I was tired of all the "crap" RTT's, so I made my own. - TERRAPOD!

[Terrapod]

I love everything about this rtt except one thing... the width. I'm a little confused with the common sizing of hard shell tents. 50" wide seems to be normal, which usually correlates to a 48" wide bed (some times narrower at spots if the tent has internal struts!).

Thats a good 6 inches narrower than a full size bed. Great for solo, and probably fine for a night or two with a significant other... but for any duration of trip it just seems too narrow. A 2-man tent is about the same size an it's universally accepted that a 2-man tent is big enough for one person. Ads for RTTs of the same size say two people and your dog. I'm sure you could fit 2 people and a dog, but no one is getting any sleep, except the dog!

I'm sure sizing has to do with what fits on a roof without over hanging, but if I'm dropping $3-4k on a tent, I want to be comfortable in it. There are a few options for wider versions, but they tend to jump up to king size and add the associated weight and height.

I hope you sell the hell out of these things and make a second model that is wider!

Congrats man! Out of 14 months of R&D on these, you are the very first to complain about a 54" wide tent being too small. :shocked:

Most are asking for a narrower Solo version.

FWIW, I am 6'6" and my wife is 6'1". I designed it to fit us comfortably, and it does it in spades. I might recommend you tape down a 52"x87" square on a floor and see for yourself how big that actually is. :thumb:

 

[mteolus]

Any cost estimates?

 

[Terrapod]

As unlikely as it would be, I would be in the market for a solo RTT that would fit within the dimensions of my Gobi Stealth Roof Rack, say 41' W x 76" L. Given your prototype 5" in height, it would sit only 3" above the top of the rack therefore it would be even lighter and more wind resistant and I could still get it in the garage with the RTT installed. Unfortunately, it's not a perfect world. Best of luck to you in your venture, mine is just beginning!

The RTTx has been designed for use with a direct mount / without a rack. We have determined it not beneficial to mount to another added amount of weight, height and wind resistance. It defeats the intended purpose of the tent altogether.

That said - it can be easily mounted to any standard rack mount...such as a bed rack.

And...a design has been completed that allows for a light duty rack on top of the tent. (More to come soon on that one.)

 

[dcguy]

Is there a website for your product yet?

 

[Sea_ledford]

Congrats man! Out of 14 months of R&D on these, you are the very first to complain about a 54" wide tent being too small. :shocked:

I might recommend you tape down a 52"x87" square on a floor and see for yourself how big that actually is. :thumb:

I do strive to be unique! And you've got 4" on the GFC, so that's great! But it is still 2 inches narrower than a full size mattress, maybe the extra length makes it feel larger?

Trying out a bunch of hard shell tents at overland expo west is one of my main goals. I sincerely hope my perception of the size is way off. If that is the case this one moves to the front of the list, 'cause it's awesome in every other way!

 

[azfishman]

Subscribed. Please make this thing happen, ticks all my boxes.

 

[Terrapod]

Terrapod RTTx News:

Very exciting stuff is underway. The final production model has begun assembly! :biggrin2::banana:

Once completed and finalized, the production version will yield the final parts count and materials required for ordering in quantity. From that point forward - we will open up ordering.

Stay tuned!

All the hard work in design, prototyping, testing has resulted in a roof top tent unlike anything you have seen. And...we cannot wait to share it!


Thank you for your continued support!

Adventure Simple!

 

[Chrisb009]

Very interested in this...would love to have something along theses lines. Have a giant 5th wheel but it’s not overly great when traveling light.

-Chris

 

[azfishman]

Take. My. Money



Can't wait for the go live date!

 

[Terrapod]

COMING SOON!

RTTx Prototype 001 will be sacrificing itself...for the cause.

We will be testing the structural integrity of prototype RTTx001 by dropping a 7" diameter, 6' long pine tree limb from 10-12 feet onto the tent to find out how tough it really is...on camera.

(That is of course, when it finally stops raining here in the Southeast...)

Stay Tuned!

 

[gjcarving]

Sound a like quite a test! I'm asuming your doing the test off the truck?? I'm looking forward to the possibility of this tent and what price point it comes in at. Good luck with the test!

 

[mteolus]

Could be a game changer in RTTs.

 

[Terrapod]

IS a game changer in RTTs.

(Fixed it for ya). :thumb3:

 

[Terrapod]

Ok folks...it's on.



One last look at prototype 001 before..."the incident"

And...the culprit...

 

[Terrapod]

Voila...

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GaIK9hgTg58?controls=0" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[gjcarving]

Cool! Took it really well! Did have that weird feeling of what'll happen when you were going up the ladder You have designed a great product! Awesome work!!!

 

[Terrapod]

Cool! Took it really well! Did have that weird feeling of what'll happen when you were going up the ladder You have designed a great product! Awesome work!!!

Kinda... I have been working with the panel material for about 10 years now. It's really robust stuff. That said - I was confident, but had my reservations.

Thanks for the kudos. Been a really fun project. Look forward to showing everyone the final work. Almost there.

 

[RichinRidgewood]

Kinda... I have been working with the panel material for about 10 years now. It's really robust stuff. That said - I was confident, but had my reservations.

Thanks for the kudos. Been a really fun project. Look forward to showing everyone the final work. Almost there.

Honestly the closest I will ever come again to camping for the rest of my life will be a resort. I was camping before I was out of diapers. We camped on the Florida Keys and on Cape Hatteras when I was I kid in the '70's. I did a few 1000 mile bicycle camping trips in my high school years. (Yep everything you have is on your bicycle).

Your shit looks nice. It's obvious, from what I can see in the photos, you know what you are doing. I hope it works out well for you.

 

[Bcoz4rn]

Excellent work [emoji106][emoji106][emoji106].
I’m on the market for RTT .
When should we expect Kickstart?

 

[Terrapod]

In other news - we learned today that there is another company that does hurricane testing on the same panel material we use.

The panels take a 2x4 fired at 100mph with no intrusion or failure.



More food for thought. :rockon: