RTT. Rode hard and put away wet...

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KY Tundra

KY Tundra

10 Year
Joined
Feb 8, 2015
Threads
28
Messages
144
Location
Louisville
I've tried to read through all of the tent threads but couldn't find this exact question. I haven't bought an RTT yet but I'm really close. I have a few questions and looking for some insight.
I'll be attending the multi-day HIH7 this summer. If we are using an RTT we'll need to fold it up every morning before we head out for the day. What happens if it rained all night, or worse, it's raining in the morning as we pack up. The tent will be soaked and presumably soak the mattress and bedding during the day. And then assume this cycle continues for more than a day. In the dry Colorado air this may not be a huge deal if the rain stops but in the Kentucky summer it could take days for this to dry.
Who has real world experience with this? How do you deal with it? Do you need to pull all of the bedding out to keep it from getting wet? Eastern US experience would be great. I'm always amazed in the morning in CO, if there is any dew on a tent it'll dry in seconds, but in August in the East, you have 80% humidity at 8:00 AM and things can stay soggy.
Thanks for your help!
 
Living in a pacific marine environment, I have the same questions? A week of rain camping can get sporty.....especially if you are moving daily.
 
For sure it's a valid concern. I have a CVT hard shell and live in the Pacific Northwest. My experience after owning it for 4 years, now, is to shake as much water or snow off the tent fabric as you can, (with good tent fabric - the water should bead up to allow this) then close it up, with the doors and windows closed 95%. You need to give the air inside the tent a chance to escape to close it. But, your bedding/bags should stay dry. The seal between the 2 halfs of my fiberglass shell allows air to circulate when closed, and help the moisture that's on the tent fabric to evaporate as much as possible. But, when you get the chance or get to your next destination or get home - open asap and let it breath. Gives you a chance to check things out, too. If home - leave it open as long as necessary to dry out - then close it up for storage. Hopefully someone with soft cover tent experience can add their advice. :cheers:
 
I have a Tepui Kukenam and it had gotten wet from the rain multiple times or really heavy dew from a cold nite. If I have to pack it away 'wet', and it won't be used for a few weeks, I make a point of opening it back home for a day or so, it can then dry before I close it up again. The stuff inside should always stay dry even when you pack it away wet.
 
After asking this question I thought about it a little more. In theory, if you zip everything up before folding it, the bedding should stay dry even if its folded up wet. Correct?
Again, this assuming you are folding it up in the morning and then coming back in the evening and setting up camp again. I totally get "airing" it out after you return from a wet trip, I just don't want to fold it up in the morning and climb back into it that night and everything is soaked. Been through that w nylon tents on multi-night backpacking trips and it sucks.
I wonder if this is part of the reason the RTTs seem so much more prevalent out West, or it's just the ease in finding open camping sites. Or a little of both.
Different issue, but I worry about the structured nature of camping in and around the Appalachians that would make an RTT difficult to use. Much tougher to just pull off the road somewhere and pitch a tent.
I think I live on the wrong side of the country!
 
For added water protection I've been thinking about putting a 10x10 canopy over my RTT .. then again my RTT will be on my trailer so it will be easier to do. On top of a SUV the canopy might not be tall enough at its highest setting.. could also throw a $10 tarp over the RTT and tie it down. Wrap the mattress in plastic or replace it with an air mattress. . I'm just throwing out ideas
 
KY Tundra said:
After asking this question I thought about it a little more. In theory, if you zip everything up before folding it, the bedding should stay dry even if its folded up wet. Correct?......
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You've got the right idea, with one proviso - when breaking down tent, the air inside needs to escape. So in wet conditions, I'll leave zippers open a couple of inches at the top to let the air out. Otherwise it's like trying to fold up an air mattress. At least that's the way it works on my hardshell.
KY Tundra said:
......Again, this assuming you are folding it up in the morning and then coming back in the evening and setting up camp again. I totally get "airing" it out after you return from a wet trip, I just don't want to fold it up in the morning and climb back into it that night and everything is soaked......
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If you're leaving your RTT at a camp - say it's on a trailer, to go somewhere, leave it set up with the windows & doors closed to stay dry inside. Not sure if that's the question you had, but most campgrounds out here - if your camp is established, it shouldn't get messed with. Be sensitive to what other campers in that campground are saying, though. If there's been some funny stuff going on, you might want to be more cautious. In any case, I wouldn't leave anything of value in your RTT if you're going to be away from camp for a while. If the RTT is on your rig, you don't have a choice - if you're driving the rig, you have to break it down.

Also, try not to let pillows or bedding be stacked against or leaning on the tent fabric on inside. Reason being it will cause wet tent fabric to "wick" water through and get bedding and mattress wet at that spot. I had to trim my mattress down for just that reason. But that's been only in extremely wet conditions.
 
NyNomad said:
....... On top of a SUV the canopy might not be tall enough at its highest setting.. could also throw a $10 tarp over the RTT and tie it down.......
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I wouldn't do that unless the RTT was damaged. For a couple of reasons - if you've ever tried to deploy a tarp in windy/rainy conditions you'll know exactly what I mean....frustrating at best. Then, through the night it will be rattling in the wind and adding even more flapping noises to the tent fabric's flapping in the wind. Not to mention if the wind really kicks up & it comes loose and the parachute action of the tarp causes even more damage to your RTT or rig or both. Might help though, if you're experiencing a deluge with little or no wind. Most complaints that I've heard about RTTs are with wind, not rain.
 
I have a rugged tepui kukenam. To get to OPs question when you say "soaked" you need to understand that each tent will have the main canvas which I believe has been treated to be waterproof and all of the seams have seam sealer as well to keep water out. On top of the tent there is also a rain fly. This sits above the canvas and is stretched so water runs right off of it and on to the ground rather than the canvas. The fly isn't canvas but is something else (nylon maybe) that just doesn't seem to absorb the rain.

I have camped in all kinds of weather including rain and snow. I've packed up my tent when it has been wet from inclement weather and/or had condensation inside several times and have never had it be an issue. Like others have said as soon as I get back to camp I'll open it back up to air out and other than minor dampness on the inside from condensation I haven't noticed anything. The rain and snow has just not entered the tent and hasn't been a problem.

I don't want to say that you are over thinking it but it just hasn't been a problem for me, I obviously haven't ever had to deal with humidity though so I guess my use case isn't similar to what you'll see back east. It does get a little tedious to pack up and then redeploy the tent each day especially with a little kid which is why when my 18 month old comes with me I have been taking my trailer but I'll be at HIH solo this year. I just need to decide whether I'll be sleeping in my rig or in my RTT for that run.
 
We have a ruggedized Tepui Kukenam that we lived out of for close to two weeks while exploring California through all of the rain and snow storms of January and unfortunately we had to close up in the rain or wintery mix every night and it was never a problem. Only issue we ever had was the first couple mornings we rushed and didn't wipe down the inside (all of the condensation in near freezing temps).
After the trip when we had a couple of dry sunny days we just opened up the tent, aired it out, and closed her up with no issues at all. I found that putting the RTT away wet was not nearly as big of a deal as putting a ground tent away wet, may be because of the thicker nylon.

Now one thing we always did was pull the sleeping bags and everything out, just to keep it all as warm and dry as possible. the only thing we would leave in the tent when we folded it up was the deflated air mattress. If you left all of the bedding and stuff in there I can see how it would be a bit damp.
 
Okay, so....the silence from the wet side is speaking volumes. No offense to the southern Oregon Northern California crowd, there are different levels of rain. Other than rapid deployment,for the money, what are the benefits? I'm seeing a high maintenance tent that's forever attached.
 
fogswamp said:
Okay, so....the silence from the wet side is speaking volumes. No offense to the southern Oregon Northern California crowd, there are different levels of rain. Other than rapid deployment,for the money, what are the benefits? I'm seeing a high maintenance tent that's forever attached.
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I don't believe it is a high maintenance item (at least ours hasn't been) and as far as permanently attached, it is a 2-man job to take the thing off but it really isn't bad, especially if you have room to set up some kind of hoist to pull.
We've had ours from Mississippi, to the the Dakotas, down to the southwest, and through California in their record breaking winter precipitation (when we did close to two weeks of setting up, sleeping, and tearing down in steady rainfall) and haven't had any kind of moisture issues that wouldn't have been just as bad (if not worse) in a ground tent.
The pros for us are is we find it much more comfortable, quick set up/tear down, can set it up and get a good nights sleep no matter the ground conditions (wet, rocky, muddy, etc), and it works well for the set up we use in the back of our 100... Not to mention it looks awesome ha
But with that being said, we haven't spent more than a couple of days camping in 80%+ humidity with rain. I can see the concern but I don't believe it would be an issue.

I know folks that don't like the hassle and those that think it is great and well worth the money, different strokes.
 
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fogswamp said:
Okay, so....the silence from the wet side is speaking volumes. No offense to the southern Oregon Northern California crowd, there are different levels of rain. Other than rapid deployment,for the money, what are the benefits? I'm seeing a high maintenance tent that's forever attached.
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Why is it that if there is more than pushing a button to deploy it, break it down or take it off, it is considered "high maintenance"? As with anything, if you buy the "economy" version of a product, be prepared to "kick in" and do what's necessary for upkeep - and it will usually be more than the higher quality version. That especially goes with tent fabric, which determines how the tent will perform in wet weather. Also, you need to do your own homework - to make your decision. There is a LOT of information here on IH8MUD and Expedtion Portal and other blogs. It has been said over & over & over again what the advantages and disadvantages of RTTs are. Sorry, but your post got me to thinking how some folks want to take the shortcut and make a quick decision on something that really requires a lot of thought and research. This thread is about putting away wet RTTs and you're wanting RTT 101. Also, you might want to have some patience and let some other RTT owners post their words of wisdom and experience with wet breakdowns.

My apologies to the OP - not trying to do your job, but it would be nice to stay on topic. :cheers:
 
I'm not looking for rtt 101, I'm looking for real world experience with one in a truly wet environment. By hi maintenance, I meant setting it up in the shop to dry after every wet use, etc. Completely understand the advantages and disadvantages of one. I don't take shortcuts when when I'm thinking of dropping $2k on a "tent",and it ain't to look cool in a campground. Sorry I'll wait longer to ask questions next time"..........
 
fogswamp said:
I'm not looking for rtt 101, I'm looking for real world experience with one in a truly wet environment. By hi maintenance, I meant setting it up in the shop to dry after every wet use, etc. Completely understand the advantages and disadvantages of one. I don't take shortcuts when when I'm thinking of dropping $2k on a "tent",and it ain't to look cool in a campground. Sorry I'll wait longer to ask questions next time"..........
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Maybe look at hard shell designs, I started with the ARB and had lots of problems, now I have the alucab and it is so much better in all conditions.
 
Owned my Autohome Maggiolina Airtop for five or so years now and have never once had to do anything to maintain it outside of airing it out every now and again after long trips and have never once had issues with rain and my stuff getting wet. One of the points of a RTT is to make camp set up easier. If it's going to become a hassle then why bother?

Seems like the hardshells are the way to go if you expect to find yourself frequently going into rainy and snowy territory.
 
We did a years travelling in two RTT (family - 3 kids) and had mildew/mold on one from our 4 weeks travelling Washington, British Columbia, Alaska. It was solid rain/sleet/snow for days on end and folding it up wet and unable to get it dry days on end.
We changed out the tent and re-waterproofed (more than came from factory) and that helped but didn't experience the same weather pattern (akak lots of continuous rain) to fully test it.
Both tents got mold with several months closed and kept outdoors (with rain/wetness here in Ireland) - eventhou they were both put away quite dry (in Argentina). I've had to treat (bleach mix) and re-waterproof both - but discoloring doesn't go away.
Lesson learned: try and decrease as much moisture when folding up (inside condensation and outside rain). Ensure they are regularly opened up and aired out. Ensure if put way wet that it is aired out and DRYed asap. Keep indoors when not being used.
 
Thanks for all of the replies. For some reason I wasn't getting alerts that people had responded. 3 weeks later and I'm still unsure but I think you have the same issues, it's just one tent is on your roof. If you take a ground tent on a trip and it gets wet you have to set it up to dry when you get home, same as RTT. And when you break that tent down you'd need to stash your sleeping gear in the car, just like you may have to do if you had a wet RTT. I still think I may give the RTT a shot and sell it if it doesn't work for us.
 
The RTT fabric is heavier and more durable than a ground tent. If any tent is put away wet, and stored it's going to get mold and mildew, that's just life. I've had my RTT for about a year now and I absolutely love it. When I've used it in wet conditions, I get it unfolded when I can to let it dry out. Just like I would with an expensive ground tent. I have not had bedding get wet and I leave it in there all the time, and I haven't had moisture problems any different than a ground tent, in fact it's less because the floor isn't sitting on the ground with water potentially pooling underneath it. If I did a ton of 'wet environment' camping, I'd get a chamois and dry the tent off before folding it up for travel or purchase the Tepui weather tarp to go over it to help keep it more dry, or both.

My frequency of camping has gone up significantly with the ease of setting up the RTT working in my favor. Setting up camp is a lot easier for me to do by myself, and very, very fast with a helper. I can setup the tent, setup my 'galley' and have my table and chairs ready for relaxing within 15 minutes by myself and be packed up just about as quickly. I like the shelter the RTT provides in wet conditions, you get a 'porch' to stand under when it's open and I like that.
 
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