Tepui Tent RTT

[shoredreamer]

Hey guys, we've had our Tepui for a few years now and slept in it many, many nights. Usually my wife, me and my 3 year old. It's an Autana and we were looking around for mattress pads to complement the regular 2" pad and also find something to act as a vapor barrier. The mattress is quite comfortable but I sleep on my side and thru the night I would sometimes get sore spots and pressure points where it felt like the mattress would fully compress and give little padding between me and the floor. I spotted these Thermarest pads in the local outdoor store many times and thought they could do the job to dampen these pressure points and also add warmth and possibly stop condensation buildup on the bottom of the mattress every morning.

http://www.cascadedesigns.com/therm-a-rest/mattresses/trek-and-travel/ridge-rest-solite/product

They come in 3 sizes. S (20x48) M(20x72) L(25x77). My Autana which has a 56x96 floor could fit two L pads side by side and possibly fit a S pad at the entrance. I bought 2 large sized pads and taped them together, took out the green Tepui mattress and taped the Thermarest pad to the metal floor. With the Thermarest pads secured to the floor I then put the mattress back up in the tent, on top of the Thermarest and secured it to the floor with the normal Velcro tabs. It fit up well and we got the chance to test it out a couple weeks ago on our desert wildflower expedition. I slept noticeably better and my wife noticed a big difference too. Folding up the tent in the morning we always have at least a little bit of condensation but with the pad, had none all five mornings.

So in the end, I have a .6" thick, dense pad with a vapor barrier and additional R-value insulation, below my softer, Tepui mattress. It barely weighs 2 pounds, takes up almost no space and I no longer have any pressure spots through the night and sleep a good amount better. I highly suggest it. I really don't see needing anything more for comfort in these tents.

Also, always sleep flat with some levels mounted.

 

[rtberdley]

I'm curious, does it matter which side of the tent you sleep on? I.e. Ladder side or mounted side.

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[DiscoDavis]

Haven't used this method in a tent but can confirm the idea works. Main mattress with a thermarest (or comparable) pad underneath does wonders for sleep. Gives you that firm bottom end to the mattress compression, and like you say it eliminates a lot of pressure points. Nice post!

 

[Box Rocket]

I'm curious, does it matter which side of the tent you sleep on? I.e. Ladder side or mounted side.

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Doesn't matter.

 

[rtberdley]

Doesn't matter.

That's a relief!

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[JCDriller]

I think I'm pretty set on getting one of Tepui tents for my JKU, my wife and I had a baby and she doesn't want to ground sleep with him yet. I'll be mounting it on a Gobi Rack and removing it when not in use. I can't seem to decide between the Autana Rug. and the Kukenam Rug., Am I understanding it correctly that the interior dimensions are the same, folded dimensions are the same and the only difference is the covered entry and enclosed awning (both features I like). I am a little concerned about weight as my jeep is already a pig. Does the awning fold up with the tent or is it removed and stored elsewhere? Outside of cost is there any downfalls of the Autana I should be aware of compared to the kukenam?

Thanks!

 

[Box Rocket]

I think I'm pretty set on getting one of Tepui tents for my JKU, my wife and I had a baby and she doesn't want to ground sleep with him yet. I'll be mounting it on a Gobi Rack and removing it when not in use. I can't seem to decide between the Autana Rug. and the Kukenam Rug., Am I understanding it correctly that the interior dimensions are the same, folded dimensions are the same and the only difference is the covered entry and enclosed awning (both features I like). I am a little concerned about weight as my jeep is already a pig. Does the awning fold up with the tent or is it removed and stored elsewhere? Outside of cost is there any downfalls of the Autana I should be aware of compared to the kukenam?

Thanks!

You are correct they are very similar tents but the Autana has the extended canopy and enclosed annex included. The annex detaches and stores in its own bag. With the Ruggedized annex it's a bit big to store the annex inside the closed tent because of the thicker fabric.
Your wife will appreciate the privacy of the annex where she can get dressed standing up and in privacy without getting out of the tent.
No downfalls in my mind.

 

[rwilford21]

Tepui Autana

We just bought our RTT and I went back forth between the Autana and Kukenam, but decided on the Autana because of the covered ladder. The biggest seller for me was the fact that the ladder is inside the annex when it is installed, very nice feature in my opinion. We had a Gobi rack installed on our 4Runner and I must say that I love that thing.

A trick that I have found from someone else is the use of the Yakima SnapAround Brackets, item #Y8810135. I paid $14 for a set of them on Amazon and tried them out today and must say they work great. There is 1 bolt per bracket to install and I had them on the outside of the Gobi rack which made it so much easier to install and remove the tent. Once you get your Gobi you will see what I mean, but getting your hand and a wrench in there to tighten the bolts is tough.

Good luck and you will love both the Tepui tent, whichever one you choose, and the Gobi rack.

Robert
Colorado

 

[Rizzo]

I just got one...the ruggedized version. This thing is awesome in my opinion. Did a lot of research before buying...and being in Canada
and the tent is from Cali it wasn't cheap but worth every penny. This tent goes up and down fast! We've been camping in sub zero temp
the last few weeks in the mountains and it has been great. I highly recommend checking them out.

 

[toymaster]

Holy crap! Just opened up a Cabala's catalog and saw they are now selling Tepui tents! A few weeks ago I was also shocked to see Tepui also being sold by REI. I guess what's-his-name is better than the other tent importers as a marketer. Well more power to him, I'm a firm believer in capitalism.

 

[fredgoodsell]

Holy crap! Just opened up a Cabala's catalog and saw they are now selling Tepui tents! A few weeks ago I was also shocked to see Tepui also being sold by REI. I guess what's-his-name is better than the other tent importers as a marketer. Well more power to him, I'm a firm believer in capitalism.

Saw them on backcountry.com just recently too.

 

[Box Rocket]

you guys are forgetting that I sell Tepui tents too. I'm much bigger than REI or Cabelas. Ok maybe not, but I'm big in Japan, I think. :sombrero:
.
Lots of great partners out there now that carry Tepui Tents! It's good for everyone.

 

[dkitchen]

I just put my Kukenam on my Subaru Outback using the regular factory rack cross bars. Getting my hands in to tighten the mounting brackets is a pain. Any suggestions for a better attachment solution for an outback?

 

[Explorer0863]

I just put my Kukenam on my Subaru Outback using the regular factory rack cross bars. Getting my hands in to tighten the mounting brackets is a pain. Any suggestions for a better attachment solution for an outback?

I'm not familiar with Subaru's rack. Post a pic or two of your set up and how you are trying to secure it.

 

[Box Rocket]

I just put my Kukenam on my Subaru Outback using the regular factory rack cross bars. Getting my hands in to tighten the mounting brackets is a pain. Any suggestions for a better attachment solution for an outback?

The only way to gain more space to fit your hands under your rack would be to add a roofrack or load bars (thule, Yakima etc) that you could mount the tent to. That would move the tent up a little higher and probably be easier to reach the mounting hardware.