RTT on a full-size van?

[zuren]

Has anyone ever put a roof top tent (RTT) on a full-size van? If so, did it work out or is the vehicle too tall for this to be a suitable choice?

My van has worked out great for the wife and I over the past couple years. In it's current configuration, it seats 4 comfortably/legally, sleeps 2, and we can be relatively self-contained as long as we pack light. In the summer of 2014 we welcomed a 3rd member to the family so now I'm trying to figure out how sleep 3-4 on future family adventures. I have several ideas rolling around in my head but wanted to vet this one first.

Since my van has the barn doors on both sides of the body, Sportsmobile won't attempt to mount a Penthouse top (to the tune of $5000+ if they would do it).

I've considered some type of trailer (small trailer with an RTT, a travel trailer, or a tear drop). With a travel trailer, you could pull into any rest stop or campsite, walk to the coach, make a sandwich, take a nap, etc. It would be a similar case with a tear drop; it's ready to go instantly. A RTT requires setup albeit less than a regular tent; mounted to a trailer is a good option. However, all of these solutions eliminate my hitch to pull a boat if we were ever to go somewhere to fish as a family (northern MI, MN, Canada). My side of the family is big into fishing and I hope this would be a majority of our trips.

I was looking at some pics of RTTs, especially with added annexes. The added covered exterior space would be nice and I've read that they feel more secure/cozy vs. your typical nylon tent. However, I have read several cons to a RTT:

- RTTs are heavy and the initial install can be difficult. This isn't something you are taking on and off with any frequency.
- I've read that opening/closing a RTT on a tall vehicle is a pain. True?
- This item is entirely fabric and large; MI can be a humid place and I doubt I will be storing it indoors; is my $1000+ tent going to smell musty and a home for vermin in short order?

I would be interested to hear from anyone who did mount one to the top of a higher profile vehicle. I've never been around one at all so I only know what I read here in the forums.

Thanks!

 

[Herbie]

I've seen a few. Biggest issue is that you may need a taller-than-normal ladder. (Or a van-mounted ladder, see below)

For my money, I would not go with a fold-out RTT, but a pop-up hard-shell RTT. Folding out (and especially re-stowing) a regular RTT would be tricky. The other issue is that the material for the annex may not be long enough to reach the ground if mounted that high.

For a hard-shell awning, I'd look at either a gas-spring driven one, or one of the crank-ups and consider replacing the hand-crank with a worm-gear motor. I would also consider building a full-length rack and placing the tent at one end (probably front) and having a walkable "deck" at the other end, which would greatly simplify ingress/egress.

If it's just 3 of you, though, you may be able to also consider alternate interior layouts or a more conventional tent or awning-with-annex-tent arrangement, rather than "going up". We sleep 3 in the Astro with a pop-top, but we did 3 downstairs a few times when kiddo was small, and could almost do it again if we had the length of a full-size to play with.

 

[RememberTheFallen]

I can't be super helpful as I have never mounted one to my Van but I did have one on my Tacoma before getting the Van.

On my Tacoma the base was mounted at chin level for me (around 6'2") to help keep it out of the wind. My biggest complaint with the tent was having to get on my tip toes to zip the zipper around. That and having to close it up in a down pour and then letting it dry out at home.

I think the annex probably had another foot or so in length before the ends started to come off the ground at that height. It was nice to have the annex for changing and showering but the ladder coming down in the middle of the room really consumed a lot of space.

I have a new CVT RTT that was sent to me as a replacement and debated for a long time on adding it to my Van especially for summer use when the extra ventilation would be appreciated. The set up and take down at that height is what made us decide to sell the RTT. It was not an easy decision as my wife loved her "treehouse" but just wasn't feasible to keep.

I looked at the coffin style RTT that either crank or power up but they were just too far out of my budget. A tent like that would eliminate some of the annoyance of set up but would not offer the annex.

Hope my rambling helped some. I couldn't find a lot of info on RTT's on vans when I was looking into it.

Good luck!


Joe


EDIT: my rambling got too wordy and Herbie beat me to the punch!

 

[Choff]

Put an escape hatch like they use in boats on the roof of the van to access the Roof top tent, no ladder needed on outside, only step on inside.
Just a thought???
Choff

 

[JMyerz]

It'll work and I plan on selling my truck for the exact same setup and reasons. Actually looking for a AWD Chevy now and the expense of a pop top was too much, plus we already have a RTT that we love.

Here is someone else's van on this forum, I forget who, all you need is yakima cross bars and the ladder extension that any well known RTT company sells.


The RTT is heavy but install isn't that bad. Two of us can get it up on the ram easily and I found "fluted hand knobs" at my local hardware store so tightening it down is a snap, these really make a difference in speed of putting tent on. With the RTT on my canopy of my RAM it's pretty tall and isn't that bad. I could see where it might get harder on a van but you could possibly carry a small fold able step stool to take care of that. This weekend is the first weekend where it might get a little wet so time will tell on the mustiness. . .

 

[hyperboarder]

I have a 92 E250 and a CVT Mt. Bailey. They have not been mated yet, the RTT is currently on a small trailer. However they will be in the near term, 2 weeks from a planned trip that requires it. I'm a bit worried about the ladder, otherwise I think it'll work alright.

 

[Box Rocket]

I've seen a few. Biggest issue is that you may need a taller-than-normal ladder. (Or a van-mounted ladder, see below)

For my money, I would not go with a fold-out RTT, but a pop-up hard-shell RTT. Folding out (and especially re-stowing) a regular RTT would be tricky. The other issue is that the material for the annex may not be long enough to reach the ground if mounted that high.

For a hard-shell awning, I'd look at either a gas-spring driven one, or one of the crank-ups and consider replacing the hand-crank with a worm-gear motor. I would also consider building a full-length rack and placing the tent at one end (probably front) and having a walkable "deck" at the other end, which would greatly simplify ingress/egress.

If it's just 3 of you, though, you may be able to also consider alternate interior layouts or a more conventional tent or awning-with-annex-tent arrangement, rather than "going up". We sleep 3 in the Astro with a pop-top, but we did 3 downstairs a few times when kiddo was small, and could almost do it again if we had the length of a full-size to play with.

We have put Tepui tents on several full size vans. Tepui offers an annex extension that adds another foot to the length of the annex which gives plenty of length in most cases if the van is very tall. Also, the Tepui telescoping ladder will extend to 8'6" and is long enough for nearly all applications. The sliding ladders common with some other brands will likely be too short unless you add a ladder extension, but that requires drilling extra holes in the ladder and you need a place to store the ladder extension.
Here's a Tepui Gran Sabana mounted to a pretty tall full size van. This individual had no issues that I'm aware of.

The benefit of a fold out tent vs a hardshell is that you have much more space in the tent. Hardshell tents either raise vertically or have a clamshell opening so the interior footprint never changes and most hardshell tents will sleep 2-3 people at most. A fold out tent like this Tepui Gran Sabana has a 4x6' footprint when closed but then doubles the interior space once it's opened to a spacious 8x6' sleeping area that will comfortably sleep 4. And with the included annex, 3-4 more people can sleep on cots in the annex. The annex also allows full access to the vehicle from inside the annex whether the tent is opened to the side or the rear of the van.

 

[Box Rocket]

Correction. The Van above is an Astro/Safari which I guess technically isn't a fullsize but this one with the lift and rack is easily as tall as a fullsize. Here is their tent opened to the rear. You can see that you get some additional height from the floor of the annex which has sides to it, but this tent is not using the annex extension that is available which would add an extra foot to the length and improve this setup.

 

[Box Rocket]

 

[zuren]

Thanks for the feedback so far! It's definitely giving me a lot to consider. My van is not very tall with only a 1" body lift. I am considering removing the body lift and going with a 2" suspension lift. I don't have a justifiable use case for anything greater.

I would love to have a pop-up roof installed on the van (ala SMB Penthouse, CCV top, GTRV, etc.) but even if the install is possible, I don't know that I can justify the cost. Most of these options run in the $6000-8000 range as of 2016. I bought the van for $8000 over 5 years ago; current appraisal is $4000-5000.

One of the advantages I see of a RTT is that if something happens to the vehicle (accident, catastrophic mechanical failure, simply wears out), you just move it to the next vehicle. Or if I don't plan to pull a boat, it could be mounted to a trailer. Another advantage is that even the "high" cost of a RTT is roughly half of a van roof.

The RTT will interfere with any attempts to mount a canoe to the roof. I may have to figure out how to put the canoe over the boat if that were ever to be the case or consider a rack with elevated crossbars to clear the tent when stowed, as shown here:

[URL="Thanks for the feedback so far! It's definitely giving me a lot to consider. My van is not very tall with only a 1" body lift. I am considering removing the body lift and going with a 2" suspension lift. I don't have a justifiable use case for anything greater. I would love to have a pop-up roof installed on the van (ala SMB Penthouse, CCV top, GTRV, etc.) but even if the install is possible, I don't know that I can justify the cost. Most of these options run in the $6000-8000 range as of 2016. I bought the van for $8000 over 5 years ago; current appraisal is $4000-5000. One of the advantages I see of a RTT is that if something happens to the vehicle (accident, catastrophic mechanical failure, simply wears out), you just move it to the next vehicle. Or if I don't plan to pull a boat, it could be mounted to a trailer. Another advantage is that even the "high" cost of a RTT is roughly half of a van roof.

One negative to the RTT is that it will interfere with any attempts to mount a canoe to the roof. I may have to figure out how to put the canoe over the boat if that were ever to be the case OR consider a rack with elevated crossbars to clear the tent when stowed, as shown here:

I showed my wife the 2 versions, flip-up versus "coffin style"; she said no way to the coffin! Much to consider...

 

[Stroverlander]

Here's a few shots of my lifted Astro AWD with large Camping Lab RTT mounted to stock roof rack (with a few extra crossbars installed for support) to keep it as low profile as possible.

This one took two people to lift or lower from the roof and it'd usually take half an hour or so to mount and get all the hardware tightened down. Due to the low-profile nature of the factory rack, it was a bit difficult to install and tighten the mounting plates and hardware until I bought a longer ratcheting wrench to help with the reach.

I ended up selling this RTT as it wasn't getting much use, my gf at the time just wasn't interested (or interesting?) at all so I just went back to sleeping in the van and valued being able to park in the garage. If I do get another RTT, it will be a smaller model so I can mount it to open over the rear hatch with an awning over the passenger side sliding door.

With the lift and tires, the ladder ends up a bit steep so could use the small extension ladder for it. Setup isn't too bad, I usually have a small folding aluminum contractor platform that doubles as a cook station/table to stand on to get the tent set up.

 

[Ozarker]

Great to find this thread, some good points have been made.

Sounds like a budget build not wanting to sink bigger bucks into an RTT.

I was wondering about being so high, I've never been in an RTT and with some age I'm not crazy about climbing an exterior ladder.

Just minutes ago I spoke to my better half about this and she liked the idea, we'll see if you all do and it can be used on a van.

With 1x2 box steel and can make a frame and support a 1/2" X4x8 plywood platform. I'll hinge a 3x8 on both sides of the center platform, giving me a 10'x8' platform. It folds up forming a triangle the top will be about 26" above the base.

Along the 8' outer ends, pipe support legs will be fabricated that extend down with stabilizers on the ends to adjust for ground conditions. They will also be secured to the transport vehicle.

I have a 4 person 7x10 tent, it's an annex to a EZ Pop Top tent, it has a fiberglass loop pole that hold up the back and the front clips onto the EZ Pop Top. The door can face either way on the platform, but I'll put it toward the rear. This tent has 66 inches of headroom at the front. To support the front I'll use EMT pipe, a vertical on each side of the door that slides out both ends supporting the upper roof front. Regardless of the tent, supporting poles can be fabricated on the inside and fold into the footprint when the triangular box is closed. Attached poles can pop up part of the tent and just require lifting the front support into position and locking it.

You can get by with a smaller platform and tent and have a more conventional looking clam shell, but I opt for the big jobber with lots of room.

Funny thing is, that triangle box fits under a 14' skiff boat, 26" sides out 4' support the boat and it is lifted at one end and slides down a rail. The triangle also gets canvas covers for the ends or the whole thing. Man, you could have a long hammock out of that cover, LOL.

I was thinking of putting this on my truck above the gunnels. But, it can also go on the trailer. This homemade RTT can be lifted on 4 support legs at about 44 inches, plenty of room for gear below that. Travel height would be under 6'. It can also be raised up giving about 5' of headroom for the motorcycle. Set up, it can be raised to allow over 6' of headroom.

The suggestion of an inside hatch was made earlier and is what I'd do to prevent the exterior climbing. After the motorcycle is taken out, tables, benches and bath can be set up below, along with a foul weather kitchen for minor meals. There is room for other amenities as well.

Not trying to hijack the thread, but pointing out that there can be solutions without spending thousands of dollars to sleep outside. With an insulated floor and a heavier (perhaps insulated) rain cover that fits over a cheap summer tent, I'd say you're set for four seasons. The tent I have was only $39 at walmart, pockets, net bag, electric pocket, lots of ventilation and roomy with a tub floor that will be cut. You could get a better tent!

If you're pulling a runabout or larger boat, don't forget you can sleep in it as well on the trailer. I'm tired of pulling large boats, if a car topper works for you....great!

 

[hyperboarder]

CVT Mt. Bailey on a 92 E250. Stock ride height, 245/75/16 tires. It's up there. Ladder is too short to reach the ground without a step stool. Great view though .

 

[Kevin108]

https://www.instagram.com/p/BEW-oY1we4q/

 

[hyperboarder]

CVT reposted that so damn quick! Here's the full frame:



Another from the weekend:



Sleeping at that height wasn't bad at all, a bit of sway from the kids and dogs moving in the van below but otherwise fine. Setup wasn't great, it's just so damn high. Opening wasn't bad, but getting it back shut was a chore. Stand on one tire, tuck some fabric, zip a bit, move to the back, tuck, zip, other tire, tuck, etc. I think it'd be way easier with an Aluminess ladder on each side, but that might be a bit ridiculous .