Camel 4x4 RTT

[OB]

I figure it's time to finally do a little review on the Camel 4x4 RTT.
The background story on this tent is that I was lucky enough to win a Camel 4x4 FJ lift while attending the FJ Northeasters event in May of last year. Since I don't own an FJ and they don't make anything for my Tundra I traded it in and paid the difference to get the RTT.

Originally I mounted the RTT on a roll cage type frame I built for my car trailer. The plan was to use it on the trailer so I didn't have to break it down if I wanted to move the Tundra.

 

[tgreening]

That's got to be the shortest review in history.

 

[joelev]

I disagree!

 

[OB]

That's got to be the shortest review in history.

Sorry-editing while you were posting, it's comin, easy boys!

 

[OB]

I decided to take a few weeks off from work to go to the Fall Crawl hosted by the Bay to Blue Ridge Cruisers at Rausch in PA then from there straight up to NH for the Fall Gathering hosted by the Yankee Toys.
No plans were made for the road trip except that I would be camping at a different campground each night. After the Fall Crawl I headed out to Massachusettes and found a campground in Provincetown (no, I'm not so don't even go there.) From there I continued up to the campgrounds in NH that the Fall Gathering was at. Since I knew I would be leaving the trailer there I put the RTT on the Tundra.
The first night staying in the RTT it decided to rain.

 

[OB]

After dropping the trailer the fun began, hitting a different loation everyday and just driving up the coast to Maine.
Great location in York right on the ocean. As you can tell it rained that night too!
Notice that when you unzip the cover it hangs underneath the tent. This makes it easier to close up when packing up camp.

 

[OB]

Overall I stayed in the RTT 7 nights straight, 5 out of those 7 nights it rained. I had to set up and tear down the tent in drizzle and pouring rain. I didn't use the annex that goes below the RTT until I went back to NH where I dropped the trailer. It would have been too much to break down daily.
I debated long and hard on how I would mount it on the Tundra. I checked out over the cab mounts from about every manufacturer, I couldn't find a gutterless mount that would support 300+ pounds. Plus an over the cab mount would be hard to work with when it came time for setup, just no where to stand, much easier over the bed. This and the cab cuts some of the wind when driving, if it was on the roof it would add too much drag.

I decided to get a Thule contractor rack. The nice thing about the rack is that it is height adjustable, mounts to the stock tie down system in the bed of the Tundra with adapters and could hold 500+ pounds. I think the weight of the RTT is around 90 pounds. I weigh 190, add a second person (the wife who stayed home for this trip) and we are will under the Thule weight limit.
I got the rack at a great price plus it's not just for the RTT. It will come in handy when I bring the canoe to the river and when I need to pick up 20' sticks of tubing from the metal yard.

 

[rain76king]

I was glad to have had my RTT Thursday night at the FG!
Hope to see you there this year!

 

[OB]

So, let's get down to it...

After building the roll cage on the trailer for the RTT it came time to mount the RTT.
The directions that came with the RTT were pretty basic. I wish I took some pics when I unpacked the RTT and while following their directions. There were some areas that they could have explained things better, but overall it wasn't bad. Setup probably took about an hour, this was for bolting on the mounting rails, zipping on the cover and deciding on how I wanted it to open up prior to mounting.
I ditched the metal mounting straps that clamp the bottom of the RTT to the Thule rack. I deformed them a little cranking down on the nylocks plus they had sharp corners. I used some .25" plate instead which didn't deform and I rounded the edges in case I bumped my head on them.
Sorry for the pic of the not so clear mount.

 

[OB]

Opening the tent or the first time was easy enough. Slide out the ladder, grab the end and pull down. This causes the tent to start to unfold. Once you get to the point that it's more than half open the ladder goes to the ground and your done.
Climbing in for the first time was a little sketchy. When you reach the half of the ladder that's connected to the floor of the RTT it slides in the half that goes to the ground. This causes the tent to feel like it's going to collapse and break in half. Upon inspecting the tent I discovered this happened because the tent wasn't fully open, putting my weight on it helped it settle in. The triangular brackets holding the two halves together seemed just fine. The floor seems of the two halves were perfect with no gap.

 

[OB]

After unfolding the tent it was time to extend the flap that covers the ladder. I found this to be a great feature, especially when it was raining. It gave me some extra area to hang out under with the ladder pushed out of the way and you were covered from the rain when entering the tent.

 

[OB]

Next it came time to open the window flaps. The spring rod supplied slips into a hole in the frame. It goes through the grommet in the tent material. This is where the directions were sketchy, if I recall correctly it did not mention how this worked and it took a few minutes to figure it out.

 

[OB]

The open window with spring rod installed.

 

[OB]

For the large window opening on the rear side of the tent I found that you could put the spring rod on either the rain fly or the window itself. Later I discovered that with the rain fly on you use it there and not as the photo shows it. This was another little thing to figure out that the directions didn't mention. The rain fly is also attached when you open the tent, no wrestling with trying to put it on.

 

[OB]

The room inside was perfect for myself, 6'3", 190 pounds, shaped like a toothpick. There is room for the wife and the bed surface is about the width of a full size bed, not quite a queen. I'm not sure I'd try to squeeze a child or a midget (sorry-little person) in there unless your a really close family. The length was perfect for me, I still had plenty of room at my feet and my head wasn't touching the tent. I was able to fold up my clothes at night in preparation for changing in the morning and leave them at the foot of the tent near the door. The height was perfect too, at the highest part you could kneel down. Changing was like any other small tent, lay down to put your pants on.

 

[OB]

I haven't quite figured out what the straps are for that are connected to the aluminum uprights, there is one strap on each side of the tent. The only thing I can think of is that you could use them to help pull yourself in the tent when you get near the top of the ladder. If you know what they're for let me know (the directions didn't say).
Each side of the tent had 2 pockets, perfect for the wallet and keys.

 

[OB]

As I mentioned before the annex is a little too much when moving frequently. When I finally arrived at the Fall Gathering and picked my spot I put it on. In order to put the annex on you unzip and remove the cover and zip the annex in it's place. The floor pan then zips into the bottom of the annex. In case your tent is mounted higher than normal Camel 4x4 sells an extension for the annex that comes with an additional ladder piece.

 

[OB]

So it rained for 5 out of the 7 nights, one night I put the tarp over the whole setup. Not because the tent leaked but because I knew when I returned home it would be at least 3 days before I would be able to open it up and let it air out. The days prior to covering it with the tarp it rained. The canvass walls and roof did very well right out of the box to repell the water. The nylon ripstop rainfly didn't leak at all either. In 5 days of rain I counted about 7 drops inside the tent, this was more from the canvass wicking the rain inside. In preparation for this year I'll seam seal and silicone the tent. While camping in York on the ocean the rain was that "sideways rain" (said in my best Forest Gump voice). Winds were whipping too, no leaks at all.
The annex was a perfect changing room and storage area. You could easily fit a queen size air mattress in it for additional campers. The ladder would be in the way but with some ingenuity and some quick disconnects it shouldn't be a problem. It's also a great place to hang out when it's raining. Another great feature is that when inside the annex all 4 walls have full size windows, the front and back are door size. With the back being door size it's perfect for SUV's owners. You can unzip the window/door and still get into the door of the vehicle.

 

[OB]

One of the biggest things is where you park, It took me a few tries while at the FG to find the right area in our campsite to get her level and still have enough area to open it. Believe it or not but I'm thinking about adding some kind of leveling system between the Thule rack and the tent itself, possibly an airbag type system.
The mattress that comes with the tent was comfortable, I think it's 3" foam. It easily removes from the tent and is held down to the floor with velcro strips. I'm almost positive you can unzip the cover and throw it in the washer. Next time out I'm going to bring a thermopedic full size mattress topper with me for more comfort.
I timed myself every chance I had when I set up and broke camp. The best time I had for setup after parking was 6 minutes, worst was 9 in the rain. I was not rushing when setting up either, just seemed to get used to doing it daily. This is with unzipping and removing the cover, unfolding, propping open entry way above ladder, adding spring rods to windows and tying down the guide rope to the entry way. People at the campgrounds were amazed and I had a few visitors inquiring about the setup.
Tearing it down and packing it up took a little more time, about 12-15 minutes. After disconnecting the window rods, guide ropes, and folding down the entry way the biggest part was folding the material into itself once it was folded. Care needed to be taken when zipping on the cover to ensure that the tent material didn't get caught inside. After a few days of doing it I got the hang of how to fold it up and tuck in the material at the same time.
I have to say that I probably would never have dropped the coin on this tent if I didn't win that FJ lift from Camel 4x4. I paid the retail difference between the lift and the tent and I'm glad I took the plunge, Now that I do have it however I'll never sleep on the ground again. If you think you can swing the price it's perfect and easy to set up. Never come back to your tent in the rain to find it's in the low spot at the campsite.
In the 7 nights I slept in the RTT I was comfortable and actually felt safer off the ground. Without this tent I would have never taken the amazing trip I took. I wouldn't have wanted to set up a ground tent every night in Maine knowing there were bears around. Granted I wasn't in the backwoods of Maine but a few of the campgrounds were off the beaten path.
A huge thanks to Eli at Camel 4x4, he's a great guy and sells an excellent product. Next week I'll be adding Camel 4x4's awning to compliment the tent.
Dinner my first night in Maine: 2 pound lobster, 1 pound of clams, corn on the cob, baked potato and a few beers. All prepared in a coastal rain storm.

 

[1ststatecruiser]

nice reveiw ,do you think that the annex could be converted as a sleeping area to0? with 3 kids+wife im really looking for this to workout like an airbed at the floor annex for 2 adults and kids on the main tent. thanks.

edit:got the answer from your review, thanks.