Autohome or Roofnest Falcon XL

[moose545]

I'm having a hard time choosing a new tent. I want something atleast 80" long as I'm 6'2, and 54"+ wide. I'm looking at a few Autohome models (Columbus Medium or Medium-XL, Airlander Plus - Medium, or the Airtop Plus - Medium), or a Roofnest Falcon XL.

Both include shipping which is a must for the price point, and hopefully I could make it to NJ to pickup the tent or have it installed right there at OK4WD, otherwise both will ship right to me so that's not a huge issue. Both have a 3" mattress, except the Columbus which is 2-5/8", close but from what I've read would still be comfortable as I've heard good things about their quality. Roofnest I'm a little concerned on. I knew a guy that had a different model and he had an issue with it, and ended up selling it and got an FSR. All input is appreciated!

 

[spressomon]

Overall, I've been happy with my 8-year old Columbus small width extra long. I'm 5'10" and I recommend you get the extra long ("XL"). The perfect RTT doesn't exist, at least for my criteria. But the Variant is solid except for the following on our unit. The Variant I have came with velcro in/out bug screens which is a RPITA and incredibly stupid design. Whereas I heard later production Variants came with zipper closure bug screens; be sure to ask so you're not surprised I guess.

I ordered my Variant without the mattress; no $ savings though. I formerly bought and used a new Maggiolina Grand Tour extensively and the mattress was just too thin and way too firm for my liking. I'm 180lbs and a side sleeper. I ended up making my own mattress, which is 3-1/2" thick to about where my knees locate then dropped to 2-1/2" to allow more vertical room for down comforter when in the closed position. I went to a local fabric store and bought two different density foams and then used a zipper mattress cover to keep it clean, etc. Until my SO started coming along, I did use an Exped Mega 10 single wide and it was super comfy but you do have to let the air out and re-inflate each time you open/close the RTT. But relatively easy enough to do if you have an OBA compressor.

The Maggiolina was superior in windy conditions to the Variant. But the lack of vertical space was a little claustrophobic especially with two bodies in it. And the "timing chain" did derail from the drive sprockets after one trip (succumbed to Death Valley washboard) which was a RPITA to remedy. My Variant is good to about 20mph winds then starts to get noisy from the not drum tight fabric as the Maggiolina features.

I wouldn't want the model with the air struts, knee joints, etc. as many complaints about pinched fabric, more difficult to lower while tucking in the tent fabric etc. Too bad they don't offer the superior ventilation of the Airtop (and views when windows are fully open) in the non-air strut lift Maggiolina.

And remember to take into consideration how much useable length you give up in the Maggiolina with the scissor lift mechanism at each end. I had to sleep diagonally otherwise feet would interfere with the scissor mechanism...

HTH.

 

[moose545]

Overall, I've been happy with my 8-year old Columbus small width extra long. I'm 5'10" and I recommend you get the extra long ("XL"). The perfect RTT doesn't exist, at least for my criteria. But the Variant is solid except for the following on our unit. The Variant I have came with velcro in/out bug screens which is a RPITA and incredibly stupid design. Whereas I heard later production Variants came with zipper closure bug screens; be sure to ask so you're not surprised I guess.

I ordered my Variant without the mattress; no $ savings though. I formerly bought and used a new Maggiolina Grand Tour extensively and the mattress was just too thin and way too firm for my liking. I'm 180lbs and a side sleeper. I ended up making my own mattress, which is 3-1/2" thick to about where my knees locate then dropped to 2-1/2" to allow more vertical room for down comforter when in the closed position. I went to a local fabric store and bought two different density foams and then used a zipper mattress cover to keep it clean, etc. Until my SO started coming along, I did use an Exped Mega 10 single wide and it was super comfy but you do have to let the air out and re-inflate each time you open/close the RTT. But relatively easy enough to do if you have an OBA compressor.

The Maggiolina was superior in windy conditions to the Variant. But the lack of vertical space was a little claustrophobic especially with two bodies in it. And the "timing chain" did derail from the drive sprockets after one trip (succumbed to Death Valley washboard) which was a RPITA to remedy. My Variant is good to about 20mph winds then starts to get noisy from the not drum tight fabric as the Maggiolina features.

I wouldn't want the model with the air struts, knee joints, etc. as many complaints about pinched fabric, more difficult to lower while tucking in the tent fabric etc. Too bad they don't offer the superior ventilation of the Airtop (and views when windows are fully open) in the non-air strut lift Maggiolina.

And remember to take into consideration how much useable length you give up in the Maggiolina with the scissor lift mechanism at each end. I had to sleep diagonally otherwise feet would interfere with the scissor mechanism...

HTH.

Good info, I won't be going the Roofnest route after more reading. Just a matter of deciding which Autohome at this point. I'm hoping @rino and guys at OK4WD in New Jersey have them in stock and I can go get it. I also plan on using Rhino Vortex crossbars to mount it. Hopefully that's not an issue.

 

[rino]

Good info, I won't be going the Roofnest route after more reading. Just a matter of deciding which Autohome at this point. I'm hoping @rino and guys at OK4WD in New Jersey have them in stock and I can go get it. I also plan on using Rhino Vortex crossbars to mount it. Hopefully that's not an issue.

Hey man! We still have a few AutoHome tents on hand, but at this rate we will be sold out completely by end of this month. If you would like to see the line in person come swing by the shop or drop us a line and we can let you know what models are still available.

 

[maust]

Rin at OK4WD is a good guy. I'd trust him going with am Autohome RTT.

I believe that OK4WD got burned with the James Baroud tent line they carried as the James Baroud Tents have a design flaw where the fabric tears at wear points and the gel coat fails. Trying to warranty a James Baroud tent is a nightmare as James Baroud does not stand behind their product.

Based upon the negative experience with James Baroud, I believe that OK4WD did additional vetting of Autohome before deciding to carry them.

 

[adaml]

@maust - Are you being paid by someone to constantly talk ******** about JB? More than half of your posts on this site (which are limited) are talking trash about JB. You mounted a tent backward on your truck and it looks like you had some pretty minor problems. Given the shape of the tent and the fact that the vents are facing the opposite direction, it should be pretty apparent that the tent was never meant to be mounted backward and I'm not surprised JB said the same thing. I'm really sorry for your troubles but I see these tents all over the place that people have been using for years without a problem.

@moose545 - I'd personally go with the Autohome. I was actually looking at Autohomes myself but, at the time, I couldn't get the model I wanted in the width I wanted within any reasonable timeframe. I never looked at Roofnest because I don't think they came wide enough for me. The difference once you get over 60" wide may not seem like much but it makes a world of difference when you're sleeping two adults and a child in there. If it was just the two of us, I'd have a lot of other tents out there I'd look at. Have you checked out any of the tents from the Bush Company? That's what I'd probably go with if we were down a person.

 

[moose545]

Thanks guys, in talks with Rin now and will be choosing an Autohome, just have to see which one once I see a few in the showroom tomorrow He's great to work with and I ruled out all the others based on cost or availability.

 

[maust]

@adaml, That's funny. Growing up, my grandfather told me the rule of 10 when it comes to business reputation. Treat customers right and 1 out of 10 will provide a positive referral. Cheat, or treat 1 person negatively and they will tell at least 10 people.

Direction has nothing to do with it. There are many examples where a JB tents show the same failure mode. This tells me the JB tents have a design flaw and will fail. When the tent was professionally installed by a JB dealer (TAV) costing over $7K including rack this tells me the 5 year warranty stands. The dealer (TAV), distributor (Adventure Ready), and manufacture (James Baroud) refused warranty based upon a documented design flaw with fabric failure and effectively told me to go pound sand. I see all 3 as profiting from a sale with zero intent to stand behind their product.

I will let the evidence speak for itself. Tent was installed by a JB dealer. Tent failed within 2 years. Direction of tent does not matter as another local has the same tent mounted forward with same failure mode. Now after spending $7K and being told there is zero intent to warranty a design flaw would you support James Baroud or any of their distributors or dealers?

Rin as a former distributor of James Baroud tried to help me out fixing the defective tent with no ability to profit from the situation. I would support OK4WD.

 

[moose545]

@adaml, That's funny. Growing up, my grandfather told me the rule of 10 when it comes to business reputation. Treat customers right and 1 out of 10 will provide a positive referral. Cheat, or treat 1 person negatively and they will tell at least 10 people.

Direction has nothing to do with it. There are many examples where a JB tents show the same failure mode. This tells me the JB tents have a design flaw and will fail. When the tent was professionally installed by a JB dealer (TAV) costing over $7K including rack this tells me the 5 year warranty stands. The dealer (TAV), distributor (Adventure Ready), and manufacture (James Baroud) refused warranty based upon a documented design flaw with fabric failure and effectively told me to go pound sand. I see all 3 as profiting from a sale with zero intent to stand behind their product.

I will let the evidence speak for itself. Tent was installed by a JB dealer. Tent failed within 2 years. Direction of tent does not matter as another local has the same tent mounted forward with same failure mode. Now after spending $7K and being told there is zero intent to warranty a design flaw would you support James Baroud or any of their distributors or dealers?

Rin as a former distributor of James Baroud tried to help me out fixing the defective tent with no ability to profit from the situation. I would support OK4WD.

That truly sucks and I'm sorry to hear that. For me, the JB came up too often and has some noted issues, and are simply too much for what they offer in comparison. Rin is a great dude to work with and got me all squared away, fielded all my questions as I crawled around the showroom tent, and I'll be headed up next Friday to get my tent installed, couldn't be happier!

 

[spressomon]

^ so curious minds want to know: What model Autohome did you go with?

 

[moose545]

^ so curious minds want to know: What model Autohome did you go with?

I went with the Grand Tour 360 in Medium-XL. Both that and the Airtop 360 share the same mattress but the crank system vs the 4 gas struts at the corners was hands down simple to open and close, especially solo and on a truck with 35’s. I tried the Columbus Variant on a guys truck and it was very nice, but it was a small and too short, and the XL version they had would’ve given me more legroom but it’s still tight width wise. It’s a nice tent but the clamshell isn’t for me. Both medium and medium XLs weren’t in stock and just don’t give me much room inside with another person. Solo I could manage, but those times I’m not I don’t want to be cramped, I move around a lot and have some bad discs, so all that made me spend more on the plush 3-1/4” other model


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[spressomon]

^ GT is a nice tent. Better doors & screens IMHO than the Variant. And you won't be bothered by flapping fabric in bigger wind conditions. I had a local mattress shop make me a 4" cross drilled natural latex mattress for the GT and it was just super comfortable yet supportive. But heavy. Maybe the stock pads have gotten better since the 12-years its been since I had my GT, but the one I had was just too darn firm...and I was 12-years younger ?.

And if you hate little rattles...cut off the metal zipper pulls and swap in nylon. Amazing how those little metal pulls rattle in a breeze.

 

[moose545]

Haha good call, that mattress sounds slick. I’ll remember that for the zipper pulls. The Autohome - Italy sight has the new line of tents, the US site isn’t updated. The 360 is really cool.


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[spressomon]

I wasn't aware of the GT 360! The Autohome IT site doesn't list the 360 being available in XL but obviously from your info it does come in extra long. It looks like a very nice tent! I'd swap my Variant for one!

I also swapped out the ladder that comes with it for a telescoping ladder: Wider, no overlapping steps to 'trip' over, etc. I do carry it in the LC; I never liked the idea of storing the ladder inside the tent, even in the supplied bag.

Can't wait to see pics of your new GT 360!

 

[moose545]

I wasn't aware of the GT 360! The Autohome IT site doesn't list the 360 being available in XL but obviously from your info it does come in extra long. It looks like a very nice tent! I'd swap my Variant for one!

I also swapped out the ladder that comes with it for a telescoping ladder: Wider, no overlapping steps to 'trip' over, etc. I do carry it in the LC; I never liked the idea of storing the ladder inside the tent, even in the supplied bag.

Can't wait to see pics of your new GT 360!

Thanks man, should be good! I'll be sure to post some up when I get it