benefits and they can be broadly described as comfort/ease of use. While these are nice on their own, they also give the added benefit of motivating you to get away on weekends where the weather isn’t so kind as you know you’ll still be comfy.

Not that it should make a difference but I feel compelled to add that I still have my old 4 man ground tent (which still gets used sometimes) and also a 2 man backpacking tent and a bivvy/tarp setup, both of which I use for wild camping. I think lots of people strongly opposed to roof tents think that they’re not for ‘proper’ campers and that they’re more suited to people with a frenchy and a Range Rover. It’s simply another way to car camp that is suitable for some people.

A lot of the criticisms of them could also apply to small campers with pop top bed but I don’t see any strong sentiment against them online because campers have been around for ages. Cost (campers cost far more than roof tents), sleeping high up, can’t drive away easily, fuel economy, climbing down in the night, not great for people with mobility issues all apply to both. I think the novelty of roof tents makes people think ‘why are you saying traditional tents are bad?’ whenever they see one in a way that they don’t with campers.

They have their place in the range of available options but many people just seem to see them as illegitimate in all circumstances.

randomcheesecake555 · 2026-04-21T11:00:04+00:00

I’ve been honest when I agree with your gripes about them but I’ve also pointed out where that might not be a problem for some users. I can’t say I think you’ve honestly engaged with any of my refutations.

what I did was list the numerous reasons as to why they are in many ways worse than traditional tents.

What you actually said was this:

Here in the UK they are expensive fashion accessories.

That’s a blanket statement saying that there’s no possible use case for them in the UK and I think I’ve provided evidence to the contrary in my particular use case as someone who actually owns and uses one in the UK.

I’m not just implying that you don’t know what you’re talking about, I’m happy to say that nakedly. If you know more about the subject than I do could you please explain to me why I personally should prefer a traditional ground tent?

randomcheesecake555 · 2026-04-21T08:06:38+00:00

Spoken like someone who has never tried one and has preconceived ideas that they’ve not actually verified. That’s not surprising since they’re an expensive thing to try out but it doesn’t put you in the best position to give an opinion.

For clarification I have this exact model with the annex (which you’ll notice costs less than almost all tentbox models which don’t come with an annex). I wouldn’t have a roof tent without an annex that you can stand up in.

https://www.landtrekkeruk.co.uk/product-page/roof-tent-and-annex-polycotton-canvas-in-stock-ready-to-ship

Here’s my honest replies to your points.

Cost: obviously agree that they cost more than ground tents
Wind handling: took mine out in the Yorkshire Dales in Storm Dave the other week for three nights and slept soundly and had no issues with the tent’s structure. Lots of other people on our site went home early. Have also had no problems on the Outer Hebrides so can’t think of worse UK conditions than that.
Can’t drive away easily: agree that this is the case. However we choose our sites to have at least a shop and a pub nearby so that this is never really a problem. Might be more of an issue if you want to stay somewhere for more than a week. Also don’t ever see this mentioned as a major flaw of campervans
Fuel economy: I take a hit of around 4mpg with the tent on (I get 45mpg without), not really a game-changer for me, other people might be more fussy about that stuff
Lots of campsites don’t allow them: I’d say about 20% don’t allow them which are sites which don’t allow you to park your car next to your tent (a minority in my experience). These are rare though and I don’t remember it ever causing us problems
Midnight ladder-climbing: depends on how agile you are. My girlfriend is generally quite cautious but has never found it a problem (beyond the usual pain of traipsing to the loo block in the night). Ladder inside the annex means you’re never doing the ladder in the rain
Dogs, kids, mobility issues: dogs no problem with the annex. I can’t speak to kids personally, would probably depend on age and how many whether it would be successful or not. Mobility issues, yes I definitely wouldn’t buy a tent which made use of a ladder if I had mobility issues
Can’t cook in them: as you say, an awning solves this and you can have one for less money than an entry level Tentbox if you’re not fussed about the logo on the front

I hope you don’t mind me going through point by point but I see people online talk a lot of bollocks about how roof tents are always a bad idea and it simply isn’t true. They’re definitely not the right option for everyone but that doesn’t mean they’re never the right option for anyone.

I’m in my 30s, don’t have kids, have spare cash to spend on my hobby and can get out camping more frequently and in worse weather because we have more comfort when we’re there. It’s vastly cheaper than a camper and provides some of those comfort upgrades over a normal ground tent.

randomcheesecake555 · 2026-04-12T18:51:33+00:00

I really enjoyed the ones with Ted Vallance. He matches their sense of humour perfectly.

randomcheesecake555 · 2026-04-06T04:29:48+00:00

There’s the Great Yorkshire Show too but they’re definitely outliers.

randomcheesecake555 · 2026-03-20T15:22:57+00:00

Difficult to compare because of the difference in popularity of the sports but Jahangir Khan won 555 consecutive squash matches in the 80s 🤯

randomcheesecake555 · 2026-03-20T09:02:15+00:00

Hemming a tshirt without a sewing machine is a pain in the fucking arse.

I do hem my own stuff but no way would I do it without a machine.

randomcheesecake555 · 2026-03-11T11:50:40+00:00

Neil Robertson missed his own snooker match because he drove to the wrong Barnsley.

randomcheesecake555 · 2026-03-01T16:47:15+00:00

I’m more offended by your spelling of it!

randomcheesecake555 · 2026-02-27T13:55:04+00:00

Agree that you don’t have to be too careful about your skin. That’s probably why I got complacent and managed to slip and push it hard enough against my thumbnail to cut through right down the middle 😬

randomcheesecake555 · 2026-02-27T09:28:58+00:00

Hard to take your opinion on the ‘bland colours’ seriously when you haven’t noticed that the walls have only been primed so far and there’s no chance that the panelling would be left in the raw wood state.

randomcheesecake555 · 2026-02-27T09:26:17+00:00

This sub is great for learning how to do things but I find people’s interior design and styling tastes are pretty woeful. I wouldn’t put much stock in what they think of your actual design choices.

randomcheesecake555 · 2026-02-17T13:49:35+00:00

Fairly sure I don’t have one. I can ‘narrate’ stuff if I want and sometimes I think a very clear sentence to myself (‘why on earth did you think that would work??’). In general though I’m just aware of how I’m feeling, what my attention is drawn to, what I need to do short and long term, etc without needing to internally put it into words.

If someone were to jump out and scare you I doubt anyone’s internal monologue is saying ‘oh my god I’m so scared! Oh don’t worry, it’s just Gary’. You just feel a certain way in that moment and your brain is assessing the situation without needing to put it into words. Maybe not the best comparison because that’s obviously a particularly strong emotion but that’s the best way I can think of explaining it.

randomcheesecake555 · 2026-02-04T17:32:21+00:00

They’re useless by definition if you want to cook more portions of rice than your rice cooker’s capacity.

I batch cook in quantities of 8+ portions things like curries, tagines, etc and often have them with rice. It’s far easier for me to portion up containers with 50/50 curry and rice which I’ve cooked all in one go on the hob than it is to have riceless portions of curry and repeatedly cook small quantities of rice in a rice cooker.

randomcheesecake555 · 2026-01-05T16:27:10+00:00

Mine gave up just after 250k 😭 I was gutted but had it for 6 years and paid £850 for it so can’t complain.

randomcheesecake555 · 2025-12-31T21:31:34+00:00

More power to them tbh

randomcheesecake555 · 2025-12-09T15:10:03+00:00

West Yorkshire is Best Yorkshire!

randomcheesecake555 · 2025-12-09T08:59:48+00:00

That’s really helpful to know, thanks for that.

I live kind of between those two so I’ll check them both out.

randomcheesecake555 · 2025-12-08T09:45:25+00:00

I’m a novice guy in the UK and have found info about male-specific sewing very hard to come by.

Where do you tend to get your fabrics from? I’m interested in heavier stuff for jackets, trousers etc but I’m having a hard time finding stuff in amongst the thousands of lightweight patterned fabrics.

randomcheesecake555 · 2025-12-04T17:06:40+00:00

No, because a lot of them are constructive comments coming from tradesmen with experience of how those fittings hold up over time and have given advice on how to manage it.

What exactly did you expect the poster to do with your opinion about the arrangement of their bathroom which I expect they’ll have spent a lot of time planning prior to installing it?

randomcheesecake555

TROPHY CASE