review your Roof-Top-Tent

[brittan]

I talked to a source today who suggested the reason this tent is being "updated" is because the glue used in the construction of the plywood/particle board (I haven't looked to see what it what) fails in hot weather. His suggestion was to be careful spending a lot of time no the outboard side, the side supported by the latter. What have others heard? Has anyone looked to see if there is a way to replace the floor?
Thoughts?

[lavarunner]

shit to me it 325 plus 329.33 shipping..(hawaii) I am try ing to get it freight collect. If I can I am going to get one. (Pops owns a company here so we ship thigs regularly and get the hook up..)

[calphi27]

My floor does not have a glued particle board bottom. Maybe it was the older model. The floor is screwed in to the aluminum frame.

[tltaylor22]

This tent has an aluminum frame for the floor that is skinned on either side by a sheet of poly or abs plastic. I know the Ezi-Awns and a few others use a plywood with a tough coating as thier floor.

Brittan- nicely done.

[BMAN]

Brit,
No wood in these tents bro! The reason they are so cheap goes something like this...

Mel, the North American distributor for this Chinese made tent, had about 30 tents left in his stock that were not accounted for by his retailers. Knowing that there will be a new model out for '07 and not wanting to get hung for all his investment when the new model arrives, he decided to drop a couple for a smidge over cost. The word gets out and hits MUD.

"Hey this dudes dropping these tents for a song. Get in while the gettin's good."

The response Mel gets is "OVERWHELMING" at something in the range of 70 tents. Rather than turn people away that were a little late getting their request in, he decides to talk to his vendors and offer them full refunds on the units that they've pre-purchased but haven't taken delivery on. This frees up enough tents (tents that he is physically storing in house mind you) to handle the influx of requests, putting roughly 70 tents out in the market, subsequently creating more interest in next years model that will be priced at normal retail prices.

[semlin]

Originally Posted by alf

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

Alf if you get 2badfjs to do that ask him to keep the jigs. I want a set of hoops for my m101. not that tall mind you, but the same idea.

[brittan]

Bman...thanks for the clarification...We can talk about tonight. See you then...

[LEXUSBEN]

I got mine here is a link to some pics.

http://www.risingsun4x4club.org/foru...ead.php?t=2133

I agree with everyone who doesn't like the ladder - there has got to be a better way. Other than that it is definitely worth the money.

Glad I got one.

[brittan]

Originally Posted by BMAN

Brit,
No wood in these tents bro! bla bla bla...

I can always count on Bman to know more than me...
Where I got my info...
http://expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2484

Frankly I haven't had time to look at the tent yet so I don't know if mine/our tents have wood in them. I'm to busy grinding away on steel.

By the way Bman...when I sport wood...I get tent...don't tell me there isn't wood in my tent!

[Mike S]

Question:

What warranty does the distributor offer?

M

[calphi27]

What warranty does the distributor offer?

Please don't rain on our parade. Most of us do not need to have our tents be at the same standard as the tents you sell.

Actually alot of the materials seem to be the same. (aluminum frame, plastic flooring, adjustable straps, mosquito netting, 420g fabric, , etc, etc,etc...) And I am sure the stuff you sell is better.

I, along with many others, could not justify spending $1800 on a tent. That is why so many of us jumped on this offer.

I do like your ladder though. Do you guys sell parts?

[Mike S]

Originally Posted by calphi27

What warranty does the distributor offer?

I do like your ladder though. Do you guys sell parts?

Not trying to rain on the parade. Yes. we do sell parts and provide warranty service.

M

[semlin]

Mike I feel your pain here with all the lost customers, but i'm not sure many were going to be buying your items anytime soon on a price basis. this deal won't be around forever and the number of people sporting roof top tents is about to go way up which can only help you in the long term as peer pressure and social norms set in . in fact, if these tents have quality issues but people who have got their feet wet find they like roof top tents that's also going to work out to your favour.

[REZARF]

Originally Posted by BMAN

He was kidding. Notice the "c-clamp" type hardware holding the rack in the installed pic.


Also notice that I'm the slow guy today...

I guess I am a bit slow...

I was thinking, this guy can't be serious, the pics show him wheeling this thing, he has the fab skills and he really thinks it is just gonna sit tight!

Thanks for setting me straight, sorry to doubt you, sarchasim is sometimes hard to read in the text.



Rezarf <><

[Kaderabek]

FYI, this tent is not compatible with an African Outback Roof rack. And it doesn't look like adapting it will be feasible.

TJK

[LEXUSBEN]

Originally Posted by Mike S

Question:

What warranty does the distributor offer?

M

For anyone that's interested Mel said it's one year. I think most of us that bought these will "upgrade" whatever breaks as it happens.

Slept in mine last night in the back yard. I like it, more comfortable than I thought it would be. Almost as comfortable as my 3 1/2" thick rei thermarest type pads. Kids loved it. It is quite nice being up off of the ground. Bedding (3 sleeping bags + Mattress) folds up pretty good - cover still fits. Ladder is a little rickety but does the job.

[REZARF]

Well,

I opened mine tonight after getting yesterday. I have to admit, I had a huge smile on my face when I pulled it up and open for the first time. Very cool item.

Initial thougts:

I was expecting a little less quality than what I got. I was please with the quality level for the $325.00 I paid.

Pro's:
PRICE, PRICE, PRICE!
The ventalation is amazing.
Sets up fast!
Mattress is nice.
Long if you lay cross-ways on the mattress.
Closes up just as easy, with a little tucking of the fabric.
The cover seems well made

Con's:
The ladder is nearly tragic.
The bat hole does need addressing.
Mesquito netting isn't good like others have said.
Mine had one snap stripped out durring shipping.

I am pretty stoked, this was one of those items that was never going to be obtainable without a deal like this, this po' boy is happy!

Now, to fab up a better system for the ladder, maybe add a support for it as well, like it is on the site, and I am toying with the idea of making a new rain fly with awning built into it like the Easy Awn.

I want to see how to make it fit on an open top fj40 too.

Rezarf <><

[calphi27]

Mike S. - Would you be interested in a group buy of your ladders provided that they would work with this system everyone is talking about? I may just have to buy one to see if it works, then maybe others could get a deal on them. What would you sell the ladders for? PM me if needed.

Also thanks for clarifying your post about warranty on these tents. I posted my first reaction, and I should have thought about it before I posted. Sorry for the misunderstanding.



Would others be interested in this? Chime in so we can get an idea on the number of people interested.

[LEXUSBEN]

Originally Posted by calphi27

Mike S. - Would you be interested in a group buy of your ladders provided that they would work with this system everyone is talking about? I may just have to buy one to see if it works, then maybe others could get a deal on them. What would you sell the ladders for? PM me if needed.

Also thanks for clarifying your post about warranty on these tents. I posted my first reaction, and I should have thought about it before I posted. Sorry for the misunderstanding.



Would others be interested in this? Chime in so we can get an idea on the number of people interested.

Might be depending on how much they are

[Montana Cruiser]

Originally Posted by LEXUSBEN

Might be depending on how much they are

Ditto

[NorCalDoug]

Originally Posted by LEXUSBEN

Might be depending on how much they are

same.

[lavarunner]

interested in multiple ladders

[REZARF]

interested for sure.

[e9999]

is there a reasonably easy to modify ladder-attachment system under the CTT (to attach a different type of ladder with some sort of adapter) or is that going to be serious drilling and gluing and what not?

[Shahram]

I'd definitely be interested in a ladder, considering mine took a severe bending on her maiden voyage yesterday...

I'll echo what the others have said here and add:

Pros--
1. Big, big windows. Perfect ventilation for warm weather desert camping.
2. Big grommets on all corners. Since the sides are basically one layer, it's possible to string up a tarp from the corner grommets on the side that sees morning sun, thereby creating a second opaque layer, and avoiding baking inside the tent.
3. Light colors don't hold in heat.
4. The side that folded out created a great "awning" shade area.
5. Driving at highway speeds, barely noticed the tent was on. No abnormal noises or rattling.

Cons--
1. The ladder. Seriously.
2. No seriously...the ladder has got to go.
3. Key rings that held on to cotter pins started bending immediately, hence cotter pins started getting lost immediately.

Fit and finish and quality control leave a little to be desired, but for the price it is great.

Less than twelve hours ago, Mojave Desert, El Paso Mountains:

[BigSur]

For those using a yakima round crossbar...i have come up with a solution to holding it on. I am working on Pics and will get those up. Works perfectly and you don't need that ubolt kit that prevents the tent from sliding.

[e9999]

how wide a bar can be used with these underside brackets?


added: Mel says the bottom brackets are 1 1/4" on the inside. I talked to him about the ladder and rainfly and apparently, they are working on a redesign of those. Hopefully, they will be available separately as upgrades.