School me on RTT

[JeeperJake]

Or just get one for the truck and another for the trailer. problem solved.

Just saw this post and wanted to also iterate that i am in the midst of building a trailer to eventually put the tent on. Then i will have a mobile basecamp and like Box Rocket said use the Jeep for.. well jeepin. It is very easy to pack up but why hassle with it if you don't have to.

 

[Fireman78]

I've spent hundreds of nights in my basic, no frills Mombassa RTT, mounted on my Power Wagon. It's been through about every type of weather on earth. Searing heat is no fun. I need to come up with a way to cool it. Other than that, cold is no problem at all. If there is no rain, I remove the rainfly because the flapping is torturous. I spent a night in Kansas a few years ago listening to the tornado sirens go off. To say it was "Windy" was an understatment. The aluminun frame is bombproof. It's a durable easy to set up camping platform. I love it. I am planning on upgrading soon though. Looking at Tepui and a few other brands. Once you go RTT, you never go back.

Sent from my GT-P7310 using Tapatalk 2

 

[100acrehuphalump]

I've got an older Campinglabs RTT. It has served me well.
I appreciate it's usability and ease in setting it up in adverse conditions. It is mounted on my M416 trailer and I can run a 12V fan inside and run the cord into the battery box to help cool things down on hot or windless evenings. It's nice to not have to worry about setting it up in the mud, on rocks or roots, or to worry about critters. The annex is great for changing or in my case, I've set up a on demand hot H20 shower system inside. It's nice to shower anywhere you choose.
When it rains and sometimes it does for days without end, when it's time to leave, it must be packed up wet. Wet means mold or mildew. When I was in Dinosaur NM in Utah, the winds were very powerful and the flapping intense. It kept me up all night to the point in frustration I stood up in the entrance on either side to remove the rain fly.
It's difficult to cook inside in foul weather but is spacious and comfortable. Every time I get ready for bed I have to carry Bayleaf up the ladder and with my bad knees and her fat butt it becomes somewhat more difficult. I personally am moving on up and into a Four Wheel Camper Hawk for the convenience of staying dry, and being able to escape foul weather and to cook a hot meal in comfort while still being able to " rough it " it will still allow me to access the wilds of America due to its small size and mounting on my truck. RTT's are nice but I'm moving more towards refined comforts while camping. I believe it's called Glamping. When you're on the road for 2 or more months it's nice to have some comforts that a RTT just cannot give you. My 3 cents.

 

[98dango]

I am likely going backward. We have a 26' pull behind then a tear drop. From the tear drop we went to sleeping in a topper topper to camper camper back to topper. We hated the tear drop if I'm gonna drag some thing I'm going to make it worth it. We used it 3 times and gave it away

 

[carbon60]

2) Some tents are more impacted by wind than others. The JB tents are tested in winds up to 70 mph. Other tents seem to struggle in even mild breezes.

3) I think here again weatherproofness is variable by manufacturer, but there's nothing to say a good RTT can't endure weather's worst, even a bit of snow.

I have a plain-jane hard shell tent and have used it through a winter with zero issues. And I mean real winter up North of the Ottawa area, where we get a bunch of snow which then turns to slush before refreezing again. Really hard on everything. But the tent has done very well.

One of the nice things about a wedge-shaped hard shell RTT is that you can park nose into the weather and have almost unlimited protection.

I'll second someone's comment about the room: I have one for my awning and, while it's a very nice cozy space that I can heat and relax in, it's *really* bulky.

A.

 

[grnhornetcustoms]

Why not zipper the tent shut? Every tent I've owned has one... They work.

Better sell or burn that tent. That is a complete deal breaker.

 

[Tigglebitties]

It was zipped. But you ever tried to reason with a woman

This made me laugh much harder than it should have. Haha

I struggled by for the last couple years on my Napier truck bed tent, and once you get off the ground you'll never do it again. Wore out that tent and got the ruggedized kekunam .
Camping out in SoCal desert we get little demon bastards called Camel Spiders. Look em up if you've never seen one yourself.
Four or five times now I've woken up happy, warm and bug free while someone else in camp has one in their tent. They always crawl under / into stuff during the night, presumably hunting for souls to feed on
so that alone is reason enough for me to never sleep on the ground again. You'll love it. She'll love how clean and warm everything stays as well

 

[Mike S]

98dango -- I have spent some time in Roundup at a friend's ranch. There ARE some snakes there, as in most of the state - especially south of the Missouri.

I have been using roof top tents for more than a dozen years -- on my Landcruisers, on trailers, on my Ford SUVs, and my F250 and F350 trucks. I have sold several thousand of them to people who have used them all over the hemisphere. Your comment about your wife not wanting to sleep on the ground anymore made me smile, since we do sell a lot of AutoHome tents to women (and for men who like to travel with their wives and girlfriends). Your questions are intelligent ones and we often hear them. I'll take a shot at some answers…

Moving your tent from truck top to trailer or storage. This can easily be done by two men in about 15 minutes. Our average tent weighs about 120 lbs. and have hand grip points molded into the bottom - not a big deal. If you want the ultimate in convenience we offer a quality, American made hoist system that will let you single handedly lift, store, and replace your tent on the vehicle of choice in a couple of minutes.

Our tents have withstood raging winds in the worst climates in the World (excepting, perhaps, Antarctica). The are quiet in the wind and do not deflect, snap or pop in even very high winds. This one one of the reasons that people choose them over fabric tents. They hold up very well under a snow load and we have winterizing options.

Our tents have waterproof tops - with acoustic and thermal insulation - and need no extra fly or second cover to keep you dry.

Our tents are very easy to set up and stow away. Less than a minute in most cases to set up, and very little longer to stow for travel.

While you probably won't use them at every stop, our side tents (changing rooms) do offer a completely enclosed space that shelters the ladder and allow access to the vehicle. The have zippered and screened doors and window. They are provided with a zippered carry bag that can stow inside the tent while traveling.

AutoHome tents have a rigid bottom platform that is constructed like a Boston Whaler hull - a fiberglass/foam/fiberglass sandwich that doe not deflect under a load. You can safely put 500, 600, or more pounds in one of our tents without concern. The limiting factor is the static roof load rating of your vehicle - NOT the dynamic rating, which is the moving load you can carry. On a truck you should never have a worry.

Some of our tents have seen hard service for 15 years or more and are still functioning perfectly. They are built to last by people who have been designing, building, and improving them since 1958. In fact building and using roof top tents is all they do.

If you have any questions or would like more specifics, give us a call at 888-852-2359 or e-mail me at mike@autohomeus.com

 

[Christophe Noel]

This was such a great discussion, I did my best to objectively construct a Head to Head piece putting the ground tent agains the RTT.

Feedback greatly welcomed:

http://expeditionportal.com/head-to-head-roof-top-or-ground-tent/

 

[cwvandy]

Easy way to lift, move, store your RTT

Since others have done a good job of discussing pros and cons of rooftop tent, I won't get into why I am a RTT convert.

What I would like t offer is a really easy way to move your tent. I used this system to move a Eezi Awn 1600 from my truck to trailer and back. And I did this in about 10 minutes by myself. I also used it to store the tent out of the way. I now move my Air Top from a rack on my Tundra that is nearly 7' high and onto my Adventure Trailer. I do this alone in less than 15 minutes, the most time consuming part being the tightening of the bolts that attach it to the roof.

The solution I found was taken from a kit offered by Harken sailing equipment. See: http://www.hoister.com/productdetail.aspx?sku=7806

These are sold at West Marine, Fisheries supply and most any marine equipment store. I used this as a model, upgraded the blocks so that the maximum weight was over 400 lbs and can now raise and lower my tent alone and have a place to store up out of the way. Putting this together yourself also saves a few bucks. Key is to use large lag bolts into a stud in your garage ceiling. I now have two of these in my garage; one to move/store the Air Top and one to move/store a canoe.

I have never had a single issue. This setup really works. And it makes moving the tent around a one-person job. Check it out.

 

[JIMBO]

:sombrero: I use my RACOR overhead hoist--simple quick--one man op-

I used this RACOR for the initial installation of the TEPUI on my Jeep and then the transfer to my Trailer--just no pic !

Also can store the tent outta the way for as long as you need-

:costumed-smiley-007:wings: JIMBO

 

[98dango]

Ok so hear I a curve ball. I took the wife And mother in law on a road trip. We all went to Long Beach Wa where I grew up. Do the last 2 days all I have heard is I want to move to the ocean.

 

[JIMBO]

:sombrero: I have no idea what you're saying !

I hope someone else does-

:costumed-smiley-007:wings: JIMBO

 

[98dango]

Stupid phone posts. I went from moving to Arizona to moving to the Washington coast. Changes a lot

 

[JIMBO]

:sombrero: Yes it does--

Coulda been the mother-in-law !

Good luck

:costumed-smiley-007:wings: JIMBO