Hardshell RRT (Freespirt, James Baroud, RoofNest, GoFastCampers, Roam) Thoughts?

[Captain_Coffee]

Hi all!

This is my first post and so forgive me if I have placed it in the wrong area or under the wrong heading. I am looking for advice. I have a Smittybuilt Trailer with a Smittybuilt Overlander XL (1st Gen) and we have decided that we will most likely be updating to a hardshell. I really like the Smitty RRT we have, it is by far the best camping experience I have ever had, but it is time to get something smaller since the kids are big enough now to have their own tent. I am getting a little older and want something that is a bit easier to put up/break down. I have been researching for the better part of 6 months and am planning a trip soon (May) to a dealer to see a couple of Hardshell brands available in Texas in person.

I am currently leaning toward a Freespirt Evolution but am not wedded to the brand. I wanted to include my thinking below and see if anyone had advice, suggestions, or comments for RRT hard shells in general. We are looking to pick box style only.

Here is the FRS Evolution I am currently considering:

Evolution Series

Freespirit Recreation reinvented the rooftop tent from the ground up, creating industry-leading designs that elevate your adventure with awesome materials, rad designs, and fast setup times. From extreme-weather Tri-layer tents, to our newest Aspen Lite, Freespirit has the roof top tent for your...

gofsr.com

Pro's / What we like:

1. Quick Down: It appears that this is an RRT that you can actually close in 5 min ish or less. Most are not like this, and in particular soft shells with covers take a significant amount of extra labor.

2. Top is aluminum: meaning (I think?) it will have more durability for offroading and will not have as many of the possible fiberglass problems. ( cracking due to rocks being thrown up or stress, pulling away)

3. Tri-layer fabric: ( Appears) to be good for heat ( cool in the desert) and Warm in the cold ( can camp in the real cold with snow with reasonable comfort).

4. Tent Roof rack / Side mounting groves: According to the manufacturer it appears that you can use the side groves for some actual roof weight, like bikes, canoes, or luggage racks.

5. Room for bedding and Pillows: You can keep 2 sleeping bags, pillows, and the ladder inside

6. Size: I want to get something that is 55 wide and 70 inches long ( like a full-size bed) at the least


Concerns / Worries about this brand/model :

1. Not easy to pull up and put down. I want the ease of packability. If I cant exit a campsite in 15 to 30 min I could get caught in bad weather. I expect that anyone living anywhere in the Southwest US understands this. You do not always get good warnings on the trail of bad weather or wildfires for example. The amount of stuffing and effort needed to take it down is more important to me than the setup time.

2. Sealed: When traveling in the desert and on the coast sand gets everywhere. I am not against some of it, but if I stop for the night and open up my RRT and have a new layer of dust/sand inside I will be quite frustrated. Also, this means if I have it up and the winds are kicking up to 35-40 MPH like they do on the coast I expect if I leave it closed, it will not have a boatload layer of sand in it. I am worried that the open bottoms on FRS evolution RRT's will allow in the dust while traveling

3 Warm/Cool: I do not camp in temperate areas. I camp in the chihuahua desert and am also planning to take this to Alaska one day. I really want something that is an actual 4 seasons tent. When I called and asked they said they did not have any of the extra insulation layers for purchase that some tents have. I am worried that the "tri-layer" fabric will not hold up well to serious heat or cold. By hot I mean above 95 Degrees and by cold I mean below 32 Degrees F. As a rule we avoid camping if possible below 0 or above 110.

4. Durability: If we drop this kind of money on a tent I expect it to last much longer than the warranty. It has to be able to pay for itself which by my calculations means I need it to work for a minimum of 4-5ish years minimum without a real problem. I camp up to 1/4 or 1/3 of every year. Small issues, like fabric wear that need patches or a different mattress, do not concern me. We also do not store our RRT outside because we want it to last longer. I would count serious problems as something that prevents you from using the tent as it is meant to. Like bending from regular use, not holding up well ( slapping, flapping, and tearing) in the wind, unable to function as meant, susceptibility to leaking/mold, or key components (like hinges or fasteners) that break. The ability to switch out pieces/ clean the tent fabric that has issues would also be great.

5. Foldout components: I do not like them in general, they often require staking and can be tricky in high winds. This is the reason we are leaning toward a triangle or box style Hardshell RRT.


Please share your thoughts either on this model or any other that you know about. I would love any additional input on this issue!


THANK YOU in advance!

Many blessings,

Captian_ Coffee

 

[Captain_Coffee]

Thank you! That is a good idea, I will start looking into that brand, I have never heard of them. I will also consider the expo, that is a great suggestion as well.

Have a lovely day!

 

[dmulk]

Who are you replying to? I only see your post and a reply to your post from yourself....

 

[Lemsteraak]

Frenchie was blathering on about something ........ about casting a wider net and looking at one of the legacy brands.

Captain Coffee - sounds like you need an expedition rooftent. There are a lot of rooftents that you have to special order and are made for you and made with your needs in mind. Sometimes what makes a good tent for expedition use makes a bad tent for recreation use. An example is a tent that the sides open up for ventilation, good for the tropics but you could easily roll right out of it - bad for recreation use. Years ago I had one of the big European brands refuse to sell me a tent because I asked them to ship it to the US. They are deathly afraid of our litigious society but will make and sell you one if you explain why you need one.

 

[ripperj]

Who are you replying to? I only see your post and a reply to your post from yourself....

This/\
This has happened several times recently. A post gets deleted/removed with no trace? Is this done by a mod?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[Captain_Coffee]

Yes sorry that is weird, I replied to an individual who suggested I look into autohome tents. I had not heard of them and so I appreciated the suggestion. After looking into Autohome It looks like better quality than a low budget but does not look right for my needs.

Just a quick question @Lemsteraak, by " expedition rooftent" Do you mean one of the James Broud Expedition tents. ( Linked below) I think they renamed the expedition the "Evasion"?

James Baroud Evasion - Explore More Comfortably

The perfect adventure companion, the Evasion rooftop tent delivers reliable shelter and easy set up in any terrain.

www.jamesbaroud.com

Or did you mean a particular type? like box vs wedge?


Thank you for you reply!!!!!


Captian Coffee

 

[GBGCR4x4]

I'm gonna jump in and give my two cents. I think you might want to look into the Eezi-Awn Blade. It might be a bit heavy and bulky, you'd have to check specs and such but I think it should be ok on your trailer, especially if you are also considering James Baroud and such which are also big. The Blade should do the trick with all the things you liked about the Evolution, and durability wise seems to be one of the best.

 

[Lemsteraak]

Captain Coffee - you are right, it is really confusing with all the brands, claims, features, and differences in quality. I have to talk in really rough generalities as things are constantly changing. First off, you will never find a tent that will fit your needs 100%, at best you will have to modify. That means finding a tent that is close and then modifying it after you use it, making it yours. For example, I'm building up a tent that weighs 35 pounds, designed by a very gifted French designer. His manufacturing and marketing is total crap and everyone steals his designs, but not this design, it is too weird . As you can guess, it is a 3 season tent and I need a four season so I'm doing a lot of modification, I'm using a lot of ideas from the guys who camp using hammocks. I love doing this sort of thing.

Let me give you a rough generalized overview. These tents go back a very long way, and they have come a long way, there is a lot of innovation that is happening. Look at where they are made and who uses them. Where is it made? This give you an idea of the climates and uses. For example, South Africa makes some of the best tents, but one I used was rubbish in the snow, they didn't cover the tent poles so condensation would drip on you all night. If this is a tent that you would like the you need to cover the poles and have a winter hood made and it would work as a four season tent. Order one with these mods or modify it yourself. You need to be prepared to pay for quality. Look at some of the "Maggiolina" knock offs on eBay for less than $2K, while the real one costs $4K. What gives? the eBay one will be plastic while the real one is hand laid fiberglass, both are an equally good deals but one certainly will not fit your needs.

I love Frenchie, and you can take what he says to the bank. Only he isn't telling you the whole story. 30 years ago I gave him a tent to try out. He came back with a very long list of improvements. This is on a tent that was in production and used throughout the world. I had the factory make the changes for a limited run and it was a great tent, if I could find one I would get it in a heartbeat. I was trying another idea, a real fringe tent for professionals and Frenchie had to have one of those but he had another long list of changes to make it better. That is why I lurk here, these guys have some really great ideas, OK and some that are a bit lame but they make you think, gotta love it.

As for brands, I couldn't tell you which ones are best, I don't have a clue. It may be in the details. For example, I've been looking at ladders for the tent I'm building. I need something that doubles as a compression strut and be very light. The segmented telescoping ladders are the rage right now but not for this tent, too heavy and too delicate. They don't seem to like dirt in my tests. I weighed an old style ladder from AutoHome and it was less than five pounds, the segmented ladder was over ten. For my purposes, I have to go with an old style ladder because of weight even though it isn't nearly as stylish or cool. It is easy to find the weight of the tent but no one tells you the weight of their ladders. Both excellent designs, but one fits my needs better.

 

[Captain_Coffee]

Dear Lemsteraak and GBGCR,

Ok, that makes a lot of sense, I was hoping I could find something right out of the factory, but to be fair I have already had to do some mods to my scout trailer like changing the hitch to a Lock N Roll etc.. I will look into easy-awn as well, I have never heard of them.

One thing I have been thinking about is having to mod for snow/real cold. Is there any company that makes a generic style of insulation ( internal or external?) or any companies that make tent awnings you can install yourself? If the manufacturer doesn't make one it feels like you are kind of out of luck. I did some sewing on my last tent (before the trailer) to add anchor points and that did not work out well. I had never worked with ripstop tent fabric before and since it was an old tent started experimenting. Heck, Mabey is just a well-organized site that is an encyclopedia of mods?

and In terms of the ladder, I hear you! The sand drives me nuts and I have a sliding style later instead of a telescoping one, but I am still trying to figure out how to solve that problem. Silicone has been my only answer thus far.

You have given me a good bit to think about - thanks!

 

[Lemsteraak]

You need to look at insulation for just about everywhere you go. A perfect example is the Sahara desert. It gets hot, we all know that but did you know it goes down below freezing at night because there is no moisture?. The "winter" hood was really developed for conditions like that. The best new ones have a shiny surface to reflect the radiant heat from the sun in the morning. I've never personally tried one of these but just got one for my new tent. The idea is you set it up to reflect the heat to where you want it. If it is really cold and wet you put the reflective surface toward the tent to reflect your heat back at you. The folks making insulated sleeping pads have been doing this technology for awhile now with good results. You winter hood doesn't have to be a work of art, no one sees it.

Most of your heat is lost through the tent's base. I was surprised at how there seemed to be a difference between carbon fiber and fiberglass. I had the same tent made of each material with an encapsulated foam composite base. The fiberglass tent seemed to be warmer of the two. In low temps we use what we coined as an anti-condensation mat, a special spun woven mat material that comes from Germany. Quite expensive but effective, works like a box spring and supports the mattress off the tent base to minimize conductive heat loss and allow any condensation to channel off under. I have a similar problem with the new tent I'm building, Mattresses are probably the most difficult item on a rooftent. If you get a good one it is both heavy and expensive. The first place a cheap tent cuts cost. My tent will not have one because of weight, a good one will weigh as much as 35 pounds, more than my whole tent. Mine uses a structure similar to a beach sailing catamaran with a mesh and bungie cord. I've made a mat that is about five layers thick. First layer is a cordura, to repel moisture, then a backing so it lies flat, a reflective layer, thinsulite and then a nice wool fabric from the Pendleton outlet. This is why I say you have to "make it your own" as most tent come with a cheap throw away mattress.

You mentioned trailers, without a doubt the most difficult application for a roof tent. I went down to Mexico with Frenchie for a month on a trip primarily on dirt roads. I brought along an OverCamp tent to put on Frenchie's 4x4 trailer. An OverCamp tent is considered a full expedition tent as it can be repaired anywhere but about two weeks into the trip the hinges broke, really thick steel. Didn't break at the hinge part but where it bolts to the base. The tent was moving so violently (crap trailer) that this area developed metal fatigue because the factory drilled all the holes in a straight lin,e as you do. Easy fix, just stagger the holes but it was never noticed in the 50 years + of manufacture because using these tents on trailers is relatively new. I'm telling this story to illustrate that many of these tents haven't been engineered for trailers, again you don't want to be on your own. You will want to work with someone that welcomes this sort of info and will make you proper replacement parts.

 

[Captain_Coffee]

all very useful suggestions! The Trailer I am working with is an Offroad trailer - engineered with independent shocks (like what you would see in a jeep) but I will look into a custom fab shop since that makes sense.

thanks for all your ideas, I will let yall know an update once we visit some dealers, and your posts gave me ideas of a few questions to ask.

You Rock!

 

[JackW]

Take a good look at the Terrapod roof tents, they are lighter than most other hard shell tents and very well constructed. I had a Maggiolina for about ten years (excellent tent that got a lot of use) but I upgraded to a Terrapod Solo last year because the Maggiolina was really more tent than I needed. The Terrapod has multiple mounting options, is low profile, a great design and is much lighter than most of it's competitors. It's also.mesmt for oversize humans - Chad is around 6' 7" tall and as a former Boeing Industrial Designer he knows materials and proper construction techniques for durability.

 

[Wallygator]

I'm gonna jump in and give my two cents. I think you might want to look into the Eezi-Awn Blade. It might be a bit heavy and bulky, you'd have to check specs and such but I think it should be ok on your trailer, especially if you are also considering James Baroud and such which are also big. The Blade should do the trick with all the things you liked about the Evolution, and durability wise seems to be one of the best.

Second this. Have owned one but my needs changed and I sold it. Lifetime tent here if you take care of it.

 

[Captain_Coffee]

I just checked them out and can see the appeal! But according to their website, there is only one dealer in us? Any word on where to see one besides Utah? I LOVE the look of the stealth!

This community of Overlanding is great! Thanks!

 

[Wallygator]

I just checked them out and can see the appeal! But according to their website, there is only one dealer in us? Any word on where to see one besides Utah? I LOVE the look of the stealth!

This community of Overlanding is great! Thanks!

Maybe contact Equipt One and see if they can hook you up with a customer that has one in your area. Its a very good company to work with and they have great customer service in my experience.