Zach's 2013 DCSB Build

Nope that's where all the other wires come in to the cab. It is pretty protected unless you submerged the truck up past the doors no water is getting in there. And if you were submerged that far it would be coming in the doors too

 

Haha ok thanks!

 

OP,

on your first post, you have these cargo boxes on top of your roof rack.. Looks like some sort of pelican cases.

can you tell me more about them?

brand?

how are you attaching them to your roof rack?

thanks!

 

I am using a pelican 1720 case. Others with the same roof rack have been using a less expensive plano version that can be found on Amazon. I think everyone (myself included) has been bolting through the bottom of the case into the captive nuts that slide into the roof rack crossmembers. It is a nice, semi secure solution.

 

I followed Chux's idea and added two 2" u bolts in the middle in addition to the 4 bolts (one in each corner) bolted into the slot nuts Zach provides:



Very secure. Tested it out wheelin' the first weekend in May and it didn't budge.

 

A little review/comparison of the new tent now that we have had it out a few times.




Review/Comparison:

Eezi Awn Series 3 1600 and Tepui Autana

While this is a review, the only thing I have to compare the tent to is my unofficial knowledge of other tents and my personal experience with the Tepui Autana that we previously owned.

SIZE:

The size of the Series 3 1600 is the perfect fit for our family. At roughly 65" wide inside it also fits the 5' bed of the tacoma nicely and looks proportionate to the truck on a bed rack and on our shell. The interior will be perfect for our growing family which is one of the reasons we went with Eezi Awn in the first place. I wanted the perfect balance of packed size/weight and interior space. Tepui and CVT both offer 56" wide models (our Tepui autana fit into this category) but the next size up was the 72" wide model. The 72" wide models were too large for the truck and also increased in weight. The 56" wide models are perfect for 2 adults or 2 adults and 1 kid like us. With another kid on the way I wanted some space to put the baby either in her car seat or in some sort of mini bassinet. The 65" wide Eezi Awn 1600 is rated for 2 adults and 2 small kids on the website so we went for it.

After having it out on a few trips now with and without our son, I can say that the size is perfect. With our son we have plenty of room below him to stick a car seat with the baby in it. If we wanted to there is enough room for him to sleep perpendicular to us at our heads with the baby in a carseat or mini bassinet between us. When just my wife and I are there we have room for our clothing bags, extra bedding and all sorts of gear in the tent.

I am still happy with the overall size of the tent. It is a bit heavier than our Autana but I can still get it into place on the racks myself using some innovative techniques.

The Eezi awn is barely lower profile than the tepui. Without bedding there is a significant difference of 2-3inches but with bedding they seemed similar.

CONSTRUCTION:
When compared with the standard Tepui Autana or any of the CVT models it really is an apples to oranges comparison. I think the Eezi awn would be more fairly compared to the Tepui Ruggedized Tents to get a more similar comparison. Here are some of the things that are comparable.

Mattress - I didn't find anything better in either model. Obviously the animal print on the Eezi Awn is awesome and trumps the plain green mattress in our tepui but comfort is similar. My wife who is pregnant says the mattress in the Eezi Awn is not as nice but she wasn't pregnant the last time we used the tepui so it is hard to say.

Ladder- The Tepui telescoping ladder is nice. The sliding ladder of the Eezi Awn is equally functional but not quite as simple to operate. The rungs on the Tepui ladder are sqaure which gives you more of platform to step on. The Eezi Awn ladder uses a rectangular rung and the platform is not as thick making the steps a bit more difficult to climb. That being said, as many RTT owners know, coming down the ladder in the morning can be brutal on your feet. The Tepui ladder has precise edges on the rungs that can be painful on your feet. The edge on the Eezi Awn ladder has a nice rounded fillet which mitigates for the lack of thickness in the rungs.

Structure - The aluminum bars that support the canvas tent material are comparable between the two tents. I would like to see a nice sleeve on the Eezi awn like the Tepui ruggedized models have but its not a deal breaker. The extrusion for the frame, mounting tracks, mounting hardware, and sprung steel tent rods are also all very comparable. The sprung steel tent rods for the eezi awn tent have a slightly more secure hook at the ends and have a dedicated, sleeved, hole they fit into on the base of the tent compared to the Tepui that just has holes drilled into the base of the frame for the rods. These differences are not anything substantial but do contribute to the overall quality of the Eezi Awn. The main difference I found was in the pivoting hinges of the frame. The hinges on the Tepui were sufficient and I never had any problems with them during almost two years of use. The Eezi Awn hinges though are substantially stronger looking and feeling.

Rainfly - The rain-fly on the Tepui is fine but I like the Heavy PVC of the Eezi Awn better. Coated ripstop nylon will eventually soak through and the coating can wear off over time, this is easily taken care of with regular maintenance. The PVC I am sure has its issues as well with solar discoloration but overall I like it better and feel more confident with the waterproofness of the PVC. The first outings with the Eezi awn have been rain and snow for multiple nights. We have been bone dry the whole time.

Cover - Covers seem to be of equal build quality. I like and dislike things about each. The eezi awn cover comes completely off each time. No zipper to connect it to the tent body. This makes it quick to remove and place but not quite as water tight as the tepui which zipped into the frame. The ratchet strap system on the Eezi Awn is quick and convenient and seals around the tent base great when bedding isn't left in the tent. If bedding is left in the tent the cover has a hard time cinching around the edges and water spraying up could get in and get the tent wet. Not likely unless you are trying to do so in the car wash but still a concern I never had with the tepui. The tepui was more water tight but also was slower and more difficult to stow. The zipper would get caught, separate from the teeth or be too tight to close if too much bedding was stowed. Pros and cons to both but I think overall the Eezi awn wins due to speed and ease.

NOT SO EQUAL COMPARISONS:
Fabric- The fabric on the Eezi Awn is much heavier than the standard Tepui. Yes this is an apples to oranges comparison but it is something we have noticed. I imagine when compared with the Tepui Ruggedized models there is more equality, nonetheless, the heavier fabric is nice. It keeps the heat in nicely, repels some pretty good snow and rain storm and keeps the tent dark inside which makes for good sleeping.

Floor- The wood floor on the Eezi Awn is nice. My biggest complaint about the floor on our Tepui was the lighweight aluminum floor, it was constantly denting and getting mangled everytime it touched something. Again the ruggedized Tepui models probably compare better to the rigid wood floor of the Eezi Awn but I don't have experience with them. The wood gives the tent a warmer, more home-like feel compared to the aluminum. I do worry about the longevity of the wood and only time will tell how it holds up. Eezi awn has been around for a long time though and they don't have complaints about the wood so I am not too worried. I can also see repairs being easier to a wood floor that is screwed together that I could replace if need be, compared to an aluminum floor that is riveted together to a frame.

Cost- Again not a very equal comparison. My Autana was about $1350 shipped to my door. The Eezi Awn Series 3 1600 was about listed at nearly $2500 before shipping. Normally the price of the Eezi Awn would have scared me away instantly. Paul at Equipt Expedition Outfitters was opening a store in Salt Lake City and was moving some stock there. I was able to get the tent free of shipping and he also gave me a great deal. I think I am into the Eezi Awn about $2300 OTD. Compared to my old autana this seems like a waste of money. However, it is a larger tent with better features. When compared with a Ruggedized XL from Tepui which is the most comparable model in my opinion the price isn't too bad. I think the XL goes for just under 2K plus shipping. Considering the quality of the Eezi Awn I don't feel bad paying slighty more even though it is slightly smaller than the XL.

 

Any recent updates?

 

Just been out using it as much as possible. My winch has had more use in the last two weeks than it has had in the last two years. Been testing out my maxtrax and treds a bunch and have been loving the new Eezi awn tent.

Swapped out my old Heretic LITE series for the new Wraith series. I will be posting up some info on them soon enough. Added some storage containers into the back and have the bed setup all ready to go.

I think I am pretty well done at this point for a while. A few minor things, mainly maintenance stuff now. I have plans to powdercoat my bumper. Add the swingout back on now that I have fixed it up a bit, and then work on cleaning up some wiring for lights and such, but thats about it. Been looking at doing a homemade awning I have been designing in my head for awhile but I also really like some of the ones that are already out there.

Down the road in a year or two I will regear and go to 35" tires but not till we get a second vehicle.

 

That's awesome man keep us updated on your outings/camping trips!

 

I have a bunch of pictures, just haven't had time to dump them on here yet.

 

Want to share?

 

How did you like the ride quality of your 886's with just your cbi bumper w/ winch on the front? Was it harsh on the road?

 

With the winch and bumper when the springs were new it was a tad harsh. Now that they have been broken in everything is perfect. They are great now.

 

Alright you are probably out of popcorn so here is a photo dump of the last few trips we have been on (Some may be repeats from the last page):

1. American Fork Canyon (Mineral Basin)
2. To and from Overland Expo
3. American Fork Canyon (Mines near Mineral Basin)
4. Diamond Fork to Daniels Summit Lodge


1.














2.













3.











4.

 

And here are a few pics of some of the new additions to the truck.



After I got the bedslide I was a little dissapppointed with the space left over on the sides and wanted to find a way to fill it. (2) 2 gallon rotopax fit in there perfect and then I keep my blue ridge overland gear tool bag sitting next to them. The bedslide still clears them fine but they remain accessible and fill dead space. Also the alubox from Equpit Expedition Outfitters is amazing. I am so sick of totes that constantly break and warp and leak so I finally spent the money on the alubox and dont regret it at all. It is pricey but super strong and water resitant. We keep extra bedding or clothes in it depending on the weather each trip.



I also hooked up the Blue Ridge Overland Gear Kitchen Kit to the front of our ARB Fridge. It works great there and gives us easy access to utensils. You can see the Engel Deep Blue 35 in the background. Picked it up from Blue Ridge Overland Gear as well and it keeps all of our dry foods and snacks from melting or what not and it is bear resistant if we need to leave it outside the vehicle at night.



This is a shot of the new Heretic Wraith Series Lightbar I have on my roof rack now. Very low profile very lightweight and very strong. Mine has a grey metallic face plate that almost matches the truck.



Last is a rack concept I have been working on for shells that are dedicated to running a rooftop tent. It sits about 1/2" off the roof of the shell and is about 1.5" lower than the cabrac. It allows the tent to be as low as possible and the width is constant regardless of the track location on the shell. I like it so far for my uses. If you wanted two level racks it messes up that functionality though. Having the tent lower for me is worth it though. The tent only sits about 2-3" above my pelican case on this rack.

 

Any differnace for light out put from the LTE to the wraith light bar? How do you like tha maxtrac boards?

 

Thanks for the pictures zach! Really enjoy your build thread.

 

How do you like the new tires compared to the BFG KM2s?

 

Nothing super noticeable. The lights are 5 watt like the LITE series so they have the same amount of power going to them. Optics are slightly different according to heretic so that may make a difference in the beam pattern but not having them side by side to compare it is hard to tell.

Love the maxtrax. Having used Treds, maxtrax, and smittybilt element ramps, the maxtrax are my favorite