RTT on factory rails

[EasylyConfused]

Pat,

definetly get what you're saying here. for me personally this tent would be used for highway and forest service roads.

i could see where it'd be a problem for others.



planning on beating me to the punch?

Did you every end up mounting the RTT to the stock rails? How did it hold up?

 

[homeyclaus]

The TE roof rack can carry 300 lbs per the docs. To do that on a moving vehicle, that's a significant static load, like 800 lbs+. So even if you were morbidly obese, and then if you could get yourself into the RTT, things will be fine.

On my former TE, the aluminum cross bars fit into the two-way C channel, and the plastic around the ends was a sleeve, meaning it bears no vertical weight. All the plastic did was pinch the aluminum rails and cross bars so they would not move horizontally.

Of course, don't let engineering types tell you whether plastic or metal is better for some applications - carry on.

 

[jca21]

ended up getting a gobi stealth.

havent gotten an rtt yet.

i threw an air mattress into the back of the 4runner and my junk on the roof.

seems to work out dandy

 

[rpparkster]

Bringing an old thread back to see if anyone has had success with a RTT on the 2010-13 Trail rails, not crossbars.
I'm in the market for an RTT and my garage height is a limiting factor. So if I add any aftermarket cross bars, I limit the tent that I can purchase. Right now I'm looking at the FrontRunner Feather-Lite since its around 8" without the ladder attached. I can just store the ladder in the back for when I need it.
I was entertaining the idea of drilling some holes into the top of the rails and bolting the tent directly on the rail instead of the aluminum "channel" rails that come with the tent. Still trying to figure it all out but any suggestions are appreciated.

 

[Swarty]

Look at all your options.

Bringing an old thread back to see if anyone has had success with a RTT on the 2010-13 Trail rails, not crossbars.
I'm in the market for an RTT and my garage height is a limiting factor. So if I add any aftermarket cross bars, I limit the tent that I can purchase. Right now I'm looking at the FrontRunner Feather-Lite since its around 8" without the ladder attached. I can just store the ladder in the back for when I need it.
I was entertaining the idea of drilling some holes into the top of the rails and bolting the tent directly on the rail instead of the aluminum "channel" rails that come with the tent. Still trying to figure it all out but any suggestions are appreciated.

The first thing I'd point out if you don't need a ton of space is that hard case tents are usually shorter when closed then soft tents. IMO saying that the Featherlite RTT is 8" w/o ladder is misleading. you need the ladder for support and it isn't quick release and if they aren't counting the ladder are they counting the support channels that go on the bottom? the tent is 10"-11" IRL. While the new Tepui that is currently a Kickstarter is a true 8" tent.

A flat rack like an Eezi-Awn K9 or a Frontrunner is going to be lower profile than the stock rack and in the case of the K9 the channels that support the floor sit down into the rack making the tent sit even lower at least on my CVT. This may also be true on a Frontrunner.

IMO randomly changing the way the tent floor is supported may cause more issues than it's worth. If I were you and keeping the stock roof rails I would fab up some cross rails that fit like the stock trail rails into the main channel and are slightly recessed below the top rails. This will let you use the as designed rail on the tent while still fitting very close to the roof rails and may even let you come up with a clever quick release setup.
I'd use T-slot framing like this:
T-slots the grown up version of erector sets...

 

[wild_turkey]

Bringing an old thread back to see if anyone has had success with a RTT on the 2010-13 Trail rails, not crossbars.
I'm in the market for an RTT and my garage height is a limiting factor. So if I add any aftermarket cross bars, I limit the tent that I can purchase. Right now I'm looking at the FrontRunner Feather-Lite since its around 8" without the ladder attached. I can just store the ladder in the back for when I need it.
I was entertaining the idea of drilling some holes into the top of the rails and bolting the tent directly on the rail instead of the aluminum "channel" rails that come with the tent. Still trying to figure it all out but any suggestions are appreciated.

[MENTION=119516]jicko[/MENTION] ran it like that for awhile. RTT on Factory Rails

 

[Fishpilot]

I wanted to keep the tent low as well, not that I had a chance of getting it in my garage, and I didn't want to spend close to another $400 on a Yakima type rack so I built my own for less than $70. I bought 1 10' section of steel track, 4 pipe hanger u-bolts, assorted nylock nuts, a can of self etching primer, and a can of rust inhibiting HD black spray paint to make my own and it works fantastic.

I cut the track to 48", painted it an all the hardware, then mounted it direct to the factory roof rails on my '11 TE. The u-bolts fit perfectly around the roof rack and I only had to enlarge one of the existing holes in the steel track to get a centered mounting solution. The track was not the conduit you see at lower or home depot used for electrical work, it is steel and I had to get it at a local builders supply store. Took about 2 hours, should have taken 3 to let the paint dry more but I was excited to get the tent mounted and into the woods.

The only downside to mounting it so close to the roof is how hard it was to get the nuts and bolts started and tightened down. My CVT RTT came with the ratcheting box wrenches and that made all the difference when compared to trying to use a socket wrench. It's wobble free and super sturdy after 1 month, three trips, and plenty of bumpy road miles later.

 

[rpparkster]

I wanted to keep the tent low as well, not that I had a chance of getting it in my garage, and I didn't want to spend close to another $400 on a Yakima type rack so I built my own for less than $70. I bought 1 10' section of steel track, 4 pipe hanger u-bolts, assorted nylock nuts, a can of self etching primer, and a can of rust inhibiting HD black spray paint to make my own and it works fantastic.

I cut the track to 48", painted it an all the hardware, then mounted it direct to the factory roof rails on my '11 TE. The u-bolts fit perfectly around the roof rack and I only had to enlarge one of the existing holes in the steel track to get a centered mounting solution. The track was not the conduit you see at lower or home depot used for electrical work, it is steel and I had to get it at a local builders supply store. Took about 2 hours, should have taken 3 to let the paint dry more but I was excited to get the tent mounted and into the woods.

The only downside to mounting it so close to the roof is how hard it was to get the nuts and bolts started and tightened down. My CVT RTT came with the ratcheting box wrenches and that made all the difference when compared to trying to use a socket wrench. It's wobble free and super sturdy after 1 month, three trips, and plenty of bumpy road miles later.

[MENTION=63736]Fishpilot[/MENTION], do you have any more pics to show how you used the pieces? I'm a little confused on how you did it.
Did you mount the steel track into factory rails without the crossbars? And then mount the tent with the Aluminum supports? Or just load the tent directly to the steel tracks you made?
TIA.

 

[rpparkster]

The first thing I'd point out if you don't need a ton of space is that hard case tents are usually shorter when closed then soft tents. IMO saying that the Featherlite RTT is 8" w/o ladder is misleading. you need the ladder for support and it isn't quick release and if they aren't counting the ladder are they counting the support channels that go on the bottom? the tent is 10"-11" IRL. While the new Tepui that is currently a Kickstarter is a true 8" tent.

A flat rack like an Eezi-Awn K9 or a Frontrunner is going to be lower profile than the stock rack and in the case of the K9 the channels that support the floor sit down into the rack making the tent sit even lower at least on my CVT. This may also be true on a Frontrunner.

IMO randomly changing the way the tent floor is supported may cause more issues than it's worth. If I were you and keeping the stock roof rails I would fab up some cross rails that fit like the stock trail rails into the main channel and are slightly recessed below the top rails. This will let you use the as designed rail on the tent while still fitting very close to the roof rails and may even let you come up with a clever quick release setup.
I'd use T-slot framing like this:
T-slots the grown up version of erector sets...

I like the idea of the erector set, started looking at that site a bit and getting some ideas. Looks like Fishpilot may have some ideas that I can use also.
I did check out the Tepui hardtop, but it's out of my price range for a RTT.
Thanks for looking out, I'm sure I could use that and adapt it to Fishpilots tent mount.
Now I'm thinking about how to use those to bolt directly into the factory rail and stay flush with the top of rail. That way I don't add any height with the support beams.
I guess options are endless.

[MENTION=119516]jicko[/MENTION] ran it like that for awhile. RTT on Factory Rails

Appreciate the link.

 

[Fishpilot]

I attached the aluminum tracks to the tent per the manufacturer's instructions. I attached the steel tracks I bought to the stock roof rack like you would attach a Yakima rail grab mount. I then mounted the tent to the steel tracks. The tent doesn't touch the 4R only the rack I built.

Pic 1 shows the mount set up I put together. It has the u-bolt around the stock roof rack and then up through the pre-drilled holes in the steel track. I fastened it up with Steel track, flat steel insert, outside tooth washer, regular nut, nylock nut, gorilla tape to keep it from snagging the tent cover. Pic 2 is the same with a tape measure for reference. Pic 3 shows the supplied tent rails and mounting hardware secured around the steel rack I installed. I left the factory crossbars on not to bear ANY weight but to tie the left and right stock roof rack together and provide a modicum of lateral stiffness. No XM here in AK but the tent completely covers the shark fin antennae so that might be something to consider. Yes, I left the blue plastic on the diamond plate on the tent, I figure it'll make the whole thing easier to clean once removed.

 

[DCameraMan]

I attached the aluminum tracks to the tent per the manufacturer's instructions. I attached the steel tracks I bought to the stock roof rack like you would attach a Yakima rail grab mount. I then mounted the tent to the steel tracks. The tent doesn't touch the 4R only the rack I built.

Pic 1 shows the mount set up I put together. It has the u-bolt around the stock roof rack and then up through the pre-drilled holes in the steel track. I fastened it up with Steel track, flat steel insert, outside tooth washer, regular nut, nylock nut, gorilla tape to keep it from snagging the tent cover. Pic 2 is the same with a tape measure for reference. Pic 3 shows the supplied tent rails and mounting hardware secured around the steel rack I installed. I left the factory crossbars on not to bear ANY weight but to tie the left and right stock roof rack together and provide a modicum of lateral stiffness. No XM here in AK but the tent completely covers the shark fin antennae so that might be something to consider. Yes, I left the blue plastic on the diamond plate on the tent, I figure it'll make the whole thing easier to clean once removed.

Nice! The steel tracks are called unistrut. I built my rack with unistrut crossbars. All the support section of my diy roof tent use unistrut too. Love that stuff, you can do anything with it. Like legos

https://youtu.be/Ie4li7Rir7c