*THE RTT Owners Thread (With BS)*

That's awesome with the kid! I was at a camp ground last year to finish up a trip with my family and a guy that had been looking at it all day asked where I bought it. The place I bought it was an hour away, he got in his SUV and went and bought one! That made me laugh, they defiantly draw a crowd.

 

I'm new to the Top Tent idea but from the pictures I've seen online, it looks awesome. Anybody have any advice on the pros/cons of specific brands and mounting options (over bed/over cab)? What about rack options with a tonneau cover on the bed? Will these top tents mount on standard Thule/Yakima type rails or are some mods needed if you put the tent over the cab? Finally, how about storage racks..I've seen pictures of the style that crank the tent up to the ceiling for storage..any advice on where to get those or what types are best?


Thanks for the inputs.

 

Cvt sells a pulley system for lifting tents to ceilings

 

Easy enough to rig something up as well, hard ware store and an afternoon with a few beers. That's my goal when i get a garage.... sighhh

As for racks most good ones will support them, keep in mind the tents weight 130-150lbs alone. So a rack must be solid to hold that weight, plus whatever force of wind you have while driving. Then of course when you are in it.

If you're looking at CVT they sell racks they trust to support the weight. Ill push CVT as i did lots of research and just bough tone myself.

Tonneau covers can be a bit of a job.... the fold ones are for sure a no go, as for the soft ones you might be able to get it to work around the rack, perhaps with some cutting. I researched alot on the tonneau with a rack and decided to give up due to its complexity and my ends goals.

 

Thanks guys. I just took a look at the CVT site. Looks like they have some great options. What made you choose CVT over something like the Compact Camping site's MOAB or Tepui ones? Just curious. Thanks

 

What she said!

And every review I have read about cvt products has been spectacular.

The group buy made it "awesomer"

 

I didn't participate in the group buy for CVT as planned but what they both said. I agree.

 

Tepui is way better than anything else on the market. People are excellent!

 

Bobby also has some great features coming out soon which will be setting his product apart from the rest.

 

I have a tepui because I could get the local at a really good price if you have a soft topper dealer around you typically you can get one with no shipping costs. I would just go with the one you can et the best deal on. I know the fan boys of certain brands don't believe so but they are all VERY similar. I use mine a lot, even through winter and in the summer I'll use it several times a month so I never take mine off. I have Yakima racks and they do
Just fine. I'm 230lbs and my wife and daughter are in my tent with me a lot. I would make sure it's something you will use before you drop the cash on one. I wish the rugged version of the tepui tents would have been out when I bought mine. I know cvt has a lot of add ons which is nice that someone is putting time into the RTT market.

 

I like my tepui and have had a great experience there. As far as quality they are top notch. CVT is good too though. I have a group buy going right now with tepui if you are looking for a discount. Check it out in my SIG.

 

Get the one you can get the best deal on...

Most are very similar but thats just my opinion..

 

^^^^ this

 

Finally got a good pic of my setup out in the field. Tepui Kukenam and ARB awning. The RTT behind me is also a Kukenam. Mine is mounted on a modified custom bed rack that was originally designed for a soft topper. When the RTT is not installed, it has 2 recessed baskets that bolt on the top. The front basket holds my spare tire and the rear basket holds 2 large storage trunks.

 

Looking for some advice on mounting a RTT on my '12 Tacoma...I'd like to put it over the bed but I have a Pace Edwards roll away cover on my bed and would need a good solution to mount a bed rack over that (if possible)...Any ideas?

Otherwise, I guess I can put the RTT over the cab but here's the follow on question...
The THULE site shows the max load for my fit kit / bars as 110 lbs??? Obviously with us in the tent and the tent weight itself, we'll be well above 110 lbs. What are most folks using to mount the tent over the cab?

Thanks for the help guys.

Rob

 

Thule's weight rating is designed for the maximum speed that your vehicle will be traveling. With the wind resistance that increases the stresses of 110lbs to way more than that. I've never seen a "this is how much weight the roof rack can hold while parked" but me, my g/f, and our dog sleep in ours and there is absolutely no worry in my mind about the amount of weight on the roof rack.

I also believe that the weight rating is for a fixed point on the rack. for example if you were carrying a heavy piece of pipe it will have a small contact patch on the roof rack, and the rack will bend if too much weight is applied. With a Roof top tent the weight is spread out much more evenly.

 

excellent point Josh.

The Thule system is a proven winner for the cab.

My only concern is adding the rail system to a cap that was not specifically built to handle one - I can see running into an issue going that route.
For the cab Thule or Yakima make in happen.