Ladies and Gents - Allow me a moment to obsess about my, erm... obsession. ?
I know quite a few think black framing is cool looking. Frankly...I 100% agree with you. Heck, it's why I started the design process with black in mind. I loved the look. However, as I got further along in the process, testing proved it is just not the best solution. This has been my target for the tent, from the start >>>> the best functioning, no compromise, well-designed & built RTT. Period.
Factors at play for Black vs Silver:
• Finish / An example - the photo below is of my 8 month old Extreme LED A-pillar lights. This is what happens to aluminum extrusions, if we anodize them in this manner (these are garaged.) I do not want my customers to have to repaint their tents after the anodizing fades after only a year in the sun.
This did not meet our level of quality.
• Heat - We did a simple test of placing both silver/clear and black anodized aluminum rails (same alloy), in full noontime sun for 15 min. The black absorbed the heat intensely and experience a differential from silver of upwards of 25-30 degrees greater.
Given how many of us visit desert environments and/or hot sun - unacceptable.
• Powder Coating: Now some may say powder coating is the best method. While heat is still an issue with the color, powder coating pushed us into a pricing category that I did want to pass to my customers due to huge quantity of parts (3000lbs worth). (think about the powder coating cost of those sliders or bumper.) The thickness of the powder also proved to be a challenge in the T-slots. I did not want my customers to have to grind all the bolts, just to mount an accessory.
This too, did not meet our level of quality.
• Personalization: The RTTx was created to be a sleeping system that can be personalized by the owner. If you still desire a black tent, anodizing is a high-energy finish that provides a great surface for paint or vehicle wrap vinyl. This direction, completely fits with idea of personalization.
Far too many tents in the industry are focusing on cheap and cool looking, instead of proper function and design. That's not how Terrapod rolls. The RTTx is cool looking...but meets the mark functionally, in spades.
Adventure Simple
