*THE RTT Owners Thread (With BS)*

Sorry, not a TACO, but thought I'd share my build.

WP_20160909_13_11_32_Pro[/url] by Glenn Davis, on Flickr[/IMG] WP_20160909_13_11_32_Pro by Glenn Davis


WP_20160909_09_19_20_Pro by Glenn Davis, on Flickr


WP_20160907_15_45_27_Pro by Glenn Davis, on Flickr


WP_20160905_13_15_39_Pro by Glenn Davis, on Flickr


WP_20160903_12_12_37_Pro by Glenn Davis, on Flickr



Build Pics Here:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/davisglenn



Thanks,

Glenn

 

Hey guys have a question on RTT. Looking at getting one to travel out West this Summer. Couple questions 1. Hard shell or soft, 2. Wind drag on soft vs. hard, and 3. How tight is the tent with 3 people in them? If these questions are already answered shoot me in the right direction. Thanks for the help.

 

1. I prefer hard to soft. That being said I run a bed rack not a shell. Just gives me more tie down points.

2. Wind drag is gonna be there regardless unless you get like a mid height rack etc. I ran mime for a week long camping trip on and off the freeway, mileage wasn't too bad.

3. The amount of ppl you can fit into the tent depends on the model you get. There are different sizes. I could probably get three in mine but it would be tight AF and would never do it t.

 

Thanks I have a topper on it now and was leaning toward the hard shell due to it appears to be less drag. I plan on packing the back of the truck out pretty tight with gear. I live in Florida so looking to do about a 30 day trip. Camping most of the time. Want to catch as many National Forests and parks as possible. The ease of set up of a hard top James Baround or Maggiolina looks good to me. Maybe me and the wife will sleep up top and daughter in the topper.

 

The metal shavings you found are common in almost all brands of tents that use the holes drilled in the base for the window tension rods. I can't speak for other brands but I can for Tepui. I know that the QC guys do their best to get all those shavings removed but the reality is its just difficult to get everything to come out of those little holes. The long ride from shipping from overseas and then shipping to the customer shakes things around a bit and any missed shavings sometimes find their way out. Some people complain about it as they think it's carelessness and poor quality, but it's just not something to get that worked up about. I believe that most brands (and definitely Tepui) do their best to have the tents spic and span when they pack them for shipping. Yes it can mean a couple minutes with a vacuum when you first set up your tent, but its a minor inconvenience.

 

I have had several soft side RTT's and they were great but nothing compares to the ease of set and and put away when it comes to the Autohome Airtop I have now. It sets up in a whopping 10 seconds, undo 2 latches on the front and 2 on the rear of the fiberglass shell and it pops open with gas struts inside. It puts away in 30 seconds and that's if I take time to tuck in fabric while closing it or if I have the winter hood on it. It has a very comfy mattress inside that a twin sheet fits over. Has a built in interior led light, storage netting on ceiling and storage netting pockets on both sides near one end of RTT. There a zippered window at one end (cab/head end as I have mounted) and doors on the 3 other sides with separate screen windows which can be removed if you choose not to use them, you can use just the fabric door. It came with 2 pillows which are ok and a ladder. Inside the RTT I store (4) pillows the 2 it came with and 2 more down pillows, a very heavy/thick king size fleece blanket, a 15° down sleeping bag, a poncho liner/woobie, and the ladder. I'll also leave my sleeping clothes and other stuff up there as well for the length of a trip.

 

Hardshell tents are great if you travel solo or +1 most of the time since that is typically as many as you can fit in them. There are a couple slightly larger options but generally speaking they are 2 man tents. That's the downside (at least one of them). There are a number of people that just need more space than a typical hardshell allows.

 

Thanks again for more of the feedback. What kind of mpg difference are we talking between the two? I like the idea of opening it up and done. Not sure how comfy we want to be sleeping up there with my daughter or making her pop up her tent. I currently have a pop up (cricket) and was wondering if it is worth dragging it out or would it be easier and cheaper to get a roof top tent? Then there is the fact of spending another 1500-3000 dollars on a tent. My wife might kill me.

 

The most important piece of equipment right there.

 

That thing is pretty sweet. Can't beat gas filled struts doing the work for you.

I would love to see more pics if you have em.

Whats the weight?

 

Anyone with a RTT that has an overhang to the rear of the truck please post up pictures or thoughts. Ive only found one person in this thread with a similar overhang but want peoples thoughts on if the RTT should hang to the front over the cab or if an overhang in the back isn't that terrible. Thinking of having the tent just under the back window so it doesn't stick up so high and increase tippy factor.

this is the only member I've found with a similar rear overhang @AKSig88 And i see that @CoBackCountry also has an overhang

 

He's referring to my setup, so if you have a similar setup post some pics!

 

I have the CVT MT. Shasta (soft RTT) and with it on top of my canopy didnt really notice much of a mpg difference that I could definitively say was due to the RTT. If anything it was about 1mpg less but like i said some of that could be the freeway, hills, ect and not just the rtt.

 

So is there about 20% hanging off the rear that's not directly supported?

 

So price point might be what saves the day if I want all 3 of us to sleep in RTT.

 

There's 2 feet hanging over unsupported

 

This *probably* isn't a point of concern. This photo is a little hard to see what I'm about to describe but the tent mounted to my trailer is the equivalent size to the one you have mounted to your bedrack (4x6' closed footprint). In the photo you can see the uprights for my tent rack, and the rack itself is only about 8" longer on either end of those uprights so the tent had an unsupported overhang of about ~20" or a little more. I never had any problems with this, although my tent is a Ruggedized Tepui with a more sturdy base construction than a standard tent like the CVT on @AKSig88 's rig but I still wouldn't be too concerned about it unless you're putting a LOT of weight out over that unsupported area.

 

@Box Rocket Question: do you happen to know if the White Lightning is imported?

 

Yes I do know. It is not imported. It's 100% made in the USA.