Before you Buy Rooftop Tent

[MMc]

This is a pro gun vs anti gun discussion. nobodies mind is getting changed.
Edit:This is like a pro gun vs anti gun, pro life vs anti abortion, RTT vs ground tent, nobody is changing sides. You do you.

 

[Drunk_Dog]

This is a pro gun vs anti gun discussion. nobodies mind is getting changed.

The story has nothing to do with firearms. It has everything to do with hitting your head on the corner of the tent in a pitch black setting with an elevated heart heart... get off your horse and enjoy the story bubba.

 

[NMBruce]

This is a pro gun vs anti gun discussion. nobodies mind is getting changed.

Might of posted in the wrong thread, this is about roof top tents

 

[CR-Venturer]

This is a pro gun vs anti gun discussion. nobodies mind is getting changed.

You're in the wrong thread, and if you're referring to the carrying firearms while camping thread, ironically the canuck dude who was all anti AR-15 actually did change his mind.

 

[Viking1204]

I think his point is the RTT vs Ground Tent argument is like the pro-gun vs anti-gun arguments, not too many people are going to change their minds about it. I have a RTT and a Gazelle T-3 ground tent I use a cot in for those times I can't use my RTT. The RTT is far more convenient and much easier to setup and put away than a ground tent, even a popup like the Gazelle. My RTT has my sleeping bag in it, all I need to do when I show up to camp somewhere is take the cover off and open it up and set the ladder, throw my pillow and overnight bag up in it and I'm ready to sleep in about 10 minutes. My ground tent takes at least 30 minutes to setup having to setup the tent and get my cot setup with bedding.

Another advantage is if you show up and it's cold and raining. I did this last year on Mount Cheaha in Alabama and I was able to with my rain jacket on take the cover off my RTT and deploy it very quickly which now gave me an area under that folded out tent that was dry. I have a truck with a Diamondback cover on the bed of it and was able to stand under the tent and cook up some dinner while staying dry. If I would have had to use a ground tent that evening I would had to set it up in the rain and everything I took to it would have been wet and I would not have had a dry area to cook under.

Eventually I want to upgrade to a hard shell RTT and that to me will be the best setup for me. Here in the Southeast and most areas I'll be camping we don't have to worry about 35 below zero. I grew up in Minnesota and haven't even found the need to use a heater camping here in the Southeast!

 

[Drunk_Dog]

I think his point is the RTT vs Ground Tent argument is like the pro-gun vs anti-gun arguments, not too many people are going to change their minds about it. I have a RTT and a Gazelle T-3 ground tent I use a cot in for those times I can't use my RTT. The RTT is far more convenient and much easier to setup and put away than a ground tent, even a popup like the Gazelle. My RTT has my sleeping bag in it, all I need to do when I show up to camp somewhere is take the cover off and open it up and set the ladder, throw my pillow and overnight bag up in it and I'm ready to sleep in about 10 minutes. My ground tent takes at least 30 minutes to setup having to setup the tent and get my cot setup with bedding.

Another advantage is if you show up and it's cold and raining. I did this last year on Mount Cheaha in Alabama and I was able to with my rain jacket on take the cover off my RTT and deploy it very quickly which now gave me an area under that folded out tent that was dry. I have a truck with a Diamondback cover on the bed of it and was able to stand under the tent and cook up some dinner while staying dry. If I would have had to use a ground tent that evening I would had to set it up in the rain and everything I took to it would have been wet and I would not have had a dry area to cook under.

Eventually I want to upgrade to a hard shell RTT and that to me will be the best setup for me. Here in the Southeast and most areas I'll be camping we don't have to worry about 35 below zero. I grew in Minnesota and haven't even found the need to use a heater camping here in the Southeast!

Which hard shell are you looking at? I keep tossing around several of them as ideas, I want decent room since my 100 pound dog sleeps up there with me. But then the ones like the iKamper I cant put my kayaks on top of and the roofnest Falcon I can put my kayak ontop but then I can't leave my bedding in the tent.

 

[Viking1204]

Which hard shell are you looking at? I keep tossing around several of them as ideas, I want decent room since my 100 pound dog sleeps up there with me. But then the ones like the iKamper I cant put my kayaks on top of and the roofnest Falcon I can put my kayak ontop but then I can't leave my bedding in the tent.

I haven't looked at a lot of them yet. I'll most likely take a look at them this October when I go to Expo East. If I'm going to spend that kind of money I want to make sure I get the right one for me. Living here in NW Florida the Expos are the only chance really to get a good look at them, nobody anywhere close to here sells them.

 

[MOAK]

I think his point is the RTT vs Ground Tent argument is like the pro-gun vs anti-gun arguments, not too many people are going to change their minds about it. I have a RTT and a Gazelle T-3 ground tent I use a cot in for those times I can't use my RTT. The RTT is far more convenient and much easier to setup and put away than a ground tent, even a popup like the Gazelle. My RTT has my sleeping bag in it, all I need to do when I show up to camp somewhere is take the cover off and open it up and set the ladder, throw my pillow and overnight bag up in it and I'm ready to sleep in about 10 minutes. My ground tent takes at least 30 minutes to setup having to setup the tent and get my cot setup with bedding.

Another advantage is if you show up and it's cold and raining. I did this last year on Mount Cheaha in Alabama and I was able to with my rain jacket on take the cover off my RTT and deploy it very quickly which now gave me an area under that folded out tent that was dry. I have a truck with a Diamondback cover on the bed of it and was able to stand under the tent and cook up some dinner while staying dry. If I would have had to use a ground tent that evening I would had to set it up in the rain and everything I took to it would have been wet and I would not have had a dry area to cook under.

Eventually I want to upgrade to a hard shell RTT and that to me will be the best setup for me. Here in the Southeast and most areas I'll be camping we don't have to worry about 35 below zero. I grew in Minnesota and haven't even found the need to use a heater camping here in the Southeast!

Well put, we’ve been in the same situation Iand the RTT is so much easier to deploy in adverse weather. One other thing no one has mentioned, being up off the ground gives me good visuals of our campsite and the surrounding area. The only issue I have with your words? Cold in Alabama? LOL !!

 

[Viking1204]

Well put, we’ve been in the same situation Iand the RTT is so much easier to deploy in adverse weather. One other thing no one has mentioned, being up off the ground gives me good visuals of our campsite and the surrounding area. The only issue I have with your words? Cold in Alabama? LOL !!

I was on Alabama's tallest mountain peak and it was about 34 with a light rain and a good breeze! That's cold for down here LOL! I grew up in SE Minnesota, I'd much rather it be a bit colder and snow. Cold rain sucks!

 

[Drunk_Dog]

I was on Alabama's tallest mountain peak and it was about 34 with a light rain and a good breeze! That's cold for down here LOL! I grew up in SE Minnesota, I'd much rather it be a bit colder and snow. Cold rain sucks!

Hahaha, I had the same experience in Arkansas in White Rock and I was telling my friends who are from Montana about it and they were just laughing at a Texas guy thinking low 30's was "so cold".
Its funny because that camping trip in particular is what made me buy an RTT. And I have camped in similar weather since then and the RTT with a 270 degree awning and walls is an absolute game changer.

 

[Senior FJ]

I don’t think I would camp without one or guards

great picture

Im not a fan of RTTs. I think theyre a waste of money and not particularly practical. Theyre a gimmick for weekend warriors IMO. Way to many short comings. I wouldnt want to use one when i was drunk, sick or injured. I dont like the idea of having to empty my tent of all my gear and closing the tent every time i want to drive anywhere. If you camp anywhere with rain or snow putting your boots or gear on or taking it off to get in is a pain. Then where do you stow it to dry out up there once its off so you dont get everything else wet or dirty in the tent?

The only practical use i see is if you put it on top of a trailer that gets parked at a base camp in a region that has critters on the ground that want to bite or sting you. Sure makes sense. But anything North of 42 degrees I wouldnt run one. Id personally rather have a hot tent on the ground.

I have a James Baroud hard fiberglass shell on order along with the tunnel that leads down to a 270 awning that has walls and windows my main concern was on none travling days but heavy rainy days and i travel with my border collie so therefore the awning and the walled unit which allows me to be inside something that is 100 per cent waterproof which allows me to use my slide out kitchen and to cook and to relax out of the rain . When it comes to pee time i have a meeical urin bottle that i will be using and pee time for my dog is always outside before bedtime there are always pros and cons to everything in life I think the RTT model and set up that i have on order is a winner from the Pro side the for the whole setup the bog Con side is the cost

 

[NMBruce]

I have a James Baroud hard fiberglass shell on order along with the tunnel that leads down to a 270 awning that has walls and windows my main concern was on none travling days but heavy rainy days and i travel with my border collie so therefore the awning and the walled unit which allows me to be inside something that is 100 per cent waterproof which allows me to use my slide out kitchen and to cook and to relax out of the rain . When it comes to pee time i have a meeical urin bottle that i will be using and pee time for my dog is always outside before bedtime there are always pros and cons to everything in life I think the RTT model and set up that i have on order is a winner from the Pro side the for the whole setup the bog Con side is the cost

When I purchased my TuffStuff Alpha ll, I also got the annex. In the picture the annex is not fully supported, so it sags a little at the farthest part from the tent.
For my trailer I am in the process of building a lift, so the tent can be down when moving and up when I want to use the annex. The lift mock-up in wood, will be out of steel and an actuator to lift, still working it out everything.

 

[Senior FJ]

Wait till you're in the middle of nowhere, turn off all your camp lights and you hear sticks snap like something/someone is walking around your site so you run around to the truck to grab the pew pew machine and you rack your dome on the corner of the tent and then you have a have new problem... true story... turns out I had a pack of wild boars come through.

LOL

 

[MarioT'sCJResto]

Yeah, but you have to pull all your gear out to close it up. You cant stand up in it to change. You cant dry out gear in it or sit down and work on something, or cook a meal. You have to climb in to it with wet gear on. Your dog cant hangout with you when youre in it.

If youre the kind of person that just gets out on the weekends. Only sleeps in it for a night or two. And packs up in the morning and continues on. Sure, makes sense. But if you’re the kinda person that spends two or three weeks in the bush in all kinds of weather. A hot tent is definitely the way to go.

I went with Whiteduck Outdoors right off the bat for my pups, since I travel with oversized rug rats I didn't see the RTT as an option. I'm now thinking about changing it up a bit with the OZTENT RV5. I really like the quick setup compared to setting up the canvas tent.

 

[CR-Venturer]

Funny enough, since my initial post in this thread, I actually did acquire a new rig, an 06 Dodge Dakota V8, and subsequently an incredible deal on a clamshell RTT came up, and I ended up buying it.


Having lots of experience with ground tents and my cot tent, I have to say, I absolutely love it. It is hands down the most comfortable sleep I've had outdoors, and I have used it on multi day trips in temps ranging from +30c with high winds down to -15c and loved it all the way along. I love how fast it is to set up and take down, and how I can leave my sleep kit inside between camp spots.

It certainly has some drawbacks, but well worth the tradeoff in my opinion.

 

[freak4life]

This is a pro gun vs anti gun discussion. nobodies mind is getting changed.
Edit:This is like a pro gun vs anti gun, pro life vs anti abortion, RTT vs ground tent, nobody is changing sides. You do you.

New edit: Pro-life and anti-abortion is the same thing, just saying. :)

 

[freak4life]

Funny enough, since my initial post in this thread, I actually did acquire a new rig, an 06 Dodge Dakota V8, and subsequently an incredible deal on a clamshell RTT came up, and I ended up buying it.

Having lots of experience with ground tents and my cot tent, I have to say, I absolutely love it. It is hands down the most comfortable sleep I've had outdoors, and I have used it on multi day trips in temps ranging from +30c with high winds down to -15c and loved it all the way along. I love how fast it is to set up and take down, and how I can leave my sleep kit inside between camp spots.

It certainly has some drawbacks, but well worth the tradeoff in my opinion.

I would never get a Dodge, way to many issues, when dark, wet or drunk. :)

 

[CR-Venturer]

I would never get a Dodge, way to many issues, when dark, wet or drunk. :)

I'm quite happy with it. It's my poor man's tacoma. Very similar specs, $63,000 cheaper.

 

[Sea Diamond]

A bit of an old thread but I'll add my $0.02 for what it's worth...

We do extensive touring with an RTT. We're actually 1 month into a tour right now. Last year we did a solid 5 month tour as well as the year before. We've been in some of the worst conditions I have ever experienced...and yes, not pleasant but we have survived. Both my wife and myself are mindful of the ladder...but so far so good (I'm in my 60's). Literally packs up in minutes and keeps us away from stinging ants and venomous snakes. All our bedding stays inside so no worries there. It folds aft which in my opinion is a big advantage...provides shelter for the back and our kitchen can come off either side. We're on our 2nd fly because the original one died from UV.

Anyways...we plan on sticking with this setup for a few years still and, at that point, convert a Nissan Coaster for a more comfortable experience.

 

[SWLands]

^^That is a great camp site!

OK, I have a roofnest falcon and it packs down, as in there is no room for bedding. I only sleep one body up there - if I have company they get the choice of the rtt or the gazelle with cot. So I am toying with getting a custom mattress that is half the width and using the rest of the space to store sleeping gear and clothes. I hate having weight on top, but the convenience and speed of set up is amazing. And in a wind I have got up in the dark to turn the rig into the wind which really calms down the flapping which would be way worse in a ground tent. I can also sleep inside my rig, but that needs maybe 10 minutes to reposition some bins. Truthfully I could lose the rtt and sleep inside. They all work. It is a classic first world problem.