*THE RTT Owners Thread (With BS)*

Good sleeping bag. Heat water and put it in a Nalgene before bed and put into the bag down by your feet. People have been winter camping long before RTTs, and any of these heating contraptions, while innovative and cool, really verge more on the border of camper, than camping. I keep a roll of reflective material that looks like a sun shade for a windshield and put it under the mattress of my RTT to prevent some convective heat loss.

 

A diesel heater. Theres a thread in the 3rd gen section where a guy rigged something up, can be done for around $300~. Safe heat alll nightttt longgg.

 

Winter camping is ok, depending on how low the temps get. actually sleeping with the other tips, warm bag, nalgene, pee before bed, are all good.

the thing that got me and my gf is the inside of the tent is so cold, you dont wanna get out of your bag. we used a mr buddy heater and it helped, but i was also paranoid it was going to burn my tent down.

maybe if you have one of those bigger battery packs you could run an electric blanket up there.

watch any of Mav's videos on youtube? he sleeps in his camper shell and did a video on staying warm in the winter using those small puck candles. he used like 50 of them and it only lasted an hour or two. there are some options.

 

It's all about insulation. My setup sounds like overkill on paper but I can comfortably sleep in the 20s with no issues. I would like to try colder with a few more additions.

Exped megamat in lieu of mattress. Has excellent insulation properties, i.e. R-value.
-20 degree sleeping bag
Down comforter

On my person, I wear:

Long johns, top and bottom
wool socks
sweat pants
sweatshirt
a hoodless jacket
beanie

And I shove a snowboarding jacket at my feet for extra insulation because my feet get cold easily. I'm going to replace those with some down booties and see how it goes.

It's what I wear around camp anyways when it's cold, so all I'm doing is swapping out my pants for sweatpants, fresh socks, and then crawling into my sleeping bag.

 

They are full replacements. I ordered these back in August and they arrived within a week. I even got upgraded to the premium material for free.

 

What others have already said above is spot on.

I mostly solo camp and hate cold. But love camping. I sleep inside a down filled bag zipped up with spot to breathe, thermals and socks until I’m too hot. Then it all comes off and down to my britches and sleeping bag. Mr buddy on high just before bed for 2-3 minutes then on again when I get up for a few minutes. Straight down to get fire going again and coffee on. Oh and my exped megamat also helps me stay warm. Highly recommend that mat.

And 2 weeks away from doing exactly what I write above. Out at big bend ranch for Christmas. Mind in the gutter now. Sheesh!

 

youre heading to big bend?

I'll be down in the area this weekend for a wedding, closer to terlingua. we'll be camping sunday night at the state park, but we're renting a car so i wont have my tacoma and tent. any recommendations on a day trip around there?

 

Yes sir I'm headed to big bend ranch paradise. Pila de los Muchachas camp in the southeastern part of the park. Was at Yedra 2 about 1.5 months ago.

So much to recommend on that stretch of 170 all the way to presidio. Spectacular views. The drive alone would be worth it. Perhaps a paddling trip? I don't have any company names to provide so I'd call Barton Warnock to see if they could help there. Hiking?...Contrabando movie set is on 170 outside of Lajitas- but meh. Many trails into big bend ranch on 170..Rancherias, Closed Canyon etc. But to be quite honest, I've never done any of that as I go into the interior of park to escape, hike, bike and relax in absolute silence. I have stayed at Grassy Banks camp and Lower Medera on 170 but the interior is where I'm drawn each time.

Y'all be safe and have fun!

 

We use a Tepui insulator layer to hang up in the tent first. Then, before we go to bed, I let the Mr. Buddy propane heater run for a bit and heat up the whole tent, then it runs a bit longer once I'm in the tent to get uncomfortably warm. We have a good sleeping bag that sleeps 2, so the gf and I can also use each other to stay warm, as well as a thick blanket on top of that.

and layers. i usually just wear 2 layers, 3 if you count underwear but I don't. long johns under sweatpants, and a t shirt or longsleeve under one of those thin t-shirt material hoodies, and some thick wool socks.

 

There is always this:
https://www.thule.com/en-us/rooftop...ent-accessories/tepui-insulator-3-_-8002X7512

 

have you used one? ive heard it makes closing the tent almost impossible. maybe pair this with an expad mat that deflates?

 

I personally haven't tried closing my tent with it in, as I already leave the factory sleeping pad in there, along with fitted sheets, the aforementioned double sized sleeping bag, thick blanket, inflatable pillow, and the accessory parts to the tent as well (shoe bag, tensioning rods). with all those items in there, it already doesn't close flat (passenger side is a bit raised compared to the drivers side where the hinge is) so i didn't want to add the insulator as well.

 

Yep, this. The warm, dry air is really nice. Most units come with a remote, too, so you don't have to worry about getting out of the tent to turn it on/off.

 

I was wondering all of this too, if it’ll close. I’ve heard it’s easy and I’ve heard it’s impossible, so I’m just gonna buy one and find out and I’ll report back.

edit: it’ll be here Monday

 

Can’t be as bad as my 3 inch topper I had in my tepui and I still got that closed. Needed up being an extra 6inchs compressing when I closed it. That being said it was a bitch but closed.

 

My tent is currently a breeze to close because of the exped mattress so I imagine it’ll still be easy to close with this thing. We’ll find out soon though!

 

Alright!! Looks like the wife is hooking it up this Xmas as we'll actually get to travel this Spring / Summer. I plan on putting in the hours scrolling through TW and researching but figured I'd get a head start if anyone wants to help! Already seen some A+ setups.

BED RACK - What's the best bang for buck? Would rather not break the bank but obviously don't want to jeopardize quality. It just seems like it's only a couple bars and not that complicated. Need one that will support 2 people in the tent (325 lbs give or take). I'm thinking I want a 5" that keeps the RTT below the cab but is that super important? Or am I overthinking the wind / mpg issue?
RTT - What's the consensus? I know folks usually just post the one they have haha. But I'd like to stick with the good guys. Not a fan of CaliRaised and some of the other big names but have no problem buying from anyone if I have to. I'm kinda thinking the RTTs that just pop straight up and don't hang over the side (as in the ladder goes down by the tailgate). Also curious on how hard they are to get on the bed rack and if there are any options that you can do yourself.
LEAF SPRINGS / COILS - How necessary are some heavy duty OME leaf springs or coils for the added weight? I've got a little bit of added weight already but have driven all over with a camper shell, roof rack, skid plate, etc and it's been fine. Just curious.

Thanks in advance!! I can already tell my head is gonna be spinning as I start my search but hey, that's part of the fun right? Just want it to be perfect. Is that so much to ask??

 

I think there are a few personal decisions and preferences you need to consider for the RTT. I don’t have one, but these are the things I’ve had to decide on
1- how many people will you want to sleep
2-do you want to be able to load anything on top of it
3- is height an issue for where you keep your truck/RTT
4- seasons for RTT use
5- how important is setup/takedown time (hardtops/pop ups are a min or few faster than softies)
6- budget

deciding these may guide you to a certain tent and then to the best bed rack for that tent.

 

bed rack: uptop overland
rtt: roof nest
leaf springs/coils: no idea
(those are both colorado brands and i live in colorado, no experience with either)


i got a used bed rack cheap that works for me; holds my tent and lets my put bikes under
got my rtt when a local shop had a sale. got the 3 person, not a 2 person like i had originally planned on due to budget.
leaf springs, its like an extra 140 lbs, less than i weigh. i've heard some shells weigh that much and its a truck so w/e. i dont have any extra stuff to add too much weight

 

You’re probably going to want to upgrade your leaf springs. With sliders, skids, & fiberglass shell, my stock rear springs were sagging. With the Dakar medium duties its been great. And my gfc superlite doesn’t make a noticeable difference.

Why not keep your shell and throw a tent on that?