Smittybilt Overland XL RTT-New product.

vartz04

Adventurer
....I chickened out and canceled my order. Wife would kill me spending that kind of coin right before xmas and I won't be needing it really til next year when the boys are older. Maybe ill hit this deal next year after hearing some more feedback. They seem to do the same thing every year around black friday. Jealous of those who will have them soon.
 

Climber1

New member
....I chickened out and canceled my order. Wife would kill me spending that kind of coin right before xmas and I won't be needing it really til next year when the boys are older. Maybe ill hit this deal next year after hearing some more feedback. They seem to do the same thing every year around black friday. Jealous of those who will have them soon.


Yea, I didn't OK this one with my wife before ordering so I'll just have to pay the piper when it gets delivered


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Same here. I was getting ready to buy a a different brand this weekend, but this was too good to pass up. $650 shipped. I had been on the fence with a more expensive model, since I'm not 100% sure how much it will get used, or if a RTT is going to work better for our use than a ground tent.

I've read the mattress in these isn't the best, like most RTTs. What has been the best fix? I was thinking a 2" memory foam pad, but will that close up in the tent, or do I need to take it out each time?

On the smaller one use a queen size mattress topper and leave it in when folded. I have a 3” memory gel foam I bought from Walmart and it works great. Might need a king on the bigger tent.
 

Climber1

New member
Hey yall,

I'm building a rack for this XL tent and was wondering if yall could help me figure something out... How wide spacing would be ideal for the rack? i.e. I'm going to have three supports and this is showing the closed footprint as 48x76" and my trailer will be 72". would crossbar spacing at 0", 36 and 72" be fine? I'm guessing 3-4" overhand on either side would not be an issue but since I'm building it from scratch, would like to put the crossbars in the best location.

Thanks!
 

Kyle Kelso

Adventurer
If you put 2 bars right on the edges then you will have a lot of weight in the space between bars. Think about where the weight will be with people (2,3,4?) up in the tent. I don't recall exactly but I probably have 6-8" overhang on the two outside bars. Maybe it doesn't make any difference but I don't think there's any strength to be gained by mounting at the edges so you should be fine to stick with your 72" width.

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ArkansasDon

Observer
it's how you mount your tent & what direction you want it to open. On my build I have my Smittybilt 2783 open on the right side. My rack is 40 1\2" wide by 72" long w\o the diagonals going to the tongue floor platform. I have my center bracing x2 spaced 28 1\4" from center. The mounting track is perfectly the same length as the tent wide (2783). I have 4" of over hang on mine tent. The only problem I ran into was when building the rack is I used a NO-Weld rack system I like the concept & the look of the gussets, but just bolting the rack together is questionable for stability IMO. Fasteners loosen up over a period of time, no matter if you use lock nuts or regular nuts with lock washers, especially if you use it in off road use. So I welded certain areas on the no-weld gussets to add strength & stability so no movement could happen. Another thing about the rack kit that bothered me was it needed some front diagonal bracing to make sure everything stays solid when we go off road. The forward & backward motion was another concern to me. I noticed w\o the diagonal bracing the rack did move some like I expressed forward & rearward motion. Maybe this would work for asphalt overlanding lol, but IMO not off road overlanding. In the past bolt together racks always seem to loosen up by vibration & use, no matter how tight you went with the fasteners. To weld these sections (and it doesn't take much) of the gussets in place with the 1 1\2" thick wall tubing only adds insurance they will not come loose or be wobbly when in travel. Another issue with the NO-Weld system I had was mounting the roof top tent, once you figure what direction you want your tent to open & arrange your tent mounting track. Again I choose off to the right side, the center bracing when using the NO-Weld gussets your RTT mounting brackets land right on the gussets, no matter were you locate them (least for the M416 Dinoot) & your brackets to the RRT wont line up to the bolts which are adjustable on the track. I had to come up & fabricate new brackets wider & longer so I have the clearance for the NO Weld gussets. Smittybilt will NOT honor the tent if you relocate your mounting holes on the tent floor. I already talk with them on the phone about the issue I had, which I have to say their customer service is good & pleasant. 016.jpg
 

FattyMcJ

New member
I've read the mattress in these isn't the best, like most RTTs. What has been the best fix? I was thinking a 2" memory foam pad, but will that close up in the tent, or do I need to take it out each time?
That's exactly what we did. Stock pad + 2" memory foam topper. That said, we'll be removing the stock pad completely next spring and going with 3" memory foam topper with the 2" on top. And yes, it'll all fit while folded up. We leave our pads, sleeping bags, and pillows in the tent full time (unless it's off for the winter like it is now)

On the smaller one use a queen size mattress topper and leave it in when folded. I have a 3” memory gel foam I bought from Walmart and it works great. Might need a king on the bigger tent.

:iagree:
 

Climber1

New member
Thanks @ArkansasDon for the info on mounting the RTT and building the platform. That's exactly the info I was needing.
 
Thanks @ArkansasDon for the info on mounting the RTT and building the platform. That's exactly the info I was needing.

Climber
Good gouge. Can you share any pix of the underside of your tent mounted? I am building a rack and plan to have the tent open toward the rear and had the same questions you did. Having trouble visualizing how to mount so I build the crossmembers right.

Thanks
Mark
 

Climber1

New member
@Motorradmark Will do man. I'm going to weld up the rack this weekend so will get something over to you early next week. I'm planning on building a rack out of 1" or 1.5" square tubing and having 4 crossmembers running the short sides. May need to add some corner gussets but hoping it will be rigid enough without. The XL smitty tent has the rails running longways so I'll have 4 mounting locations for bolting.
 
Climber
Thanks
Are you planning a side open or to the rear open for the tent?

I am looking at the 1.5 squad tubes. Looking forward to seeing the work.

Cheers and happy new year.
Mark
 

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