Canada roof top tents! check it out!

[Enigma]

I have the same tent, just a different "brand" and several years older. No annex or awning though. Mine is mounted on 2 of the same Thule 300 gutter mounts (the shortest height ones) and load bars. I picked up an extra pair of bars and clamps and slipped it under, but only the 2 bars seemed to work fine prior to that.
The ladder on mine is the same as well, but I find it is roughly 6" or so too short, and usually stuff a milk crate/spare tire/log under it to make up the difference. My 80 has about a 2" lift on 315's for reference.
I bought mine used and am the 3rd owner of it, and as such it had a few small issues but otherwise has been great. The biggest of those being a broken plastic swivel bracket for the entrance cover. I had a fabricator friend make me up some new steel ones.
Drawing available if you need it!

 

[romey]

nice set up enigma! and thanks, good to know. i'll have to keep an eye on that bracket.

 

[romey]

btw, i just noticed, there are 8 steps to the ladder on mine, 6 on yours. i have also seen this ladder on infomercials and i think on the shelves at the local home depot. i wonder if it's just the top bracket that's been modified to bolt on to the base of the tent... and if they came in different lengths? anyway, i'm certain this'll still work with a lift on my 80.

]

lol, i see you've got 4 kids up there hiding in that first pic. kids love this tent!

 

[Enigma]

btw, i just noticed, there are 8 steps to the ladder on mine, 6 on yours. i have also seen this ladder on infomercials and i think on the shelves at the local home depot. i wonder if it's just the top bracket that's been modified to bolt on to the base of the tent... and if they came in different lengths? anyway, i'm certain this'll still work with a lift on my 80.

]

lol, i see you've got 4 kids up there hiding in that first pic. kids love this tent!

It was a "housefull" for sure



Keen eye on the step count, I shall have to have a look at those next Home Depot trip.

 

[aktundra]

I have used an RTT for several years. Wanted to pass a long a comment on moisture.

Moisture mgt will need to be considered year around. We have grown up camping in tents that are not water proof, but a rain fly that is. There is slight dead air space between the breathable tent, and the impermeable rain fly. Even with this design, there can still be condensation inside "traditional" tents if you have a lot of wet cloths inside, significant temp difference between inside and outside, or poor design/set-up that does not allow for circulation between the layers.

These RTT's are not designed that way. THEY ARE WATER TIGHT TOP TO BOTTOM AND NOT BREATHABLE, PERIOD. The breath alone of a couple campers can make it "muggy" inside after just a few hours, let alone the usual issues above. We always make sure some windows are partly open for circulation during the night, leave windows open during breakfast to let things air out before packing, and the last guy out usually takes up some paper towels to wipe down if necessary.

We love our RTT, but it is what it is, we just adjusted our camping routine. I am sure it will be replaced if it did not survive my daughter's encounter with the parking garage this fall (just took it off and put it away, will assess the damage next spring!!)

My only complaint with my Chinese knock-off is the lack of a flap over the zippers. We spent a night in a hellasious coastal Alaska storm. Wind blowing the rain so hard, every now and then, a rain drop would hit just right get blown through the zipper, and a little poof of mist would come through ! I LOVE CAMPING IN A WICKED STORM AND A GOOD TENT !!!

 

[80t0ylc]

I have used an RTT for several years. Wanted to pass a long a comment on moisture.

Moisture mgt will need to be considered year around. We have grown up camping in tents that are not water proof, but a rain fly that is. There is slight dead air space between the breathable tent, and the impermeable rain fly. Even with this design, there can still be condensation inside "traditional" tents if you have a lot of wet cloths inside, significant temp difference between inside and outside, or poor design/set-up that does not allow for circulation between the layers.

These RTT's are not designed that way. THEY ARE WATER TIGHT TOP TO BOTTOM AND NOT BREATHABLE, PERIOD. The breath alone of a couple campers can make it "muggy" inside after just a few hours, let alone the usual issues above. We always make sure some windows are partly open for circulation during the night, leave windows open during breakfast to let things air out before packing, and the last guy out usually takes up some paper towels to wipe down if necessary.

We love our RTT, but it is what it is, we just adjusted our camping routine. I am sure it will be replaced if it did not survive my daughter's encounter with the parking garage this fall (just took it off and put it away, will assess the damage next spring!!)

My only complaint with my Chinese knock-off is the lack of a flap over the zippers. We spent a night in a hellasious coastal Alaska storm. Wind blowing the rain so hard, every now and then, a rain drop would hit just right get blown through the zipper, and a little poof of mist would come through ! I LOVE CAMPING IN A WICKED STORM AND A GOOD TENT !!!

Please include your brand of "Chinese knockoff" so we can at least have a reference. My CVT which, for now, is also made in China, but has good flaps over all the zippers and the tent fabric is:
Fabric: 260g Poly/Cotton Rip Stop Fabric. W/P PU coating, Breathable and Mold Resistant with UV Protection
I have not had condensation issues yet, but camp by myself. I usually leave the top of each door unzipped an inch or two and back flap open a bit more since it has a protective flap to help keep rain out. I lived on the Oregon Coast several years ago, so I can appreciate your experience with the coastal Alaskan storm. They can hit with hurricane force winds (90 mph and above). These storms on the radar and weather maps sometimes will appear routine, but as you and I have experienced - they can be as bad as a hurricane. I recently experienced 50 mph winds, sleeping in my tent, but am not sure I'd want to see winds much more than that, for very long. Most tents don't fare well in winds of that magnitude.

 

[Rattler]

On the waterproofing/moisture issue. I have another Chinese tent, the Mombasa Expedition. We have been using it for 3 years now. This past summer i noticed it was starting to let some water in a little. Mombasa was no help for what to use other than buying a new tent. I picked up some waterproofing from West Marine to coat on it in the spring.

I did weather some rather nasty storms right on the shores of Lake Superior though.

My buddy has a Cascade of about the same age and is going through the same thing. He is waiting to see my results. He is thinking of trying Nikwax also though.

 

[concretejungle]

My buddy has a Cascade of about the same age and is going through the same thing. He is waiting to see my results. He is thinking of trying Nikwax also though.

mine was starting to do that just a little so i went to wally world and purchased a can of waterproofing spray and a bottle of the seam sealer. I waited for a sunny day and used the entire can and bottle on it. I have not had a chance to try it out in a storm but it sheds dew much better now.

 

[Rattler]

mine was starting to do that just a little so i went to wally world and purchased a can of waterproofing spray and a bottle of the seam sealer. I waited for a sunny day and used the entire can and bottle on it. I have not had a chance to try it out in a storm but it sheds dew much better now.

What brand was it?

 

[BlueHZT60]

Try 303 Products' High Tech Fabric Guard for water proofing.

I must say, I'm not too sold on all these newer tents. I've had my Maggiolina for 20 years now. I've been told it is the oldest one on the west coast. It has been through just about every weather phenomena that you could think up over the years and is still going strong. The only damage it has suffered in that time is a broken zipper pull.

I've never been wet inside regardless of outside weather conditions including sleet, snow, rain, wind, fog, ice fog, dust storms. Even the one time in the San Juans with driving sideways rain I was dry. The inside had about 1/2 a cup of water in the outer bottom edge, mattress was 100% dry and sleeping bags were dry. I simply mopped up the water and continued on with a great vacation, rain/fog and more fog for a week, but dry sleeping conditions.

I've remodeled and added to the interior over the years (wood trim, electric mattress pad, reading lights) and patched the fiberglass three times due to my improper loading or driving into things. It has been an absolutely great addition to my 60 and I'm looking forward to the next ten years of use.

From what I've been reading, it looks like many of these other brand tents, while considerably less expensive, also have considerably more issues and shorter lives. That's my $0.02.

Enjoy

 

[Rattler]

Try 303 Products' High Tech Fabric Guard for water proofing.

I must say, I'm not too sold on all these newer tents. I've had my Maggiolina for 20 years now. I've been told it is the oldest one on the west coast. It has been through just about every weather phenomena that you could think up over the years and is still going strong. The only damage it has suffered in that time is a broken zipper pull.

I've never been wet inside regardless of outside weather conditions including sleet, snow, rain, wind, fog, ice fog, dust storms. Even the one time in the San Juans with driving sideways rain I was dry. The inside had about 1/2 a cup of water in the outer bottom edge, mattress was 100% dry and sleeping bags were dry. I simply mopped up the water and continued on with a great vacation, rain/fog and more fog for a week, but dry sleeping conditions.

I've remodeled and added to the interior over the years (wood trim, electric mattress pad, reading lights) and patched the fiberglass three times due to my improper loading or driving into things. It has been an absolutely great addition to my 60 and I'm looking forward to the next ten years of use.

From what I've been reading, it looks like many of these other brand tents, while considerably less expensive, also have considerably more issues and shorter lives. That's my $0.02.

Enjoy

I was peicing RTTs for a while and bought what the budget allowed and wanted to see how we would like it. I got it for a great price from TRDParts4U and it has served us well. I would really like the next step to be up to a Flippac but that is quite a jump. We will need more room though as our boy gets bigger.

 

[concretejungle]

What brand was it?

mine was made by a company called campausa.com They make travel trailers and this was one of their tents they put on the trailer. They also use other brands. The main difference with my tent then others is that the fabric is really thick and it's waterproof... no fly. Which is nice it means i dont have to carry an additional layer (other then the zip in awning and floor). But it also means it is less breathable then other tents with a fly.

 

[concretejungle]

i will stop hijacking this thread, but i have been talking about for a while why someone doesn't take the platform of a RTT that folds out (most do so they fold from a 4x4 platform out to a 4x8 platform) and just mount a super lightweight backpacking tent on it? My biggest negative of the RTT is the weight up top. If you are just traveling around, no problem, but if you are on some tuff trails the side leaning makes you tense.

I can see as one drawback that you can't carry super thick foam mattresses, but the weight savings and thinner profile seem to me to outweigh the negatives.

 

[Rattler]

My RTT probably wieghs in at @ #80. I don't think its that bad.

I think they did that in Fourwheeler or 4 Wheel & Offroad but it seemed as though they were just poking fun at RTTs.

 

[landroamer]

Is there an actual brand name on the tent, just curious, I am leaning towards this one, most of the tents I have looked at are 200-260 g fabric, these are 300 g.... fabric according to their website. I was looking at another brand until I saw it was only 200g

 

[Awl_TEQ]

I bought one in mid December. I'll do a write up when I get around to mounting it. I opened it up in the living room Christmas day and have no complaints about quality. It has no brand markings but when I spoke to him he mentioned the next batch he brings in country may have his own branding on it. There was, however, a brochure in the box that indicated it is an unbranded Tepui Autana tent. For the price paid, in Canada (no importing required), with the awning and zip on room I don't think one can do any better. I am quite pleased with it and he (Andy, I think it was) was great to deal with. He even let me pay with Paypal because I had a balance burning a hole in my cyberspace pocket.

Like I said, I'll do a write up when I get a rack built and get it mounted.

 

[landroamer]

Thanks Awl-TEC,
I would like to see a write up, I think I am going to go ahead and buy one, I emailed Andy and he was very quick to reply and informative...

 

[landroamer]

bit the bullet

I bit the bullet today and ordered one of these tents, I have been talking to Andy and he has been great to deal with, very quick to respond, He is trying to get these out there so i think for a limited time you can buy these for 1500 shipped to you in the US and 1450 shipped in canada, He said the prices might go up in the spring. This includes the annex and awning. Once I get it I will post my thoughts.

 

[Eshu Elegua]

i have a WildTent RTT that's looks the same of yours,besides the ladder style..i think its 1 main factory designs thats sells to ARB, Ironman,etc etc with few changes per brand..yesterday pics

 

[landroamer]

I agree, I think most of these are made in the same place then branded after the fact. So far from what I can see I like the tent. Looking foward to trying it out. Nice cruiser,nice view......