Wyoming B.S. Thread

So basically the last setup I had on the truck? Low profile with a rtt that isn't affected by wind or rain, keep the shit in the back dry... Really what you are asking for is a custom topper that is 6" short of the cab height with a 6' rtt on top yeah? Really you just haven't experienced a hardshell tent where wind and moisture are none issues. With both the van and the truck, the vertical pop-ups have afforded me to never have to deal with that bullshit.

 

Yeah, I mean, I suppose that the behind-the-cab wedge is really what I'm after. I though the 6" shorter topper would be nice to have a diesel heater setup, and a bit more "space" in bad weather (though the tent would have to be up, since the Topper would be too short to sit in by itself).

I know your hardshells are close to this, except for:

1. They hung over the back too far for me, aesthetically, since they were still ~8' long (as I recall).
2. I would have thought that in windy conditions, the straight-up would have still been really noisy (vs. a wedge).

There are some shorter wedges now, like this, but I don't love the fabric fly area... seems like that'd be just as noisy in the wind, so what's the point.

 

Overhang doesn't bother me on trucks with a swing out like yours. Really wouldn't be that bad. Ben's never looked that bad I thought.

And again, might as well just get the full experience and suck it up and get the GFC as it is. I don't see the point of having an "inside" if you can't use it. Hell you couldn't use it in your design at all with the bed in place. You'd be trapped in there if Melissa was with you. No early mornings for you! although I assume you could leave out the tent directly perhaps. So maybe not. I mean if GFC will make it for you go for it. You'll probably be one of like 10 people that will want to buy that. As it'll no doubt cost the same anyways or so close to it it won't make sense finically to just get the full GFC which will have all the space benefits. It's just too small.

Or get a new truck, a fullsize bed and bam. No over hang lol Plus a platform that can handle the weight with ease. Have to give up some of the tighter trails but you like to walk anyways

No idea if the straight pop ups would be more windy or not. I'd guess they'd still be better than our tents. Mike's tent is probably much quieter than ours especially as his head lays under the hard shell side. It just seem more advantageous that if you're going to make something to just make it as universal and flexible as possible by making a been low topper thing that you can mount a RTT of your choice too. And have more room than 60''(really less) length. So of us aren't mini sized people

Honestly. You're due to just get the GFC I think. You spend enough nights out in the truck you'd really appreciate it and get your use out of it. Sure it's a bit taller. But what do you really gain by having it not over hang the cab? Im sure a bit of weight shift in the corners. And maybe you need a bigger garage but come on, you need a bigger garage in general! Other than aesthetics, whats the point of having a tiny bed you have to pack up to be able to stand up inside for? You'll hate that. Very inefficient.

 

Yeah not having full height bed storage would be a dealbreaker for me. Like I said, the over-cab height is the worst part of the GFC, but it hasn’t been too much of an actual issue other than getting in my garage (although with 35’s I still had about 1/2” clearance).

I don’t think the loss of space (and definitely not the shorter camper bed length) would be worth it, at least for me.

 

I am curious about this overhang you mention, as i didn't really see that issue. If anything it was wider than the cab which gave an odd appearance, but my tent was 6'6" so it only had a little overhang in terms of bed, but my spare tire stuck out further.


And this thing about noise, it has little to do with the shape, and everything to do with loose fabric. Your tent is loud because of all the loose fabric than can flap around. Wedge tents that have the little partition on them made of fabric will be noisy too. It is why if you ever saw my tent setup, i never opened the little awning above the door. I kept it down, and zipped at night and never had issues with noise. Tight fabric makes little noise regardless if it is the shape of a square or triangle.

Pretty well said. If you want to stay on the Tacoma platform, the GFC is the way to go. It has the fewest number of compromises. But yes, there is always the option of changing platforms, and might actually find one that better suits you. I did, and i have no regrets about it. Camping is just soooo much more comfortable now, at the expense of not having as capable of a rig.

 

The problem with this design is with two people. One is always blocking the door.

 

Loose fabric and all the frame bars it slaps against. I don't think my tent would be that bad if it were for the awning. It isn't fastened to any of the support bars so it brutal in the wind. If there was a nice way to attach the bars there it would cut down a lot of noise for me. Certainly not all of it though.

Full-sized overland rig makes a lot of sense in a lot of different ways. But compromises other things. Just no way to have your cake and eat it too. The small platform of the 1st gen has just as many advantages and disadvantages. Mainly comfort, power, age now I'd say, size in certain ways, support, ect.

That's a good point.

 

Sigh. I was trying, because I feel like there has to be something better than the traditional rtt for our trucks. Maybe it's Mike's solution. I was really hoping the wildernest was better than it sounds like it was, and that a GFC version of said 'nest would fit that bill.

 

I think you and I have a lot of the same thoughts in this regard. It's just that the product doesn't exist on the market unless you want to slide in camper which is too heavy in my opinion. Hence why I'm going down the path I'm going down. And I'm not willing to exchange comfort for a vehicle that limits my travel and ability for fun

 

You were pretty intent on a GFC at one point, iirc. What changed?

 

Well hold on. A wildernest is totally different. That flips out to the side.

Also fyi, the wildernest poked out the back like Ben's old RTT does to try and have a bigger sleeping area. And it was above the roof line still.

Wildernest-2.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

Now I love the concept of this but the amount of canvas would be horrific in the wind lol So I love that concept but it's very less than ideal. I do have friend with a very very clean one though if you want to try and offer him a lot of money for it haha weighs a metric ton(wood and fiberglass) but is cool.

Honestly a tent like Mikes isn't a bad way to go I think. Plus I think you can get the wider too.


I can assure you I LOVED the wildernest. But there was no way it was going to survive and also no way it was going to be comfortable. One night in it was all it took. Bed was way way too small for two people.

I mean here is my double wide bag and it barely fits width wise or length wise. Fits great in my RTT(a tiny bit too wide but not like this).

Wildernest-6.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

All the space was awesome though, small apartment haha

Also interested in this.

 

There were / are three things:

1. I don't like the above the cab. For me, this is a clearance, looks, and MPG thing, probably in that order... or at least with clearance and looks before MPG.
2. I was always worried that it was a little too narrow for two people, which most of my nights out, are. Along these lines, it's narrower than the Exped MegaMat, but I think there are knock-off matts out now that I could make work.
3. I was a little worried about the durability of v1 (which I think turned out to probably be fine), and then I didn't like the shape of v2 quite as much.

Huh, for some reason, I didn't realize the wildernest worked quite like that. I thought the sleeping direction was like our RTTs. I can totally see how that would be cramped. And, I think the GFC topper design would be cramped side-to-side too, as compared to our RTTs, but I was hoping it would be an OK tradeoff. At least, I was willing to give it a go given my perceived benefits of the wedge.

RE length and above the roofline - I don't know why exactly, but I think the topper that slants back "looks more OK" than having a traditional rtt just hanging off the back. Obviously just a personal preference thing. For above the roofline - I'm not sure what that really buys you, so was hoping the GFC one could be a few inches lower. And, the wildernest achieves the "above roof" in a much more graceful way than the blocky front of a GFC.

Now I'm even more curious about your final design/silhouette. I've been patient this long, I guess I can wait a bit longer.

 

I think I understand the dilema you are in. As discussed here, no RTT solution will be perfect nor have a consensus of support, but for me, my Alpha II's (iKamper mini copy) pros outweigh its cons.

Con: A little heavier than my old CVT at 140#. Not much room for extra bedding when closed.

Pros: Very good in the wind, minimal flapping and is a lot less vulnerable to folding up because of the shorter fold out section. It's still 80" long with plenty of room for 2 and the Exped fits perfect. So far the hard shell has held up well to all the branch impacts.

Price has gone up a bit since I got mine but by comparison to the other options, not that bad at $2600.

 

1.Clearance I doubt is an issue. At least not in a way it is in your own head. I mean I had that roof rack thing and never had issues. We aren't Ben in his elephant after all. And you won't be going up in tire size any time soon like Dan so I doubt you'll even have an issue. That's just something you've blown up bigger in your mind than it is. IMO. I'll bet with a valence the wind drag will be minimized but my experience is that shit above the roof does impart your highway power/mpgs. But no real world with the GFC. Shame we don't know several people that have used them extensively to ask...

2. at 50" vs your current 55'', I can agree the width might be an issue, but unlikely make or break. (ooooorrrr just another reason to go fullsize 56" wide then!)

3. Pff. Whatever lol it looks plenty good. Still better than other options out there.



Yeah sadly no. Be nice though. Might have worked better that way. I can assure you though, the trade off in space for sleeping is not worth it. The wedge design obviously is superior to the wildernest fold out design as they is just way less canvas to slap around.

I really dont think it'll look that bad as you have the swing out with the tire and jerrys. Again, Ben's truck proves this that it just looks more like an SUV in some ways when everything is closed up. Yours would looks better I think because your swing out has more shit on it and it actually pokes out further.

Another option to consider is getting a tent like Mikes or similar or whatever that is 60'' wide. Like my dads. It's a queen sized bed basically when fully open.

We are all looking forward to what you come up with. I still think it'll end up with a lot of compromises but I'm excited to be proven wrong in every way haha

 

I love that you've already come to that conclusion despite not knowing what I've cooked up. The biggest downside is it's going to take me a while to do now that the world economy is falling apart.

 

Interesting. I will agree that the looks did not appeal to me initially, but that went away pretty fast. I think it looks better than an RTT sticking up above the roof personally. Clearance is only annoying with the garage issue, which I know it is for you too. Real world clearance has never been a problem, other than occasionally having to go a little slower under tree branches to make sure I clear. My MPGs are pretty dismal lol, I don’t track them like you do but I still get over 200 miles to a tank so I know it hasn’t impacted mileage that much.

The width and length are definitely not an issue, Christine and I fit fine together, and we are…not small people haha. Heck sometimes we even have Echo up there with us. You and Melissa would fit just fine.

Durability has been great, there were a couple minor things with the v1’s that they fixed on their dime - door hinges and main hinge tube - and so far there have been no other issues. I agree there are still some questions on the v2 with the bolted frame design, I haven’t looked at feedback on those recently so not sure if systemic problems have been identified.

 

Don't feel bad, think I'm going on year 8 of staring at the 1st gen diesel project in my garage. Fun to push it in and out when I need to move it, good cardio

 

This week has really been one hell of a year. But I'm not feeling bad so much, you learn to take continual financial gut punches with a pinch of salt if you're a millennial. I'm just angry now.

 

Oh I hear ya, technically an elder millennial myself. Got my financial ass handed to me a few times in the past and now they are just painful reminders seared in my memory bank of a place I don't want to be again so I do what I can to be fiscally conservative. Not a glamorous life but at least it's stable-ish

 

I mean considering you're holding your cards tight to your chest I reserve the right to be judgmental until proven otherwise. Naturally I am envisioning this:



Minus the tow truck. We all know that won't happen. Well unless you flip it again. And even then, still likely no tow truck needed.

I mean, the last 6 years years have been one too many life times. WTF happened to you in a week?