Roof Top Tent (RTT) Picture Gallery & BS Thread

[jb10]

Howdy! A pulley system on the roof of your garage is always a great solution, but if you happen to have an extendable ladder with the articulating rubber grip feet, you can use that to slide the tent on to and off of the roofrack. Just wrap the legs on the other end with a microfiber towel to prevent scratching and denting and lean it up against the side of the roofrack (40'ish degree angle with a 15ft ladder) and it's really easy.
I built a dolly out of a 2x10 and some rubber casters and I just roll it up and tilt the tent over until the rails on the tent are resting on the rails of the ladder and it's really easy to slide up with one person on each side. Ditto for taking it off.

PS: Nice hound!

this doesn't tear up the mounting rails on the tent?

 

[jb10]

got my rtt on july 1st. used it that night and the next 2 nights. have used it 3 times since. love it so far

 

[Ol'Baditude]

this doesn't tear up the mounting rails on the tent?

Not in the slightest.

 

[ErnieMcCracken]

So I'm really wanting a RTT but saw shiftpods recently and contemplating getting one.
1. its lighter/loadable by one person. plus you can set up camp and not have to haul it with you on the trails. Or if youre overlanding its not going to cause much of a top heavy effect.
2. It would ease into camping for my GF because you can put a blowup mattress in there
3. they're essentially the same price $1200

What do yall think?

 

[Mark_BC]

I don't get it

Can someone explain to me the advantage of RTT's? They don't seem any larger than a ground tent. You need to bring along a ladder and extra bulk of the tent compared to a ground tent. Where I like going in Mexico they would be ripped to shreds in one decent wind storm, or at the very least thrown back and forth as you are on the vehicle's suspension 8 feet in the air. They prevent you from storing other stuff on your roof rack.

What is the point? To keep you clean and away from the creepy crawlies off the ground? Won't a decent ground sheet do that?

 

[Mgyver1]

Can someone explain to me the advantage of RTT's? They don't seem any larger than a ground tent. You need to bring along a ladder and extra bulk of the tent compared to a ground tent. Where I like going in Mexico they would be ripped to shreds in one decent wind storm, or at the very least thrown back and forth as you are on the vehicle's suspension 8 feet in the air. They prevent you from storing other stuff on your roof rack.

What is the point? To keep you clean and away from the creepy crawlies off the ground? Won't a decent ground sheet do that?

The debate between a RTT and ground tent has been discussed at length many a time and there's many articles out there discussing the pros and cons of them. For me, it freed up room inside my rig as I do not have to store cots or sleeping bags inside. I can deploy my tent very quickly as when I fold it out the mattress and sleeping bags are already there. The only thing I have to bring up is the pillows and a change of clothes. And you don't need to bring along a ladder, it's bolted to the tent and it's what you use as a lever to open and close the tent. Here's a time lapse video of it being deployed:

http://vid57.photobucket.com/albums/g203/Mgyver1/4Runner/Howling%20Moon%20RTT%20Time%20Lapse%20Opening.mp4

I have slept on layers of blankets, air mattresses, several different brand cots and I have found no more comfortable way to sleep than on the 3" memory foam mattress in my RTT. That alone is a good enough reason for me. I also found it made my setup and teardown much faster as my OCD-ness takes forever to setup and teardown a tent, cots and sleeping bags.

The tents don't get ripped to shreds in windstorms. These aren't cheap tents made with thin tafetta or nylon like some tent you'd pick up at a box mart store. These are typically made with canvas and are very durable. I've had mine in heavy winds and wasn't being tossed about. In face the truck didn't rock but the tent did some, about as much as a my 10x10 Turbo tent which is a canvas 4 season ground tent. Here's a video of a Tepui tent in a severe windstorm:

https://youtu.be/RGTe-zGjdJo

They're not for everyone, and just like anything there's give and take. Are they perfect for every camping scenario? No. They're great if you do overland type trips where you are packing up every day and continuing to a new spot. They are terrible if you're going to one campsite, going out and exploring trails and then returning to the same campsite.

 

[4rcybr]

Here's my Frontrunner Featherlite on a Frontrunner Slimline II rack.

Quite enjoying it, and it is much cheaper than a lot of other options. Supposedly (and this is probably true) it isn't as durable as more expensive options. Still, for my use I haven't had any issues yet.

 

[jediwebdude]

Can someone explain to me the advantage of RTT's?

I have a hard shell RTT (see my photos posted previously in this thread). Set up takes 10 seconds. Take down takes 20 seconds. That leaves me a lot of time to do other stuff. As a photographer, that means I can spend more time getting landscape photos. I don't have to worry about finding a smooth area to set up a ground tent. One trip I was on, we woke in the morning to a major storm. I was able to collapse my tent and be in my truck in under a minute, while everyone else struggled to pack their tents.

Where I like going in Mexico they would be ripped to shreds in one decent wind storm, or at the very least thrown back and forth as you are on the vehicle's suspension 8 feet in the air. They prevent you from storing other stuff on your roof rack.

Where in Mexico do you go? Asking because I'm planning a trip there next year. As for wind, we were hit with 25 mph gusts most of the night in Monument Valley. All of the ground tent folk packed up and drove to a hotel. Us trailer folk stayed in our tents. My RTT held up just fine.

What is the point? To keep you clean and away from the creepy crawlies off the ground? Won't a decent ground sheet do that?

Not worried about ground critters. This is more about convenience.

 

[Lakers]

Been lurking around the forums and the internet just in general since I am pretty interested in picking up a roof top tent sooner or later. After doing quite a bit of research I ended up finding that SundayCampers that seems to sell all the major brand tents without a name on them. I learned that quite a few of the OEMs out here get their tents from China, no idea if from this company, but wondering if anyone has heard anything from/about them. They seem to have an extensive catalog of tents and some super sweet awning. Any info is appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[leftyguns21]

for those who have RTT and canoes or paddle boards. can you strap say a stand up paddle board to the top of the RTT?

does anyone have any experience with FreeSpirit Recreation

 

[Spenny]

for those who have RTT and canoes or paddle boards. can you strap say a stand up paddle board to the top of the RTT?

does anyone have any experience with FreeSpirit Recreation

No experience with the tent above, but you can put boards, canoes whatever on top of the RTT and strap down to your rack easy. If you can take the ladder off to create a flatter spot, even better. A ruggedized version like what Tepui offers might be beneficial for the added weight.

 

[nicoelcee]

I'm about to pull the trigger on a RTT and my 3rd Gen has the Baja standard basket. If I had to do it all over again, I'd probably get a utility or stealth rack, but :shrug: ... my question:

1. do I need center support bars to distribute the load for aCVT, or can I attach the tent's own tracks to the sides of the (42"-wide) basket and let it support itself in the middle?

2. do you think an 82"-long basket will carry something larger like a Mt. Ranier without looking like a proud ant hauling off a Sunday picnic?

(sorry if these are already answered; I couldn't find anything in search.

 

[CO4running]

Tepui on my '99

This is my second round with a RTT. The first was a smaller tent while the kids were little, but we used and enjoyed it so much we ended up getting a larger one.

 

[jetblack3s]

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[wadle5]

Set up for camp(Moab), and then packed up ready to go(Grand Teton National Park). . . .

 

[leftyguns21]

CVT seems to be a popular brand for the RTT's.

 

[wadle5]

CVT seems to be a popular brand for the RTT's.

Seems pretty well an even run between them and Tepui. I got my CVT on a group buy and am beyond impressed with it. That frontrunner a couple pictures up looks promising though.

 

[JSparky]

So I remember last year at the Snoverland Expo talking with Sierra Expeditions about Howling Moon RTTs and how they ran them without the rainfly because they were so weatherproof. Last trip I decided to take mine off to make setup and teardown easier and to be able to actually use the stargazer feature now that the weather was starting to warm up. Well, last weekend was the test because there was a chance of rain. I figured it probably wouldn't rain because it's Vegas, and even if it did it wouldn't be too bad.

Well sure enough it rained pretty steady for several hours, but thankfully no crazy pounding rain. I did have to zip the canvas closed on the roof and windows as the rain hitting the mesh would splatter through. I ended up leaving the tops of the side windows open along with the front and rear door. There was a small wet spot on my pillow that I'm pretty sure wasn't drool but was from a small drip off one of the tie backs for the stargazer canvas cover. The tie back material is PVC like the cover, which means that material won't swell and seal shut when wet like the canvas material on the rest of the tent.



Water did end up pooling on the overhang, which it has before with the fly on. In all fairness I did not stake the front lines out which would hold the overhang a little more taut, but there still would have been some water pooling. My only concern is a snow trip and having a heavy snow load there. Since it doesn't really snow that often in South Africa I'm guessing they've never thought about a snow load support bar before so I guess we'll see what happens the next time I go when it snows.

Almost looks like Mahogany Flat campground.. now I need to get down to death valley again lol.

 

[mikey's2010SR5]

This past weekend. Tent did well, got about a foot of fresh light stuff.

 

[Mgyver1]

Almost looks like Mahogany Flat campground.. now I need to get down to death valley again lol.

That is actually in Lovell Canyon which is between Las Vegas and Pahrump, NV.