Soft Shell vs. Hard Shell RTT

I actually watched that video last night. Definitely seems faster. I also concur. My set up is stupid fast for a soft shell. Most of the time I only set up the front to get in and out and leave the rest of the windows down. Tearing down is the real pain where you end up lifting and tucking material and getting the cover back on.

 

I'll figure that out when I get it. Also the weight made it appealing aswell. The weight is starting to add up and will be regearing soon anyway

 

Oh 100% a concern as well. I have armor, rack, and 180 lbs of tent up high. My friend bought a stock TRD OR and this dude was flying over a trail while I was crawling and hitting skid plates. My stock suspension can no longer adequately handle the 4 or 500 lbs I have constantly strapped to this truck lol

 

Yep mines starting to feel like a pig especially on 33s. Knew that tho going into it. Excited to get my hardshell on the week of the 15th of oct

 

I needs me a lift that will handle the weight, and 33's. I'm not even concerned about regearing at this point lol. A suspension that won't have me bouncing around all over the trail and fading sounds amazing.

 

For background, I started with a Tepui Ayer --> moved to a ChandlerDoom Hardshell --> now a drifter.

If I were looking at RTTs again, 100% i would go hardshell.

Don't get me wrong, softshells are awesome, but the convenience of not having to stuff all of the fabric into the clamshell and put the soft cover on top and try to zipper it closed (possibly, wet or dirty/muddy) is worth the extra money for a hardshell to me. It wasn't so much the extra time to close the softshell vs hardshell that bugged me, rather, closing the softshell felt more involved stuffing fabric and possibly getting dirty from the cover in the process.

 

Thanks for the input! I am 100% a camper of convenience. Truck gets leveled, tent goes up, pull out the cooler, and stove on the tail gate, chair by the fire and I'm ready to roll. Also keeps my tear down times quick, but now the soft shell is getting to be a real pain as I am now camping more often in bad weather.

 

I thought long and hard about this but yes it is definitely worth it.
I have a go fast camper and while it seems expensive break it down and it’s totally worth it
A nice color matched shell with windoors is around 2500-3000$
And than a nice hard shell roof top tent is another 3-4000$
Go fast was about 7000$ So you get the best of both worlds
But man is it nice to get to camp and have your tent setup in under 1 minute. It’s also really nice not having to worry about all my shit getting stolen out of the back when I’m say parked at the trailhead in the middle of nowhere. Which could happen with a rtt on a bedrack

Edit I know your question wasn’t about gofasts
But a hard shell is definitely worth it
Also more aero dynamic for gas mileage concerns

 

I'm the same way, hence the drifter on my truck. Doesn't save you much time switching but feels so much easier and less "stressful" (for the lack of a better word) with a hardshell.

 

I was looking at GFC's stuff too. My only issue was either driving super far to have it installed, or spending the extra 1400 for their white glove delivery. I kind of liked the shell + same style RTT idea not only because it was slightly cheaper but they seem easier to get rid of individually if I ever swapped or sold the truck.

question though...how much higher off the roof or the shark fin does the GFC sit? Fitting in my garage is a big factor too.

 

Yoooooo, that VERY interesting. It hangs over the cab on a short bed though, yeah?

 

90 inches long

https://gofastcampers.com/superlite-roof-tent/#checkout-sl-tent

My only concern is fabric weight and if those windows are storm proof. Otherwise its cheap, light, and only 6 inches thick.

***shipping not included in price***

 

Gfcs sell like hot cakes.
Gfc has their own forum and people post them for sale maybe once a week and they are usually sold within a day or two.
And the drive to get it installed makes for one hell of a road trip!

my favorite part about the gfc is the ability to remove the floor in the camper and have standing room inside when you get caught in nasty weather
But whatever you do I say hard shell is definitely the way to go.

 

Oh good to know! I'll have to check out the GFC forum as well. Do you happen to know how tall the top of the tent is away from the sharkfin antenna?

 

Do you know the overall height difference between softshell and hardshell? Looks maybe 1-2" higher with the hardshell. I want to mount a hardshell the same way but my garage isnt that high.

 

Same issue here! Take a look at one of my previous posts. I've measured and crap so many times for my 7 ft garage. I believe if you can mount the hard shell low enough you'll have plenty of room for a lift and bigger tires. Just that he did mention it messes up his antenna signal. Not an issue for my running an aftermarket headunit with android auto pulling all that data from my phone.

 

I have never once used my radio or xm so I'm not concerned, unless the GPS is in there too. Even then I barely use the OEM head unit for GPS.

 

GPS might be in there...I'm not sure. Honestly if I could get rid of the shark fin and just plug the hole I would and then mount a tent even lower, but I've yet to find any stubby or delete things on it. I can just run the aftermarket radio antenna on the dash if I really cared for it.

 

iKamper mini fits perfectly within the dimensions of a shortbed 3rd gen. If the budget isn't a deciding factor, I myself would prefer to have a hardshell; something sturdy that I don't have to worry about, or material to hassle with.

 

The GPS antenna should be in the dash somewhere under the windshield.

Uptop makes something but it's quite pricy. I would shave the antenna if I went this route and print something to cover it.

https://www.uptopoverland.com/products/uptop-thinfin