WTB: Autohome Columbus Variant SM

[Ace Brown]

Looking to replace an older Hannibal RTT with a small Variant in good condition. Only a small will work because of the trailer it will be mounted on. Must have the three door/windows that are standard on the current Variant. I live in Western Colorado and would drive up to about 500 miles to pickup. Please PM me if you are selling.

Ace

 

[Ace Brown]

Would also consider a new one, so if any dealers have one on stock probably would be willing to do a road trip to get it. I did not specify in my op, but can only use the standard length.

Thanks - Ace

 

[Ace Brown]

Called Autohome hoping to find what I need in stock but no smalls on hand. So still holding out on the slim chance someone is moving up to a larger unit, or just wanting to sell.

 

[Ace Brown]

Just placed an order with Autohome and hopefully the Columbus will be on my trailer around the end of May.

 

[MANUCHAO]

:victory: you'll love it !!

 

[Ace Brown]

Had the RTT delivered to me at Overland Expo and the good guys at Auto-home quickly mounted it for me. Spent most of the following two weeks camping in it and do love it. Had a few issues closing the top but took a few things out and that improved. I find the mattress a bit too hard and would like to add a pillow top cover or maybe memory foam but hear the latter can get real stiff when cold. Open to other suggestions.

Ace

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[Ace Brown]

I have been trying different bedding combos trying to improve comfort. Added 1.5" of memory foam, standard mattress pad and proper sheets and pillow cases. The comfort improved but closing became difficult with added thickness. Then I finally got the anti-condensation mat that was ordered with the RTT. When I added its 1/2" it was too much and top was near impossible to close. Pulled the memory foam out and thickness now is good. Have not tried for comfort yet.

Now to address what I consider a serious design flaw. The hold down clamp is too weak and does not have near enough travel to aid in closing the top. Then when trying to get the top down the last inch there is nothing but slippery fiberglass to hold onto to pull the top down to full closure. Tried sitting on it but when it's covered with frost this can be dangerous. So today I added two grab handles at each rear corner which makes closing very easy. These should be standard from the factory.

Before someone suggests I have too much bedding up there its only the stuff listed above plus two summer weight sleeping bags opened flat as like a thin blanket and one old soft pillow. I don't even carry the ladder up there. The two halves of the case don't match real well but the new handles help tremendously to wrestle the top in place.

My RTT is mounted on a fairly low trailer. I can't imagine the trouble I would have had if it was mounted on a typically tall truck.

Ace


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[Colin Hughes]

When I had a Columbus I flipped my bedding in half towards the back, higher end, and had no problem closing the tent. I am currently using an Extreme and have added a 1.5" piece of memory foam courtesy of Serta Mattress, super comfy with the 3" foam mattress below it

 

[kraqus]

Pictures!






Benny

 

[spressomon]

Ace,

FWIW: I bought a new Columbus small x-long a year ago from Mike & Gary. Ordered mine sans mattress...been down that road before . Its just me up there...so a little less complicated to arrive at a relatively compact but super comfie mattress solution: Exped MegaMat 10. Along with a down pillow and Western Mountaineering Sequoia if I'm careful packing the pillow and bag towards the rear, as Colin mentions above, with the sleeping bag fully opened to reduce its height...then I can just get the top clam closed properly.

The ease or lack of closing/latching, for mine, is directly related to the volume of goods within the Columbus. If I remove the pillow or sleeping bag or deflate the MegaMat then it closes and latches quite easily.

My only complaint about it: The bug screens velcro on to the sidewalls of the side-doors. Obviously whomever thought this was a good idea never spent more than 30-seconds in a tent. Hope they changed it for your new Columbus.

Dan

 

[bigreen505]

I have a fleece sleeping bag liner from REI and that makes a great pad on top of the mattress. It doesn't add a lot of cushion, but enough for me.

My only complaint about it: The bug screens velcro on to the sidewalls of the side-doors. Obviously whomever thought this was a good idea never spent more than 30-seconds in a tent. Hope they changed it for your new Columbus.

Dan

I think they are using a zipper now. The velcro never really worked for me.

 

[Ace Brown]

No Velcro on my screens, well except for small straps that hold them when rolled up.

I just spent four nights in mine and its back to the drawing board for improving comfort. The anti-condensation pad made no noticeable difference to soften things up. My plan now is to trim off an inch on the original mattress which should allow a little more room inside the slip cover. Then I plan to trim a couple of inches off the sides of the memory foam pad and 1 or 1.5 feet off the length and stuff this inside the slip cover. Will report back on how this works.

The grab handles added earlier really make a huge difference in ease of closing.

Ace


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[Ace Brown]

Did the above and still find the mattress too hard. Next I'm going to pull out the memory foam pad and replace with a Thermorest pad that I can regulate firmness and deflate fully when lowering the top. Need all the space I can get to make room for a new sleeping bag. It's a Wiggys double bag rated for -25 and it is thick. Had a Kelty bag rated for 0 but was cold at 40.

Got the fit kit supplied by Autohome for attaching roof rack bars. Thought this would be an easy install but it took forever. Some clown at the factory gobbed a big wad of silicone on the inside of each bolt hole plug. I had to dig most of that out with a knife blade through a small hole in the fabric before the bolts would reach. Longer bolts suggested if you do this.


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[spressomon]

Ace,

If its just you in the Columbus I highly recommend the Exped MegaMat 10. You won't want for a better night's sleep based upon my experience with same...even if you're a side sleeper like me.

 

[Ace Brown]

My 60# golden retriever sleeps there too. Do you use the Megamat on top of the standard mattress or alone? If I just used the Megamat alone it would leave no padding for the dog. I'm sure I could come up with something though. I can't seem to figure what keeps the lid from closing easily. Sighting the top of the contents from the side suggests there is not too much up there. As stated earlier the fit between the two halves could be better.


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