RTT or TDT (1 Viewer)

[Josh N]

So the question is this, rooftop tent or teardrop trailer.

I see the pro/cons as this but still undecided:

RTT Pro

-Mounted to the truck, no trailer to pull (reducing tolls on some roads)
-Up high catches better airflow in summer
-Cheaper than a TD. $800ish for the tent, $200ish for the roofrack.
-no sleeping on the ground
-looks cool
-Total pkg contained to just the truck, ease of maneuvering.

RTT Cons
-Mounted to the truck, raises CG and vehicle height
-requires a roof rack
-catches more airflow in winter
-takes more time to set up than a TD albeit marginal

Teardrop pros
-Weathertight any conditions
-No set up (stop moving, get in)
-Remains packed all of the time
-lightweight (almost all are <1k lbs)
-has a built in kitchen (or I wouldn't even consider)
-can be left in base camp while wheeling
-easier to hookup than the RTT and roofrack

TD Cons
-pricey $2k to $15k (patience will net me a NICE TD at @k in this economy, seen several)
-is a trailer (extra axle can raise tolls on some roads)
-Larger to store
-has to be licensed bi-annually
-will need a heavier axle and larger tires for any serious OR, which is unlikely for the near term.


Overall they are pretty even in my mind and I am no kidding torn. Thoughts, something I haven't thought of? For the most part pros for one are cons for the other. The one universal is that I won't sleep on the ground.

 

[AJAEbj42]

I've never been a big fan of RTT's simply because when you want to do day trips from a base camp, you have to pack up a whole lot more.

I'm not a big fan of trailers either unless one has one that can take the off-road punishment; mind you I've seen fifth wheels in some pretty unusual places! But that's just my $0.02

I'm still young enough to sleep on the ground, so a regular tent will work for me for a while, until the has had enough!

 

[MANUCHAO]

I got the RT first and it did great !!!!
Until I need a base camp. I go the trailer now and use it when I need a base camp...
If you go with a RTT n need to move from spot to spot.. a Maggiolina tent is the way to go.. set up is like under one minute and they are lighter than any of the collapsible tents (ie ARB, Ezee awn) which take a few more minutes and effort to set up and are not fun to put away when its pouring out....
my .02

 

[Bogo]

The couple people I know who have teardrop trailers love them and say they barely notice them behind them when driving. They also pull them behind compact cars. One being a Prius. One made his from scratch, and the other bought. Neither use the kitchen area because both routinely visit grizzly bear territory. They both keep all food, toiletries and cooking gear in their cars.

I find them interesting, but the kitchen worries me as I also would often visit grizzly bear country. Handling fire trails would be easy to design in, more technical rock crawling could also be done, but would be harder.

 

[schaney]

Josh, How about a hybrid of your ideas? Have a kitchen /galley area on the front, everything packed up and ready to go, DIY project, with a rooftop tent for sleeping quarters. It's also pretty quick to move the tent from the trailer to your rig depending on where you're going.

 

[Josh N]

Schaney,

Gotta admit your setup is slick and I have been to your site many times for inspiration, even started to go down that road then decided I need the trailer to be a pure cargo set up more, at least until after I retire from the Corps. I still might be able to swing something like that, this is my trailer, what do ya think?

Trailer closed

Trailer open

The lid comes off. I replaced the hinge pins with bolts so I can remove it when I need to carry larger items. Depth is 26" from floor to top of the walls.

 

[e9999]

yup, the point about bears is to be kept in mind. (Well, maybe not in MD )
Nothing that helps ruin a stay more than having to worry about bears trying to get in your sleeping quarters -or even in the truck for that matter- cuz of smelly cooking stuff...

 

[Bogo]

yup, the point about bears is to be kept in mind. (Well, maybe not in MD )
Nothing that helps ruin a stay more than having to worry about bears trying to get in your sleeping quarters -or even in the truck for that matter- cuz of smelly cooking stuff...

You guys in the east and west coasts are way to soft on bears. People habituated bears are removed from the greater Yellowstone area so they don't have problems with bears knowing how to open up cars for the goodies inside.

 

[schaney]

Josh, Glad to hear you've found our Trailer Ideas page interesting. Can't get the pictures to open, kept getting a content unavailable error.

A multi-purpose approach also works nicely, Tent Topped camping one weekend, a dump run the next, picking up material at Lowes the next. Here is a utilitiarian one I did.

 

[rusty_tlc]

Being able to stake out a fixed camp and having the trailer always ready to go are probably bigger pro's than you realize at first.

We can have our pop-up ready to go in a few minutes, just about as long as it takes to hitch it up.

 

[93yotasr5]

im a big fan of the off road teardrop trailer

 

[AdventureBuddies]

I've been through this same dilemma. I have a Maggiolina Grand Tour and love sleeping up there. But, the high center of gravity is very stressful on more technical trails. I am now building an offroad teardrop and plan to use it most commonly. I will store the RTT for times when the trailer isn't appropriate. I found that carrying the creature comforts I use to keep my wife engaged were loading the vehicle to the point of being unsafe. The trailer solves that problem with virtually no sacrifice in trail capability vs the over burdened state of not using a trailer but you get the advantage of being able to leave the trailer behind.

 

[toy4xfun]

Maryland has bears, not grizzly's, but they have some pretty big black bears.

not far from MD here and we have a three or 4 year old black bear running around the neighborhood.

last spring he was about the size of a St. Bernard, maybe a tad bigger.

 

[titanpat57]

I think relying on a RTT on a trailer is a great start...or even a RTT on an off road Tear is even cooler. Use the RTT if you need it, if not crash on the inside.

Scott has great lightweight trailers, well designed, and every inch accounted for.

Here's the problem I see with many TD designs.

Many times you carry much more crap than you really need (ask me how I know) so that means your bed, is also your storage area, many times that is forgotten. Now if your a minimalistic camping kind of guy...that should end the story there...but if your not....then I think must current designs are flawed. You look at that beautiful sleeping area and forget it will be buried with everything else your bringing.

It's not practical to lift your bed to reach something under it every time you need something. I think pull out drawers opened from the outside will make access easier, and more practical.

Anyway...keep looking and designing, you'll be surprised how well it'll come together.

Good luck, Pat