Roof top tend and rack help!!!

THX EVERYONE FOR THE QUICK RESPONSES!

Now that I know my rack will work any preferences on which brand to go with? It'll be for two adults and two kids. Been looking at CVT, and smitty built tents. Again I know nothing about the tents. Lol.

How long do they usually last for??

 

Thank you for offering to build one. And thank you for complimenting on my rig.

 

Check out this thread for more info than you can ever hope to absorb about RTTs:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/the-rtt-owners-thread-with-bs.312269/

From what I can tell, they are all pretty much the same. I've got a CVT and love it. Tepui owners seem to love theirs. Same with Smittybuilt. It's the kind of thing where they all come out of different doors at the same factory, if you get my drift.

The bigger decision IMO is really whether you're going to go with a "traditional" soft RTT, or a hardshell pop-up style, a wedge-style, or one of the hard-side opening style. I don't really have experience with anything but the soft "traditional" style from CVT.

As far as longevity - that's 100% based on how well you take care of it. My "pioneer series" CVT is ~3 years old now and still looks and works like new, with over 250 tent-nights in that time. Other folks spend a couple nights a year in theirs, bring their dog inside, put the tent away wet, and get only a handful of uses out of it.

 

Do you research and follow the guide above, you’ll be fine.

I’d say there are a few exceptions when it comes to a few soft shell RTT brands. Howling moon and Eezi-awn are high quality but come with a high price tag.

I went from a smittybilt to a Eezi-awn and it’s a world of difference when you look at the stitching and zippers etc.

Keep in mind with you have 2 kids, A standard two person with annex will work. Kids sleep in annex

 

That depends on your budget. CVT, Tepui are the better known "high end" RTTs, but there are other brands too. I'd say Smitybilt, being ~half the cost of a CVT/Tepui you're not likely to find the same quality. Someone did a pretty detailed "honest review" of their smitybilt a while ago. Search around for that one.

The more budget friendly tents, just like anything else, will more than likely work perfectly fine for a majority of people. However the more you intend to use it, the more you should plan to spend.

Having two kids, I'd definitely plan to take a drive to a place with a showroom of various tents and try them out and see what works best.

 

Alright guys so my RTT came in. went with the smaller Smittybilt. From first impressions seem really nice. Time will tell though!

My question is if I'm replacing the aluminum rails that secure the tent to the bed rack with steel 1x2 tube and putting L brackets on do those have to be the same length? I know the tent hangs off the rack all the way around the rack but just don't want to lose structure and make it unsafe.

Only reason I'm asking is cuz I have 8ft of 1x2 laying around already. The 4ft per side will pass the base of the tent by 2" on each side. So theyll be 3" shorter on ea side than the original aluminum rails.

Below is a pic of what I'm doing with the L brackets. Just seems sturdier and looks more appealing.

 

I wouldn't remove the aluminum channel if I were you - definitely not if you're just going to put 1x2 steel down there. All you're doing at that point is adding weight; the steel isn't stronger than the aluminum in any sort of way that is going to make a difference (in that situation).

Now, as for securing the tent differently than the "stock" way - that's totally understandable. Using some angle is a great idea - I've done that myself. But do it with the aluminum channel, so you get the support of the channel and the adjustability of the little sliding dohickies.

Here's where I did it, so you can see how I worked it. Note how the AL channel and the little dohickies that slide into it are still in service, but mounted to the angle.

Eeking Out Another Inch Under the Bed Rack

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Everyone and their mother that owns an RTT have used the aluminum rails that come with the tent; if they didn't work the manufacturer wouldn't use them.

 

My opinion... HORRIBLE idea.

The aluminum track is connected to the bottom of the tent over 4 to 8 screws, over the length (or width) of the tent. Which distributes the connection over a larger area.

The way the red circle is... it puts a point load on the screw in those specific places the screws are.

Eventually that guy will have problems with that, and it's not going to be easy to fix.

 

Makes sense. I'll keep it how it is but I'll probably just upgrade all the hardware to grade 8. Thx for the input!

 

Hey OP were did you get you tool box? How wide is it ? Sorry I know it's off topic. But I'm rack covers my bed box if I put the rack to far forward. So I'd like to get a narrower box that goes over the bed rails. Similar to what you have.

 

I have just ordered a rack from jerry at Bay Area fab but I agree with everyone that you will be fine. I am running the Smittybuilt XL with 2 adults and my two boys.