Rtt brands pros/cons

[Box Rocket]

No need to PM, I think people should understand why I said what I said. I am not sure who I spoke with @ tepui, I think the person mumbled his name but I cannot recall it. It was a guy on the afternoon of 7/18/2016 at 3:34pm. Judging by his voice I'd say white, no older than 45 but no younger than 25. Very disinterested in speaking with me as you can see by the length of the conversation. I called to get some guidance on what roof racks they could recommended. I figured surely as long as tepui has been around and having a showroom that the seller of the tent would have some knowledge to offer on racks that work better or not so well for their products. I can't be the first person to ever put a gran sabana on a JKU. Or maybe I am. As a matter of fact it's the same question I asked to you. I had asked you to see about some pictures or any info you could find on JKU's with a grand sabana mounted did I not? I never heard back from you about that so I decided to call the company directly.

Some other things I wanted to ask were to see if I could get some clarification on the anti condensation mat. I wanted to know if it would work properly with a mattress other than the supplied one from tepui was on top of the anti condensation mat, something like a memory foam set up or would that additional mattress need to go on top of the tepui mattress. As well as to find out someone's take on the weatherhood. If it would only be recommended for seriously snowy/cold conditions ie: would using it when expecting warmer heavy rain cause excessive moisture to build up inside the tent and if I should just stick with the provided rain fly. And lastly to get more info on the power pack system as I am new to solar power. I wanted to know if it was something that was only used with the goal zero system.

The first question I approached with the person was about racks and the answer I received was "well it doesn't matter, some cross bars would be fine. Thule, yakima etc are fine" I said I was more interested in finding out about if anyone there knew of a gran sabana being used on a full rack system and if some racks were better than others. The person sighed and said "well yeah, any of those would work to" So I thanked him for his time and hung up because I wasn't going to waste any more of my time with someone who obviously could care less. As to the first person to complain that's not what my research indicated. I came across at least 10 people I spoke with in person who owned or had owned tepui products who didn't have positive experiences with tepui either. I own the product now so I really hope it is 100% trouble free as I am not the original owner and I'd hate to think if their employees are not interested in someone looking to purchase their product what serice I would receive trying to correct an issue for a product I bought second hand.

View attachment 359424

The flip side of that was the call to CVT. As you can see from the amount of time that call lasted that person was interested in delivering quality customer service, put me on hold to find out different things he couldn't answer, gave me the contact info for my nearest dealer etc. He answered every question I had and then some.

Just my experience.

First of all, thanks for sharing your experience. I know myself and everyone at Tepui tries hard to provide excellent service to every customer, but occasionally mistakes can be made, so sorry you haven't had the experience you were hoping for. Maybe we can change your opinion in the future. Hearing feedback, good or bad, is how we know what we're doing well and what we can improve.
I do remember chatting with you and that you requested some images of a particular tent on a JKU. I remember telling you I'd see what I could find and if I was able to find any, I would send them to you. I was not able to find any so that's why you didn't get a response from me. I wasn't trying to ignore the request. Does that mean that there are no Gran Sabanas being used on JKU's? No, but from my own experience, it's not a common setup and unless someone who's done it has shared photos somewhere I wouldn't be able to find them. I'll continue to look for some and I'll still send them along to you if I find any.
.
As to your other questions, there are a number of racks on the market to choose from that will all work with the tents. Those include many of the load bar option and other platform racks such as BajaRack, Rhino Rack, K9, Front Runner, and others. How "well" they work can be quite subjective. The ones I listed will all allow tents to be mounted and will work for that. But, how well the rack works for an individual beyond just mounting a tent is a question that can really only be answered by one person. The forum is a good place for feedback from owners of your same vehicle that are using different brands of racks and who can share their experience with them to help you make a choice.
.
The anti-condensation mats should still work correctly with a different mattress so long as the mattress is the correct size.
.
There are a number of people on the forums using the weather hoods and there are also threads where they've been discussed that might answer your questions. They are very effective when used in rainy weather to keep the main tent canopy dry so you don't have to pack up a damp tent. It is possible to have increased condensation inside since the WeatherHood is not as breathable as the tent itself. That will also depend on the conditions where you are camping. A dry desert rainstorm may not have the same level of moisture inside the tent as a rainstorm in a humid climate like the Pacific Northwest or other similar places.
.
The Power Pack system is only sold with the Goal Zero solar panels and power storage.
.
Hopefully that helps to answer some of your questions. I'm glad you found a tent and hope it meets your expectations. As I'm sure you know, the level of support in terms of warranty etc may not be the same for a second hand tent compared to a new tent bought directly. However, we'll still do our best to answer any questions and resolve any issues should they arise.

 

[billum v2.0]

As a counter point to Outside Somewhere and Box Rocket's conversation.............

I bought a Tepui Kukenam Ruggedized in early May. The deciding factor in my case was because of value based on a major retailer discount. But I had narrowed the purchase down to the Tepui and CVT even at full retail. My telephone call to CVT was curt, none of the models I was interested in were in stock, unsure when inventory would be replenished.

I haven't used the tent enough to give any type of durability report, but my initial impressions are good and limited use has been trouble free.

BUT, to the point of customer service. The tent was purchased to add to a trailer as a mobile base camp. Five days before I was to leave for the trailer/tent shakedown trip, I decided to add a third support cross member to the trailer, which required an additional pair of tent attachment clamps. I called Tepui, spoke with Kyle (neither of us had spoken previously), explained my needs and with an emphasis on my time constraints, provided a credit card number. Had a UPS tracking number within an hour and the needed brackets in four days, one of which was a Sunday.

Fast forward to a few weeks ago. I lost the internal bungees that help collapse the tent walls when taking the tent down. Sent Kyle an email. Replied they were out of stock, but he'd scrounged up all but one and they were in the mail. Something like $5. Including shipping.

Time will tell if the tent is a quality piece of equipment. But my customer service experience, based on small parts that have to be a money losing necessity of being in business, has exceeded any of my expectations. And these folks are located in California, the Siberia of customer service based on my previous experiences.

My $0.02

[/URL][/IMG]

 

[dman93]

I have a Tepui Kukenam and I'm very happy with it. But ... as a California boy who usually camps in western deserts or mountains, but have just camped in the mid-South for the first time, I'll say the ventilation isn't adequate for hot humid weather. I don't have a fan, that should help, but our night earlier this week in NE Arkansas was a miserable sweat-fest. Not sure that's the Tepui's fault though The previous night in Oklahoma was tolerable, barely. 100 dry degrees in Moab was comfortable by contrast. After Arkansas we wimped out and switched to motels.

 

[Box Rocket]

I have a Tepui Kukenam and I'm very happy with it. But ... as a California boy who usually camps in western deserts or mountains, but have just camped in the mid-South for the first time, I'll say the ventilation isn't adequate for hot humid weather. I don't have a fan, that should help, but our night earlier this week in NE Arkansas was a miserable sweat-fest. Not sure that's the Tepui's fault though The previous night in Oklahoma was tolerable, barely. 100 dry degrees in Moab was comfortable by contrast. After Arkansas we wimped out and switched to motels.

Take a look at my recent post in the main Tepui thread. Sounds like the new Baja Series would be a great solution for dealing with that heat/humidity. Interchangeable canopies. Can be retro fitted to your current tent.

 

[dman93]

Take a look at my recent post in the main Tepui thread. Sounds like the new Baja Series would be a great solution for dealing with that heat/humidity. Interchangeable canopies. Can be retro fitted to your current tent.

Thanks ... I didn't realize it would be retrofit table. But honestly, not sure I want to camp in those conditions again. A lifetime (60 years soon) in the West can spoil you. And I'll be up in Montana soon where I'm seeing forecast night time lows in the 30's already! Can't wait to get back near and across the Continental Divide. Hats off to the southerners for getting out in this climate.

 

[SoDakSooner]

I have a Tepui Kukenam and I'm very happy with it. But ... as a California boy who usually camps in western deserts or mountains, but have just camped in the mid-South for the first time, I'll say the ventilation isn't adequate for hot humid weather. I don't have a fan, that should help, but our night earlier this week in NE Arkansas was a miserable sweat-fest. Not sure that's the Tepui's fault though The previous night in Oklahoma was tolerable, barely. 100 dry degrees in Moab was comfortable by contrast. After Arkansas we wimped out and switched to motels.

Yeah, this part of the country this time of year is pretty much a sweatfest and I don't care what kind of tent and where you are camping, or if you have the biggest fan in the world.. i have seen a lot of folks use portable ac units, however kind of need to be in an RV spot to pay for power, unless you have a generator.

Temps just don't drop much at night here.

We just picked up CVT a couple of weeks ago and dying to try it out. Weekend actually looks good here, with highs in the 80's, which is almost unheard of in August. However we are dogsitting and don't have room for 4 people and 4 dogs...lol

 

[dman93]

Tulsa was cool and dry compared to Arkansas!

 

[SoDakSooner]

Tulsa was cool and dry compared to Arkansas!

Must have been a cold front....lol. We get a few nights a summer where tent camping is tolerable, but IMO few and far between.

Really want to head to CO or NM high country for a long weekend.