review your Roof-Top-Tent

[cruzerfetish]

got the tent on monday. Thanks Mel. Don't have anything to add, etc that all of the feedback on the tent had me well prepared and pleasantly surprised. I am a little too long to sleep parrallel to the cruiser and when laying perpendicular to the cruiser my ass lands right in the space between the cushions. Haven't slept in it yet though so I need to try it with bedding and see how it goes. Tent looks great on the 60. I also put it on a tradesman rack that has had its top rails cut off by a PO for a RTT. I just cut out a couple of pieces of the flooring and used the pins to attach it to the rack. I will try to get some pics up thois afternoon/evening.

 

[e9999]

I looked at this tent in detail, and I think the price is great for what one gets. For the camping many poeple do, with somewhat protected areas, a little rain sometimes, it will be great.
However, there is NO WAY this tent will stand up to conditions in Baja. Winds that come in an instant, shift directions every few seconds, go for 3 days and up to 60mph with higher gusts will tear this thing to shreds fast. I have seen 3 season tents getting ripped apart there, and more than once have started to move in a tent, because the winds were simply pushing it somewhere.
I talked to Mike at autohomeus.com about this, and he agrees (I understand that he is of course also invested in his company). Consequently I just bought a Columbus-it has a better chance of suviving down there.
we'll see
not trying to bash this tent at all, I actually love the looks, the price, and the room. But it ill not survive 1 week in Baja.

jan

Been to Baja several times. There was wind but nothing like 60 mph all the time. Some in a pop up that is much more prone to moving around than this tent is for sure. I would not hesitate to take it down there. Plus weren't there a couple of folks who mentioned that it held up well in the wind?
Has grommets on the rainfly for tiedowns too.

 

[Jan-78FJ40]

Been to Baja several times. There was wind but nothing like 60 mph all the time. Some in a pop up that is much more prone to moving around than this tent is for sure. I would not hesitate to take it down there. Plus weren't there a couple of folks who mentioned that it held up well in the wind?
Has grommets on the rainfly for tiedowns too.

not all the time, that is actually the problem. you can sit on the beach having a cold beer, and out of the nothing you'll have this huge gust that sends your chairs flying, rips your tarp to shreds, and you'll find your tent a mile down the beach in the water.
it could all b eover with that, or go on for 3 days.

as I stated, I do not doubt the qualities of this tent. I am just stating my impression, coming from 5 trips down there a year.
I am not even convinced the much sturdier Columbus will hold up, to tell the truth.
jan

 

[e9999]

still working on an optimal rack system to hold this CTT up.

couple of things: the aluminium frame visible on the outside edge is 25mm.
Apparently there are bars in the frame all the way across where the brackets are, plus one in the center (found it with a studfinder... ) and of course at the periphery. Hard to tell what the width of the cross bars under the brackets is. Probably 25mm as well, maybe more. We should find out. Not obvious that the bracket is riveted in the center of the cross-bar, though. My studfinder suggests it's off a bit so guys if you want to drill in the center of those bars, better check first where they really are.

The plastic sheet on the bottom is not very hard or thick. If you have rack bars to put the CTT on, I would suggest that the rack bars be under a CTT frame crossbar, not on the side of it. I would also suggest you don't put all the weight on the brackets, which would happen if you use a rack bar across directly under the brackets. Since I don't know how wide the CTT frame crossbars are, this pretty much mandates the use of a rack bar fitting inside the brackets, but then I'd use a spacer on top so that the weight is spread over the width of the frame, not just supported by the brackets.

I've been playing with different types of rack bars that I have around, but so far it's not a great fit. Trying to use Unistrut bars but the dimensions are not good for this... The inside of the brackets is about 32mm or 1 1/4" but I'd like to put some padding in there, so use something a tad thinner. Maybe 1" wide.

As far as preventing side to side motion, I'll probably end up using a bolt across the brackets into the rack bar, but then one should be careful that the weight doesn't end up being all on the bolts...

 

[loquito]

I looked at this tent in detail, and I think the price is great for what one gets. For the camping many poeple do, with somewhat protected areas, a little rain sometimes, it will be great.
However, there is NO WAY this tent will stand up to conditions in Baja. Winds that come in an instant, shift directions every few seconds, go for 3 days and up to 60mph with higher gusts will tear this thing to shreds fast. I have seen 3 season tents getting ripped apart there, and more than once have started to move in a tent, because the winds were simply pushing it somewhere.
I talked to Mike at autohomeus.com about this, and he agrees (I understand that he is of course also invested in his company). Consequently I just bought a Columbus-it has a better chance of suviving down there.
we'll see
not trying to bash this tent at all, I actually love the looks, the price, and the room. But it ill not survive 1 week in Baja.

jan

Jan I would love to hear what you think about your new tent. When you get it maybe you will tell us how it stood up to Baja.
On this thread there is another RTT
https://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.php?t=109121
I don't know if yours is the same but I would like to see the same sort of pics of yours. I like how he shows the mechanics of his tent. His tent seems really solidly built. Maybe you can add yours to his thread . I love reading what people think about their stuff.

 

[REZARF]

Great info. I appreciate all your specs and sharing them. I am picking up a set of Yakima 1a Hi Rises here locally today. My 40 is wide enough to have the tent rest totally on the cross bars, however, the point where the crossbar connects with the bracket on the rain gutter is raised just a bit. I will need to look at a proper spacer.

Thanks again!

Rezarf <><

still working on an optimal rack system to hold this CTT up.

couple of things: the aluminium frame visible on the outside edge is 25mm.
Apparently there are bars in the frame all the way across where the brackets are, plus one in the center (found it with a studfinder... ) and of course at the periphery. Hard to tell what the width of the cross bars under the brackets is. Probably 25mm as well, maybe more. We should find out. Not obvious that the bracket is riveted in the center of the cross-bar, though. My studfinder suggests it's off a bit so guys if you want to drill in the center of those bars, better check first where they really are.

The plastic sheet on the bottom is not very hard or thick. If you have rack bars to put the CTT on, I would suggest that the rack bars be under a CTT frame crossbar, not on the side of it. I would also suggest you don't put all the weight on the brackets, which would happen if you use a rack bar across directly under the brackets. Since I don't know how wide the CTT frame crossbars are, this pretty much mandates the use of a rack bar fitting inside the brackets, but then I'd use a spacer on top so that the weight is spread over the width of the frame, not just supported by the brackets.

I've been playing with different types of rack bars that I have around, but so far it's not a great fit. Trying to use Unistrut bars but the dimensions are not good for this... The inside of the brackets is about 32mm or 1 1/4" but I'd like to put some padding in there, so use something a tad thinner. Maybe 1" wide.

As far as preventing side to side motion, I'll probably end up using a bolt across the brackets into the rack bar, but then one should be careful that the weight doesn't end up being all on the bolts...

 

[e9999]

well, I spent several hours on this rack system tonight... what a pain.

After various tests I decided to go with 2 bars made of 1"x2" steel rectangular tube. I am using a hard plastic 1/4" spacer between the bar and the CTT to spread the load on the entire inner frame of the CTT. I wanted the CTT to be perfectly solid on the bars with no play at all. Well, that turned out to be where I spent all my time. I drilled holes in the bars to bolt down the brackets and making this really right with only a hand drill was something else. I wasn't sure whether the bracket holes were aligned so I had to mark and locate all the holes separately then naturally they weren't perfectly aligned when I tried to mount it all and I had to enlarge some of them to twist things around... blah blah blah... hours I tell you! But eh, it is indeed rock solid now...! And it ain't going anywhere...

Suggestion: I started out marking the holes in the brackets onto the bars with a pen and then drilling them and that's where the trouble started when the holes weren't perfectly aligned (poor centering of centerpunch, slippage of drill hand etc). Note this has gotta be within one or 2 tenths or a mm to be tight. (Dang I gotta get myself a drillpress...). What worked much better on the second bar was to pilot hole the bar directly through the brackets. Much more accurate and then the real drilling stays right on. I do one hole, put it under the CTT, put a bolt in for reference, centerhole the second hole, remove it all, go drill the next hole, come back, put 2 bolts in, pilot hole the next one, remove etc, to keep hard references. Hours...!

I am also working out a system where the end of the rack bars will help support the second half of the CTT when open so the hinges are not stressed too much.


Insane! This guy is insane, I'm tellin' ya!

 

[e9999]

pic of mounting system at

https://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.php?p=1442209#post1442209

 

[cruzerfetish]

still no pics, but here is my 1st test run story.

Headed south on HWY 1 from Big Sur Valley. All campgrounds full, pull off around 11:00pm south of Gorda at a turnout overlooking the pacific with moon shining off water and great visibility. Winds 5mph. Go to sleep with the sounds of the pacific. Very comfortable. Wake up when the wind blows a little harder b/c I failed to button down the rain fly (or it unbuttoned). Go back to sleep. (dreaming about how hard the ladder was to put together in the moonlight). Around 4 am wake up and the tent is blowing around bad enough that I think it might be too uncomfortable to go back to sleep. Decided that it was time to go back home and bet into bed as opposed to go looking for a spot with wind protection and set back up. I guess the winds were gusting around 25 knts. Not crazy but too much for me in this tent on top of the 60 overlooking a 400' drop to the ocean.

Due to the ladder it isn't a quick set-up/tear down. Then if you want to put the cover on it before you get on the road, a little longer to get everything tucked in.

Overall, we are really psyched about this tent. Now we have a better feeling of where to camp and what the good mods will be (ladder/rainfly).

It would have done better it I guyed it out, but that would have been a PITA and I wanted to see what would happen when the unpredictable weather here took a change of course.

pics soon. sorry. was hoping to take a pic first thing in the morning of the tent up and the site, but going home to bed got the best of me.

 

[cruzerfetish]

pics...

 

[calphi27]

Fetish- Can you give us some more info on that roof rack? I like the flat design. Also a pic of the roof clamps would be appreciated. Por favor.

 

[e9999]

well, when you say the wind was blowing too hard, did you mean for comfort regardless of the tent (motion and noise), because the design was such that it was too noticeable, or cuz your thought this would damage the tent?

was it better or worse than a landlubber tent?

still no pics, but here is my 1st test run story.

Headed south on HWY 1 from Big Sur Valley. All campgrounds full, pull off around 11:00pm south of Gorda at a turnout overlooking the pacific with moon shining off water and great visibility. Winds 5mph. Go to sleep with the sounds of the pacific. Very comfortable. Wake up when the wind blows a little harder b/c I failed to button down the rain fly (or it unbuttoned). Go back to sleep. (dreaming about how hard the ladder was to put together in the moonlight). Around 4 am wake up and the tent is blowing around bad enough that I think it might be too uncomfortable to go back to sleep. Decided that it was time to go back home and bet into bed as opposed to go looking for a spot with wind protection and set back up. I guess the winds were gusting around 25 knts. Not crazy but too much for me in this tent on top of the 60 overlooking a 400' drop to the ocean.

Due to the ladder it isn't a quick set-up/tear down. Then if you want to put the cover on it before you get on the road, a little longer to get everything tucked in.

Overall, we are really psyched about this tent. Now we have a better feeling of where to camp and what the good mods will be (ladder/rainfly).

It would have done better it I guyed it out, but that would have been a PITA and I wanted to see what would happen when the unpredictable weather here took a change of course.

pics soon. sorry. was hoping to take a pic first thing in the morning of the tent up and the site, but going home to bed got the best of me.

 

[BMAN]

Stupid question here but did you cinch up the inner adjustment straps that lift the bows and affectively tighten up the tent material? It's a PITA with the clip design but I think it makes a hell of a difference with the feel and sound of the tent over night.

Tent looks good up on the 60 though!!

still no pics, but here is my 1st test run story.

Headed south on HWY 1 from Big Sur Valley. All campgrounds full, pull off around 11:00pm south of Gorda at a turnout overlooking the pacific with moon shining off water and great visibility. Winds 5mph. Go to sleep with the sounds of the pacific. Very comfortable. Wake up when the wind blows a little harder b/c I failed to button down the rain fly (or it unbuttoned). Go back to sleep. (dreaming about how hard the ladder was to put together in the moonlight). Around 4 am wake up and the tent is blowing around bad enough that I think it might be too uncomfortable to go back to sleep. Decided that it was time to go back home and bet into bed as opposed to go looking for a spot with wind protection and set back up. I guess the winds were gusting around 25 knts. Not crazy but too much for me in this tent on top of the 60 overlooking a 400' drop to the ocean.

Due to the ladder it isn't a quick set-up/tear down. Then if you want to put the cover on it before you get on the road, a little longer to get everything tucked in.

Overall, we are really psyched about this tent. Now we have a better feeling of where to camp and what the good mods will be (ladder/rainfly).

It would have done better it I guyed it out, but that would have been a PITA and I wanted to see what would happen when the unpredictable weather here took a change of course.

pics soon. sorry. was hoping to take a pic first thing in the morning of the tent up and the site, but going home to bed got the best of me.

 

[WAVEPIMP]

Alright, trying to figure out a way to put smaller size mosquito screens on the windows to keep the small bugs out.

The tent is made of 420 Denier Polyester with PVC Coating. Now I found a product called hh-66 vinyle cement. I was wondering if you got some strips of vinyle and sandwiched the netting with some of this adhessive on the tent, would this stuff work like it says? Just a idea I am throwing around to get better bug protection when on the beach.

I'm just not sure if this stuff will stick to the tent or not.

Thanks James

 

[dieseldan]

technitop

Just scored a used (pre-owned!!) technitop off ebay - felt a bit of regret after seeing some posts here from some outfit selling them for $1050 USD (I paid 900) .. but it seemed no one was ever able to actually get hold of their outfit..

Looking forward to posting some pics and crisp fall campouts!

 

[cruzerfetish]

wavepimp,
why not sew some finer mesh on top of the one that is there? My front door screen has already pulled and has a small tear in it.

BMAN,
I did not cinch it up to tight, just a little to see how it worked. Should have tried that. THe one thing I did try was to remove the rainfly, as that was what was flapping the loudest. BUt that really changed the dynamic of how the tent handled in the wind, and the wind was picking up as time went on.


E9999,
I mean it was too much wind to think it wasn't going to get worse and that I was going to have to move to a more protected spot. It was worse than a ground-based tent only b/c it was sitting up so high. One on the ground probably wouldn't have shaken so much. I would say regardless of the tent, but my land tent is a small 2 person Walrus that is bombproof. But this tent is more like a 4 person coleman, except it goes on your roof and has a nice padded mattress.

It probably would have held up, but at this point (having gone outside to remove the rainfly) I was awake and decided I should either go back out and put the rainfly back on and do some work or grab my sh*t and head back down the road.


Calphi27,
It is a tradesman, you can check them out on man-a-fre. I bought it from a fellow mudder. a PO had sawn off the top rails for a hannibal tent (i think). I can take a couple of pics in a little bit.

 

[cruzerfetish]

more

 

[WildYoats]

Well it has been a week or so since my CTT arrived. I have been playing with it today and will give my two cents. Pretty much, it is what everyone has said already.

I like it. I think it's cool. Is it as stout as a EasyAwn, nope. But for that price, who the hell cares. I think it is more than sufficient.

It's easy to work with, and pretty basic. Yes, the latter scares the hell outta me (btw I am 280 lbs - all pure muscle of course ). So far so good, I can see myself turfing it down the thing one day though. We shall work on something else.

Mel is awesome to deal with. Order was placed, days later the trucking company called with it's arrival.

All in all I am totally happy with it.

Has anyone camped with it yet? I may need a trip to Moab this weeked just to give it whirl.

BTW, I timed myself opening her up from a wrapped up point. 2:12 from thought to finish. That rocks.

Some pics:

 

[LEXUSBEN]

Camped in the backyard on top of truck probably a total of 5 nights with the girls. Don't know if that counts or not. Has been great so far. Not much weather to talk about yet though. Have noticed the support bars are wet with condensation in the mornings. I think the tent rocks for the price.

Oh yea, once you get used to the ladder operation it's not as bad as it looks. It is still a piece of crap but there is an art to setting it up.

 

[WildYoats]

Camped in the backyard on top of truck probably a total of 5 nights with the girls. Don't know if that counts or not. Has been great so far. Not much weather to talk about yet though. Have noticed the support bars are wet with condensation in the mornings. I think the tent rocks for the price.

Hmmm, that kinda counts. I think it would be my duty to take it to Moab then and test it.