CVT Mt. Baker RTT Long Term Eval (3 Viewers)

[80t0ylc]

Well, after temporarily moving the tent and awning back to the Land Cruiser for an awesome trip experience to the Maze, in which because of limitations at camp sites, I couldn't tow the trailer in....some issues have surfaced. It's been an awesome RTT, but it's starting to show it's age.

These latches that hold the tent closed, which I've had no problems until this trip, all of a sudden are allowing the tent to pop open:

I'm thinking it was the serious pounding it was taking from the road between Teapot Rock and the Dollhouse. Noticed that it was loose when setting up camp that evening. Thankfully, it only opened an inch or so and not much dust got in. Used a ratchet strap to keep it closed for the rest of the trip. Anyway, I've got a fix in mind and ordered from Amazon. It's due in soon.

The other issue is the nice built in "mini-awning" over the rear window:

It was held up with a sewn in carbon fiber rod that bowed out when the tent was deployed - holding the awning up. The ends have been wearing the pocket that it was sewn into and finally one end popped thru which necessitated me having to remove the rod so I could close the tent when packing up. For now the fabric just droops and 1/2 way covers the rear window when deployed. I don't have a fix for that yet.

 

[80t0ylc]

This should do the trick for securing the lid. It's stainless steel and it'll be mounted in the center, in the rear. The eye rotates so I can just turn it 90*, put a beaner, or a padlock. Before I used a rolled up sleeping bag inside tent to give resistance to allow OEM latches to do their job. Problem is - there's no consistant resistance, so if allowed to close completely, the latches don't function correctly because they require resistance to work. With this hasp, it wont matter:

 

[80t0ylc]

Hasp installed. Keeping it closed (or locked if necessary) should not be a problem, now.

 

[80t0ylc]

Update:
After 8 years of use, this tent will be sold, either on it's own or with the CVT trailer it's mounted on. I've been blessed to graduate into a teardrop trailer, so no more RTT for me. It's been a great tent. I've taken care of it and all of it's zippers and tent fabric are sound and still work. The fiberglass shell is still holding up well - a little faded, but no holes or cracks.

 

[TerraNerva]

Thanks for the continued info. I have a CVT 1st Gen Mt St Helens that has had similar issues with closures, and this model has struggled with zipper blowouts and other engineering issues. I love the tent but regret the purchase. I've mirrored some of your ingenuity along the way...

 

[80t0ylc]

Well, I sold the tent today, by it's self. Went to a friend who lives down the street so I'll be able to get feed back on it's use. Kinda sad to see it go. It served me well for 8 yrs. I'll pass on any new developments I hear about it.