Is 2 rooftop tents on vehicle dangerous?

[mellotango]

Hi,

I am exploring the possibility of putting 2 rooftops tents on my vehicle, since I will be having a group of 4 people travelling together. I do understand about legal on-road and off-road roof weight limits and remember from reading somewhere that the legal limit in the US is only about 80kg while driving. But when the vehicle is stationary, it can carry a lot more static weight.

Here where I live, laws are a bit more slack and I can probably get away with putting more weight on the roof without getting in too much trouble with the authorities. However, for our own personal safety concerns, I would like to know if putting 2 roof top tents on my Toyata truck would seriously compromise the driving safety of our vehicle? The combined weight of the 2 tents would be about 60kg x 2 = 120kg. We will be doing some degree of off roading, but nothing too extreme.

I've seen many expedition websites with pics of vehicles carrying 2 rooftents in the African safaris. So if this is common in off road conditions in Africa safari, then surely it would be ok for me on my roads too? Of course, I just need to be a little more cautious with driving e.g. not driving too fast, braking earlier, etc

What are your views on this? Your advice would be surely helpful.

Thanks!

James

 

[kellymoe]

Where are you located and where are you going?
I do believe RTT serve a purpose but here in the US I just don't see a huge need for them. My main reason is the amount of highway driving it takes to get to your eventual off highway destination. RTT are dangerous on the highway because of the high C of G. They are fine for easy off roading and "overlanding", I cant believe I just wrote that When I bought my truck it came with a Hannibal RTT with extended rear room. I have to say it was nice. But in areas of high wind int was a pain in the rear. Driving it on the highway was exhausting, especially in high winds. The extra attention while driving off road was also exhausting. In the end I ended up selling the tent in favor of a regular good old fashion North Face tent. There are no animals in North America that require you to sleep off the ground except for maybe grizzly bears and if the bear want to eat you he will eat you regardless of where you are sleeping. I am not against RTT's just RTT that are mounted on the roof:hehe: If I were to use a RTT I think I would use it on a trailer or mounted to a truck bed. Keep the CG low. I have a full length rack but rarely use it just for the reason of keeping the CG low.

I'll get off my soap box now.

 

[mellotango]

Thx for sharing your experiences. I'm in the phase of modifying my truck to prepare for a 20 day trip around the island of Borneo. As for wanting RTTs, my other half has a fear of creepy crawlies and snakes especially, so its in my interest to make this vehicle as women friendly as possible. Hehe.

I've seen this type of RTT setup whilst searching on the web.

I'm planning to do exactly that. To add a canopy to my truck bed, and installing an extra tent on top of it.

So if I have 2 RTT (each 60kg) spread out over the dual cab roof and the canopy roof, I need to know whether this is generally ok, and won't pose too much of a safety problem if we drive sensibly. Can my Hilux Toyota truck be able to handle this weight while driving? They don't have strict laws here against roof weight limits in my country, so that issue is not of concern in this case.

Any help is appreciated on this matter. Thx

 

[Martyn]

Most of the double RTT set ups are on vehicles with stock tires and no lift.

If your vehicle fits that category you are probably safe with a double tent set up.

 

[mellotango]

Do you mean to say that double RTTs are possible if the car owner chose keep using the same type of tires that came with the car, and that "no lift" means no suspension upgrades?

If my assumption is right, why would upgrading the tyres or suspensions cause problems with using double RTTs, out of curiosity?

 

[Martyn]

Do you mean to say that double RTTs are possible if the car owner chose keep using the same type of tires that came with the car, and that "no lift" means no suspension upgrades?

If my assumption is right, why would upgrading the tyres or suspensions cause problems with using double RTTs, out of curiosity?

An increase in the tire diameter and a lift increases the C of G. The average RTT for 2 people weighs 135 lbs or 61 kg, a total of 122 kg up high on a rack.

If you combine the increase in C of G and the Mass it can be slightly tippy on the low end of things and roll over on the upper end.

Most "stock" vehicles can handle the double tent scenario with standard tires and no lift.

 

[mellotango]

Ah, I can understand now how the C of G is increased through these modifications. I guess that's ok for me since we plan to do light offroading anyways, so no need to upgrade. (saves me some $$$ too)

thx for your tip. Now i just have to wonder how to pay for 2 sets of root tents. Heh!

 

[xcmountain80]

SO just to clear the air, we aren't recommending off-roading with 2 RTT's. Not that it can't be done. If the later someone ship me another one and I'll prove you wrong. Otherwise it certainly would be allot of extra roof weight. You could probably compare it to a really fat guy trying to tip your vehicle all the time. The wind drag will wouldn't be anymore than that of the 1st tent as it broke the wind . The 2nd would be in it's draft.

Aaron

 

[StumpXJ]

I have had my RTT on top, with atleast twice as much weights of other items with it in the remaining area of the rack, and didnt have a problem. I would not want to do any offroading with it, but for normal driving it was fine. I drive a Tacoma, which is very similar to your Hilux.

~James

 

[mellotango]

I totally agree off-roading is not a good idea. We probably will be doing a lot of travelling on normal roads, or small village roads, but still mainly on tarmac. There will be the occasional off beaten dirt tracks to reach designated campgrounds. But we will definitely avoid difficult and tough terrain whenever we can.

I did come across a decent "looking" tent that's 40 kg only. So 2 sets will amount to 80 kgs. You can take a look at http://www.dolium.com.au/view/page/120/cat/Roof_Tents.html Select the Featherlite option.

thx

 

[gjackson]

It can and has been done, and even worked well off-road. You just need to know how to drive your vehicle with that sort of modification.

cheers

 

[FlyNdrive]

I think Eezi-Awn makes a family tent.

Eezi-Awn, EA-Tent22
Sleeps four comfortably.
Size available - open:
2200 (w) x 2440 (l) x
1300mm (h)

"Designed for the Safari Trailer, manufactured of heavy duty canvas. The fabric is stretched onto steel bows , top hat section and stainless steel hinges which are mounted onto polyurethane coated 9mm ply boards.

Complete with two hi-density mattresses, privacy panel, flysheet, 2 aluminium extension ladders and a heavy duty PVC rain / dust assist cover."

Clich Here

-Ben

 

[Pskhaat]

http://expeditionportal.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=8703&d=1182241012

 

[Willman]

http://expeditionportal.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=8703&d=1182241012

Welcome to the Hilton!...May I take your bag for you sir???


:bowdown:

 

[Corey]

His and her ladders.
That is a nice setup.

Seeing the rig parked next to the creek is making me not wanna be here at work