review your Roof-Top-Tent

[Jenny Cruiser]

Most of the pics I've seen have the rack towers above the B and C pillars. I'm assuming that's the best arrangement for strength. How much of a problem would it be to mount the towers just aft of the pillars? Bad idea?

[aim]

Originally Posted by Jenny Cruiser

Most of the pics I've seen have the rack towers above the B and C pillars. I'm assuming that's the best arrangement for strength. How much of a problem would it be to mount the towers just aft of the pillars? Bad idea?

I mounted mine there (on an 80) simply because the distance is exactly right. The brackets at the bottom of the tent are U-shaped and the distance between the bars must be exactly right. I'm too lazy to get the tape measure and in too much of a hurry to leave one the bars loose. I didn't even think about the strength. Hmm. I have the cracks on the pillar and they haven't gotten worse in several years. Maybe we should resurect the C pillar crack thread?

[aim]

Originally Posted by calphi27

Initial thoughts...

This tent is huge!!!

Cons:
1. Rain fly barely covers the tent- you can see it in the pics above
2. The netting needs to have smaller holes. Should block mosquitos though
3. Bathole... it velcros shut, but there are still holes.
4. Ladder seems weak and is uncomfortable to climb on. It is annoying to mess with putting all the pins in. Will look at replacing the ladder. Already removed its limiter wire too.

Pros:
1. Its a roof top tent!
2. It's Cover
3. Easy to setup
4. Its size
5. I only have it on two yakima bars, and the thing hardly bends at the floor!
6. The flooring (whatever it is made of)

Would like to see in new model.
1. Better and taller ladder (even if it has to be carried in the truck)
2. Bigger moonroof
3. Larger Rain fly (large enough to cover windows like awning)
4. Finer mosquito netting
5. Some way to lock it to the roof for security
6. Pockets on the inside for misc. gear

I am also thinking about taking out the sleeping pad to put in a smaller (full) sized air mattress. That way I could have more room for gear.

That's it for now. I will add more later.

Spot on. A couple of things:

The tent is huge - but not very long.
The ladder is a pain barefoot.
Remove the ladder wire - what a great idea!

Great suggestions. I would add
7. A strip of mosquito netting along the hinge.

[e9999]

so, this carboardish bottom, does that look durable enough?

[calphi27]

To answer a few questions:

The tent will support itself without the ladder, but I am not sure how strong it is without the ladder. I would only let it hang without the ladder while I was setting the ladder up.

The way the yakima bars meet the tent only allow for a side opening. If you had a roof rack that it fit to, then I am sure it could open towards the rear or front. I think it may hang over the edges just a bit though.

I am sure you could velcro a finer screen over the OEM screen. The bat hole could be easily covered too.

It has two strips of screen in the ceiling that are 10 inches long and 4 inches wide (approximately) to serve as a "moon roof."

The bottom is not cardboard like at all. It is a hard black plastic, and I would think it is very durable.

New additions for next model continued:
1. Large window on side opposite from door

[e9999]

read someplace that the ladder (what a weird design) will only extend to 6'. That seems too short to be true. Is that correct?

also, the door has a mesh screen as well to serve as window when closed, right?

is the rain fly removable?

[aim]

Originally Posted by e9999

read someplace that the ladder (what a weird design) will only extend to 6'. That seems too short to be true. Is that correct?

also, the door has a mesh screen as well to serve as window when closed, right?

is the rain fly removable?

The ladder has plenty of adjustment left for my 33", OEM suspension 80. And plenty left over. The actual ladder may be 6', but they give you an "SUV extension".

The door has a mesh screen. If you are not careful with the velcro they give you to tie it up with, you might make holes in the screen, but the screen is there.

The rain fly seems to be attached with metal snaps.

Buy one already!

[e9999]

yup, thinking seriously about getting one too...

one more thing: looks like there are some sort of brackets underneath that attach to a roof rack. Are these things removable or relocatable or is one kinda stuck with using them and making the roof rack fit?

[SINCITY100]

Hmm..

I was lookin at one of those tents also, but there seems to be too many "cons" to justify purchasing one, even with the reasonable price.

I have been spoiled by the quality and built-with-overkill design of (most) of the products I have purchased for my L/C, and IMO a rooftop tent should be no exception to this..

OK, I will be honest... It was the " bat-sized " openings that changed my mind

[aim]

Originally Posted by SINCITY100

Hmm..

I was lookin at one of those tents also, but there seems to be too many "cons" to justify purchasing one, even with the reasonable price.

I have been spoiled by the quality and built-with-overkill design of (most) of the products I have purchased for my L/C, and IMO a rooftop tent should be no exception to this..

OK, I will be honest... It was the " bat-sized " openings that changed my mind

Well, it is more Ford-like n quality, but Yugo-like in price

Tha bat hole needs instructions: you open it, let the bat in, velcro it shut and the bat then catches all the bugs that fly in through the bat-proof netting. When the bat needs to take a break, it hangs head-down from the top bar, right under the ceiling vents ) otherwise known as the "moonroof". I hear that grub-stuffed bat is a delicacy in some parts of the world.

Really, the tent is pretty darn good. For the price. It's just not overbuilt. Nor is it over-underbuilt, though.

[Greddy0]

Finally got my tent out of the box =) For the price this tent can't be beat... Only thing that really sucks is the ladder. There's too many dangling pieces. Anybody find an alternative ladder? Any modifications to the current ladder?

Is everyone using crossbars? Yakima, Thule, Proline, Quick-n-easy, etc. Anybody install it on a roofrack? Tradesman, ARB, Hannibal, etc.

[cbmontgo]

[quote=Is everyone using crossbars? Yakima, Thule, Proline, Quick-n-easy, etc. Anybody install it on a roofrack? Tradesman, ARB, Hannibal, etc.[/QUOTE]

I wonder the same thing. I have a Wilderness rack; I guess it already sits too high to mount another 10" of tent on. Just curious if this has been done, though.

C

[e9999]

I have a Tradesman. It may just be too high. both for CoG and ladder. I'd probably use it on my trailer instead.

Been thinking about cutting off the sides of the Tradesman to make it flat if really needed. Maybe could keep the whole side bars in one piece and reattach when needed?




so what's with the tent brackets underneath? Moveable?

[REZARF]

Originally Posted by SINCITY100

Hmm..

I was lookin at one of those tents also, but there seems to be too many "cons" to justify purchasing one, even with the reasonable price.

I have been spoiled by the quality and built-with-overkill design of (most) of the products I have purchased for my L/C, and IMO a rooftop tent should be no exception to this..

OK, I will be honest... It was the " bat-sized " openings that changed my mind

Man, you'd never here a 40 guy saying this... one strip of velcro and you are off and running... bat free!

Mine comes this week, and for the price of this thing I can deal with a few mods to make it right. Each to his own



Rezarf <><

[cbmontgo]

Are any of you guys going to mount yours on a M416/M101 CDN military trailer? That is my goal, once I find a good trailer.

I just picked up mine today at lunch; these are VERY cool tents.

[alf]

Originally Posted by cbmontgo

Are any of you guys going to mount yours on a M416/M101 CDN military trailer? That is my goal, once I find a good trailer.

I just picked up mine today at lunch; these are VERY cool tents.

I have plans to mount mine to my canadian m101 but first I gotta get 2badfjs to bend me a couple of hoops. The plan is to make a cage for the m101 that will be approximately 28" tall. This puts the top of the cage at about 74". The cage gets covered in a custom sunbrella top kinda like a can-back. A custom rack mounts to the top of the cage for the tent.

It will end up looking like this:



Can you say Chuck Wagon

[hj75rob]

Check my profile in modded 75's.My tent is a Shippeshape(shippeshape.com.au)Very happy with it.Has full thickness matress(5 inch)weighs about 50 kgs with bedding and 6 poles.Been in OZ sun for 3 years straight and has seen duty in ice and snow.Not cheap but GOOD!!

[semlin]

does anyone have a non toll free # for Mel? the toll free does not work from canada. i have emailed but no response

[3TJs]

I think 817-676-9006 is his local number.

[brittan]

I haven't taken her out yet...but she is mounted...

To answer some questions I know are coming:
-The main hoop is angled toward the cab to get every extra inch out of the bed. The tent is longer than the bed by 10" sitting on the rack.
-The tent supports that extend the length of the bed look angled in the pictures...they are. I have heavy duty springs in the back and I needed to angle them for a loaded truck. If all goes as planned the tent will be level when the truck is loaded.
-I wanted to use the bed of the truck without the RTT. To that end I fabed up sleeved brackets that the rear cross-member fits into. It will be pinned to secure it.
-The rack is attached to the bed by gravity...no there are C clamps that will hold it down. In addition I have angle iron at the corners.
-The tent is high on the truck so I can carry more gear. As you can see I gave up a lot of room in a small bed for a set of drawers.
-The tent sticks up above the cab by +-5". Acceptable wind drag to gear holding ratio for me.
-Round tube is 1.5"X.90 wall.
-Cross members are 1.25 square
-.125"X2" flat stock provides the foundation

Tools for the job:
JD2 #3 bender
Miller 210 welder
Tube notcher
Hitachi drill and grinder
Angle finder
Measuring tape
A little know how...

Cost:
Tent $400
Steel +-$60
Hardware $30 -I am sure I could have sourced it cheaper
Materials $15 if I paint it
I may have it powder coated...$50

Difficulty:
This is by far the easiest fab job I have done to date(look at the bumpers and sliders on the same site). It took me a few hours to get it done. I know...I have the tools...and that partly makes it easy. I'd say its a job.

Enjoy...

[calphi27]

I was thinking sometime we should start to created a mod list for the tents. I have thought of two for now.

1. For the bat hole - take the piece of leather or whatever it is, pull it tight and button it to bottom of the tent. (after you buy and attach a button.
2. For security - Instead of using the pins to attach the tent to the rack, try one of those long master locks.

I have not looked at the bottom of the tent closely, but the brackets may be able to rotate so the tent could be made to open backwards.

[Kaderabek]

Originally Posted by Greddy0

Does it fit into the back of the 80 with the back hatch closed? Need to transport it back home before I can fit it onto the roofrack.

Yes but just barely. I took mine out of the box.

TJK

[REZARF]

Brittan,

Nice job man, that looks great! My only sugguestion would be to not trust gravity to hold it in. These tents are heavy and I bet you could flop the whole thing out with an off camber bump.

Just my .02

Rezarf <><

[1990 LJ78]

Semlin
You will croak when you hear how much this tent will cost you to clear customs.

Tent 325.00US:
Shipping 164.00US
Customs 374.00US

Taxes at border not included..

Add that up, dose not even include the exchange.863.00US

So with exchange $$964.79Canadian at todays exchange rate without taxes..
No savings for me...Cancelled order

What ever happened to free trade??

I figure I might as well find an outlet for the Autohome line of tents up here and get one of those if I'm going to spend that kind of $$$$..

Is really to bad that we Canadians can not participate economically in this tent sale.. I really wanted one..

[Kaderabek]

Find someone in upstate NY to buy one and bring it across. Or have it shipped to someone and go get it yourself.

TJK

[semlin]