Best Roof Top Tent

Do you think a spray Scotch Guard over the tent itself might help your mold situation or mitigate it slightly!!?

 

Took me this long to decide but I went with a 23 Zero Walkabout 62. Picking it up net week. I’ll post after I have a few trips under my belt.

 

just get a kodiak or springbar tent. its thousands less, you can stand up in it. it can be set up in 5 minutes, roof top tents are for guys afraid of being eaten by bears, LOL

 

Please post. I'm lookin for a new (aka my first RTT), and am looking at these as well. What made you go with them over others?

 

Various reviews all over attesting to its quality. Company reputation for CS. The new black coating material that blocks light on the inside is a pretty bad ass feature also.

 

Bleh, gound tents suck after trying a RTT. And most RTTs are set up in 5 min or less as well. It is true you can't stand up in them though, unless you have a GFC style setup in which you can.

And I think bears are gonna eat me either way

 

If you're suggesting to spend over $1,000 on a tent that is not a RTT, maybe suggest one that is less expensive.

https://www.thenorthface.com/shop/wawona-6p-nf0a52ce?variationId=Z3U

More than 50% less than those you suggested, bigger, and weighs much less. Can also be setup in 5 minutes.

 

So a thread asking about the best RTT,

Sure, cause bears can’t climb trees or reach the top of a truck.

Maybe you should spend a little more tv time watching nature documentaries or something...

 

Buyer beware when it comes to Roam Adventure co. After alot of comparison, I chose the vagabond rtt from Roam because it seemed to be the best bang for the buck. Free shipping, included premium mattress and anti condensation pad, sky lights, etc.

Box arrived with minimal damage from their shipping partner -Fed-Ex Freight so I accepted the shipment.



Upon unboxing, it was apparent one of the corners took an impact during shipping, causing a tear in the fabric. Also a cover meant to protect the canvas from the bolt broke.



Reached out to them with pictures; They said its minor, and shouldn’t be a problem. They recommended me to purchase tent repair tape (I was pretty livid after spending almost 2k on a tent only to receive it damaged and their recommendation is to go buy another product to fix it..)

After some back and forth they finally gave me a tiny discount but I wouldn't say it makes up for the damage or frustration.

Other than that, it seems well built; comparable to my friends Tepui. However, I cant recommend Roam since they take zero accountability if your item is damaged in transit. If your set on one of their tents, go through a retailer; pick it up in person and inspect it. Or go with another product entirely. I wish I did.

 

I would blast them on every social media platform I frequented and never stop telling anyone who’d listen and was ever contemplating buying from them, if I were you.

That is a grade A, solidly Dick move on their part. One of the WORST customer service stories I’ve ever heard.

Edited to add: I would also find every YouTube video they are mentioned in and retell that story in the comments section...

 

For the sake of transparency, email trail. Names redacted for privacy.


On Thu, 4 Feb at 3:10 PM , (name redacted) <email address redacted> wrote:
Hi Roam team,

I received my tent today. The box seemed fine with no damage so I accepted the shipment from fed ex. After unboxing the tent, it looks like one of the corners took an impact which caused a tear in the tent fabric along with some minor damage to the plastic corner. I also noticed one of the caps for the center hinge bolt was cracked.

I already opened the box. I am not certain the best way to remedy the tear in the fabric and broken end cap. I have included pictures below.




Please let me know if you need anything else from me.

Thank you,
Mike

Sent from my iPhone


On Feb 5, 2021, at 1:57 PM, ROAM Adventure Co <hello@roamadventureco.com> wrote:

Hi Michael,
Thanks for reaching out! Bummer to hear about this! I went ahead and got this documented here for you and I will have the team review to see what can be done. In the meantime, could you send over a few pictures of the box as well? The team would need a few to review as well. Let me know!
Thanks,
(Name redacted)


On Fri, 5 Feb at 12:08 PM , (Name Redacted) <email address redacted> wrote:
Hi (name redacted),

I only got a couple of pictures of the box before opening. I didnt think of taking pictures of different angles of the box unfortunately. This is what I have.




Thanks,
Mike

Sent from my iPhone

On Feb 9, 2021, at 9:50 PM, ROAM Adventure Co <hello@roamadventureco.com> wrote:
Hi Mike,

Thank you for your patience! I did hear back from the team and they did advise that this was shipping damage for sure as we never send out our products in less than perfect condition. The team did let me know that you should be fine and the small tear should not affect the functionality or weather proofing of the tent at all. One of the guys actually has a similar tear, but there is fabric that covers that portion of the tent regardless so it will still keep any water out. As for the bolt cover, that is purely meant as a cover and again will not affect the functionality of the tent, so you should be good to go here. That said I do apologize for the shipping damage here and if you wanted to patch up the small tear I included a link below to the recommend type of patch. Let me know if you have any other questions!

https://www.rei.com/product/783045/gear-aid-tenacious-tape-repair-tape
Thanks,
(Name Redacted)


On Wed, 10 Feb at 8:53 AM , (Name Redacted) <email address redacted> wrote:
Hi (name redacted),

I appreciate the response, but I didn't intend on spending this much to receive a damaged tent. I understand that it currently wont let rain in, but the tear is in a location that gets handled each time you set up and put away the tent. How long until that rip expands? I was hoping for a better solution than having to go buy a product to repair something I spent almost 2k on.

Thanks,
Mike

On Feb 10, 2021, at 11:08 PM, ROAM Adventure Co <hello@roamadventureco.com> wrote:
Hi Michael,
I understand no matter the amount, shipping damage is never fun! Trust me we know, as we send our products out in perfect condition so it is highly disappoint for us as well to hear about this. That said the team did advise this way mainly because the fabric of the tent is a ripstop material and will not continue to spread so you shouldn't have any worries there. Nonetheless I apologize this happened to you and I do know that the warranty team would not approve any further action here, so I did go to my manager and made a case for you and he did approve a $100 refund for you in this case. You can expect an emailed confirmation of that here shortly. Let me know if you have any other questions!
Thanks,
(Name Redacted)


On Mon, 22 Feb at 7:32 AM , (Name Redacted) <email address redacted> wrote:
Hi (name redacted),

I used the recommended gear aid tape over the tear. I hope it works but I’m not convinced due to the placement of the tear. And thanks for the refund, but I hardly feel like I was made whole. I understand that it left your warehouse in pristine condition but the customer shouldn’t be punished because your shipping partner couldn’t fulfill their commitment. I wasn’t looking for a deal on a damaged tent, nor do I think 100 bucks back is a deal. Regardless of the amount of damage (you guys seem to allude its “minor”), I should have been offered replacement parts or a replacement tent. And yes I understand thats not ideal from your perspective, but I cant help but feel like I got the run around here.

And for what its worth, the other person I know with a roam tent also received his damaged, and I know he was given more than a hundred bucks back. Again, i was never looking for a deal, just the “new” tent I ordered.

I dont expect a response or anything else from Roam, but wanted to provide my feedback. Sorry you have to deal with this, (Name redacted), I do appreciate your responsiveness throughout.

Thanks,
Mike


From: ROAM Adventure Co <hello@roamadventureco.com>
Date: February 23, 2021 at 12:45:13 AM EST
To: email address redacted
Subject: Re: Order #xxxx
Reply-To: ROAM Adventure Co <hello@roamadventureco.com>
Hi Michael,
I wanted to make sure I got back to you here and let you know that we do take strides to make sure our customers are happy with their purchase and I am sorry to hear that is not the case here! Any damage is never fun and we do feel that pain since we do send out our products out in a fresh, perfect condition and it is a bummer that this was due to a company that we trusted with our product and they let us down on both sides. That said every case like this is reviewed by our team to make sure there are no concerns with functionality and every case is just a little bit different, thus different solutions, but I see where you are coming from. It is not that we are trying to give you the run around here, it is just the team truly believes that you should not have any issues moving forward and wanted to do something for you. I will be sure to share the feedback from you here, since it is this kind of feedback that can affect change within a growing company like ours. I do not expect this change to change your mind on this, but more so to let you know that you are heard and the feedback will not be taken for granted. If you need anything else, feel free to reach back out!
Thanks,
Name redacted

 

Nice to see Ash up here keeping the garage free of Deadites!!!

 

I have the same tent. I made the FedEx guy stand there and watch me un-box the tent. That box looks pretty beat up. I wouldn't have accepted it without inspection..just a tip for future big ticket items. That being said, I think ROAM should have stepped up here.

 

I'm running a Smittybilt RTT and its held up pretty good over the past two years. I think we've camped in it over 50 nights in snow, blizzard, 40-50mph winds, sideways rain, you name it, we've done it. Still going strong.

Its affordable, and comparable to a lot of similar RTTs out there.

That said, there are a few cons:

- Extremely noisy in the wind. Especially the straps that cinch down the rainfly to the tent. They flap around in the wind and smack the tent very loudly. Like, you aint gonna sleep through it. I suspect other tents (if not 99% of them) have similar noise issues in the wind.

- The cover attaches via velcro, and is honestly a complete PITA to get on. Especially if you're putting it away yourself. My wife and I can have it packed up in under 5 min though if we work together. But we do this a lot, and are like a well oiled machine.

- We did have a little moisture get in the tent once when we camped through 12 hours of sideways rain. It was actually seeping through the seems where these bungee cord attachments are inside the tent. Not too big a deal though, and honestly, one day of driving without it raining, and it was dry again.

- The pads on the ladder that keep it from rubbing against the tent frame came off once, and thus the ladder blemished the bottom of the tent a little. No impact on functionality, but it will hurt my resale value when I choose to sell.


All that said, I would prefer a hardtop, clamshell style like the iKamper mini. The ability to have one person pack that tent up in under 3 minutes would be incredible since we're prone to camping in such shitty weather. Its just so hard to justify over 3x the cost though.

 

There were a couple holes in the box and I checked them with the delivery guy there. The corners seemed fine so I never would have assumed they would be messed up.

Its a nice tent and while the rip is minor, I wont be spending another dollar with them. Grade A garbage customer service.

 

I just picked up this system. Billie Bars and iKamper Skycamp Mini. Holds 2 adults perfect.

 

Well I can scratch ROAM off the list now. I would be upset if that happened to me.

 

Likewise. They can easily file a claim with Fedex and get some if not all of the insured amount.

On the other hand, haven't had any issues with my Smittybilt. Sub $1000 and does the job.

For moisture I use these

$20 ZARPAX Car Dehumidifier Bag 2 pack | Absorbs Moisture, Damp, & Condensation on Windscreens & Car Interior | 100% Leakproof | Reusable Dehumidifier | Dashboard Dehumidifier & Car Condensation Remover

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N5QFPUH/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8

 

Where is this spot in the first picture? Looks amazing!

 

For what its worth, I left an honest review on their website a couple days ago. It hasnt posted yet.

They (manager of customer experience) called me earlier today and are trying to make things right. Will post an update as soon as I can.