RTT for family of 4 questions...

harbinger808

Adventurer
Aloha Everyone!
My wife and I are planning on a month long trip on the road/trails with our 2.5 yr old son and 2 month old daughter. We are currently looking at a RTT as we do not know exactly where our adventures will take us so we may not always find a suitable place to setup a ground tent.
Sizes and brands?
Traditional flip style or Hard top popup?
Thanks in advance for comments and suggestions.
Mahalo,
Markq
 

lchavez

Observer
I ended up going with an oztent. I know it's not a roof top, but I like it. Here's what helped me decide. My vehicle is used for work and play. Didn't want the extra weight for 90% of my driving. Head room, like standing. Fast setup, not as fast as they say. But easier than the old fashion tents. Pee breaks, with your wife and two kids, there will be many:) being able to drive the vehicle while tent is deployed. Porch, love love love the built in porch. So much so that I just ordered the wall panels for the porch.

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millerfish

Adventurer
I have a Tupi XL. It fits 3 adults fine 4 (2 adults 2 kids 11-12) is kind of tight, but I would think the 4 of you would fit nicely. If the smaller size was an option for me I would have a hard shell tent like the James Baroud. They are lighter easier to deploy has more storage inside and is more aerodynamic.
 

wanderer-rrorc

Explorer
the flip back (based loosely on flip-pac) has alot of positives..but thats because I didnt spend 20% of what a new one would cost...

little kids like that would risk falling with a flippac cus theres no way to install a zipper door to keep them in the bunk..

my little ones however are bigger and LOVE the hammocks the inside tent cover panel makes..so something to look forward too..
 
As an ex rtt owner, using one with 2 little kids would be horrible.

Why, specifically, would it be horrible?

I'm considering going to a RTT for myself, my wife and 2 kids (8 months and 5 years) because they seem to be the best balance between ground tents and tent trailers, at least to address a couple of issues that I have found with ground tents. In the last 2 years, we have tried a medium sized square ground tent (worked alright with 1 kid but no way it was large enough for 2 kids) and a much larger 3 room tent (colossal amount of space but substantial size when packed and long set up and tear down time.) We also had issues sleeping on a rocky beach at a local fishing hole.

My problems with ground tents:

-packed size
-comfortable mattress (air mattresses are uncomfortable, good foamies don't pack small)
-uneven ground
-set up/tear down time. With 2 kids on wheeling trips, we are already the slowest to pack up on wheeling trips chasing a bunch of singles and couples, let alone with the added complication of playing tetris in the cargo area

Also, I'm not ready to go to a trailer, because a tent trailer is too big for skinny trails so I'd still need to have a 2nd camping solution for trail days, and a small trailer generally ends up as little more than an expansion of the cargo area, compromising on many of the benefits of a trailer.

So, I figured an RTT manages both (stores the sleeping bags, comfortable mattress, goes wherever the vehicle goes) knowing that nothing is perfect (weight, aerodynamics, high roll center). I figure set up and tear down should be a bunch faster. What are the drawbacks that would make it so awful? (And what would you suggest to use for a family of 4)?
 

plh

Explorer
Why, specifically, would it be horrible?

I'm considering going to a RTT for myself, my wife and 2 kids (8 months and 5 years) because they seem to be the best balance between ground tents and tent trailers, at least to address a couple of issues that I have found with ground tents. In the last 2 years, we have tried a medium sized square ground tent (worked alright with 1 kid but no way it was large enough for 2 kids) and a much larger 3 room tent (colossal amount of space but substantial size when packed and long set up and tear down time.) We also had issues sleeping on a rocky beach at a local fishing hole.

My problems with ground tents:

-packed size
-comfortable mattress (air mattresses are uncomfortable, good foamies don't pack small)
-uneven ground
-set up/tear down time. With 2 kids on wheeling trips, we are already the slowest to pack up on wheeling trips chasing a bunch of singles and couples, let alone with the added complication of playing tetris in the cargo area

Also, I'm not ready to go to a trailer, because a tent trailer is too big for skinny trails so I'd still need to have a 2nd camping solution for trail days, and a small trailer generally ends up as little more than an expansion of the cargo area, compromising on many of the benefits of a trailer.

So, I figured an RTT manages both (stores the sleeping bags, comfortable mattress, goes wherever the vehicle goes) knowing that nothing is perfect (weight, aerodynamics, high roll center). I figure set up and tear down should be a bunch faster. What are the drawbacks that would make it so awful? (And what would you suggest to use for a family of 4)?

Personally I wouldn't want to be carrying a kid (or 2) down a ladder in the middle of the night.

- comfortable mattress? Plan on an upgrade. 2" foam is pretty thin.
-set up/tear down time - How tall is your vehicle? The bottom of the rack my RTT was mounted to was nearly 7' from the ground. I'm 5'8" and its not really fun to get the cover and everything tucked in that high in the air. i guess if you carried an extra ladder or were a monkey it would be better. If the RTT was mounted to a trailer with a reasonable working height (4' to 5')it would be better in that regard. I had an Autana style RTT with an Annex room. Super cool setup once setup - I could really see going back to something like this on a trailer with a scissor lift to raise and lower the tent in order to make use of the annex room + make setup/teardown manageable.

My youngest is 19 and off to college. When we family camped it was always in a ground tent.
 
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NatersXJ6

Explorer
There are starting to be quite a few places that rent RTT or trailer with RTT in the western US. I would recommend a weekend of rental to evaluate pros and cons yourself. I personally have no issues with putting kids in the tent (7 and 1 yrs old), but my wife wasn't a fan of lifting the baby up and down when she was really little.

Once the kids are about 3, everyone loves the RTT. It is basically the blanket fort you were always trying to build when you were 8, but didnt have the $$ or tools to get right.

My tents are from Tepui, Ayers, and occasionally we have 2 on top of the jeep, eventually one for kids and 1 for parents, although I'm thinking of going trailer and one bigger tent, probably keeping one Ayer.
 

TexasD-90

Adventurer
Another vote for Tepui. I'm currently running a CVT and would like to get back to a Tepui. In my opinion they are just a little better quality. I would suggest anything with a 6x8 open size. We have been using ours for years now with 2 kids. When we started with the RTT they were 6 months and 2 years old. Now they are 5 and 7 and the tent still has more than enough room. Get a tent with the anex room so you can keep all your stuff "down stairs" to keep the sleeping area open for sleeping. Just get one and go for it. You will have a blast!!
 

harbinger808

Adventurer
Good to know your kids were young also when you started with the RTT TexasD-90. your attitude reflects my own... just need to figure out which tent and annex now!

Another vote for Tepui. I'm currently running a CVT and would like to get back to a Tepui. In my opinion they are just a little better quality. I would suggest anything with a 6x8 open size. We have been using ours for years now with 2 kids. When we started with the RTT they were 6 months and 2 years old. Now they are 5 and 7 and the tent still has more than enough room. Get a tent with the anex room so you can keep all your stuff "down stairs" to keep the sleeping area open for sleeping. Just get one and go for it. You will have a blast!!
 

harbinger808

Adventurer
NaterXJ6... thanks for your input. I feel the same way about the RTT becoming the Cardboard/Bedsheet Fort we never could build as kids. But, we sure as heck had fun building it anyways!

wanderer-rrorc... I've heard that AT in Prescott was building a Flippac RTT for non truck bed vehicles :) That would be great since it would be much bigger than a RTT and if it were to flip open towards the rear, you got yourself an awning. It may not be as wide but it would be much longer so still a lot of real estate inside I hope.
 

WhiteH2O

Observer
I have the CVT Mt. MkKinley. We got it in 2014 when the kids were 5 and 2 and still works fine. I'm not familiar with the Tepui, so I can't comment on the differences. We used to be ground tent campers, but the RTT works great for us; I'm sold on them. I can see that in a few years, it might get a little tight, but it's just for sleeping, not hanging out, so I plan on it working for quite a few more years. We have the annex, but honestly, I've never even put it on yet as we have enough room without it.
 

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