RTT's 101 Everything to know!

[northwest1]

Thanks Kurt, great write up! Sandy has pretty close weather to Twin Falls. The summer is 110 in the desert and the winter its -20 and snow load of 6". The wind blows alot in the desert and the gusts get up to 60mph. Average storm wind blows constant 20mph. I want an RTT that will sleep 2.5 comfy so the Magiolina is out. I would also like room to expand. I have my son and my gf has her son. When they go with in the summer we just camp with a ground tent. My back is not getting any younger and I am in the middle of setting up my truck similar to Scott's Tacoma. OB water, 120, air, hot shower, etc. I love the thought of being able to just get in and go. Any exper. with technitops tents? Quality? pros cons?

 

[bunduguy]

Hey Northwest,
Just to give you more options, please do check out our line.
Howling Moon is arguably the premier producer of RTT's in South Africa, and been making canvas products for 30 years!

Feel free to give us a call if you'd like any info. Good luck in your exciting search!

 

[OverlandChronicles]

Enjoying this thread. I wish there a place to see RTTs inperson in the north east. May be at some point a sticky thread for all of the brands can be created. All of them are similar but figuring out what one will meet your needs is difcult based on the marketing materials.

 

[northwest1]

Can someone please post some pics of how the rain fly adjusts on them? Also is technitop and ARB the only ones making a floor out of somthing other than plywood? Will or Kurt can you guys maybe post some pics of the diff brands and pros and cons? We Need Pics....we are guys after all.lol

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Can someone please post some pics of how the rain fly adjusts on them? Also is technitop and ARB the only ones making a floor out of somthing other than plywood? Will or Kurt can you guys maybe post some pics of the diff brands and pros and cons? We Need Pics....we are guys after all.lol

The ARB rain-fly adjust via 6 adjustable straps, one at each side of the main bows as well as the flysheet rods at the non-door side and the adjustable bow at the door entrance. I've found it necessary to tighten them down fairly securely in windy conditions, just last weekend we were getting pounded with severe gusts at our camp in the Swell. Ground tents were bending/breaking poles and we stayed in tact albeit a noisy night. If you need more detail I would be happy to oblige with pics.

I wrote a mini-review of the Simpson III changes here:
http://expeditionportal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=445009&postcount=27

I'm now running a Simpson IIIB or III.5 which has even further improved some of the fallbacks of the II and III versions. While I have spent a considerable amount of time around other makes/models of tents, I have not personally spent many nights in them like I have the Simpson tents, thus I'll let those more familiar comment there.

 

[bunduguy]

Can someone please post some pics of how the rain fly adjusts on them? Also is technitop and ARB the only ones making a floor out of somthing other than plywood? Will or Kurt can you guys maybe post some pics of the diff brands and pros and cons? We Need Pics....we are guys after all.lol

Hey Northwest,
We're doing our tents with baseboard of aluminum and wood/foam core. Rain fly is adjusted with 3 buckle-straps on each side, to allow for cinching down or loosening in various conditions.

 

[Equipt]

The Eezi-Awn tents do use a wood panel, for several good reasons. The wood that is used is a very dense material, similar to a teak or other hardwoods that are so dense they will not absorb water. Then they urethane encase the wood for a better look. They have tested other options have stayed with the wood for its looks, durability and insulating value.

The rainflies on the EA tents are held in place with 3 aluminum elevation rods, 6 friction buckles (2 atop each frame bar), and a series of poles depending on the model. Or if you prefer, you can remove the entire fly. I have done this several time when rain wasn't the issue and the wind was howling. Definitely quiets the tent down.

Cheers,

Can someone please post some pics of how the rain fly adjusts on them? Also is technitop and ARB the only ones making a floor out of somthing other than plywood? Will or Kurt can you guys maybe post some pics of the diff brands and pros and cons? We Need Pics....we are guys after all.lol

 

[northwest1]

Wow thanks guys! First let me say THANK YOU SCOTT! I love this site! The feed back and help from eveyone is so great! I was under the idea that the three bows for the fly telescoped out too. That is why I couldnt understand how it adjusted. Are the inner and outer bows rivited through the tent? Maybe I just need a ROAD TRIP :smiley_drive: to SLC. Come down there and spend a day looking over all this stuff in person. I will be calling both of you here soon. Has anyone looked at the site racktents.com? If not will you look at it for me and give me some feed back? I am really leaning towards this just because (without seeing the tents in person mind you) they all seem to be pretty much the same. Yes there are a few things diff but over all they all pretty much do the same thing. So this boils down to a price issue ( again without seening one in person). I like that I can get a tent and change room for :Wow1: $900 and having to go to Oregon :smiley_drive: well....nothing like trying it out for the first time on the beautiful Oregon coast. Hmmm Newport, Lincoln City, Coos Bay....so many choices. Just not really sold on anything yet though. What do you guys think? I just want to make sure that in two years Im not gonna be sitting at camp thinking I should have bought something else.lol Cheers Matt

 

[Equipt]

Happy to help. Actually, the external bows are roughly 1/4" in diameter, solid material, and are fitted into pockets on the outside top edge of the tent. The internal bows are similar to 1/2" ID metal tubing and have spanner straps between each bow and to the tent base to position the bows properly when set up. The shell material is fixed to the spanner straps strategically to insure that the tent sets up correctly.

There is quite a difference in the tents. The materials used, the fabrics and their characteristics, the hardware, ladders, etc. While they do look similar in the photos, there is broad range of differences. I view it like looking at sedans with leather interiors. There are plenty to choose from, and they tend to look similar. But there is a big difference from a Hyundai and a Mercedes. While they have 4 doors and leather seats, there are reasons why one is 2-3 times more. The adage of you get what you pay for does have merit, and not everyone needs a tent they can circumnavigate the world with. Preference and frequency of use is key to your choice.

Cheers,

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Racktents = Mombasa tents (other then the Oasis models). I am also an owner of a Mombasa tent (mounted on my Trail-Trailer), which was somewhat similar to the ARB Simpson II but is leaps behind the newest Simpson III offering imo (fabric, design, hinges, pole material, etc). I have not seen the latest versions of the Camping Labs but the Mombasa and Camping Labs were very similar in their earlier forms.

 

[freeze]

There are some pretty distinct differences between the ARB Simpson III and the Camping Labs which are:

1. The ARB is heavier
2. The ARB used a heavier nylon which is somewhat rubberized on the inside
3. All seams are taped on the ARB
4. ARB's hardware is really all over the place with bolts that are different sizes and some bolt heads don't fit into the slides very well
5. The ARB's cover isn't as thick as the new Camping Lab's
6. The screws supplied with the ARB to help mount the aluminum base to the tent are very weak compared to the Camping Lab
7. The strap system to hold the cover on the ARB is strange but does create a slightly more "aerodynamic" shape
8. The pole system to extend out the extra tarp in the entrance of the ARB is a bit of an odd design.
9. The mattress in the ARB has a nice cover, but is filled with chunks of foam and is 2" thick
10. The Camping Lab has a 3" thick mattress and is smooth but has a regular fabric cover.
11. The ARB uses plastic clips to hold the tarp down.
12. Camping lab uses rubberized hook buttons.

That's all that we could really find with the two.

 

[northwest1]

Well its off to Utah on Wed to take a look at all of it in person. Thanks to Kurt and Paul I will get to see many models and vendors in person :wings: so I will keep everyone posted and try my best not to be bias at all. I will try to get lots of pics too. :victory:

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Well its off to Utah on Wed to take a look at all of it in person. Thanks to Kurt and Paul I will get to see many models and vendors in person :wings: so I will keep everyone posted and try my best not to be bias at all. I will try to get lots of pics too. :victory:

Excellent, glad you'll be able to make it. For anyone else in the locale that would like to come.

Wasatch Cruisers Tech Night - New Product Night
Sugar House Park - May 26th - 6:30-8:30

 

[northwest1]

Well its off to Utah maybe next week.lol No really im sorry to inform that I wont be able to get down there tonight I have been in the process of swapping leaf packs on the truck and my bushings never made it in. I will plan a trip down at a later date and just have to go see both shops :smiley_drive: Oh and the leaf packs...hmmm well just gonna have to see the write up when I get them in and posted :wings: but I can say that the on board water took a change for the better...and the stove and sink will need to be replanned again. Hot water is important! Cheers Matt

 

[18seeds]

Which manufactures make a tent with a closed entry? Looks like ARB Simbson III, Eazi-Awn T Top, and Howling Moon Stargazer. Did i miss any?