Why are RTT's so expensive?

I lament as the RTT fad begins to fade, every landfill in the western world will be filled to the brim with rooftop tents.

I see far more disadvantages to them than advantages:

- once a RTT is set up you can't use or move your vehicle.

- once you are back from your rain-soaked trip you either have to remove the RTT from the vehicle (two man job?), or leave the vehicle parked while the tent drys out.

- you are up in the wind and cold.

- your center of gravity is made higher, creating a less safe vehicle on the highway and off-road.

-you need a flat area large enough for your vehicle to also be able to pitch your RTT. Most of your camping will be in the parking lot, not down by the lake.

- the idea the RTT will protect you from bears is completely false, and basically feeds the modern couch-potato's irrational fear of the outdoors, while not protecting then from the real hazards. Millions and millions of men and women slept outside in ground tents for years and years during the settlement of North America, and in the past 100 years of recreational camping so did millions of families. They were not all eaten by bears, but may have better understood you can't sleep with a side of bacon in your tent. If a bear or wolves want to get into your RTT, you're not going to win. They just stroll up your hood and they are in. Don't sleep with bacon.

- on a muddy or dusty trail, your tent is now muddy and dusty (at least the cover which you must now remove).

- they seriously reduce your fuel economy if they are high mounted, and they take up all your bed space if they are low mounted.


All in all, I think the greatest selling feature of RTTs is simply that they prey upon modern people's fear of the outdoors, so they provide some sort of perceived "safety" due to their attachment to the vehicle, and most people have an irrational notion that ground tents are hard to set up based on old Peanuts cartoons or something. Modern ground tents are totally great in design, compact, lightweight, inexpensive, and set up in no time at all. Don't drink the Kool-aid on the RTT. They are for dweebs .

 

Smitty built makes and sells some good quality ones under 1,000

 

"Don't sleep with bacon."

 

Best kind of sleeping

 

But I do it for the gram

 

I have to take mine off when not in use because the truck is my daily driver and I can not fit in my parking deck at work. So I did this to store and make remount.

 

Nah, pretty sure I can drive to Wyoming...

 

But bacon makes everything better.

 

I've driven with my RTT open.

 

???

 

You apparently don't know that Wyoming is the source of all wind.

 

lol no i was not aware

 

Those are pretty excellent points, I think I may save some money and stick to my regular tent.

 

A point missed so far is that RTTs and other "overland" gear is priced and manufactured for people with disposable incomes.

There's nothing wrong with wanting to use your extra income to buy a RTT to take your $40k truck out in the woods to live like you would in a third world country. I find it relaxing. But pretending $2k is a lot for a tent when people drop $60k+ all-in for a fully equipped overland rig is silly.

If you think RTTs are expensive and not worth the cost, you're not the target market. Use a tent, or just sleep in a camper top.


I personally fall into the category of being outside the target market. I don't particularly understand the appeal of an RTT at the cost point. I actually am shocked there's not more options like the Flip-pac in the $4-6k price range. They have the utility (weatherproof cargo storage) of my current ARB topper with the added function of an RTT.


I've mocked up a pop-up camper shell that mounts on a DCLB with the tailgate removed, providing about 8' length, 5.5' width, and 6'4" height inside. I have the skills, tools, and experience to fabricate it, just not the time. My BOM show materials cost around $2k. Labor on the other hand, is why the flip-pac and RTTs are costly. It's not cheap to fabricate anything like this time-wise.

Here's an early prototype skp, the final version is still being polished:



I'll make a build thread when I get around to it, I have a couple other projects lined up first.

 

Second to last real logging road I drove , I saw 28 bears within 180km.


Things are different in British Columbia Canada compared to Long Island i guess.

Any extra seconds you can have to take action is beneficial. Just my opinion.

 

lol at bears on long island...
yes, different indeed my friend...
and props for you for setting up camp with bears already in your sites!!!
I lived in Tahoe for some time in my younger years so no stranger to bears myself

 

In the chance that this isn't hyperbole, for your safety and everyone's around you, get a gunlight and review the firearm safety rules; namely know your target and what lies behind it.

 

Just thought i would post that in my search for rtts today i came across a company called core dynamics rtt canada. There tents range from 900-2000$. If u factor in exchange rate you basically get an instant 30% off making a 2k tent actually 1400.

Food for thought!

 

They are absurd. I agree on all points. I have an access cab, and I can drive from coast to coast (and have) camping my way across the country with kit that doesn't require moving my "habitat" upstairs.