*THE RTT Owners Thread (With BS)*

how wide is the tent? does it protrude past the side of the topper?
i want to swap to a tent like that, the aspen or io, but they seem smaller than my tepui kukeman to shave 20 lbs or whatever. the wedges are better with aerodynamics though

 

We like ours. The tradeoffs compared to a hardshell are there, but it more than makes up for it with the light weight.

 

It protrudes maybe like one or two inches on each side but it’s not wider than the truck is.

 

This is the closest I've got to a straight head-on photo with the Aspen Lite mounted. Since it's not quite centered, it does makes it look like it sticks out slightly more past the side of the cab than it does in reality.



edit: Found a head-on shot from when I first installed it.

 

I just picked up the Inspired Overland Carbon Fiber RTT yesterday. I placed a pre-order a few months ago, I thought it was too good of a deal to pass up for what the tent promised.

First off, everyone at Inspired Overland was super helpful- they had coffee and donuts out for everyone- and went out of their way to make sure I had everything I needed. They even threw in a camping chair, and a bunch of swag. They took care of throwing away all of the packaging, which was awesome. And Ferdinand took the time to shoot the shit for a little while, really nice guy.

Anyways, I didn't take any pictures, I was trying to beat the rain, but so far I'm pretty impressed at the quality of the tent. It's light enough to manhandle on your own, it pops open in seconds, and the construction seems pretty quality. The tent seems pretty well thought out overall.

It comes with a fabric cover to protect the carbon fiber top. I have not yet tried the supplied IO air mattress, and my only concern so far is that the bottom of the tent is just ripstop fabric with only the extruded aluminum crossbars underneath- I'm wondering if maybe I need to insert a thin piece of plywood or HDPE or something for rigidity. I'd be curious to hear what others say.

I obviously can't say anything as far as durability, but I drove home in the rain without the cover on, and the tent was perfectly dry, so far, so good. Overall, I'm happy with the tent, it seems pretty hard to beat for $1500. I'm about to pull the trigger on the Frontrunner RTT Quick Release kit, I'm pretty excited to take a RTT on and off by myself in just a minute or two.

 

No issues yet. Inside condensation is fixed when I opened the two vents on top ends and bottom ends(used for diesel heater ducts) I've used it several times so far and the mattress is one of the best I've slept on in a awhile.

 

I have a Tepui Kukenam 3 that's been handed down/sold a number of times. As such, she's seen better days.

This picture shows the two things I want to tackle for some minor repairs first.

1. The zipper is f'd. It works, but it's a fight. Any way to patch this up? This happens in a couple spots. Any ideas? I'm game for replacing the whole zipper, but I don't have a sewing machine and that seems like it would be a hassle.

2. The strap - I was thinking of just pulling the strap off and replacing it with a cam strap or similar from Harbor Freight to do the trick. Has anyone done that? Any words of wisdom or caution? Seems simple enough, unscrew, new strap on, screw.

 

havent done it myself, but replacing the straps should be just unscrewing the old ones and screwing the new ones in under that metal retainer thing.

as far as the zipper, i'm not sure on that. do you know if the teeth on the zipper are messed up or if its just dirty?

 

Yeah, my inclination is that it's simple enough, probably grab a couple cam straps from HF and just burn them in soon. The tent's off the truck right now so that should be pretty easy.

Zipper - I don't think the teeth are messed up, most likely it's just dirty. As mentioned above it's off the truck right now so I have some freedom to work with it. I was already going to replace the tie with a longer stretch of P cord. What's the hap for cleaning and lubing zippers? Last I remember is chap stick works a treat, but it's been a while.

 

i've only cleaned jacket zippers with pencils. the graphite acts as a lube i guess. i dont think this would work with a rtt zipper since its probably bigger and could use some kind of weather resistance.

 

Try this stuff:
https://www.gearaid.com/products/zipper-lubricant

 

Can't tell from your pic, is that the long velcro strap that goes over the travel cover, or an inside buckle strap (underneath the travel cover)? Either way, same answer; easily replaced with a cam strap. I replaced the plastic buckle straps with nylon webbing and metal cam buckles on a previous RTT I had, and it was so much better. I could cinch the tent closed a lot more, and didn't have to worry about plastic buckles breaking (or velcro not holding). As for putting screws through the new webbing and having punched out holes for the screws, just take a soldering iron or heat up a nail or something to melt your screw holes, then screw it on like normal. Definitely don't overtighten though. Also consider doubling up on the strap where you put your screws/holes at for added strength. You don't have to sew it necessarily, just double it over on itself and melt the edges together.

No idea on the zipper; me and zippers don't seem to get along.

Edit: here's a sewn loop at the end of nylon webbing. Do the same, but just melt the edges if you can't sew it. (unless your material is already pretty thick/sufficient, or if you don't have enough screw length)

 

I had to buy and install a new bag on my 23zero.. the zipper just stopped working, I lubed it, cleaned it, everything I could but I couldn't save it.. Had it about 4 years and never take it off my truck, wish I had a two car garage tho!!

 

So, based on your name I won't be inviting you over anytime soon, but I think you are on the right track. Here's what I do.

First, clean the zipper. I run over it with a duster first to get all the dry crap out of the way, then terry cloth with whatever is around. Water, alcohol, mineral spirits even. Rub it back and forth to clean between the teeth and let it dry.

Then I have an old votive candle, I think it's cinnamon, and I rub that against the teeth on both sides and get a bunch of wax dust built up. Run the zipper back and forth to jam it in there.

I think wax does a better job of both lubing it and shedding any dust buildup rather than collecting it and lasts longer. Chap Stick is a bit thin and expensive, but not a bad choice if you have a box full of freebies.

 

Bit of a photo dump here, but I finally officially joined the RTT group. After 2 years of building for this moment. So excited to take the Pizza Planet Delivery Shuttle on its first test run in a couple of weeks!

 

The day has come where I am selling my CVT tent. 3 years was a good run. Bought a pop up camper. Now I can keep my sleeping quarters at camp and go find some fishing spots in the truck.

 

i'm very close to you in doing the same. Family is growing and the RTT isn't big enough. Might keep it for quick solo or kid free trips what camper did you settle on?

 

I see you switched from a tundra to a tacoma, I did the same, how are you liking the tacoma so far?

 

Has air conditioning. Its the move with kids at 7 and 4. I just am excited about getting to take my truck places instead of parked at camp for a weekend.

We found a 2014 Jay Series. I need to replace a portion of flooring at the door, flawless otherwise. And has air conditioning.

 

Does that thing have air conditioning?