Tepui Tent RTT

[compactcamping]

FWIW, the plastic tabs holding the AC mat on the Tepui tents can be (and I believe) should be removed. I think they are only there to keep the mat in place during shipment.

In my personal tent and when installing AC Mats I just float them and do not install the plastic tabs.

 

[osidepunker]

FWIW, the plastic tabs holding the AC mat on the Tepui tents can be (and I believe) should be removed. I think they are only there to keep the mat in place during shipment.

In my personal tent and when installing AC Mats I just float them and do not install the plastic tabs

Yep. I figured as much

 

[Eric S.]

FWIW, the plastic tabs holding the AC mat on the Tepui tents can be (and I believe) should be removed.....

Why should they be removed?

 

[Box Rocket]

Why should they be removed?

I guess "should" isn't the right word. They won't hurt a thing if you leave them, but you also won't harm anything by removing them and it will allow the tent base to be cleaned if necessary and the mat to be cleaned if needed too. If you ever want to do that you'd need to remove the clips anyway so I'm just saying that there's nothing to worry about if you want to remove them.

 

[caddo]

Hey, thanks for the tip!

I also glued a couple of pieces of 4x6x1/16" ABS plastic to the tent bottom where the ladder's rubber snubbers make contact with the tent bottom when everything is folded up. I can imagine the ladder might wiggle a tiny bit while rolling down the road for many miles, and may eventually wear a spot on the tent bottom. Maybe unnecessary, but now I guess I'll never know...

I can assure you what you did was very necessary because we did not do that and one week in Death Valley there are now two dents on tent bottom where the ladder sits when folded..

 

[stingray1300]

I can assure you what you did was very necessary because we did not do that and one week in Death Valley there are now two dents on tent bottom where the ladder sits when folded..

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Ya mean I did something right???????????? Awesome! Thanks! I'm glad to hear that my perception of the matter was not too far off...
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I just ordered an AC mat from Tepui. THEN I can get the 2" memory foam mat in as well. I bought a mattress protector at Bed Bath and Beyond to house both the oem mat and the new memory foam mat together. It's a dickens trying to find a cover for these thin mattresses. I thought I'd be able to find one at the sofa bed place we bought from; but to no avail (rats!) I definitely wanted a 100% cotton cover, but it is still waterproof (or so they say). We'll see how it works.

 

[caddo]

I just ordered an AC mat from Tepui. THEN I can get the 2" memory foam mat in as well. I bought a mattress protector at Bed Bath and Beyond to house both the oem mat and the new memory foam mat together. It's a dickens trying to find a cover for these thin mattresses. I thought I'd be able to find one at the sofa bed place we bought from; but to no avail (rats!) I definitely wanted a 100% cotton cover, but it is still waterproof (or so they say). We'll see how it works.

Seeing that you have the same tent we have (Gran Sabana) I'm curious to find out how much you will be able to put in and still being able to close the tent.

We packed the original mattress (with mattress protector and fitted sheet) and a layer (three spread out) of 1/2" foam (those cheap camping mats), two sleeping bags and the tent barely closes.. it was okay for 2-3 days trips but starts to get sore spots on longer trips.. and are looking for other solutions now..

 

[Tigglebitties]

... I just picked up my tent from FedEx freight & realized I got the XL version.
It's 3-4 inches longer than my tacoma short bed...

2,000$ for sale ! Kekunam orange ruggedized in socal area.

I'm returning it in person when I drive north on the 17th unless someone buys it off of me before I go up there. Can't wait to get the smaller kekunam one!!

This exact one is out of stock if you're trying to buy it.



The goal here is to build your rig stronger than you are stupid.

 

[stingray1300]

Seeing that you have the same tent we have (Gran Sabana) I'm curious to find out how much you will be able to put in and still being able to close the tent.

We packed the original mattress (with mattress protector and fitted sheet) and a layer (three spread out) of 1/2" foam (those cheap camping mats), two sleeping bags and the tent barely closes.. it was okay for 2-3 days trips but starts to get sore spots on longer trips.. and are looking for other solutions now..

The only items I plan on leaving in the tent when I fold it up are the 3 mat (AC, original 2 1/2" and the 2" memory foam mat and cover. The tent and the annex are going into their bags and riding in the bed of the truck. I've read a lot of comments that things get stressed when there's too much up there. I guess I'll learn what fits easy and what doesn't.
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FYI, I bought a really nice 2" memory foam mattress pad on overstock.com. - $76. They have all manner of thicknesses from 1" - 10". I refuse to be uncomfortable, that's why I went with a 2 incher. Just the wife and I. But I'll post what I find out.
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So how do you like your Sabana? Any issues? I plan on making a few of the webbing strap clamps out of stainless steel to replace the plastic ones, I've also come up with an idea for a fairing that will mount to the tent frame's track (Tepui is sending me a couple of the 'sliders' for me to experiment with).

 

[stingray1300]

... I just picked up my tent from FedEx freight & realized I got the XL version.
It's 3-4 inches longer than my tacoma short bed...

2,000$ for sale ! Kekunam orange ruggedized in socal area.

I'm returning it in person when I drive north on the 17th unless someone buys it off of me before I go up there. Can't wait to get the smaller kekunam one!!

This exact one is out of stock if you're trying to buy it.



The goal here is to build your rig stronger than you are stupid.

Ya mean "I'm not a smart man, Jenny"?

That's a real bummer Tig! So you're putting the tent IN the bed of your truck???

 

[osidepunker]

FYI, I bought a really nice 2" memory foam mattress pad on overstock.com. - $76. They have all manner of thicknesses from 1" - 10". I refuse to be uncomfortable, that's why I went with a 2 incher. Just the wife and I. But I'll post what I find out.

Any reason why you didnt get a 4" memory foam and just replace the original as well? I have been contemplating doing this and sewing together a new cover...

 

[caddo]

The only items I plan on leaving in the tent when I fold it up are the 3 mat (AC, original 2 1/2" and the 2" memory foam mat and cover. The tent and the annex are going into their bags and riding in the bed of the truck. I've read a lot of comments that things get stressed when there's too much up there. I guess I'll learn what fits easy and what doesn't.
.
FYI, I bought a really nice 2" memory foam mattress pad on overstock.com. - $76. They have all manner of thicknesses from 1" - 10". I refuse to be uncomfortable, that's why I went with a 2 incher. Just the wife and I. But I'll post what I find out.
.
So how do you like your Sabana? Any issues? I plan on making a few of the webbing strap clamps out of stainless steel to replace the plastic ones, I've also come up with an idea for a fairing that will mount to the tent frame's track (Tepui is sending me a couple of the 'sliders' for me to experiment with).

When we were at Death Valley two months ago we ran into the Tepui folks and had a chance to talk to Evan about how much "stuff" can fit up there and my understanding is as long as it closes it should be fine. Most of my problem on closing is related to the Gran Sabana being too "long" that even though we can strap the two sides down easily the middle will always be higher.. and that stressed the cover zipper. So I am in the process of adding straps on the side to see if that solves the problem.

The 2" stock mattress is OK but not nice enough for side sleepers even with padding. (still end up compressing the pads to the floor) We were using REI 2.5" self inflating pad in the ground tent and that worked nicely before switching to RTT so I am considering doing the same now and just take the 2" stock mattress out. the only problem is finding something that is 2.5" but not 25" wide because even though the spec says 72" inside it's really more close to 70"...

So far we have spent about 30 days camping in the RTT and it works pretty well.. a couple of minor issues such as tent popping out of the track if we didn't deploy it correctly (after speaking to the Tepui folks at DVNP on what to look for we never had this problem anymore), and two round dents (cosmetic) on the tent floor where the ladder rests.. Oh and the screws worked themselves out of the tent hinge but we think the roads in DVNP do that anyway...

 

[Tigglebitties]

Ya mean "I'm not a smart man, Jenny"?

That's a real bummer Tig! So you're putting the tent IN the bed of your truck???

The plan was
Get the tent and drop it off at a fabricator to build a rack to mount it on over the bed.... But i accidentally ordered the XL version which is ENORMOUS!

But I got lucky! Apparently the orange XL ruggedized one is in very very high demand & they sent me a freight truck this morning to whisk it away back to them in exchange for the smaller version. Unfortunately, it's out of stock until middle of August and now I don't know what to do... The whole point of getting this tent was to use it for my hunting trip next month & it looks like that thing won't be here till the day before I go ( if not after)
So... Build the bed rack now & wait? Agh.


Either way, Tepui tent people are extremely nice and great to work with even when you screw up your own order! Thanks guys!


The goal here is to build your rig stronger than you are stupid.

 

[stingray1300]

Any reason why you didnt get a 4" memory foam and just replace the original as well? I have been contemplating doing this and sewing together a new cover...

I actually considered doing that. But I *think* what made me decide to do it the way I did, was that the OEM pad is OK, and a thick memory foam pad would remind me too much of a Tempurpedic mattress - I don't like them; my back hates them; they're hot; they wear out/break down. Just as a topper though is fine. A 4" thick pad, IMHO, would squish too much - maybe a 5-6" might work better (?), but then I didn't want to get things too thick to easily close up the tent. Plus, I'm cheap, and I couldn't bear to throw away a perfectly good 2 1/2" pad
.
If you like a Tempurpedic mattress, then 1 thick pad might be what you want (?)

 

[stingray1300]

When we were at Death Valley two months ago we ran into the Tepui folks and had a chance to talk to Evan about how much "stuff" can fit up there and my understanding is as long as it closes it should be fine. Most of my problem on closing is related to the Gran Sabana being too "long" that even though we can strap the two sides down easily the middle will always be higher.. and that stressed the cover zipper. So I am in the process of adding straps on the side to see if that solves the problem.

The 2" stock mattress is OK but not nice enough for side sleepers even with padding. (still end up compressing the pads to the floor) We were using REI 2.5" self inflating pad in the ground tent and that worked nicely before switching to RTT so I am considering doing the same now and just take the 2" stock mattress out. the only problem is finding something that is 2.5" but not 25" wide because even though the spec says 72" inside it's really more close to 70"...

So far we have spent about 30 days camping in the RTT and it works pretty well.. a couple of minor issues such as tent popping out of the track if we didn't deploy it correctly (after speaking to the Tepui folks at DVNP on what to look for we never had this problem anymore), and two round dents (cosmetic) on the tent floor where the ladder rests.. Oh and the screws worked themselves out of the tent hinge but we think the roads in DVNP do that anyway...

.
May I ask what it means that the tent popped out of the track? And what screws came loose? What was the fix(es)?