*THE RTT Owners Thread (With BS)*

I'd go with Yakima Tracks with cap nuts (NOT plus nuts). Get the 60" tracks off Amazon for ~$100 and cut them down to an exact fit for length. I did this to my old snugtop and had zero issues. Measure a lot before drilling...and make sure you drill the correct number of holes (not every single hole). I put the same tracks on my RTT trailer build too.

I'm partial to BajaRack as that's what I've got on both the cab and shell (had bajarack on my FJ too) but there are other options out there.

 

Thanks for the reply. I was just looking at the Yakima Tracks on REI's website. Thanks for the info in cutting the 60"ers down.

 

Looks great! Thanks for the order. #teamtepui

 

So I have been looking into the hard shell tents over the past few days.

The cheapest one seems to be the BigFoot Explorer, however, their website is garbage the the tent is listed at $2476, which is "52% Off" from their "regular price" of $5200+. Seems sketchy, and their sale countdown just keeps restarting. This is the most expensive price point for these hard shell tents, and $1200+ more than a well established and well known quality of James Baroud. Also, as someone mentioned here, those tents are always around $2400, they just put a higher price on top and crossed it out, to make it look like a sale. So, right off the bat this seems like rather unethical way to sell the product.

Then i find this thread from 2013. Dude rolls in here and starts advertising these tents, like they are the best thing since invention of sliced bread. His entire post history is shilling for Big Foot Tents.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/bigfoot-roof-top-tents-rtt.273398/

Then I find this post on Expedition Portal. It's from 2015, but the same dude rolls in and starts shilling for the company again. Immediately gets called out for the TW thread and disappears.

http://forum.expeditionportal.com/threads/139837-Bigfoot-Tents

Reading other reviews on Expedition Portal, Big Foot Tents is a mass produced, low quality Chinese tent. Obviously the $2500 price point of a hard shell tent should've been the first red flag, but yeah, seems like we should be staying away from this company/brand. I'd rather wait and save some more to drop an extra $1000-$1500 on a quality, than waste $2500 on a garbage tent.

 

I have a Leer 100XQ that I picked up used and did not have rails on it. I was super scared to drill it, but I really wanted PrInSu rack, so I ended up picking up a used set of Yakima rails for $20 and a set of mounting hardware from eTailer

https://www.etrailer.com/Accessories-and-Parts/Yakima/Y8810155.html

Ended up much easier than I thought it would be, but make sure you use a sharp bit, drill away from the edge of the honey comb that the roof of the shell is made of and use one of these to make sure your holes are perfectly straight

$7 Milescraft 1312 Drill Block - Handheld Drilling Guide, Drilling Jig with Drill Guides for 6 of the Most Common Drill Bit Sizes, Precision Drilling Tool Accessory

https://www.amazon.com/Milescraft-1312-Drill-Block/dp/B00F1ZJFZK/

Oh, also use some good RTV silicone

$6 Permatex 80050 Clear RTV Silicone Adhesive Sealant, 3 oz

https://www.amazon.com/Permatex-80050-Silicone-Adhesive-Sealant/dp/B0002UEPVI

Oh, also, my shell is an older design and roof gutters tapered in the back, so I installed the tracks parallel to the gutters. While that may work with other racks, it was a bit of a pain in the ass to install PrInSu racks on tapered tracks, but so far so good. Over a year in, its holding up really well, holds my CVT Mr. Shasta just fine and hasn't leaked or head any other issues.

 

Perfect. Thank you for the info.

Did you get the 60" or 54" tracks?

 

It has been done. Just ordered the Tuff Stuff "Ranger" Overland Rooftop Tent, Annex Room, Awning & LED Light Combo. I can't wait to get everything installed and go out camping with the family. I'll post pictures when I get everything installed.

 

Does anyone see a problem with using the Yakima kit to support my new RTT? This kit has the cap nut hardware.

Yakima 54" Hardtop Track Kit

https://www.amazon.com/Yakima-54-In...5&sr=8-2-fkmr0&keywords=yakima+60+inch+tracks

Camper top is a LEER 100XR and the truck is a short bed.

 

Well, I finally jumped in and got my bed rack written up for my RTT (a CVT Mt. Shasta that I still need to write up). Was my first foray into welding so took a bit longer than it probably needed to, and of course it took me forever to actually write it up, but it turned out pretty nice. Thanks to @Box Rocket for the rack inspiration!

Building the Bed Rack (did someone say "new tools"?)

​

 

Nice! I've got the same one and love it! Enjoy!

 

I, personally, would go with Thule, just because they use rectangular tubing for their cross bars vs. Yakima round crossbars. Rectangle tubing is much* (debatable and depends on the application) stronger. I know for the most of things Yakima sells round tubing is OK, but you are looking at 120+ lb tent, plus 1 or more humans in it. I would go with something stronger.

 

Kit looks good to me. To add to @pruchai's post...the strength of the bars has a lot more to do with the thickness and material than shape I'd think (thick round tubing vs thin rectangular or vice-versa). An argument can also be made on domes being stronger than squares but that's way off topic. With that being said, I'm currently using Thule feet and bars with Yakima tracks on my trailer until I decide what direction I'm going with the rack on the trailer. I've had no issues with this setup.

 

I've got that setup (w/round bars) on my Snugtop with no problems.

 

Me and my wife are looking at getting a rtt. She's been googling and likes the hard shell bigfoot tent.
http://www.bigfoottents.com/hard-shell-roof-top-tent-white.html

Anybody here have experience with this type? Without me having to search this entire thread. Thanks in advance. I'd prefer the soft ones but we shall see. I also question the hard top availability in Canada.

 

Found this.

 

Same page ffs.

 

Thank you guy's for all your advise. I'm going to go with the Yakima kit and I can make changes down the road if I see any problems.

 

Anyone know if this: http://www.gofsr.com/product/fsr-series-original-roof-top-tent-annex/

would attach to this: http://odindesigns.com/shop/type-s/

 

Just bought these

POWER PRACTICAL Luminoodle - The Original LED Light Rope for Camping - 5ft Waterproof USB Powered LED String Lights + Lantern for Hiking, Safety, Emergencies

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0198VDWPQ/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

$43 Reliance Products FOLD-to-GO Folding Portable Camping Toilet | 300 Pound Capacity | Compact & Lightweight

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0024OAQ3Q/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Portable Pop up Tent Camping Beach Toilet Shower Changing Room Outdoor Bag Green

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AZ0ZO56/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

for my trip saturday for 5 days off grid! Woot Im stoked

If anyone is in Grand canyon, zion, bryce canyon, or joshua tree halla

 

I have a cvt annex I don't use if you wanna try and see if it fits.