A question for people with RTT's.

S

Signal

New member
So we like to venture out to State parks and try to find places out in nowhere. The down side is we stay at B&B's, and cabins and hotels. We would like to stay out in the woods and at campgrounds. I will also admit I have never driven with a trailer so now is no the time to start to learn. We have been looking at CVT tents with annexes, but my big question is how do you sleep comfortably? I sleep hot so I usually use a fan but I love it cold but we can't always go when it's below 70, that would leave out Summers. Also if you have dogs where do you keep them, ours would rip through the annex and be gone the second we climbed the ladder and I don't think the tent is big enough for 2 adults, a lab, a read healer, and a German Shepherd mix. So how do you do it?
 
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Ours is an OVS Nomadic 4, so it's about the size of a king sized bed. We bring a Border Collie and an Australian Shepherd with us and they stay crated overnight in the annex.

As far as cooling, 12V DC fan in the tent window to keep the air moving when it's hot. Diesel heater from Amazon when it's cold.

If we need more room, and there is sufficient space to set it up, we've got an old tent we can set up that is 20x8. We can eat in there and hang out without crating if the weather is bad. Most of the time though, we're out and about, usually hiking, swimming, fishing, hunting, or exploring in the 4R.
 
CajunMikeR said:
Ours is an OVS Nomadic 4, so it's about the size of a king sized bed. We bring a Border Collie and an Australian Shepherd with us and they stay crated overnight in the annex.

As far as cooling, 12V DC fan in the tent window to keep the air moving when it's hot. Diesel heater from Amazon when it's cold.

If we need more room, and there is sufficient space to set it up, we've got an old tent we can set up that is 20x8. We can eat in there and hang out without crating if the weather is bad. Most of the time though, we're out and about, usually hiking, swimming, fishing, hunting, or exploring in the 4R.
Click to expand...

How long have you had the tent, how do you like it? Why did you choose that over a CVT and other brands?
 
We have a CVT Mt Shasta with Annex and with the addition of a foam topper, we sleep wonderfully. We needed to add the topper otherwise when side sleeping our hips would hurt. I don't think we even wake up to turn over.

Only drawback with a RTT is the need to break things down to move. So we bring a motorcycle or two.

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I live in S. Florida. We were ground tent campers forever until moving down to the Southeast and were tired of camping in the muck and rain for most of the year so we got a used CVT Mt. Ranier extended Summit. It was better than a ground tent, and was comfortable to sleep in...but in the Southeast it still did not solve the "sleeping hot". Fans help but its still pretty unbearable because of the humidity, especially for our dog. In addition, it becomes tedious to pack up and tear down camp every time you want to move the vehicle. RTT work well if you are constantly on the move but not that great as a basecamp. Also because of the humidity in the Southeast you are always fighting to keep the tent material dry so mold does not develop. I can't say anything negative about the CVT brand though. The tent was high quality and the customer service was really good.

I had never towed before but after learning from experience we bought a 1967 m416 trailer and modified it to run the RTT with a height adjustable rack. This solved the basecamp issue, but not the 4 season's camping (heat and humidity) in the Southeast. We went with this setup for a little over a year before our family of 4 and dog really started to outgrow the tent (with RTT size whatever they say it sleeps expect to comfortably fit one less unless you can all sleep like a mummy).

We have finally moved on to a Taxa Cricket Camping trailer last winter. It is not as "off-road" capable as the military type trailers but can get us into the backcountry and camp. In my experience off-roading with a trailer wasn't a ton of fun (no matter how capable) so we rather base camp and explore. We now comfortably sleep 4, have more storage, can get to about 90% of the places that we could with our "off-road" trailer. We have put over 15,000 miles in with the trailer this past year (10 National parks from S. Florida all the way to Yosemite), and it really is the perfect setup for us. It is great as a basecamp, we are comfortable in RV Parks, State Parks, National Parks, BLM land, off-grid, on grid....everywere. We also have a/c, which gives us 4 season camping in the Southeast and allows for us to leave the dog in the camper if we are exploring places that don't allow the dog. The trailer is only 2,500lbs fully loaded, which tows easily with the 4runner.

I mention all of this because we went through the whole RTT $ rabbit hole. I feel that RTT's are great if your style of camping is always on the move and where the night time temperatures regularly drop low enough where you can sleep comfortably. If we lived out west we may still be in the RTT on the military trailer, but it wasn't the best option for us and how we like to explore (plus we were outgrowing it as a family anyway).

You can click through my thread linked in my signature for pictures and info on our various setups.
 
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don't think too much about it. just prepare what you need and go. if you feel like it's too hot, you can always get a motel room with a/c. those experiences will teach you what you really need at specific time of the year.

Signal said:
So we like to venture out to State parks and try to find places out in nowhere. The down side is we stay at B&B's, and cabins and hotels. We would like to stay out in the woods and at campgrounds. I will also admit I have never driven with a trailer so now is no the time to start to learn. We have been looking at CVT tents with annexes, but my big question is how do you sleep comfortably? I sleep hot so I usually use a fan but I love it cold but we can't always go when it's below 70, that would leave out Summers. Also if you have dogs where do you keep them, ours would rip through the annex and be gone the second we climbed the ladder and I don't think the tent is big enough for 2 adults, a lab, a read healer, and a German Shepherd mix. So how do you do it?
Click to expand...
 
Signal said:
How long have you had the tent, how do you like it? Why did you choose that over a CVT and other brands?
Click to expand...
We've had this one for only a short time now, it's our first after getting away from ground camping. It was part of a package deal on our excursion trailer. We were looking at 23Zero and others, but this one came highly recommended and it has yet to disappoint. When I went to pick it up, I encountered everything from sleet, snow, rain, cold, and warm temps. I was comfortable in it with my sleeping bag and blanket even when temps dipped below the teens and I had to knock ice off of the rain fly the next morning. Easy enough to set up for one person (including the annex) and not too bad on take down and packing up either, though I expect most to be the same as the design doesn't vary too much.

Like another pointed out, life in the Southeast is fraught with humidity issues and even if you can cool off you tend to be sticky. This one that we have has large windows and "sunroof" so it's easy to get some air moving, which we found helps while out and about... but in the most miserable months, only an AC will help.
 
You could always get a double ladder tent with 2 rooms. One for you and one for the dogs. Crating down in the annex is a much better idea. Plenty of quick setup tents like the "8 person" two room Gazelle tent if you want to stay on the ground.

As for towing a trailer it isn't that big of a deal. Pros and cons to every setup.

As a few others have mentioned I am over the excitement of sleeping in an RTT. Crawling down the ladder in the middle of the night. Wind noise, having to replace the factory mattress because they all suck......

I like sleeping indoors in a teardrop/square drop. Fan pulls lots of air. We put our dogs in a side awning annex room in crates. We can leave the door open to the trailer and just hang a screen to seal out the bugs. There is a gap because of the fender between the room and trailer. Someday I will get a custom door stitched in.

Anyway, good RTT's aren't cheap and you may just find after a season it isn't for you. Then again you may love it and use one for years.
 
Well we don't plan on using it in our area here on the Gulf. Also I am thinking We might take it off when we are not on a roadtrip
 
Like mentioned above, 12v fan for summer and diesel heater for winter.

Exped mats in the Ikamper are a dream. Also the space is equivalent to that of a king size bed and beyond comfortably fits my family of 4.

For the pup I'd kennel inside a collapsible kennel for the night. Works for my 90+lbs doberman who also likes to tear into things when hes bored. The tight quarters calms him and he has no leverage to be mischievous.

Amazon.com : Midwest Portable Tent Crate, 31 by 21.75 by 23.75-Inch : Pet Crates : Pet Supplies
 
My bad, meant rechargeable fan, I forgot where I got mine from but it charges up has a few speed settings and a heavy duty clip. Manually swivels as well.

The heater stays connected to my secondary battery and stays through the night as does my fridge. Low draws once going and maintaining a consistent temp.
 
I have the new Tuff Stuff/Overland Alpha hard shell. I’ll post pics tomorrow if I can. It took some doing and I have some lessons learned but I love it.
 
RKSTRNR said:
My bad, meant rechargeable fan, I forgot where I got mine from but it charges up has a few speed settings and a heavy duty clip. Manually swivels as well.

The heater stays connected to my secondary battery and stays through the night as does my fridge. Low draws once going and maintaining a consistent temp.
Click to expand...


Second battery and a fridge is next but I have no clue how to install either and it seems there isn't a shop in my area that wants the job. As for the fan I hve this in my cart.

Amazon.com: AGPTEK 2-in-1 18 LED Camping Fan Lantern for Outdoor and Emergencies: Sports & Outdoors
 
Signal said:
Second battery and a fridge is next but I have no clue how to install either and it seems there isn't a shop in my area that wants the job. As for the fan I hve this in my cart.

Amazon.com: AGPTEK 2-in-1 18 LED Camping Fan Lantern for Outdoor and Emergencies: Sports & Outdoors
Click to expand...

It's not that hard to do a second battery. Plenty of threads on here to use for inspiration. I used this thread...

How to make a cheap isolated dual-battery setup for $50 | Expedition Portal
 
Signal said:
There is no way my wife would sleep in a ground tent, and I have slept on the ground for years and have no interest in doing it ever again.
Click to expand...

If your wife doesn't like sleeping in a ground tent, especially with a quality air mattress, the RTT won't be any more comfortable (plus it moves around more because it is on the vehicle...suspension fluctuations etc.) You may be better off as I mentioned in my previous post skipping the RTT step and going straight to a small camper. Based on your description of how you and your family like to camp (including with the dogs), this is where you will likely end up in the long run.

Speaking from experience... :peep: :ybrick:
 
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