Best roof top tent ever.
- Thread starter Abe Froman
- Start date
jeep-N-montero
Expedition Leader
I love it, a must read for everyone!!
jeep-N-montero
Expedition Leader
As I am sure some of it was exaggerated and in jest/sarcasm, relax dude.
Judoka
Learning To Live
After several years of "camping" aka living in the woods and on the road, I have tried everything from RTTs to Camper shells to slide in campers to hammocks. I have to say the most versatile and convenient setup I have ever had was the Tentcot with a nice sleeping pad inside! Quick to set up and take down, easy to do it in the freezing cold or heavy rain and inexpensive! But then I was only deploying it to sleep for the night, and often worried about finding myself stuck in it for long term in the rainy season. That never became an issue. My only complaint with the tentcot is the lack of room to respond to a threat. with the walls so close a bear would be right upon you before you could ever reach your firearm! Hence the idea of mounting upon the roof in bear country. Still, it is all in how you use it. I would never want to return to my Eezi Awn again after a winter in it setting it up and taking it down every night.
Stitebunny
Adventurer
I love it!
Thanks for that!
Thanks for that!
Nd4SpdSe
Adventurer, eh?
It's more of a gross exaggeration to discourage against the RTT
- My RTT weights around 100lbs.
- You can get an RTT for $1000 Canadian new. I paid C$800 for mine 8 years ago and she's still going strong.
- MPG is negligible except in high winds, but also, the Xterra is shapped like a box, and isn't fuel efficient to begin with.
- Levelling the truck is easy and is not "like calculus"
- The weight on top has never been an issue. I've off-roaded many, many times with it and it was never was a problem.
- My Xterra with stock or with it's modified suspension never had an issue with it.
- High winds and storms...no problem. I've watched my neighbours tents collapse on them, while we were high and dry and watching a movie. I've only had an experience once in the 8 years and it was this year with 50km/h winds blowing directly into the front of the RTT, making it want to close. A strap from the ladder to the truck/trailer should resolve that fluke.
I don't agree with the article because it exaggerates to put down the RTT to make his own setup seem that much better, which would be if cost much less, and not marginally less then a real RTT. But you also don't need to downplay the RTT setup, it's not for everyone. Everyone likes to camp in their own way and fashion.
- My RTT weights around 100lbs.
- You can get an RTT for $1000 Canadian new. I paid C$800 for mine 8 years ago and she's still going strong.
- MPG is negligible except in high winds, but also, the Xterra is shapped like a box, and isn't fuel efficient to begin with.
- Levelling the truck is easy and is not "like calculus"
- The weight on top has never been an issue. I've off-roaded many, many times with it and it was never was a problem.
- My Xterra with stock or with it's modified suspension never had an issue with it.
- High winds and storms...no problem. I've watched my neighbours tents collapse on them, while we were high and dry and watching a movie. I've only had an experience once in the 8 years and it was this year with 50km/h winds blowing directly into the front of the RTT, making it want to close. A strap from the ladder to the truck/trailer should resolve that fluke.
I don't agree with the article because it exaggerates to put down the RTT to make his own setup seem that much better, which would be if cost much less, and not marginally less then a real RTT. But you also don't need to downplay the RTT setup, it's not for everyone. Everyone likes to camp in their own way and fashion.
Abe Froman
Adventurer
Some people have no sense of humor.
MagicMtnDan
2020 JT Rubicon Launch Edition & 2021 F350 6.7L
Sense of humor? It's a clever, well written article offering a realistic and, in many ways, improvement over roof-top-tenting.
I've seen many owners of RTTs complain about them and give up on them. As much as I like the concept the reality of sleeping way up high and, guaranteed, having to leave and re-enter at least once or twice or more (not me buy my wife) in the night doesn't make me like the idea any more. Add the weight and cost (and the cost of a roof rack) and it's pretty easy to not take the plunge to roof top tenting.
This article provides food for thought and I like it!
I've seen many owners of RTTs complain about them and give up on them. As much as I like the concept the reality of sleeping way up high and, guaranteed, having to leave and re-enter at least once or twice or more (not me buy my wife) in the night doesn't make me like the idea any more. Add the weight and cost (and the cost of a roof rack) and it's pretty easy to not take the plunge to roof top tenting.
This article provides food for thought and I like it!
cruiserpilot
Adventurer
We could add that a dog can and will in Canada invite certain bruin animals to chase said dog back into the tent. I know of two unfortunate people killed
where I was camping, by being eaten by large bruin which invaded their ground tents. They even had rifles. This was two separate incidents a year apart, not
a singular event. And muskeg, mud and moss is an unfriendly tent environment. Depends on where you are, and where you are going.
That is one nice ground tent, and a nice sit up cot can match a floor mattress for comfort, especially for older or joint pained people.
I guess it depends on individual needs and daily requirements.
where I was camping, by being eaten by large bruin which invaded their ground tents. They even had rifles. This was two separate incidents a year apart, not
a singular event. And muskeg, mud and moss is an unfriendly tent environment. Depends on where you are, and where you are going.
That is one nice ground tent, and a nice sit up cot can match a floor mattress for comfort, especially for older or joint pained people.
I guess it depends on individual needs and daily requirements.
About Bears and an RTT
I used to work at Glacier National Park, and learned a lot about Grizzly Bears. If a bear smelled something worth exploring in a RTT, the bear would have no problem checking it out. The U.S. Forest Service protocal is that when a bear's nose come through your tent, you use a knife and cut a hole in the other side of the tent and leave. I would reccomend a bee line to insdie the vehical. If a bear went exploring in a RTT, I can see the whole structer comming down. In fact it is the last place I would want to be.
The previous poster is right about bears and dogs thought - natural antipaty - and dogs can't seem to help themselves from escalting things, writing checks they can't cash.
I used to work at Glacier National Park, and learned a lot about Grizzly Bears. If a bear smelled something worth exploring in a RTT, the bear would have no problem checking it out. The U.S. Forest Service protocal is that when a bear's nose come through your tent, you use a knife and cut a hole in the other side of the tent and leave. I would reccomend a bee line to insdie the vehical. If a bear went exploring in a RTT, I can see the whole structer comming down. In fact it is the last place I would want to be.
The previous poster is right about bears and dogs thought - natural antipaty - and dogs can't seem to help themselves from escalting things, writing checks they can't cash.
rnArmy
Adventurer
How about a Tent-cot on a trailer? Front tongue stand has been changed to match the rears (in case anyone was noticing the wooden blocks). Mine is a double sized, which is good for one person with some room to stretch out, or two folks willing to spoon. It also has a place on each side inside to hold a bottle (or a can of bear spray). Now I just need to get a cover made for it when folded up (in the works).
I enjoyed the well-written article. I got the tongue-in-cheek aspect; I appreciate the humor.
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