Sold my RTT...Why??

[Rbertalotto]

Eighteen months ago I bought a Smittybilt RTT and a small trailer to haul it behind my Toyota Venza. Although we own a 20' travel trailer/toy hauler, when my wife does not travel with me I have no need for such a large camping device. And I want to do a bit more "Outback" camping down dirt roads etc. The trailer worked out great. But the Toyota got 17mpg when towing it and my 6.4L Hemi RAM got the same, 17mpg when towing. So the whole Venza tow vehicle thing was deleated.
Now towing with the truck was OK, but I could just put the RTT up on the trucks cap and be done with the whole trailer thing! Sold the trailer....

But between you and me, these types of "soft" RTTS are a bit of a PITA when folding and putting the cover on. Not so bad when it was 40" off the ground on the trailer. But at near 8' high on the truck, a ladder was needed and it had to be positioned about 100 times to get everything covered......and holly molly what a trial when doing it in the rain! I'm pushing 70 and just too old for all the climbing.

So now what......I'm ordering up some 8020 Extruded Aluminum and I'm building a "Wedge RTT Camper" , following Ripcord's lead.....(Thank You Ripcord!)......Simple to open and close and plenty enough room for one!

Looking forward to the build!

 

[plh]

same reason I sold my RTT when I was 55. Need the agility of a monkey swinging around on top of the truck to put it away. Really sucks on a slippery dew filled morning. I'm 90% done with a Ripcord clone.

 

[JackW]

I bought a Terrapod SOLO because there is no way I would ever get my wife to climb a ladder into a roof tent. I have a small travel trailer if she wants to tag along but for those trips where I'm traveling alone its a great option.
Plus I have around two feet of room left over on the roof rack for other stuff. The tent weighs around 85 pounds and stands 5.25" tall.

 

[GBGCR4x4]

I gotta agree that with a softshell, the covers are a PITA. However, after a lot of use, I manage to close it quite quickly. I rarely remove the whole cover, I leave it hanging from the c-channel, so I just need to put it over the tent once I fold it. Then, I know some prefer to pack it perfectly, I just close it and then start zipping the cover. I don't try and close it perfectly or pack the whole canvas perfectly. I've owned my Guana Equipment Wanaka for almost 3 years now, and it's still going strong.

 

[ricoisme26]

I bought a RTT and a small cargo trailer someone had "ladder rack" installed on with the tent mounted up top. trailer helps provide area to stand and close up/open up the tent but still less than ideal. This is why I'm planning to build a teardrop style camper. Maybe if I was using a dedicated RTT trailer that placed the tent lower, and had built in amenities like closed storage or a "kitchen" it would be a different story by if I'm towing a trailer anyway I see a teardrop as a better option.

 

[billiebob]

After years of not camping at 62 I got back into it when I was told my grandson wanted to go camping. My budget choice was to build a Square Drop to fit into my landscape trailer. Love it, Easy access. Stop in the dark, park, roll into a made up double bed. Wake to rain, roll out of bed and drive. Zero setup, zero packup, nothing ever gets wet and I sleep on a full size mattress. I literally sit on the fender and swing into or out of bed.

I agree, RTTs are totally impractical. Even on a low trailer they are in the sky and still just a tent.

Tkis is my go too. Sit on the fender and roll into bed. Stormy, windy night, who cares, I sleep well and dry.

I built this in 3 weeks, lead time between being told the grandson wants to go camping and they arrived to go camping.
I already had the landscape trailer.

90% of the build was used stuff we all have. The 2 windows were plate glass sliders from a house being demolished.....
total expense, $800..... The translucent roof was the big ticket item at $200. Every year it gets a few upgrades.
Solar refrgeration plus 2 awnings are this winters projects.



EDIT, I woke up to this last August, I could not imagine being in a tent. Wilcox Creek, AB. One of my favourite spots to camp.

 

[ITTOG]

I look forward to watching. I started with the plan to follow ripcords build. Unfortunately I let my build grow and still not done. Good luck.

 

[Rbertalotto]

I forgot I made this post back in October. Well, I decided to take advantage of Roofnests Christmas sale and bought a Falcon. Beautiful construction and very high quality. Can’t wait to mount it up and use it.

 

[JackW]

I also have a small travel trailer I imported from the UK two years ago - a 1995 Eriba Puck which comes in handy for those weekend events where I want to set up camp and use the Rover to run around during the day.
Its 12' long and weighs around 1200 lbs loaded up with camping gear. If I can talk the wife into camping she doesn't want to climb up a ladder multiple times during the night.

 

[alia176]

Eighteen months ago I bought a Smittybilt RTT and a small trailer to haul it behind my Toyota Venza. Although we own a 20' travel trailer/toy hauler, when my wife does not travel with me I have no need for such a large camping device. And I want to do a bit more "Outback" camping down dirt roads etc. The trailer worked out great. But the Toyota got 17mpg when towing it and my 6.4L Hemi RAM got the same, 17mpg when towing. So the whole Venza tow vehicle thing was deleated.
Now towing with the truck was OK, but I could just put the RTT up on the trucks cap and be done with the whole trailer thing! Sold the trailer....

But between you and me, these types of "soft" RTTS are a bit of a PITA when folding and putting the cover on. Not so bad when it was 40" off the ground on the trailer. But at near 8' high on the truck, a ladder was needed and it had to be positioned about 100 times to get everything covered......and holly molly what a trial when doing it in the rain! I'm pushing 70 and just too old for all the climbing.

So now what......I'm ordering up some 8020 Extruded Aluminum and I'm building a "Wedge RTT Camper" , following Ripcord's lead.....(Thank You Ripcord!)......Simple to open and close and plenty enough room for one!

Looking forward to the build!

I love your post, thank you for the chuckles. I have a young friend who is 6'5" and he too hates his softshell RTT probably for the same reasons. The last time we went camping, he slept inside his 80 series Landcruiser.

Another friend and I went to the White Rim and during one super windy night, his RTT cover slid out of the sail channel and took off . The search party finally found the stupid thing but man, what a PITA that was. The cover was muddy and sopping wet.

I try to steer folks toward hardshell RTTs but the cost usually scare them off and there are tons of used soft shell RTTs on the market.