roof tents
- Thread starter scduboy
- Start date
Eventhough
Explorer
Many RTTs will fit on Thule/Yakima/etc rack systems but you need to check the load rating on your Thule system first, along with the load rating of your fiberglass topper. You might have to use more than 2 load bars, and you might have to reinforce the fiberglass topper.
Lemsteraak
Adventurer
Most modern rooftents use a "C" channel system. A plate and a square "U" bolt fits into the track and allows you to move the tent forward and back on the racks and side to side. I know that AutoHome tents have been using this for at least 30 years and I think most of the South African tents are also now using it.
ARE's fiberglass shells are very well built. One thing that you have to bear in mind is that fiberglass doesn't like point loading and doesn't have as much strength in flat sections. The best place to mount roof brackets on the shell are as close to the outside edge as you can get. This transfers the weight of the tent to the sides of the shell rather than the roof.
ARE's fiberglass shells are very well built. One thing that you have to bear in mind is that fiberglass doesn't like point loading and doesn't have as much strength in flat sections. The best place to mount roof brackets on the shell are as close to the outside edge as you can get. This transfers the weight of the tent to the sides of the shell rather than the roof.
Equipt
Supporting Sponsor Presenting Sponsor of Overland
It is definitely possible to mount a RTT on a set of Yakima or Thule bars. We have a lot of customers that do just that. And it is really easy to mount and dismount this way too. Yakima makes a really cool gizmo called a Universal Snar. It is a nylon reinforced clamp designed for use on either Yakima or Thule bars. It clamps around the bar, so you don't have to do any drilling. The hole fits an 8mm bolt. The DIY installation kits included with the Eezi-Awn have 8mm bolts just the right length to go through this clamp and hold the tent to the bar. Removal is just 4 nuts and lift off.
I prefer the Thule bars to the Yakima bars because Thule bars are flat. That puts flat bar to flat mounting extrusion on the tent bottom. The round Yakima bars are fine but over time I am concerned they will flatten the extrusion that holds the rectangular mounting washers that slide in the extrusion on the tent bottom. If this extrusion is compressed, the washer don't slide. That's bad.
Please make sure that you do check the load rating of your shell. Keep in mind that the rating is a dynamic weight, or a weight in motion. The static or stationary weight will be much higher. When stationary, a good portion of the weight on the roof will transfer to the suspension. Eezi-Awn has been installing roof top tents on fiberglass shells for several decades now, with very few problems. The problems are usually the owner, not the truck.
Another suggestion is if you choose to go with a track based mounting, mount the track as close to the vertical edge of the shell as possible. This takes the stress off the roof and puts it more vertically to the suspension. A track mount is preferable to the side gutter bolt on brackets, because the track can assist in dispersing the weight of the load over a larger area. The bolt on gutter brackets are very nice for light loads, but putting a larger load transfers all that weight to a series of bolts drilled through a fiberglass sheet. The vertical stress on those 1/4" or 3/8" round bars through that thin sheet will cause trouble down the road with cracking and pull through.
Hope that made sense.
Cheers,
I prefer the Thule bars to the Yakima bars because Thule bars are flat. That puts flat bar to flat mounting extrusion on the tent bottom. The round Yakima bars are fine but over time I am concerned they will flatten the extrusion that holds the rectangular mounting washers that slide in the extrusion on the tent bottom. If this extrusion is compressed, the washer don't slide. That's bad.
Please make sure that you do check the load rating of your shell. Keep in mind that the rating is a dynamic weight, or a weight in motion. The static or stationary weight will be much higher. When stationary, a good portion of the weight on the roof will transfer to the suspension. Eezi-Awn has been installing roof top tents on fiberglass shells for several decades now, with very few problems. The problems are usually the owner, not the truck.
Another suggestion is if you choose to go with a track based mounting, mount the track as close to the vertical edge of the shell as possible. This takes the stress off the roof and puts it more vertically to the suspension. A track mount is preferable to the side gutter bolt on brackets, because the track can assist in dispersing the weight of the load over a larger area. The bolt on gutter brackets are very nice for light loads, but putting a larger load transfers all that weight to a series of bolts drilled through a fiberglass sheet. The vertical stress on those 1/4" or 3/8" round bars through that thin sheet will cause trouble down the road with cracking and pull through.
Hope that made sense.
Cheers,
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Eventhough
Explorer
I would think you would be OK. If in doubt you could always mount the tent toward the front of your truck with two load bars over the cab and one over the topper.
Eventhough
Explorer
Small world huh? SoCal is a loooong way from TR.
I think I came across a thread on ExPo where someone reinforced the inside of their topper for a RTT and had pics. You might want to check that thread out.
Equipt
Supporting Sponsor Presenting Sponsor of Overland
I think you would be fine with the set up you have. The track is well mounted, and the more Thule bars you have under the tent, the better the weight can be distributed. You don't have to mount it to every bar. Just four outside corners will do. The bars in the middle will distribute weight when someone is in the tent, and weight is being applied downward. If you get one of the bigger tents, a 1600mm or wider model, I would perhaps mount to the middle bars too. The top half panel that opens off the side of the truck creates a lot of torque on the hinges and can sometime arc the bottom panel, and when the two halves come together you need to watch the mating of the panels. An extra mounting takes care of that.
I would be a bit cautious about the idea of half on cab, half on shell. It depends on how much your truck flexes when traveling off road. Try it out first. If the bed and the cab twist independently, mounting something to both panels will twist too. You could mess up the tent that way. But if they flex together, then sure. It might work.
Cheers,
I would be a bit cautious about the idea of half on cab, half on shell. It depends on how much your truck flexes when traveling off road. Try it out first. If the bed and the cab twist independently, mounting something to both panels will twist too. You could mess up the tent that way. But if they flex together, then sure. It might work.
Cheers,