And finally, some interior shots...
This was an 8 hour Yakima training...so obviously it was heavily immersed in product and company culture. However, it is a testament to Yakima's commitment to the market, and the education of folks in the outdoor industry. From our store, Jake Kennedy, the Yakima rep who gets paid to drive around the country is this sweetly kitted out Tacoma...was headed to Expo West to demo their stuff.
A few of the critical takeaways from the training, that included about 3 hours of classroom time in addition to the hands on portion (plus lunch at Rubio's, thanks Jake!!):
- "point load" testing that Yakima conducts on their crossbars with relation to the Skyrise RTT's. Inside the Yakima testing facility their R&D guys have a testing "rack" where they subject both Yakima and donated factory racks to all kinds of torture. The releveant "point load" test involved a stress test of sorts where 400 to 600 lbs of force was applied to one point of a Yakima crossbar as well as factory crossbars...Toyota and Subaru of note. The 400 and 600 pound numbers are relevant, as those are the static weight ratings for both Skyrise products. All factory racks failed this test, while the Yakima crossbars all passed.
- No Skyrise products are recommended for the Baseline tower product, and must use the Skyline (fixed point) or Timbline's (clamped in conjunction with a factory roof side rail) for recommended mounting. The Ridgeline raised rail system is recommended for specific applications, but not all.
- The website to use to assist in all Skyrise fitment/installation scenarios is available here: fitlookup.yakima.com If the Skyrise does not show in the Base Camp section of your chosen rack configuration, it is not a recommended fit.
- Yakima and Tepui are working very closely together, so look for more Yakima Skyrise enhancements in the coming months (annex's, add a room's, etc.)
My personal takeaways from this training and the past few months of installations of the Skyrise RTT's is that the market is very interested in this style of camping/recreating. I have installed them on Subaru Outbacks and Toyota 4Runners so far with no issue. The unboxing, building and install is now down to about 70-90 minutes, solo.
The most interesting segment is the online customer that orders the Skyrise shipped to the store without ever seeing the product in person prior to installation, a quantum leap of faith and wallet, and frankly the reason for most of our returns. This is the interesting segment of the market for me, and also the opporunity to help and educate. Most online/ship to store customers that I have encountered did their internet research, watched installation videos, and bought the tent with high expectations of a simplified camping experience.
What I have also learned is that if we can install the RTT and educate through small talk during the install, the instance of product return is sincerely reduced. Explaining the deployment sequence; how to choose a level campsite or shimming tires with small wood blocks, or carrying a compressor and deflating tires to sleep level; setting the deployment method up passenger side for easy access to the driver's compartment; vehicle gas mileage expectations; and immenent wind noise are all topics we try to cover. Not to mention the extra time you will spend chatting with your curious neighbors following set up, these things are still novel and curiosity is rampant.
The folks who are buying these are a very mixed demographic, from families with small children looking to road trip, to young millenials tracking the coming eclipse cross country, as well as the weathered desert rat just desiring a lighter and well represented product...in my opinion this market is expanding in a very healthy direction.
