Expected Resale for Roof top tents

you are right and it’s kind of a pain to take on and off the truck in between trips. The Yakima is probably one of the easier one to mount and it’s still kind of a pain in the ass.

I feel a lot do it for the cool factor. Back to ground tents for me as well.

 

It would seem to me that they'd become a PITA if you wanted to use your truck to do truck things. Example the misses wants to buy a few trees, bags of mulch and patio chairs at Home Depot and they won't fit in her Subaru.

 

I dipped my toe into the RTT game with a used Smittybuilt from Craigslist. $500 in new condition but smells a little like a campfire when first opened. I have been mounting it to the racks on my topper but want to try the Frontrunner quick mounts to put it on the cab-rack.

Reality is that it takes between 3-5 mins to remove the cover, open up and insert the poles (depends on who’s “helping” me). I’d say 7-10 min to pack up. I don’t mind, as I’ve been setting up ground tents my whole life and I welcome the change. Packing up a wet ground tent has to be one of my least favorite chores.
We’ve had the RTT for a year now and I have still not had a chance to sleep in it...because my wife and daughters love it! The kids want to go out every weekend and explore somewhere, go Mtn Biking, even just sleep in it in the driveway. I’ve put it on my wife’s minivan for her to take to Triathlons. It has really been great for them.
So, I still end up setting up a ground tent or sleeping diagonally on the platform under the topper, but I have no regrets because it keeps the family interested in truck camping. For the kids, I think of it as a $500 tree house with resale value, and I’m sure I would spend way more building them an actual tree house!
Just my .02.

 

They are great. Only knock is they pack up long. The T4 size is too long, packed up, for the short bed Taco of you want to slide it straight in. Nicest thing about them is the construction. Every zipper etc it top notch. Most of all, they come with a very high quality bag that they easily (!) pack back into. Nice to have the high square roof too so you can be inside the tent on a cot if you want to. Ours is a T3 size, which is big enough for two really.

When you get home you can set it up in the garage or wherever for a week or whatever is needed to thoroughly dry out. They never go moldy due to this.

 

I have a 3 and 4 year old. My thoughts exactly. I would have thought that was the coolest thing when I was a kid. Some things that seem silly are great motivators for kids. If it gets them out of the house on the weekend, I'm all over it.

 

What did you sell your Tepui for ? I have the same one, I purchased new in 2015.

Kind of on the same predicament. It was cool at first and really enjoyed it, but now with a large dog, and a baby the novelty kind of wore off. Wanting to go back to a ground tent, also I always hated that you could leave your camp without packing up the tent and all your shit.

 

Do you mean how much did I sell it for , or why did I sell it?

 

Man and you are in prime selling area too. I just moved from CA..........

 

$1500-$4000 for a RTT,no thanks,my $200 Coleman does just fine.

 

Yup kinda crazy...........

 

Watch in 5 years we will all realize how ridiculous and impractical they are

 

I actually made $200 more than I paid for when I sold my used Tepui tent. All depends on timing I guess.

 

How much ?

 

It has been a while but I think I sold it for $1000........

 

I said the same thing when saw my first "bottled water".

It's absolutely a trend, but trends are fun. By their very definition, they shake up what we normally do and give us a different perspective for a while. Is $2000 for a tent silly? Sure, but it's a good motivator, and if it gets you out there, it's worth it.

 

We all know the meme


But you spend your money where it makes you happy.

I've had an RTT for 3 years now and I do prefer it after years of camping in ground tents. I got it used on CL for a good deal.

I don't think I would've spent thousands on a new one, but after this one wears out I will have no qualms buying a new one in the $1500-$2000 range.

My wife loves it and my sons used to but now they prefer their hammocks.

Mine is only mounted when I am going to use it. It hangs on the wall in the garage when not in use.

This year I will be mounting it on a trailer that I've just about finished so that I won't be tied to the campsite.

They have their place just as ground tents and hammocks do (hard to hike with an RTT on your back )

Good deals are available if you are patient, but be ready to jump fast as a good deal will be gone very quickly.

The guy I bought mine from said he had 3 other people who called after me wanting it so of course I couldn't really negotiate him down, but I knew it was already a really good deal so I bought it.

 

What did you pay for it new ? I think mine was around $1300 new Canadian

 

That's a nice setup there. I was also thinking of RTT for some time , but the mobility thing mentioned in the Overland Bound video has stopped me from going that route.
I really am starting to like the Gazelle tents and more so the Australian Swags when going without the wife.

 

OP they are available for <50% of original price if you've not in a hurry.
I waited for the right deal and it happened. A few months ago I bought a lightly used
Tepui Explorer Series Kukenam 3 from a guy on TW for $750. They retail for $1495 + shipping.
I could of bought a new one, but Why? Found a nice used one and picked up another stack of silver instead having to buy new.
There are pros and cons to each system RTT vs ground tents. Neither is best for every application.
RTT are quicker, simpler to set up, our sleeping pads,sheets,blankets,pillows and some clothes are kept in the tent, so once the tent is open and setup, 5 mins. We're ready to sleep if needed. Than when we're ready to break camp it's also quicker.
If we need to set a camp than drive places we'll use our north face tent, but it's 20-30 mins to setup with sleeping pads, bedding, pillows and gear.
We bought a gazelle tent a couple of yrs ago it a little quicker because of the hub setup, but still a lot more labor intensive than a RTT. Also they're a little awkward getting in and out of because of the door opening.
Honestly most of the time we travel in our 34' motor home and pull a CRV, we just can't get into the back county as easily.
JMHO. For whatever it's worth.

 

I've had my CVT for 7 years now, still haven't had that realization Might put it up for sale soon to take a little bit of the sting out of buying an iKamper.