Roof top tents yay or nay?

I love the go fast. Just can't justify the cash.

 

Rumors are a terrible thing...

I have 30K+ miles on my 17 TRDOR with a Ruggedized Tepui (the HEAVY one) with a stout, steel rack. It's been all over the southwest on some of the nastiest roads and trails in both 120 degree heat and sub zero temperatures. A good friend of mine has the same setup (but the XL tent which weighs even more) with well over 100K on his 16 TRDOR and beats the absolute piss out of it.

There is ZERO flexing or bedside spreading on either.

 

You know what bends beds? Driving like you're contending in Baja with weight on the sides. All these fools complaining about bent beds know exactly how it happens.

 

I always though girth was the spreading factor, not weight

 

The bigger the cushion, the better the pushin’

 

It's not complete rumor mill. Others have had it happen. Toppers do it too. That's partly why there's such a big market for bed stiffners.

 

Haha, no.

Pretty comical you think you know what my “problem” with ground camping is.

My reasons for the RTT are several fold, and I’ve refined the system with this truck for 12 years and thousands of miles traveled.

I’ve stopped the error of my ways for the decades prior to this truck as well, no wasted space, everything is ergonomically packed and stored.

1. I travel with a woman with sciatica and I’m 42 y.o. and been swinging a hammer for 25 of that and played contact sports from 12 to 38. I’m in a perpetual state of sore.

There is no option where an air mattress isn’t used.

I haven’t used the cheap ones for years, it’s either a thermarest for backpacking or an Exped Megamat for the RTT

The megamat is fucking luxury. Self inflates, takes up minimal space in the tent when closed and we sleep better on it than the memory foam mattress at home.

2. Ground tents, regardless of footprint on the ground, take up more space in camp. Try convincing my wife we’re going to use the two person.

Though a minimal amount, they also take up more space in the truck. Without the RTT though we also have pillows, sleeping bags, an air mattress and a spare blanket or two

Once you pack water/fuel cans, propane, fridge (required for wife’s dietary needs/medication), cooler (required for beer/alcohol/mixers), drybags, gear boxes, chairs, table, stuff for the dog and every stinking other thing under the sun to appease the lady, not a lot of room left.

I don’t roll a canopy/topper anymore either because the rack is way more useful for work plus way easier to pack/unpack/access stuff.

The rack’s downside is it isn’t dry, this another issue with a ground tent.

3. Time/convenience/cleanliness

Regardless of what you say about ease of use, the RTT is faster setup and takedown than a ground tent.

I usually have it fully deployed with the rain fly rods up in less than 3 minutes, timed it once for shits.

Takedown is the exact same in reverse but a little slower because hey, who’s in a rush to go home?

Convenience being I’m not bent over, packing a tent in the dirt, back sore as hell from sleeping on the ground.

Also when deployed, we always have a patch of 48”x56” to sit under for shade or cover in heavy rain.

Lastly, everything stays cleaner. Shoes off at the entry, clothes out of the dirt, no sleeping bags getting tossed on the ground waiting to get packed.

 

I think I'd just get a teardrop or A-frame trailer.

 

https://overlandtested.com/gear/ground-tent-vs-rtt

 

So it looks like we’ve not made any progress on the shit slinging pissing contest yet, eh?
The GT guys still hate RTT’s. The RTT guys still hate the GT’s. The hammock, bivy, and under the star guys still hate the GT’s & RTT’s. And the all of the above guys still cannot get the point across that each system has pros and cons?

Seems like you use what shelter system you want, and what is most appropriate for the situation and conditions you plan to encounter.
As long as you pack out what you pack in, appreciate the outdoors for their intrinsic value, and respect the rights of those around you, then it doesn’t matter what the people in the next camp site are using for shelter. Is it really worth the division in our Toyota Tacoma community to argue about sleeping shelters?
I suppose it’s just a sign of the times when people hide behind a keyboard and spew hatred.
I’m not saying we all need to sit around a campfire, join hands, and sing Kumbaya, but this is ridiculous. Didn’t your mothers ever teach you that if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all?

Spiel Done. I’m out.

 

^^^^ This is the most passive aggressive and hate-filled post in this thread.

We are all having a good chin-wag at each other, with the requisite jabs and pokes to keep things fun and lively. I don’t think it divides us, I think it strengthens the bond between Toyota lovers when we can disagree and remain bros.

Like fuck.....what is this safe world we are shooting for? Fuck that (no offence)

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=unkIVvjZc9Y

 

TL;DR



Nice stickers though

 

Whatever gets you outside is what wins

 

Sage advice!

 

Currently sleeping in the ARB swag, raining outside pretty comfortable inside

 

I always use this logic when camping with my truck.

If Im going to have a ground tent, I better be able to stand up in it and change. That means Im getting an OZtent. I dont have one of those, i do have an RTT, so that what I will use. I have a backpacking 3 person tent for me and the wife when we decide to do that (few times per year)

 

wow. so much insecurity and agony. I'm an MT owner, but it has nothing to do with my being really, really crazy manly. It's quite simply the superior transmission for this vehicle (no argument-and yes I love it in traffic)

you know what I think? I think all this RTT owner angst comes from the need to justify an inferior option that costs exponentially more than the alternative. The math just doesn't work out.

 

Hey man, I was just curious to hear what guys thought of their RTTs (because *blush* they look like fun tree houses)

Then someone shat on MT owners and I'm like:

"I think all these butthurt RTT owners just have nagging buyers remorse, a long history of not quite being cool enough, and the worry that some jackass is going to laugh at them for laddering themselves up onto the roof of their vehicle into a $3500 moldy canvas satchel like some frightened monkey."

Don't mess with my stick, son

 

By any chance did you see or listen to the new Joe Rogan experience podcast with Kevin hart ? Kevin hart told a story about Patrice o'Neil. He was such a hater he once threw a phone book on stage to Kevin hart and told him to read it because it's better than the jokes he was saying.

 

Lol Patrice. We’re kindred spirits