JohnnyOshow22
KK0TEQ
Going to post this up since I haven't seen anyone talk about the double channel here on mud or really any other place online.
Here is the Cascadia Vehicle Tents Mt. Hood 56" double channel roof top tent on my 97 LX450.
cascadiatents.com
I wouldn't call this a review at this point since my wife and I have a whopping 1 (yes 1) night in this thing, but I am going to keep this thread updated for those of you that are interested in this tent so in time it will morph into a review. As of right now lets call this post a factoid about the tent. Purchased this back in February for 20% off, if you watch their Instagram they will randomly do sales and we definitely hopped on the band wagon. I had been eyeing this tent for quite some time, and in my opinion this tent is kind of a jack of all trades much like my 80. Thin enough, light enough, roomy enough... It checked off most the boxes on my list, more so than any other tent on the market. Even without the sale this was the tent I wanted to get.
It is an aluminum clamshell style tent that weighs in at ~150 lbs (They're claim and I didn't weigh it but it also didn't take much effort for me and a buddy to move it around). Its sides are an aluminum extrusion. It has 1 slot around the rim on the top half of the clamshell and 2 slots on the lower half hence the name Double Channel. They do offer a slimmer "Single Channel" version that is 6.25" thick. I chose the double channel to make closing with pillows and sleeping bags easier. I already get 10-12 mpg, wasn't worried about the extra 2" of wind drag. The tent also doubles as a roof rack and comes with 2 cross bars that can be installed on the top half. They say you can keep 150 lbs up there on the load bars and while I likely never will, based on how stout this thing is I believe them but you probably wouldn't want to open it with that much on top.
Interior dimensions 82"x 53"x 55" (55 is the interior height to the peak)
Exterior dimensions 85"x 56"x 9.75" (The height is really 8.25", they include their roof rack crossbars in the height that are supplied with the tent but don't have to be installed, I didn't install them)
All the hardware included and the struts are stainless steel. The latches are a draw style latch and make closing the tent much easier than competitors tents. The tent has a bungy cord that goes around the fabric to help keep the fabric in while shutting the tent. I can shut the tent without ever hopping off the tailgate to fold fabric in on the side. The ladder is solid and you can enter from any of the three sides. I placed the ladder safety hooks on the driver side and centered on the rear so that we can enter from under the tents built in awning if its raining and the ladder does not interfere with the driver rear door. One thing I am going to do with the ladder safety hooks is put heat shrink around them because when the truck moves the ladder on hook movement makes a squeak.
(photo of one latch, there are one on each side at the back, and there is provisions to add a lock of your choosing)
Mounting things to the tent is extremely easy, the slots take M8 hardware, I've found that m8 jam nuts from any local hardware store work great and are cheap, pair those with some stainless button head screws and blue locktite and you have a nice polished mounting solution. So far I have mounted a 2 Banger Riverquiver from Riversmith to hold our fly rods and on the passenger side I have a 99" CVT awning. You can buy awning mounts from CVT but I opted to make my own to keep the awning as tight as possible to the truck (It sits closer inwards than my Safari Snorkel).
Moving onto the tent body and the inside.
Mattress is foam and 3" thick. The mattress in my opinion is way too stiff/uncomfortable and I've swapped it out for my exped megamat duo (which fits perfectly, and we had already planned on doing that anyways, one of the reasons we bought this width tent) that I used with my ground tent before I got into this. The exped is super comfortable and definitely the way to go which a lot of people are doing in all sorts of rtt's not just this one.
The body is a heavy duty canvas that is water proof, all the interior seems and stitching are sealed with seam sealer tape. The canvas is zipped into the tent, this means that if you rip, puncture, somehow mess up the canvas then you can call up CVT and order a replacement body. The extra bit of awning over the rear of the tent was a big selling point for me. My wife go camping rain or shine and keeping water out of the tent is important. Some tents don't have that and if it's raining something is getting wet when you get in plus if it's raining you can keep the back door open to help prevent condensation from building up. The awning does not have to be deployed, it can be rolled up and has toggle style clasps at the top. The doors on the sides roll down with canvas on the outside and mesh on the inside. The door on the rear rolls up, canvas on the outside, mesh on the inside. This thing has a lot of zippers so we added some paracord pulls to them which 1 makes them easier to operate but 2 also makes them nearly silent when it gets windy which it did the one night we've been in it so far and never heard the zippers. There are 8 pockets inside the tent for things like water bottles, glasses, headlamps etc. Some tents don't have pockets which if you wear glasses you know how sometimes not being able to find your glasses right away sucks. The roof is lined with a thin layer of carpet, this is there to absorb moisture and then release slowly so water droplets don't form overnight due to the moisture in your breath and it also helps insulate the tent. Also on the roof is a bungy mesh thing that you can shove jackets/clothes/anything you don't want on the mattress to keep it roomier for you to sleep without feeling crowded. Inside we added a cheap battery powered led light strip, lights up the inside perfectly.
So now that I've gone through almost all what the tent offers lets talk about the elephants in the room.... Yes it is chinesium and yes it is one of several copies on the market
so why did I purchase the CVT version vs the Roofnest, Area BFE, Outer Tents etc?
1 - its the only double channel (8" vs 6")on the market that means you can make stronger connections with things like awnings, shower rooms, etc, it makes closing the tent easier and you can leave all your stuff up there, something you cannot do in a lot of these super thin tents that are only 6" and in my opinion 8 is still very thin.
2 - CVT's latches are the best compared with every other manufacturer, every other manufacture has a push over style latch which can be a major pain to close. Look up those companys and then compare their latch to what I posted above and you'll see the difference immediately
3- CVT has a great reputation for taking care of its customers and that counts for a lot.
All in all my wife and I are super happy with the Mt. Hood so far, time will tell what we really think of it but we will be putting it through it's paces this summer. Our goal is to get 30 nights of camping this summer (Some influencer is going to spit out their chai tea latte at some point when they see the word camping instead of overlanding in this thread lol) This is definitely going to make exploring Montana where we live and the rest of the continent in our 80 that much easier!
Here is the Cascadia Vehicle Tents Mt. Hood 56" double channel roof top tent on my 97 LX450.
Mt. Hood Aluminum Hardshell Rooftop Tent: Double-Channel
Meet the embodiment of function and design. Boasting one of the thinnest profiles available while offering one of the widest variety of options. Lightweight durability meets thoughtful functionality meets enviable fashion. This super low-profile clamshell offers unparalleled options for mounting...
cascadiatents.com
I wouldn't call this a review at this point since my wife and I have a whopping 1 (yes 1) night in this thing, but I am going to keep this thread updated for those of you that are interested in this tent so in time it will morph into a review. As of right now lets call this post a factoid about the tent. Purchased this back in February for 20% off, if you watch their Instagram they will randomly do sales and we definitely hopped on the band wagon. I had been eyeing this tent for quite some time, and in my opinion this tent is kind of a jack of all trades much like my 80. Thin enough, light enough, roomy enough... It checked off most the boxes on my list, more so than any other tent on the market. Even without the sale this was the tent I wanted to get.
It is an aluminum clamshell style tent that weighs in at ~150 lbs (They're claim and I didn't weigh it but it also didn't take much effort for me and a buddy to move it around). Its sides are an aluminum extrusion. It has 1 slot around the rim on the top half of the clamshell and 2 slots on the lower half hence the name Double Channel. They do offer a slimmer "Single Channel" version that is 6.25" thick. I chose the double channel to make closing with pillows and sleeping bags easier. I already get 10-12 mpg, wasn't worried about the extra 2" of wind drag. The tent also doubles as a roof rack and comes with 2 cross bars that can be installed on the top half. They say you can keep 150 lbs up there on the load bars and while I likely never will, based on how stout this thing is I believe them but you probably wouldn't want to open it with that much on top.
Interior dimensions 82"x 53"x 55" (55 is the interior height to the peak)
Exterior dimensions 85"x 56"x 9.75" (The height is really 8.25", they include their roof rack crossbars in the height that are supplied with the tent but don't have to be installed, I didn't install them)
All the hardware included and the struts are stainless steel. The latches are a draw style latch and make closing the tent much easier than competitors tents. The tent has a bungy cord that goes around the fabric to help keep the fabric in while shutting the tent. I can shut the tent without ever hopping off the tailgate to fold fabric in on the side. The ladder is solid and you can enter from any of the three sides. I placed the ladder safety hooks on the driver side and centered on the rear so that we can enter from under the tents built in awning if its raining and the ladder does not interfere with the driver rear door. One thing I am going to do with the ladder safety hooks is put heat shrink around them because when the truck moves the ladder on hook movement makes a squeak.
(photo of one latch, there are one on each side at the back, and there is provisions to add a lock of your choosing)
Mounting things to the tent is extremely easy, the slots take M8 hardware, I've found that m8 jam nuts from any local hardware store work great and are cheap, pair those with some stainless button head screws and blue locktite and you have a nice polished mounting solution. So far I have mounted a 2 Banger Riverquiver from Riversmith to hold our fly rods and on the passenger side I have a 99" CVT awning. You can buy awning mounts from CVT but I opted to make my own to keep the awning as tight as possible to the truck (It sits closer inwards than my Safari Snorkel).
Moving onto the tent body and the inside.
Mattress is foam and 3" thick. The mattress in my opinion is way too stiff/uncomfortable and I've swapped it out for my exped megamat duo (which fits perfectly, and we had already planned on doing that anyways, one of the reasons we bought this width tent) that I used with my ground tent before I got into this. The exped is super comfortable and definitely the way to go which a lot of people are doing in all sorts of rtt's not just this one.
The body is a heavy duty canvas that is water proof, all the interior seems and stitching are sealed with seam sealer tape. The canvas is zipped into the tent, this means that if you rip, puncture, somehow mess up the canvas then you can call up CVT and order a replacement body. The extra bit of awning over the rear of the tent was a big selling point for me. My wife go camping rain or shine and keeping water out of the tent is important. Some tents don't have that and if it's raining something is getting wet when you get in plus if it's raining you can keep the back door open to help prevent condensation from building up. The awning does not have to be deployed, it can be rolled up and has toggle style clasps at the top. The doors on the sides roll down with canvas on the outside and mesh on the inside. The door on the rear rolls up, canvas on the outside, mesh on the inside. This thing has a lot of zippers so we added some paracord pulls to them which 1 makes them easier to operate but 2 also makes them nearly silent when it gets windy which it did the one night we've been in it so far and never heard the zippers. There are 8 pockets inside the tent for things like water bottles, glasses, headlamps etc. Some tents don't have pockets which if you wear glasses you know how sometimes not being able to find your glasses right away sucks. The roof is lined with a thin layer of carpet, this is there to absorb moisture and then release slowly so water droplets don't form overnight due to the moisture in your breath and it also helps insulate the tent. Also on the roof is a bungy mesh thing that you can shove jackets/clothes/anything you don't want on the mattress to keep it roomier for you to sleep without feeling crowded. Inside we added a cheap battery powered led light strip, lights up the inside perfectly.
So now that I've gone through almost all what the tent offers lets talk about the elephants in the room.... Yes it is chinesium and yes it is one of several copies on the market
so why did I purchase the CVT version vs the Roofnest, Area BFE, Outer Tents etc?
1 - its the only double channel (8" vs 6")on the market that means you can make stronger connections with things like awnings, shower rooms, etc, it makes closing the tent easier and you can leave all your stuff up there, something you cannot do in a lot of these super thin tents that are only 6" and in my opinion 8 is still very thin.
2 - CVT's latches are the best compared with every other manufacturer, every other manufacture has a push over style latch which can be a major pain to close. Look up those companys and then compare their latch to what I posted above and you'll see the difference immediately
3- CVT has a great reputation for taking care of its customers and that counts for a lot.
All in all my wife and I are super happy with the Mt. Hood so far, time will tell what we really think of it but we will be putting it through it's paces this summer. Our goal is to get 30 nights of camping this summer (Some influencer is going to spit out their chai tea latte at some point when they see the word camping instead of overlanding in this thread lol) This is definitely going to make exploring Montana where we live and the rest of the continent in our 80 that much easier!
