AT Overland Habitat

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Paris0514

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Having camped for several years I have slept in a few different setups.

Like most I started in a ground tent. The ground tents have had several variations. The older tents with the half inch tent poles, 2 man back packing tents, and a few large family size ground tents.

These tents always felt like a bother to setup.Keeping the poles and pieces together always seemed like a chore, especially with the always helpful friends. You know the ones. They help but the don’t put the gear away. It was sat down for you and they walked away from it. Then the part was left at camp.

The other problem is they were alway filthy from being on the ground. It didn’t matter if it was rain or condensation. The ground cover would always be muddy and keeping the dirt off the tent in the bag was always a challenge.

When I moved away from backpacking I wanted something that setup quickly, was relatively self contained, and wasn’t filthy when I put away.

The best option at the time was roof top tents. I started with an ARB Simpson I found on craigslist. The tent was a great starting point to know I wanted to stay with roof top tents going forward. The tent was good and fit my wife and I well.

As time past we had our first child and we quickly realized the ARB was getting smaller. With a sale over holidays I purchased a CVT Rainer. The tent was big. It felt spacious. This work even through us having a second child and a pregnant wife.

Kudos to CVT. The tent allowed my 7 month pregnant wife to camp for 9 nights as we circumvented Colorado with our 3 year old and my 1 year old. After the trip though we knew adding the third the tent was not going to have the space we needed.

As an ambassador for Adventure Motors they were working with FSR at the time. I obtained a FSR High Country. We used it a couple times but we were recognizing it was time for something different with the kids.

So we began to look at what was on the market. AT Overland had released the Habitat about that time.

What is the Habitat? It’s basically a giant truck fort. The tent is affixed to the bed of a pickup. When closed it appears to look much like your normal truck cap/camper shell. When it opens though you have a giant sleeping platform and the bed of your truck enclosed to build as you need or see fit.
The Habitat is made from aluminum, has a built in mattress, sleeps 2 standard but up to 4 adults, quick setup, and has built in awning.
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It was pretty quickly Expedition Overland snagged one up and took on their next trip. They produced a short video walk around.

Between their video and a couple of write ups on Tacoma World, I was left to try and determine if the product would work for us with what is normally very little information to me.

We took a leap of faith after several calls and looking at photographs we could find on the internet and decided we would purchase one.

Living in Kansas City, MO I did not want to travel to AZ to have it installed. The closest dealer was Juniper Overland in Colorado.
The order placed with Juniper Overland.

The next thing was to wait. The wait time for all custom 4x4 items varies but I think we had to wait approximately 12 weeks. That’s quite a while when you spend $8900 base.

The time was good as it allowed me to sell my camper shell and make some minor modifications before I could install the Habitat.
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The Habitat has an overhang over the cab of the pickup. I had a Prinsu Design Studios Tacoma Cab Rack. The rack would be in the way if not modified. So I had to take a saw to the rack to make sure there were no clearance issues.
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Once I got the call from Chris Janeway made it super easy. The plan was made to make the trip on a Thursday night from KC to CO. Then Friday the boys at the shop would work straight away at getting the Habitat installed.

Juniper Overland did a great job. Professional and took care of us while we waited. Off Grid Engineering even did a little electrical for me while it was being installed.
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After it was installed it was time to test it properly. My bride and I stayed in it that night.
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Having not deployed the Habitat before I was concerned it would take a little bit to get it deployed and setup. With previous RTT’s we had a system between my bride and I to make it as fast as possible.

The Habitat took less than 3 minutes to deploy with me and the wife on the first time. We had the bedding rolled out and ready to go in less than 5 minutes.

Mind you this was in the dark. INCREDIBLE!

So how is the build quality of the Habitat?

The quality of the tent material is great. It is a cotton poly material. The material has to be treated to provide best water proofing. From the factory it is soaked then dried and then repeated to allow the material to swell to create the moisture barrier. This should be done yearly. The material bucks wind well. I have slept in the tent with winds up to 20 mph and found it to be quieter than ground tents or other RTT’s I have had. The structural design I believe keeps the material from being too loose.

The aluminum exterior is rugged. I have taken the truck down narrow two track in the Ozark National Forest with trees limbs banging along the side for hours and had no visible marks. The truck has been driven down long corrugated forest roads and boulder ridden tracks and been no worse for wear.
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The tent allows for more than 2 adults if you add the drop in panels.
The drop in panels cover over the top of the truck bed.
You essentially sleep on the overhang off the back section normally.
When you add the drop in panels double your sleeping area.
There’s a storage area over the cab of the truck. (This is a perfect spot for toddlers and babies!)
I have slept myself, bride, my three sons (5,3,1), and my 10 year old nephew and still had room.
ITS HUGE!

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We also purchased the Goose Gear chairs. They stow away neatly against the wall and fold down to allow two people to sit and use the drop in panels as a desk or table.

Since purchasing I have since drill into the Habitat and secured my recovery boards from Maxtrax to the driver’s side exterior wall. EE602764-7105-49CD-BB59-0195ECB5C9D7.jpeg
This was a great addition and allowed me to keep the recovery boards where I could quickly and easily get to them without moving other items. They also store well even when covered in mud out of the way.

Having the Habitat has allowed me to take the entire family with me. It also allows me to secure my gear inside the Habitat shell when not deployed.

Overall the Habitat is one of the best purchases I have ever made to make camping more comfortable and convenient.
 

Semonster

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Looks great and like a lot of fun!

I’m curious did you consider the AT Summit as well (wedge style rather than the 180 flip style)?
 

Paris0514

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Looks great and like a lot of fun!

I’m curious did you consider the AT Summit as well (wedge style rather than the 180 flip style)?
When I purchased the Habitat the Summit was being produced.

The Summit came out this last year in 2018 I believe. I think it was first on display at 2018 Expo East. I was there at the AT booth and got to see it first hand.

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The Summit is really well made. I like the similar opening latches. The foldaway bed is great. Mario of AT Overland has his in the Dodge done with full Goose Gear Cabinets and I felt like home. His summit also had a diesel heater for the interior which ran on a thermostat. I was a little jealous due to all the rain and freezing temps we had during expo.

If you were to only need room for 1 or 2 people the summit would be what I would have.
 
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Semonster

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Cool, thanks a lot for the feedback! Thankfully there are more and more options like this out there so I’m always curious why someone chose one or another. I was able to check out a bunch at Expo West this past year too.
 
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Paris0514

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Cool, thanks a lot for the feedback! Thankfully there are more and more options like this out there so I’m always curious why someone chose one or another. I was able to check out a bunch at Expo West this past year too.
Yes the industry has really taken off in the last 4-6 years. New innovating options keep being developed every year. It’s been an exciting time for backcountry discovery, touring, Overlanding, and off-roading.
 

ZetRocks

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@Paris0514 love the build and this thread. Love that you are enjoying the Habitat!

The wife and I just decided to set a goal in getting a Habitat (ordered at least) before end of the year. We have tried several different overlanding and camping options and ultimately decided to self-contain as much of our gear on the rig as possible. We want to minimize time spent packing and unpacking to an absolute minimal (both at home and away). We like how the habitat and ensuing bed build outs can assist with this.

Some of your pictures answered my questions concerns (could I take Black Bear Pass, etc. LOL). That said, would there have been anything you may have done differently in your habitat set up, options, or pre-ordering prep that I may consider?
 
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Paris0514

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@Paris0514 love the build and this thread. Love that you are enjoying the Habitat!

The wife and I just decided to set a goal in getting a Habitat (ordered at least) before end of the year. We have tried several different overlanding and camping options and ultimately decided to self-contain as much of our gear on the rig as possible. We want to minimize time spent packing and unpacking to an absolute minimal (both at home and away). We like how the habitat and ensuing bed build outs can assist with this.

Some of your pictures answered my questions concerns (could I take Black Bear Pass, etc. LOL). That said, would there have been anything you may have done differently in your habitat set up, options, or pre-ordering prep that I may consider?

Nothing particularly. I will eventually like to get a cabinet setup with a galley for walking potentially. Other than that. No. Sorry for the delay in responding.
 
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ZetRocks

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Nothing particularly. I will eventually like to get a cabinet setup with a galley for walking potentially. Other than that. No. Sorry for the delay in responding.
No worries. I appreciate the feedback. Thanks!
 

EtherImp

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@Paris0514:
Great info, great pics, and really nice setup! It sounds like you are pretty satisfied with the quality and layout of the Habitat. If you were given the chance to do it again, would you go the same route or a different path?

I'm asking because I'm also planning to do a similar setup and the Habitat keeps cropping to the top of the list for my needs/desires. Assuming a better option doesn't suddenly appear, I'll probably place an order for the Habitat in the next month or two (somewhat COVID-19 dependent). I'll have to check out Juniper Overland that you went with...it's definitely a quicker trip from KC to CO than AZ. Did you consider having it shipped and doing the install yourself? Or do you think prior experience installing the Habitat was critical to it's success?
 
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GreggNY

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Really nice setup. Keep the reviews/pics coming! Couple questions-

Is the door over the tailgate lockable? Locks on the tent?
How is the setup for keeping water and dust out of the bed of the truck?
 
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Stonecutter

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Really nice setup. Keep the reviews/pics coming! Couple questions-

Is the door over the tailgate lockable? Locks on the tent?
How is the setup for keeping water and dust out of the bed of the truck?
Yes, the rear lift gate is lockable. And the tent portion is designed to allow for a small padlock to be attached to the latch. Obviously none of these locks are bombproof by any means but it helps with thief discouragement.

As far as dust goes, the triple bulb seal of the Habitat does a good job of keeping dust out. However, on my Ram the bed and the tailgate themselves allows a lot of dust in. I ended up buying some foam seal strips off of amazon as well as Gorilla taping some seams in the corner of the bed itself. It cut down on the dust significantly but on long dirt roads it still gets dusty. I just don’t think it coms through the seal of the Habitat shell on the bed.
Hope that this helps.
 
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Paris0514

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@Paris0514:
Great info, great pics, and really nice setup! It sounds like you are pretty satisfied with the quality and layout of the Habitat. If you were given the chance to do it again, would you go the same route or a different path?

I'm asking because I'm also planning to do a similar setup and the Habitat keeps cropping to the top of the list for my needs/desires. Assuming a better option doesn't suddenly appear, I'll probably place an order for the Habitat in the next month or two (somewhat COVID-19 dependent). I'll have to check out Juniper Overland that you went with...it's definitely a quicker trip from KC to CO than AZ. Did you consider having it shipped and doing the install yourself? Or do you think prior experience installing the Habitat was critical to it's success?
If it was just me and the wife I’d do a Summit or Atlas. But I wouldn’t go another route for space and quality.
 
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Paris0514

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Really nice setup. Keep the reviews/pics coming! Couple questions-

Is the door over the tailgate lockable? Locks on the tent?
How is the setup for keeping water and dust out of the bed of the truck?
Stonecutter answered and I agree with him. Apologies for delay been traveling.