Jacksonville, FL Area Scheduled Meets-Ongoing

You salaried?

 

I hear you man. I used to do 60 - 80 hour weeks all of the time as a general manager of a restaurant. Got tired of being away from the family. Now I'm in education. I STILL work those damn hours.

 

yup.

 

at least you are not working those holidays though. I was in the restaurant industry for 10 years and pretty much bet you are working every holiday.

 

Yeah man. I did over 9 years in the restaurant business. We were closed Thanksgiving & Christmas.

True about education not working the holidays. That's sort of a perk. What people don't know (if they are not friends or relatives of a teacher) is that we only get paid for 190 days of the calendar year. They think the winter, spring, & summer breaks are paid vacations. Summer is really more like a temporary unemployment. When people say "Well...You get paid for the winter, spring, and summer breaks." I always respond with "If we got paid for the summer, why would teachers work summer school or find a summer job?"

 

Yeah your pay is just "saved" for you and spread out. At least that is how it is with my mother. She has been a HS teacher for roughly 35 years and once I was in HS she too started working summer jobs but at the same time she really enjoyed all the breaks. Summer break, spring break, all holidays, Christmas break, etc. not a bad gig if you have kids or want to travel. However now that I do my parents taxes I come to realize I have no idea how they could afford my sister and I growing up on what my mom made as a teacher after 30+ years of service. Hell my first job out of college I made more and she has been doing it for 30+ years. I guess you never really get raises and such other than the cost of living raises. It's very sad teachers don't make more. My sister is a teacher, mom, sister in law etc.

Sorry for the ramble.
What do you teach?

 

So I am looking into getting a roof top tent pretty hard. Just trying to get a better deal. I just can't see myself spending almost $2K on one. Contacted a few less known brands trying to get some better deals and have spoken with a few over the past several weeks. I am ready to get some much needed camping under my belt once I finally finish this CPA exam.

 

Try one of the group buys, I'm sure one will pop up again if there is enough interest

 

Props to your mom for putting in 30+ years. And no need to apologize for the ramble. I'm just glad that there are people out there that truly understand.

I am a math instructional coach in an elementary school. I teach teachers how to teach, and how to improve their craft. I also teach the kids (Kinder thru 5th) that need the extra push to succeed. This is my 17th year in education.

 

Dude...I am the same. I want a roof top, but won't spend that much money on a tent.

 

Yeah 2k for a rooftop is kinda crazy! I want to get n one as well but I may way until after the holidays.

 

I like the idea of the RTT, but agree about the prices. I would have to see one in person before pulling the trigger. It would also have to have the vestibule so I could have another sleeping area down below.

If I remember correctly there is a company out of Australia that has a vestibule/room that connects to a larger ground based tent as well so it's one big unit.

 

For more money? Lol why else would any1 do more work if not to gain cash

Cvt is having a moving sale, but it essentially makes the cost free shipping

 

The way i had rationalized a rtt is if you think youll visit somewhere and use a hotel, each night is 100ish bucks so after i camp somewhere 10 to 20 times the tent is paid for.

 

I couldn't justify the price of a RTT either until I actually bought one for a guy on here to barter with (long story) but I bought it for something I wanted and took it to him out of state and while I was there I actually slept in it in his living room and just was amazed at how good they sleep and how easy they set up and pack away and I am more of a tent camper than RVs or campers etc. I could see them being worth the investment after that if it will be utilized over a period of time. I just want to be able to say after work on a friday, hey that was a long week, I'll go grab the kid and wife and drive down to the beach and pop that bad boy open for the night. I could use it at concerts, tailgating, road trips. etc. I want one that has the annex and that actually is like adding another room as you can fit something like a full size air mattress in it below the tent for others to sleep in or put a table/chairs inside it.

I have literally been researching this for a couple of months and have checked the specs of so many of these tents and come to find out they are pretty much all made in China in similar and some case even the same factories as those popular tents. I even looked into setting up a group buy and buying them straight from the manufacturer buy I have no where to store 10+ RTT and setting up customs and shipping the large container over would make it not worth my time.

I have worked things out with the maker of a less well known brand than and their tent includes the annex. It is literally the same size and specs as most of the popular tents I have compared it to that cost more. That being said they have agreed to giving TW a discount if I set up a group buy and get 10+ tents sold. The discount will only be about half % off as what the popular brands offer but they said they can't go any higher off since their margins are just that much more slimmer than the popular name brands. The sleeping area has a little more area than a queen sized mattress and the annex can fit a queen sized mattress in it easily. I told them I would think about it and reach back out in the next month or two. Looks like it might be about $200-$400 less than the 2 named brand companies I have compared it to and that is assuming their % discount they usually give during group buys. Not a huge amount less but I rather throw that $200-$400 into something else, but that is just me.

if any of you guys are seriously interested or become more interested in one let me know as I am still pondering and doing more research.

 

I haven't seen one in person. I'm interested for the same reasons you listed.

Is there a warranty with the name brand manufacturers? If not, then your supplier might be the way to go.

I did notice most of the tents look the same, so I guess if they are made in the same factory that would make sense.

 

Yeah they all have some sort of warranty. Not sure what this one is compared to them. Any of you can check it out and do comparisons for yourself and let me know what you find. It's a Tuff Stuff RTT
This is on their website and has some good reviews...on Amazon it is a little more but has good reviews on their as well.


http://tuffstuff4x4.com/products/tuff-stuff-rooftop-mounted-tent-free-annex-changing-room/

 

I just emailed him asking about the warranty.

 

Is the annex floored or on the ground?

 

It has the floor built in.