Different ways to do things RTT-wise

[rickc]

I researched RTTs a lot; many thanks to all of you who contributed already on this forum section. Long story short, I went with an ARB Simpson III and an ARB 2500 awning. The RTT is attached to a Rhino Rack Pioneer Platform and opens rear; I chose this as it gives me an instant awning over my tailgate and with the annex installed, converts my long truck bed into a huge storage/living space. Another thing I did was set-up the RTT cover to lock into the non hinge end so I undo it then flip it up and over, rolling as I go so that it rests on the platform instead of hanging in the way or taking up space somewhere else. As the tent is wider across the width of the truck when set up for rear opening, I had to shift it about 4" to the left to fit the awning and access the zipper but the annex still works fine despite the lack of symmetry.

 

[Stryder106]

Nice. I'm waiting for my RTT to get here.

 

[NatersXJ6]

I like the idea of rolling the cover forward. With my tepui, the cover is so stiff that I think it would be very difficult though. Does anyone else do this? Do you roll it around a dowel or something to make that easier? I have to think about that some more... It might beat the crap out of my plan to sew a new zipper in so I can open the cover sideways and the tent "back".

do you have a picture of the cover rolled up?

 

[SnoViking]

Thats a great setup. Its almost identical to how I have mine deployed. I'm fortunate that my awning mounts under my RTT so I can still center the tent on the rack.


How did you end up mounting the tent to the Rhino Rack rack platform rack?

I have a Tepui Autana (with extension portion) which I reversed so the extension goes forward over the rack and not the ladder. I use the extension to cover a pair of pelican boxes I use for clothes.

I had an idea to actually use my lower room portion this coming up weekend but cant with my setup.

 

[SnoViking]

I like the idea of rolling the cover forward. With my tepui, the cover is so stiff that I think it would be very difficult though. Does anyone else do this? Do you roll it around a dowel or something to make that easier? I have to think about that some more... It might beat the crap out of my plan to sew a new zipper in so I can open the cover sideways and the tent "back".

do you have a picture of the cover rolled up?

The cover of my Tepui RTT is the bayne of my existence.... Ive already ripped (and repaired) the zipper because it's been such a tight fit I've ripped the seams.....

 

[NatersXJ6]

I wouldn't describe it in exactly those terms, but I do occasionally find it difficult to deal with. If I was the only one choosing compromise points, I probably would have chosen something more flexible, but my tent lives mostly in the desert and water is not the enemy it is for some others. I will say the cover held up remarkably well against a parking garage beam one time! There was no clear winner or loser, so we agreed to flatten the tires and call it a draw.

 

[Stryder106]

^^BWAHAHAHAHA^^

 

[rickc]

Cover rolling:
I roll the cover up roughly from outside just to get it off the tent but once the tent is up I can access the cover from the opening at the other end and roll it up a little neater; it's pretty stiff unless it gets hot; it is a better solution to throwing it under the truck as I've seen many others do or leave the dirty side hanging over your windows and paintwork. I've yet to see what happens when rain is heavy

Cover protection:
So far, as long as I pull the two lower ally tubes out of their pockets after folding the tent closed, my cover pulls over easily; I've never had to yank on the zipper; make sure to glue the plastic end caps of the tubes in place. One thing I do is place a small towel over the ladder feet at the hinge end before closing the cover; they are hard and relatively sharp so I was concerned that the cover may tear. I should note that I don't pack my tent closed with my bedding; I've read that others do this. I'm sure fitting the cover with bedding included is harder.

Awning fixture:
My ARE CX HD cap has an aluminum frame that connects directly through the roof of the cap to two big cross bars. The bars have "T" slots top and bottom; tops are used to connect the platform and I used the bottoms to connect the ARB awning brackets; only room for two bolts but the thing is solid and not going anywhere. I may cut the three little awning frame bolt ends at the rear to make it just a little easier to unzip the RTT cover.

 

[rickc]

SnoViking: to mount the tent to the platform I did a few things; first, when installing the aluminum bars to the tent base, I had to cut about 4mm off the ARB supplied bolts because they stuck out below the plane of the base of the ally bars; they would have ripped-up the platform pretty badly. One this was done, a quick trip to HomeHardware to buy four 8" long galvanized steel strips with 4 pre-drilled holes. The holes at each end of each strip had to be enlarged to 8.5mm to accommodate the ARB slider bolts; the "planks' of the Rhino Rack Pioneer Platform are about 6" wide and run front to back; this is what my ARB clamp setup are clamping to. Very simple.