Question for you RTT owners

[TNExplorer]

I am considering a roof top tent but one thing got me stalling..
Can I put this on my roof/taken down by myself? The one I am looking at weighs 90 lbs. Im no weak guy and stand about 6 foot tall. My vehicle is a 2012 explorer with 3 inch lift.
90 lbs isn't much weight but idk if I understand what I will actually be getting into lol

 

[TNExplorer]

With its shape and the height of my vehicle it seems it will be awkward

 

[towee]

I’m sure it’s been done and I’ve seen some neat ideas here for people getting them on and off their roofs but I’m a hard no way. It’s the size even more than the weight you inevitably will do damage to your vehicle(don’t ask me how I know) and the hassle factor of mounting and unmounting after every trip is a major factor.

Get any ground tent you want you’ll be money ahead lighter and happier even if you have to strap it to your roof.

 

[TNExplorer]

I’m sure it’s been done and I’ve seen some neat ideas here for people getting them on and off their roofs but I’m a hard no way. It’s the size even more than the weight you inevitably will do damage to your vehicle(don’t ask me how I know) and the hassle factor of mounting and unmounting after every trip is a major factor.

Get any ground tent you want you’ll be money ahead lighter and happier even if you have to strap it to your roof.

I have an excellent ground tent. I was just wanting to spice it up.
I even thought about getting a clam and just leaving it up there until end of fall but i cant find one I can afford right now.
I found a nice 90 lb fold up for 800 and I cant keep my eyes off it.
I did, however, find a guy an hour or so away with one for 1k but he made it and I just dont know about that..

 

[towee]

TN I’ve got a baroud horizon vision for sale $700. For weight and footprint it’s hard to beat but like I said I’m still a hard no I’m not trying to pimp it. I’ve loaded and unloaded it by myself and actually ended up doing vehicle damage unloading it’s just hard to do with a 5’x5’ square. But I completely get it I went through my roof top tent phase and enjoyed both that I owned.

 

[towee]

Also set up and take down on a folder at roof height is a complete pain imo as soon as a switched to a canopy on my Tacoma I bought a clamshell.

 

[Lionix1]

I put my Tepui Autana 4 person up by myself, but it can be difficult. Takes a lot of precision movement and a lot of sliding. A lot easier with the tractor.

Sent from my SM-N975U using Tapatalk

 

[NatersXJ6]

I’ve done them by myself with the aid of ramps, but as noted above, the risk of body damage is really high. Much better with 2 or more people. My reality was that once I positioned the tent, there wasn’t any point in removing it, so it would ride there 2-3 years at a stretch. Camping was easier when it was ready to go and less planning needed.

 

[Heyfish]

I've done it with some ramps made out of unistrut/super-strut from home depot. Connect them to the roof rack and slide it up. Not the easiest thing to do but not impossible. I made a little cart to slide it off onto so I can move it around the garage.

 

[Romer]

Can you modify your garage door to be 8ft? If so you can but a Racor rack on Amazon and do it yourself easily at 90lbs

My RTT is much heavier and the Racor worked well



Since then I went to the heavier ALU-CAB and installed a motorized AUX-LIFT

 

[Thinman]

put a harbor freight crane on top of my (very sturdy) shed for taking my toppers and eventually RTT on/off alone

 

[gxout]

I put mine on by myself using a ramp similar to what was posted above. I used several 2x4x12s (doubled on each side for support) and a couple cross members. I then covered it with marine carpet to make it slide a little easier. There are holes drilled along the way to use stop blocks so I can pause or reposition along the way and makes it much safer. Not pictured is I use a ratchet strap from my roof rack to one of the cross braces on the ramp to keep it from moving before i load/unload. My tent is about 150lbs and if you have one that's 90 lbs you shouldn't have much trouble doing something like this. I'm not a big guy by any standard and don't have too much trouble with this method.

I've debated using a hoist or something to lift the end on the ground to make it easier too, but that was too much trouble for me
The other option I've seen that works if you don't want to build something on your house is using a folding hoist from Harbor Freight (https://www.harborfreight.com/1-ton-capacity-foldable-shop-crane-61858.html) and welding an extension arm to the end of it to be able to lift high enough to put on top. You can see someone doing it this post (https://expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/rtt-removal-install.164335/ post #12).

 

[maust]

If there is a means to fabricate / buy a pulley system for a garage / shed that is the easiest means of moving a RTT around

 

[adaml]

Like has already been said by almost everyone, it just depends on what you have available to you. I can't fit my truck in the garage but I can fit it under an overhang before my garage. With that, I installed some eyebolts upon which I string up some pulleys to make a 5:1 system which allows me to take it off and on relatively easily.

 

[Lemsteraak]

Yes, one person can easily put on and take off a roof top tent. You just need one with a flat bottom. Put a moving blanket on the back edge of your vehicles roof, slide the tent back, then lift and set the back down on the ground, then work the front back and set it down. Simple and fast. It is easier if you take the mattress out first as this unloads about 30 pounds. Yes, a good mattress is heavy.

I've found this method only works on a tent that doesn't have exposed mounting rails.