Packed Away/Collapsed Roof Top Tents

[Okiyota]

With so many options out there now for RTT's I'm trying to see what "fits" the 3rd gens best when they are collapsed and/or packed away during transport.

Being 6'6" tall and sharing a tent with the (small) wife and (small) kid, I'm interested in finding the largest tent possible, but still fitting on top of the 4runner without hanging off the sides/back too bad. Would love to have the Kukenam XL but I'm guessing it would be huge on the 4runner!

Would like to see pics of your guy's tent's all packed up on the roof (pics opened and in use are cool too!) along with the brand/model to get a better idea of how they fit! I'm specifically curious about the Tepui Autana or similar tents with the extra overhang for an annex as that would be a good spot for the dogs!

Thanks!

 

[A.Wilson013]

Generally (almost always) if you mount the tent so that it opens over either the passenger or driver side, you'll have a 48" wide load on top. What will change with the sizes of tent will be the length it covers of the vehicle.

For an example, my buddy and I have two different sized tents, both from CVT. My sleeping area (perfect for an adult couple, or a comfortable set of friends) is 48x96. His sleeping area is 56x96 which I think would be a good size for you, your wife, and your kid for now. Once she gets bigger, may be too small.

From the back of the vehicle, you'd never know they were dfiferent. 48" wide.

From the side you'd notice his is 8" longer than mine. Where mine sits almost exactly over the roof rack tracks, his extends from nearly the back of the sun roof to the rear hatch.

Here's mine, CVT Mt. Cayley, as an example... Closed it's 48"x48". Open it's 48"x96" of sleeping area, with an extra 36" of everyhang that the annex (which I do not have) zips to.

DSC_0023 by Alex Wilson, on Flickr

DSC_0018 by Alex Wilson, on Flickr

DSC_0064 by Alex Wilson, on Flickr

Here's [MENTION=82154]GSPRunner[/MENTION]'s CVT Mt. Shasta. Same width, 8" longer.

DSC_0300 by Alex Wilson, on Flickr

DSC_0108 by Alex Wilson, on Flickr

 

[A.Wilson013]

I kinda clogged that post with pictures... Check out the CVT website (Here) and they have all sorts of pictures of the tents in an assortment of configurations.

I have never seen a tent larger than the Shasta on a 3rd gen. I think it'd be a bit of a pain to mount as it would extend past the rear of the sunroof. You'd need a custom mounting solution for sure. ie a full length rack

I did see an F350 on the freeway last week that had a MONSTER of a CVT tent on it. Had two ladders... Must have been the McKinley. It was on top of a canopy of this long bed monster, and covered nearly the whole thing.

I don't know how old your kid is but another idea would be to set up a cot in the annex for him/her with the dog(s).

 

[Okiyota]

Thanks Wilson, thats exactly the type of info i was hoping for, the pictures were perfect!!

I never really put it together that they were all (mostly) gonna be 48" wide, makes sense though, especially now thinking about sleeping layout (feet towards the ladder I'm assuming is most common).

Like you said, I think the 56x96 would work alright for a while. The kid is 8 years old, just over 50 lbs and 4'4" last time I checked. The wife is only 5'3" and about 100 lbs. Neither of them will be taking up too much space lol.

I would like to see some of the really long ones on top of a 4runner, don't think I've seen any that are really any bigger than your buddies that you posted, that seems to be the most common size (any bigger may just be too big).

 

[joshua.adams.63]

Here is mine with the Tepui Autana

 

[joshua.adams.63]

By the way the sunroof fully opens. These are on the stock rails right now I am fabricating a stronger rack out of square stock.

 

[Okiyota]

Here is mine with the Tepui Autana...

Nice, thanks!

 

[joshua.adams.63]

Here is the rack I fabricated to actually hold the weight. So you k kw the stock crossbars broke with the weight while driving.

 

[ranbar02]

Those tents are awesome. I like the fact of being off the ground since I have two little boys.

 

[joshua.adams.63]

Those tents are awesome. I like the fact of being off the ground since I have two little boys.

Exactly, so much more comfortable.