For RTT users....extreme cold?

[spressomon]

10F is the coldest I've slept...in my former Maggiolina GT. I've done the electric mattress pad and its sure nice on the back side but just another thing to worry about (battery). This year after getting back into an RTT (Columbus) I take 3 large hand warmers...the activated charcoal type...and put one atop my pillow, one in the middle of the sleeping bag and one at the foot area and it makes a big difference I'll tell ya. Not quite like getting in the heated Kimberley Kamper but getting into a warm sleeping bag makes it all better!

The bigger challenge is getting out of the RTT in the c-c-cold morning and trying to make coffee, breakfast, etc.

 

[Adventure IQ]

Yep...my pup is a portable heater....

 

[007]

I've spent many nights in a rtt when it was well below zero.

1.) Get an eezi-awn t-top or equivalent ! You need the annex in extreme weather. I've modified mine so that the walls roll up and stow with the tent, removing them is a hassle (not sure why eezi-awn hasn't thought of this?).

2.) In addition to good down sleeping bags i use a down comforter and a 12v bunk heater. I also use a mr buddy propane heater in the annex. The annex is a great place to hang wet clothes, cook and watch movies at night. The 12 v heating pad takes the chill of when crawling into bed.

3.) You need an isolated battery for the heating pad and watching the dvd player

4.) Stick with a rtt or a flip pac. The beauty of hunting and camping where trailers can't go is completely worth it, and the fuel mileage is much greater with a truck like yours.


I travel to my home state occasionally (Wyoming), let me know if your interested in a used 1400 eezi-awn t-top.

 

[overlander]

1.) Get an eezi-awn t-top or equivalent ! You need the annex in extreme weather. I've modified mine so that the walls roll up and stow with the tent, removing them is a hassle (not sure why eezi-awn hasn't thought of this?).

do tell! I've always thought about experimenting with stowing my T Top with the annex walls. Right now, I keep them in a duffle bag that only bring when needed, because they are a piece of work to install in camp. Keeping them attached would be sweet.

 

[dblosch]

The bigger challenge is getting out of the RTT in the c-c-cold morning and trying to make coffee, breakfast, etc.

This is exactly why I like my little heater setup. When the whole tent is toasty, it's that much easier to get out of the bag!

Dan

 

[007]

do tell! I've always thought about experimenting with stowing my T Top with the annex walls. Right now, I keep them in a duffle bag that only bring when needed, because they are a piece of work to install in camp. Keeping them attached would be sweet.

I'll get pics on my next trip (2 weeks), but this is how it is done:

1. Attach the tent walls but leave them unzipped

2. get about 16' of black nylon strap from the hardware store (same strap that eezi-awn uses in the cover) - to be cut into approx. 2' lengths

3. get 8 sets of black plastic buckles that fit the nylon straps.

4. Starting at the bottom, tightly roll the wall up like a bed roll until it hits the top. Note how big the bundle is, then drop it.

5. thread two of the straps between the aluminum channel holding the wall and the plywood (space evenly), you will have to loosen the channels to do this.

6. Attach the buckles to the ends of the strap.

7. Roll the wall back up to the top, and attach the buckles to secure the wall. Trim the straps to fit.

8. Repeat for the other three walls.

Start with the smallest, easiest wall, with practice you will be able to roll the walls up very compact.

When you stow the tent the walls will be sitting on the top, arrange them so that the cover will go on easily.

I leave the top couple inches of the walls zipped, it makes it easier to deploy the walls - just unfold the tent, pull the slide, unbuckle the homemade straps, and pull the zippers down. Or just leave the walls rolled up if the weather is nice

Different tents, or sizes may bind up if the walls are zipped together at the top - make sure nothing binds up when stowing the tent!

 

[overlander]

Suuwweeett! I have a project for this weekend. That would be awesome to be able to keep that annex up there. I had no idea it would fit under the cover.

 

[Deleted member 48574]

So, some new information in cold weather RTT camping.

The lady and I tried it last night in Calgary where it got down to -23 Celsius before the windchill (according to the thermometer in my jeep)

We had the two of us as well as our dog up there. We were sleeping in Woods 5 Star sleeping bags that were bought by my dad back in the 80s.

It was not warm. There were 3 major issues:

1) the cover looses a lot of flexibility in the extreme cold. We ended up tearing a couple of seams; nothing that a needle and thread can't fix. Now, we also had the big sleeping bags up there so our RtT was filled up perhaps a bit too much.

2) condensation = frost. We had the whole thing buttoned up to avoid the worst of the windchill and that meant we awoke to a very solid layer of frost all through the inside of the tent.

3) our backs were cold. Because our bodies compressed the sleeping bags they didn't trap air very well, and the foam mattress was constantly leeching heat away from us. We managed to still get a good nights sleep though by sleeping on top of a few Hot Hands that radiated heat upwards.


Other than that, it was all right. I would recommend some better form of mattress insulation if you can (ie a thermarest or something) as well as be prepared for a very stiff cover. Again if you don't keep it too full this might not e a problem.

Oh, and we did this in a Wal Mart parking lot -- if we did have problems we wanted to be able to run inside for warmth before trying it in an outback area!



And my glasses in the morning -- frost from condensation:

 

[fasteddy47]

^
A true Canadian:Wow1:

-23 Celsius is -10 Fahrenheit... that is mighty cold for a tent.....

How did you get the Pup up there?

Cheers
Eddy

 

[Deleted member 48574]

Eddy,

Yeah it was chilly. But if we can do it on those temps then the RTT is an option - albeit not an ideal one - for most situations in the US.

We have trained the dog to hop on the bumper, then to the good (we put a blanket down for grip) and then into the roof so she just heard the word 'bed' and up she goes.

Cheers
Craig

 

[Jim K in PA]

I'll get pics on my next trip (2 weeks), but this is how it is done:


Different tents, or sizes may bind up if the walls are zipped together at the top - make sure nothing binds up when stowing the tent!

Thanks for this 007. I look forward to the pictures. One of the reasons we bought our T-Top Xklusiv was to have the lower enclosure for cold and wet weather camping. Good to hear we can stow it attached.

 

[HuskerJeep]

Like others have mentioned, good sleeping gear and layers were the key for me keeping warm when sleeping in mid 20s weather. Now that I bought a Mr. Heater Buddy I'd like to get out again to see how it does. From research on here I've read that they are great to use because of the low oxygen sensor and tip over shutoff. I think it would be easy enough to run for a while before going down for the night, and then just turn back on when the cold sets in again during the night. I've had thoughts of building a vented heater box to set it in below my RTT and then run some flexible duct up into the gaps at the pivot point, but will see how it does first inside.

 

[bobDog]

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[bobDog]

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[loren85022]

Agreed, that's why we have 2 Vizsla mixes, the older(13 years) is a Vizsla/Lab and the younger(2 years) is a Vizsla/Blue Heeler. We actually refuse to have a purebred. They love to sleep under the covers! But the younger dog is the only one who is allowed to sleep with us lately, the older one snores way too loudly.

It's 3am. Only mid-30s out, but our two vizsla are keeping us plenty warm - at Tubac Golf Resort. While camping we suffer just long enough to turn.on our mr heater for a bit. Getting dogs up / down is a pain for another story


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