Mombasa Car Top Tent Review

[Boston Mangler]

Here is my writeup with Pros, Cons, Fixes and Pics

http://www.yankeetoys.org/mangler/ctt.htm

 

[Slomo]

Congrats on the score. Looks good. Nice write up.

 

[SOCALFJ]

Nice write up dude! Mine should be here tomorrow or the next day.

 

[e9999]

seems like you got the older model.
Was this the most recent sale from 3 weeks ago or so? why this much s/h?

 

[SOCALFJ]

These are the tents from Luis out of Laredo Texas.

 

[Newps]

Kevin:

Nice score, excellent write up. I really like the fact you research everything you buy and balance form/function with cost. Wise investment IMOP.

Tare

 

[remmrtn]

Did your supplier have any more available? I don't see a link to this Luis fellow.

 

[SOCALFJ]

Last i heard he had 2 left. Here's his email.... luisjgc@sbcglobal.net

 

[Boston Mangler]

Kevin:
Nice score, excellent write up.

Thanks Tare

I really like the fact you research everything you buy and balance form/function with cost.

Yeah, me too! Surprising others dont!

Wise investment IMOP.

Thank you sir

 

[SOCALFJ]

Mine arrived today. Just got done installing it. Bolted it straight to the INTI rack.
Drilled out the rivets on the factory mounting brackets and took them off. Also,
removed the eyelits that were on the bottom of the tent too. Drilled straight through
the floor and through the aluminum frame into my aluminum floor. Used two small
plates on the back with some large 3/4" self tappers and drilled them in horizontally.
The tent aint goin' anywhere.

More pics here..
http://community.webshots.com/user/socalxj

My fat a$$ trying to break the d**n thing.

GF helping out.. (such a great girl i swear)

Takes 30 seconds to open..

The left side of the rack back on fitting perfectly, still holding the wilson antenna.

Drove home, barely even knew the thing was up there. The NATO cans already block the wind anyways. The tent weighs 120lbs.. so it's not even that noticeable in the top heavy category.


Stoked to try it out. Not stoked to get out of it in the middle of the night drunk to take a leak.

 

[Boston Mangler]

Nice Fit! Looks great! Lets get some more close up pics of the mounting, i MIGHT try this route as well

Not stoked to get out of it in the middle of the night drunk to take a leak.

Ha! I agree, this should be very interesting!

Curious, how much space is there between the rack and the tent and how the cover fits? Are you able to get the corners underneath it for a snug fit? Some close up pics in the daylight would be great!

 

[SOCALFJ]

There's really nothing to take pictures of. The bolt just goes through the tent frame and bolts to my rack floor. If you look in the link i posted there is a pic of the bolt coming through the floor. I used two metal framing plates in the rear (above the rear hatch) that you can see in some of the pics.

As far as the cover goes, no it does not tuck under the tent. The tent is mounted to the floor of the rack, so there's no gap whatsoever. The cover seemed plenty tight to stay on. Made it home and back into work today no problem.

I'll shoot more pics when i get time to open it up again.

 

[Brentbba]

Nice Dave!!!

 

[e9999]

could you measure the height of the bottom of the tent to the ground sometime if you have a chance, and tell us how the ladder handles the height? wondering if it's really stretching it or not. TIA

 

[SOCALFJ]

E, it's not stretching. In this pic the ladder is touching the ground with the floor not even level yet.

But yeah, i'll get it measured when i open up the tent again.

 

[e9999]

specifically, I'm wondering if it starts being too wobbly when you reach close to 7' which is what I'd need on my rig.

 

[SOCALFJ]

Mine is around 80".. i'll have to measure when the ladder is out to find out for sure.

 

[Boston Mangler]

Well, i did the real world test and slept in it last night with the girlfriend at the beach.

Definitely need something more sturdy then 2 thule load bars mounted to the gutter. The bars flexed and moved a little too much for my liking.

I am going to explore possibly mounting this to the rack and see what happens!

Hmmmm, trial and error!

 

[e9999]

Well, i did the real world test and slept in it last night with the girlfriend at the beach.

Definitely need something more sturdy then 2 thule load bars mounted to the gutter. The bars flexed and moved a little too much for my liking.

I am going to explore possibly mounting this to the rack and see what happens!

Hmmmm, trial and error!

tech content (structural mechanics and vibrations): mmm... what did you do up there that they were flexing and moving so much?

 

[SOCALFJ]

I could have told you that was gonna happen. Those two bars for that amount of weight is just silly.

That's why i didnt even think of going that route.

Definitely need something more sturdy then 2 thule load bars mounted to the gutter. The bars flexed and moved a little too much for my liking.