I really didn't mean to sound so negative about the RTTs. That's a very good outline of the pros and cons of these units. I understand the business aspects of the industry, not as well as you, but pretty well as a limted market luxury.
For me personally, I like the idea, just not up in the air as high as they are usually mounted. Personally, I'm thinking of going much lower on a trailer, so that you can back up and with a little hop, sit on the edge and get in. About where a tailgate would be on a standard truck bed.
It's the cost that I really had objection to for what there was there. You addressed that somewhat with limited markets, the marketing chain touching the item and fabrication which is probably labor intensive. While from a business aspect I would probably not be a retailer unless I obtained at least a 50% margin considering that inventory (if required) would be slow to turn over. However, fabrication of these or similar units would not be rocket science, from this thread we see many aspects of design that have been missed, perhaps internal wiring for one thing. So if you were to manufature a nice unit and cut out the marketing chain, prices could be much lower.
There seems to be several tents on the market, REI, MSR, etc., that could be adapted to a manufactured platform.
As to customized improvements mentioned here, I would think for a couple grand + that more would be provided. Just some thoughts;
Internal wiring for lighting packages
Shore power through conection, newer tents have these access openings
Pop ups with power vent fans
Under floor storage with access from inside (would raise platform requirements)
Speaking of under floor, the area that folds out beyond the vehicle, could be beefed up to hang a heater/air unit and duct to a floor opening. Especially with larger units with usable floor space that is not taken up with bedding.
An inflatable cushion, like used on the rear window of a slide in camper, around the base of the unit to the vehicle roof or trailer lid would keep wind from lifting the unit, keep it cooler or warmer.
Another item might be attachable boxes or tubes to the lower decking for storage. A rack on top of the unit would provide underneath attachments for all kinds of accessories.
Do they have a hard poly type wedges, like those used to put a vehicle up for an oil change? Several wedges in various sizes that could lock together
would be nice to level the vehicle. Sometimes it's a pain to find the right size rock or fallen log, as I have done for a travel trailer. I think they have them for motorhomes, but smaller. Don't know, maybe those arch style jacks would work on a trailer if they had a good footprint and could be stablized...
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