Tuff Stuff Overland Soft-Sided RTT

[Randun]

Hi everyone!

I'm in the market for a RTT and I have been hearing great things about a company called Tuff Stuff Overland in California. Has anyone heard of them?

I was looking at their soft-sided RTTs. Does anyone have any experience with TSO's Trailhead:

Trailhead Rooftop Tent, 2 Person, Tan

The TRAILHEAD® 2 person roof top tent is designed to get you off the ground for the next big outdoor camping adventure. This quick and easy pop up car tent allows you to sleep in safety and comfort.

tuffstuff4x4.com

TSO's Delta:

Delta Roof Top Tent (2 Person)

The Delta Rooftop Tent best suited for mounting to pickup truck beds, 4X4 travel trailers or smaller SUV/Crossover vehicles. This tent can be mounted at even...

tuffstuff4x4.com

TSO's Ranger:

Roof Top Tents

Upgrade your overland adventures with a high-quality roof top tent. Tuff Stuff roof top tents are quick to setup and more comfortable than traditional tents. Plus...

tuffstuff4x4.com

or TSO's Elite:

Elite Rooftop Tent Includes Annex Room, 4-5 Person, Tan

The Tuff Stuff Elite 5 Person Rooftop Tent, 79" Wide, Double ladder, comes with lower annex room with floor, mattress, rainfly & universal installation kit.

tuffstuff4x4.com

Thank you so much for your time and your help!

 

[G8rRanger]

Look for my post down below in this forum for my in-depth (i.e.wordy) review of our inaugural experience with a TSO Ranger. TLDR-Great RTT, the annex leaves a lot to be desired in 2" rain in a 4 hour span.

 

[Randun]

Look below for my in-depth (i.e.wordy) review of our inaugural experience with a TSO Ranger. TLR-Great RTT, the annex leaves a lot to be desired in 2" rain in a 4 hour span.

Thank you so much for your time and your help!

I have heard great things about the TSO Ranger, how they hold up in extreme weather, and regarding getting the annex room option for some situations.

Do you use your annex room all of the time or just some of the time? Most people that I have talked to tell me that they only use it in some applications.

 

[G8rRanger]

Thank you so much for your time and your help!

I have heard great things about the TSO Ranger, how they hold up in extreme weather, and regarding getting the annex room option for some situations.

Do you use your annex room all of the time or just some of the time? Most people that I have talked to tell me that they only use it in some applications.

Only used one time and it was the weekend that the hurricane came up from the Gulf of Mexico and ran up into the Appalachians, where I live, and plowed through where we were camping. As my review stated, the RTT was snug and water-tight. The annex held up for a few hours, but if, when you say you have heard it is good in "extreme weather" you mean a LOT of rain in a short amount of time, the RTT passes with flying colors. The annex fails badly.

Maybe I should say that you shouldn't expect the same water-tightness in the annex that you get up top on the RTT. As explained, the annex is what allows Mrs G8rRanger to descend in her shift to use a porta-potty we put down below without needing to go out in the dark/wet/etc. It's necessary for us to be camping at all, so I am stuck with what I have.

I'm not an engineer but I have determined that the problem seems to be the heavy gauge zippers TSO uses to securely connect the annex to the RTT and also to connect the annex side walls to the removable floor. Mind you, the quality of all of the materials is top-notch. I do not fault TSO for that. The issue is that the plastic of the big zippers is sewn in to Cordura fabric, and then sewn to the nylon of the tent, as it needs to be. The Cordura is strong enough to hold the zippers. Check. However, the SIZE of the zipper teeth allow water to seep through. But all of the zippers are covered, says you. True. But a lot of rain that thoroughly saturates the Cordura. Once that fabric is waterlogged, when more water soaks into it, it needs a place to go. It's science, I guess. The water seeps through the teeth of the zipper into the tent, at the top where it connects to the RTT floor as well as down on the floor. Believe me, we got a LOT of rain in a short span of time, and I'm a pretty experienced outdoorsman, sufficient to know how to competently make a tent waterproof. The conditions simply overwhelmed the capacity of the tent to stay watertight. I suppose I have been in harder rains but whatever I was in at the time had been designed to be tolerant of those extremes.

My conversation with TSO - they were very responsive and quick to offer a refund/replacement - was candid enough that they said they simply do not sell as many of these in wet climes as they do people who use them in the drier parts of the earth. I am working on how to correct the issue, but the floor solution involves using a plasti-dip paint to attempt to completely seal the gaps in the zippers. I will not be able to unzip the floor once I do that but am OK with that. TSO suggested applying seam seal to the fabric that the upper zipper connects to to delay or prevent it from getting saturated. Both of those are on the winter to-do list so we can be ready to hit the road in spring.

Hope this helps. DM if you want to bore just the two of us instead of all these other nice people on this site.

 

[Randun]

Only used one time and it was the weekend that the hurricane came up from the Gulf of Mexico and ran up into the Appalachians, where I live, and plowed through where we were camping. As my review stated, the RTT was snug and water-tight. The annex held up for a few hours, but if, when you say you have heard it is good in "extreme weather" you mean a LOT of rain in a short amount of time, the RTT passes with flying colors. The annex fails badly.

Maybe I should say that you shouldn't expect the same water-tightness in the annex that you get up top on the RTT. As explained, the annex is what allows Mrs G8rRanger to descend in her shift to use a porta-potty we put down below without needing to go out in the dark/wet/etc. It's necessary for us to be camping at all, so I am stuck with what I have.

I'm not an engineer but I have determined that the problem seems to be the heavy gauge zippers TSO uses to securely connect the annex to the RTT and also to connect the annex side walls to the removable floor. Mind you, the quality of all of the materials is top-notch. I do not fault TSO for that. The issue is that the plastic of the big zippers is sewn in to Cordura fabric, and then sewn to the nylon of the tent, as it needs to be. The Cordura is strong enough to hold the zippers. Check. However, the SIZE of the zipper teeth allow water to seep through. But all of the zippers are covered, says you. True. But a lot of rain that thoroughly saturates the Cordura. Once that fabric is waterlogged, when more water soaks into it, it needs a place to go. It's science, I guess. The water seeps through the teeth of the zipper into the tent, at the top where it connects to the RTT floor as well as down on the floor. Believe me, we got a LOT of rain in a short span of time, and I'm a pretty experienced outdoorsman, sufficient to know how to competently make a tent waterproof. The conditions simply overwhelmed the capacity of the tent to stay watertight. I suppose I have been in harder rains but whatever I was in at the time had been designed to be tolerant of those extremes.

My conversation with TSO - they were very responsive and quick to offer a refund/replacement - was candid enough that they said they simply do not sell as many of these in wet climes as they do people who use them in the drier parts of the earth. I am working on how to correct the issue, but the floor solution involves using a plasti-dip paint to attempt to completely seal the gaps in the zippers. I will not be able to unzip the floor once I do that but am OK with that. TSO suggested applying seam seal to the fabric that the upper zipper connects to to delay or prevent it from getting saturated. Both of those are on the winter to-do list so we can be ready to hit the road in spring.

Hope this helps. DM if you want to bore just the two of us instead of all these other nice people on this site.

Thank you so much for your reply. I greatly appreciate it.

I have talked to 4 different people regarding the TSO Ranger, you would make 5, and everyone has talked to me about the tent itself, how it holds up in extreme weather (i.e. snow, rain, wind, sun).

I have not spent that much time researching the annex room because it seams to me in my typical applications I will not be using it that much. Thank you for letting me know your experiences with it. I really appreciate your time and your help!

TSO seams like a great company who is pumping out some great products. Thank you for your time.