Sure-Fire Ways to Improve Your Roof Top Tent

[Corey]

From what I have read it lets moisture stay under the mat and not get the mattress damp.
I do not have that problem, just looking for more comfort.
I am a very light sleeper, and if this helps make me sleep better, it is money well spent.

Maybe Mike or Rich can chime in on the exact job of it.

 

[Lemsteraak]

James,

The ACS (anti-condensation) mat fits a small niche. Think of it as a boxspring for your RTT mattress. It increases airflow under the mattress and as a side advantage adds a little cushion too.

On a personal note, I use one and really am an advocate for it. I use a RTT a lot, and sometimes long durations, and I particularly like camping in the PNW in the winter so I'm in high humidity conditions. I found that below freezing the mattress felt thin and hard and I would also find some water under the mattress in the supporting grid. The ACS mat helps minimize both these conditions.

The drawback is that these mats are made by a small company in Germany so they are expensive and Mike at AutoHome only brings in a very limited amount. The material has a very nice feel and is comfortable to lie on by itself.

Rich

 

[FlyNdrive]

BEN.... What fan is that and Where did you get it.

Thanks.

Sorry for the late reply. I didn't see it until now.

They are available at RV stores selling Fleetwood. a Quick on-line search found this store. http://www.commandelectronics.com/lighting-accessories.html

 

[Corey]

Installed the mat last Saturday, and it does feel like the main mattress has more cushion now.

Rich, I did not trim the over hanging material, should I have, or is it OK to have it over hang like in the picture?
I have around 4" or more over hanging all four sides.

[video=vimeo;39108254]http://vimeo.com/39108254[/video]

 

[teotwaki]

One time I had deployed the RTT while on a high ridge. During the night some gusts of wind managed to lift the folding half up a bit. I thought about staking out the ladder but I decided to add a couple of these D-Rings on the bottom of each outside corner.



With these I can deploy a couple of guy lines for a more balanced tie-down of the RTT.

 

[Lemsteraak]

Corey,

Glad you were able to get an ACS mat. Regarding fit, I think you will be fine either way, there are two schools of thought. One group let the ACS mat overhang to gain better airflow under the mattress. Personally, I just trimmed it to fit my tent as my mattress fits very tight in the Columbus. I haven't noticed any condensation under the mattress ever. I think the idea of airflow under the mattress comes from marine applications where it is really damp.

Right now I'm rebuilding an old house in Portland and didn't want to find a temporary bed so I took the mat, mattress and bedding from the roof tent, built a platform from two sheets of plywood and made a platform bed. Works really sweet, very light if I want to move it and while the mattress is a little thin, I've found my back problems have gone away. My wife is really happy with it too. I really advocate that folks with roof tents take the mattress out and use as a guest bed when the tent is not in use, keeps everything fresh. Yes, I know the tents don't leak but it takes about 30 pounds from off the top of the car. I don't ever notice that the box is up there and all I do is put the mattress back in and I'm ready to camp.

Rich

 

[compactcamping]

Rich, That is funny, my tent unit mattress gets used as a guest bed regularly. When the weather is good, we just open up the tent on a trailer beside the house as a spare bedroom. My brothers kids just love backyard camping.

 

[Corey]

Rich, thanks, I think I will leave it untrimmed for now.
The mattress is a bit tighter fit, so I will keep an eye on it if it stay down all the way, or if it pops up out of the corners.
If it does, I will trim it to be the exact size as the tub.

I have never tried to take my mattress out, it looks like you really have to wrestle it to fold it up to get it out of the small doors on the Maggiolinas.

 

[Corey]

Beginning with our next shipment - which is due next month - all Maggiolinas will be equipped with a high output LED overhead light. Yes, I ordered a few extra for people who want to change over from the current light...

Mike, can you confirm that these will bolt in place of the older 12v ones?
And this does use batteries correct?

If it is as simple as removing the 12v one and replacing it with the LED one, I will buy one from you.

Thanks...

 

[Lemsteraak]

Corey,

The old 12v lights were just a place marker. I replaced mine with two halogen chart lights. This way they were both adjustable on goosenecks and give really good light for reading. Best place to find these are at a marine store like West Marine. The ones I had were made be Hella and were a little pricey. There are some really fancy ones with adjustable focus but are all very efficient. Personally, I my eyes don't like the light that LEDs throw out.

While you are at it also install a 12v cigarette lighter plug for a hair dryer, just kidding

Rich

 

[Corey]

Thanks Rich.

Hair dryer, we do not need no stinkin' hair dryer

I will have to see what West Marine has.

 

[Mike S]

orey

Call me and I'll send you ne of the new Osram LED lights. If you like it, call me to buy, If you don't you just send it back to us.

Hi Rich... keeping busy?

 

[Corey]

orey

Call me and I'll send you ne of the new Osram LED lights. If you like it, call me to buy, If you don't you just send it back to us.

Will call you today Mike.
Thanks a lot.

 

[roberto]

I hung a vortex fan up after I removed its stand. ALso thought this idea for hanging shoes was nice and cheap up under the edge of tent.

R

 

[coastsider]

MaxVent:

No more condensation under the mattress.

Last Spring in Yellowstone it was real frosty in the mornings and while we were quite warm in our RRT we did get a lot of under mattress condensation, warm bodies against cool floor, inevitable I guess. So how does this stuff work? Does it just allow airflow between the mattress and the floor? Seems it would have to be pretty hard to keep an adults weight supported off the tent floor. I visited the website link but couldn't find any 'how our product works' page. Seems it's about $12.00 a foot so x2 8ft x 2ft runs would be around $200.00 to cover my RRT floor, not cheap. BUT, if it works I might invest.