RTT opening and closing with back issues?

[MTSN]

So at the ripe old age of 30, I have a herniated disk in the lumber portion of my spine (L5-S1) that has been causing a lot of issues lately. I just had some injections that are definitely helping with the pain, but reaching above my head and stretching is still very painful. I've had my mind made up for a while that I was going to buy a CVT RTT with the current group buy, but I'm getting concerned with the difficulty of setting up and taking down a RTT by myself with the back issues. My original idea was to buy a hard shell RTT from them, but they're currently on hold since moving production to the USA and the cost will rise somewhat appreciably. I like the simplicity and easier deployment/takedown of a hard shell and looked at the soft shell tents based primarily on price.

My question is for any of you with back issues and a RTT - is it pretty difficult on the body? Also, I'm pretty short at 5'5, and I have a 2.5" lift on my 100 series so it's not exactly a low to the ground vehicle

The other options I considered is CVT's Black Butte ground tent, and biting the bullet and waiting for their hard shell tents to come out and pay the updated price.

 

[007]

I could see at that height it being a problem. I have a couple of older friends that started out with roof top tents on their vehicles but they sold them and set up the interior for sleeping. I imagine if they were 20 yrs younger and agile, they would have kept the tents on top.

I use a RTT and it isn't hard to open or close, but I do find myself in awkward positions and doing things I wouldn't want to be doing with a bad back. If I had a 100 series, I would set up the inside for sleeping - less air drag, lower COG, easier setup/take down.

 

[MTSN]

I could see at that height it being a problem. I have a couple of older friends that started out with roof top tents on their vehicles but they sold them and set up the interior for sleeping. I imagine if they were 20 yrs younger and agile, they would have kept the tents on top.

I use a RTT and it isn't hard to open or close, but I do find myself in awkward positions and doing things I wouldn't want to be doing with a bad back. If I had a 100 series, I would set up the inside for sleeping - less air drag, lower COG, easier setup/take down.

I don't disagree at all. With my girlfriend and I being 5'5 and 5'3, I think we could comfortably sleep inside without a problem. The only issue I see is that we normally have two dirtbikes with us and all kinds of gear. I would be afraid to leave it outside of the truck at night when we sleep, and I'm not sure if we'd have enough room to sleep comfortably leaving it all in there at night. I currently don't use a roof rack because of height issues fitting into garage at work, but I could probably figure out a way to carry some of the gear on the roof if need be. (BTW we use a hitch carrier for the motos so no trailer at this point)

 

[XTorrey]

Would securing a trailer and mounting the RTT to the trailer be an option for you? I feel you on the back issues (have enough of my own at 36!), and mounting the CVT RTT to my Xterra is only going to be a temporary solution until we get the trailer finished. We picked up a home built trailer built in 1963 on Craigslist for $300. Just needs a small patch in the floor, some new tires, a good axle packing, and a paint job to make it look pretty and then it'll be good to go.

Edited to add: never mind, I just saw the last line of your last post saying no trailer! I'd also second using the interior at this time. We bring along a small tent to put our gear in when we use the back of the Xterra for sleeping, which is little enough to store in the covered roof basket when it's back in it's carry bag. Maybe a small gear tent would help keep the valuables dry?

 

[JackW]

With a cordless drill and a special socket you can power a Maggiolina up and down easily. You still have to reach up over your head to tuck the tent in under the hard shell though.

I haven't gotten this lazy yet but I have thought about it....

 

[MANUCHAO]

My wife at 5'3" can open and close the autohome columbus that we have.. easy peasy.
The whole reason why we changed from the bigger soft clam canvas design to the smaller hard clam shell design....

 

[MTSN]

I think I've decided to stay with the RTT idea, but go the hard shell route. That was my original plan, and the only reason I balked was because the price was going up. I feel that in order to truly get use out of it however it needs to be something that will be easy and fun, so a little extra money is probably worth it. Thanks for the feedback guys.