Storing and Overland tent...

[jsmoriss]

Hi everyone,

I've been thinking of buying an Overland tent this Spring for my Jeep JK Unlimited with a Garvin roof rack. I'm wondering what people do with their tent in the winter, or even for the few months in-between trips. Do you leave it on all summer? How easy / fast is it to remove and re-install? Do you notice a difference in fuel consumption with it on or off?

Thanks,
js.

 

[greenhorn]

I saw a post on IH8mud, with a gentleman with a 100 series Cruiser, modified a system like this. He just hoisted it off whenever he wanted to take it off.

http://www.autoaccessconnect.com/gacestsybyth.html

http://www.amazon.com/Racor-HeavyLi...23&pf_rd_t=1501&pf_rd_p=280800601&pf_rd_i=ybh

Let me see if I can find it.

Got it:
http://forum.ih8mud.com/camping-gear-recovery/165172-installing-removing-rtt-roof-racks-made-ez.html

 

[Gear]

Hello JS,
Welcome to Expo. I have an Overland tent but it is on my Adventure Trailer Chaser #15. With this said I will try and answer your questions with my thoughts. The tent is attached with 4 U shaped bolts. So that is 8 nuts to undo in order to take it off. Some folks have simply unbolted it and raised it to the roof of there garage(inside) using a pulley system. If you are only doing this a few times a year it might not be a bad solution. Most leave it on. You will notice a milage drop of at least 1 mpg with a 12" high by 44" wide brick on top of your JK.(ruff dimensions). You will also notice the weight of the tent on top of the Jeep. The large tent weights 125 pounds.

http://www.autohomeus.com/products/overland.php

With all of this said I have a few other concerns. The tent needs to open up flat. This means you will either need to raise the tent above the Garvin roof basket by adding cross bars(Yakima) or you will need to modify a section of the roofs basket to allow the tent to open. If you put the tent on top of the basket it will only raise the center of gravity.

Is it worth it. YES, roof top tents rock. They are very comfortable, fast and easy to setup. I would highly recommend one.

 

[Mike S]

Storage

JS

Many of our customers leave their tent on the vehicle year 'round. If you opt to remove it during the times of year that you are not using it you will save a little on fuel, and save UV exposure on the tent. Not a serious issue but one you could consider to protect your investment.

The ceiling lift is an excellent way to store your tent, and makes mounting and removal a quick and simple one man job. We sell a lift made by Harken (the sail boat people) in the USA. Other lifts - Thule for example - will also do the job.

If you pass on the ceiling lift, you can remove the tent and store inside your garage. Store it on a pair of saw horses if you have the room, or put a clean piece of carpet on the floor and store the tent leaning up against the wall.

Mike S

 

[RobinP]

We leave ours on year round, though we use it pretty much year round (less in the winter). Out technitop weighs around 100 lbs so lifting it up and down from the roof is a pain particuarly for my wife.

The biggest disadvantage are the BC Ferries and city parkades; the ferries charge you a premium if you are over 7' tall, and whenever I go downtown I can rarely fit in the 6'6" - 6'10" typical underground parking lots.

We keep our mattress out of the tent during the wet winter weather to prevent any mold buildup - not sure if that's a real issue, but it's easy to remove so we do it anyways.

 

[jsmoriss]

Thanks for all the replies!

I don't have a garage, so the lift, although a great idea, wouldn't work for me. We also park on the street and live on the 3rd floor of a triplex. I'm looking into renting a 'self storage' kinda place to make some room in our apartment -- and store the tent (and future trailer). My plan was to buy the tent this Spring and a Chaser trailer in the Fall, but now I'm thinking I might as well buy both at the same time...

Thanks again,

js.