Anything compete with the Superlite for weight and cost..?

[ac1617]

The OP owned a Turtleback trailer that tells me that quality is super important and cost of a higher quality TerraPod may be totally acceptable. I look forward to the OP input.

Math??

tent 1299.oo
ladder 100.oo
mattress 279.oo

1678.00

Which is still $1200 more than the Terrapod ? ??

Good eye noticing the quality build of the TerraPod. At any price a RTT that pretzels in wind would make it worthless even at $1000.

Eyes?? Straight from the company website, the tent is $1199


And you're right about comparing the Terrapod's build quality being superior to a tent that hasn't been released yet. I see you've already received your SuperLite prototype and can confirm it pretzels in the wind. Pack it up boys it's TerraPod or bust!

 

[smittycrusher]

So the Terrapod isn’t a good answer to the OP. I found one that is.

The Smittybuilt is only 73% of the price of the new GFC and is only 46.25% heavier. Is saving 37 pounds worth and extra $428?

 

[smittycrusher]

Actually I found a much better deal than the GFC per the OP’s parameters. The Frontrunner is only 93lbs and much cheaper at $1099!

 

[maust]

Dumb question, but is terrapod still a concept or are they in production. Quality looked to be on point with a few articles. I'd really like to talk with the owner prior to another RTT.

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

Eyes?? Straight from the company website, the tent is $1199
View attachment 600294

And you're right about comparing the Terrapod's build quality being superior to a tent that hasn't been released yet. I see you've already received your SuperLite prototype and can confirm it pretzels in the wind. Pack it up boys it's TerraPod or bust!

You are correct on price.

You can preorder a GFC SuperLite RTT now, with first orders expected to be fulfilled in November. The tent will set you back $1,199, but that doesn’t include the cost of the ladder ($100) or optional mattress ($279). All in, the SuperLite RTT will cost $1,578.

I made the mistake of following the link in the first post that shows 1299.00

Looks like a couple more options for the OP.

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

Actually I found a much better deal than the GFC per the OP’s parameters. The Frontrunner is only 93lbs and much cheaper at $1099!

Im not one to be argumentive but that is not the same style RRT so Im not sure if it really qualifies. Im sure other will correct ?

 

[smittycrusher]

Im not one to be argumentive but that is not the same style RRT so Im not sure if it really qualifies. Im sure other will correct ?

Doesn’t matter. As pointed out to me by another poster, price AND weight was the question. Nothing else.

 

[dreadlocks]

the mattress and ladder optional are good, not everyone puts these ontop of a big SUV.. I was looking at a rigid RTT as an option for kiddos with a smaller teardrop size camper.. the size and complexity of a canvas RTT was off the table, and the price of a nice solid rigid RTT just made me go get a bigger trailer all together.. but the'd of not needed a ladder to get up there.. some vans and stuff got ladders already on em.. options are cool

You can get a mattress off amazon for cheap, or if you had already upgraded the one in your previous sleeping arrangements you can often hack that to size and use it in your next.. If I coulda optioned my dual bed camper w/out mattresses for $600 less I think I woulda in a heartbeat and ended up with something much better for that kinda money.

I like it, as a former car camper I always dreamed of a nice rigid RTT.. just entry price made me get a trailer instead.

 

[80t0ylc]

All this hoopla....I still want to see 2 things on the Superlite that GFC is keeping secret, at least to the general public. And that is the vehicle mounting method "Quick Connect system" and a demo of how it opens and closes. Then we can get a better feel for the tent, IMHO.

 

[JJBiggs]

Gents...

GFC aiming simply on price is a-ok. We have no problem with them bringing another Smitty price level to the space. Each to their own. The more options out there for market is fantastic. We wish GFC all the best.

Now that said - Terrapod's target is purely hand-crafted quality with an emphasis on design and expedition-grade toughness. We aim to offer a reasonable price with a high level of execution on a unit made completely in the USA.

*Pre-production model shown

 

[ac1617]

Gents...

GFC aiming simply on price is a-ok. We have no problem with them bringing another Smitty price level to the space.

******** wow. Go Fast Campers is a reputable company that builds tough RTTs and platform campers. I have no reason to believe their Superlite is "aiming simply on price" and will not hold up on long expeditions. For a new "company" that have yet to prove themselves outside of a few select testers... You guys sure are quick to dismiss other company offerings as inferior products that "simply aim on price".

 

[towee]

This thread kind of derailed quickly....

The facts are we have 2 new options of rtts that just aren’t the same old rebrand from China they are actually something new and different similar to alu cab gen 3 or ikamper when they came out. Until these things start to end up on top of vehicles and are seen and used in person nobody really knows....

Personally I’ve followed both companies loosely and have been impressed and wish both the best. I look forward to putting my eyes and hands on both products and think they are both trying to solve problems mainly weight that exist with most current offerings.

At the end of the day an rtt is just a place to sleep.
I want it to weigh as little as possible, keep out the elements and be easy to set up/take down oh and the less it costs the better.

Anyway back to the regularly scheduled program of arguing over which tent is “better” on two that haven’t even hit the market yet.

 

[smittycrusher]

I take the blame for derailing the thread. I immediately thought low profile hard shells was the topic but once I reread the original post and topic, I added content that applied. As far as weight and price it appears the most likely competitors are Smittybuilt and Front Runner. The GFC is lighter than both of those (by only 12 lbs compared to Front Runner) but considerably more expensive. Everything has a trade off I guess. I have zero experience with Smittybuilt, GFC or Front Runner so have no idea about craftsmanship for any of those. But craftsmanship, order lead time, profile, etc weren’t asked by the OP.

Any other lightweight and inexpensive roof top tents that I have missed to help the OP with his question?

 

[TNExplorer]

the Yakima 2 man roof top tent is around a grand(if you catch them on sale they can be really cheap) and weighs 95 lbs. Worthy of a mention.

 

[sendkcone]

It's funny because I wasn't even looking for an RTT having recently spending a ton of $$ on a Conqueror to squeeze in the whole family. I guess I was on GFC's mailing list because I previously owned their truck bed camper for about a year. I was pretty impressed with that unit so when the email came from those guys selling one of their creations in that price range, I figured "2nd sleeping space" on the truck without much of a weight penalty, I'll be the guinea pig.

It will be interesting to see how it turned out. I'm glad I got to save $100 on a ladder as I'll be using the truck tailgate. I also like the idea of two 24" camping pads to keep it easy to clean. Now if it's ultra simple to open and close, I'll be stoked.

Thanks for the informative responses.