Official Is a rooftop tent (RTT) for me?

[Cody]

I've long wondered why someone hasn't applied modern ground tent technology to the RTT platform. I buy middle-end ground tents (usually $200-400), and as far as weight, ventilation, weatherproofing, and noise levels (the tent's noise) I think they are superior to the canvas RTT (or even ground) tents. Not that the canvas platform is bad and I know there are people that swear by it, but I think a lighter more compact option would do well for people that have less powerful vehicles or just don't want as much weight up on top for COG or fuel efficiency reasons. If they made a roof top version of my Mountain Hardware tent, I'd be all over it. Built in air mattress with built in baffle pump....let's R&D this Kurt!

That Yakima almost looks like it's starting to go that direction.

 

[gahi]

Ive wondered the same thing, but it looks like the yakima one pictured above, is a step in that direction!

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Lightweight has been done, it just didn't sell really well?

 

[Cody]

Ya, because that looks like a normal RTT but made out of lighter materials, which I think would be shitty. I'm talking about a nice 3 season type tent (nice carbon poles, well tensioned and ventilated walls/windows, full fly etc), but stuck onto a RTT platform. I think if you integrated modern pad technology into the base so that they inflate like the nicer backpacking pads, you could really cut down on bulk and have, in my opinion, a better quality tent. It might be a slightly different deployment technique, and the fly might be an extra step, but again I think it could be engineered to be a similar amount of work as the existing options.

Something like this, but on your roof with integrated air pads.

 

[BlueWolfFab]

Me personally I would like to see one that is better at holding up to wind. That was my only real complaint about my RTT is it seemed like up there there was more wind and my ARB Simpson 3 sounded like it was going to disintegrate with even a slight breeze. I knew that it wouldn't, but the sound alone was enough to keep me from sleeping. Even in slight breezes.

 

[sawtooth4x4]

I had a Tepui that I bought from Adam Tolman. It was pretty nice. The canvas was pretty thick and didn't make much noise when it was windy.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[cruiseroutfit]

The copy/paste aka "innovation by logo" continues to amaze. The now ~9 year old ARB Simpson II design (which had a short life due to obvious shortfalls when actually used) is still getting repopped and the selling point point by these new companies is simply price point. I mean how proud can you be of your products offering if all you can tout is your different logo and lower price. I mean of course you can sell it for less if this have less R&D and innovation then then the company you copied.
I had a new tent manufacturer (Overland Labs) reply to my thoughts with this:

"No innovations on our side. I'll be the first to admit that. we are just trying to bring a quality product to the market at an affordable price..."

Alibaba has found an outlet

 

[jeeper]

They are selling their tents for $1395.. That is just a couple hundred less than the ARB, yeah? That doesn't seem like a shake up to me..


Smittybilt makes a tent with an opening on top, so you can stand up and get dressed.. that seems pretty cool.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

They are selling their tents for $1395.. That is just a couple hundred less than the ARB, yeah? That doesn't seem like a shake up to me...

Try ~$1500 on the ARB and it's the newest design, they ditched the Simpson II design (which has subsequently been used by CVT, TJM, Tepui, etc) as the guy line design is pretty lame in real world use. Fast forward 7 years and new companies are still copy/pasting that design.

 

[jeeper]

Try ~$1500 on the ARB and it's the newest design, they ditched the Simpson II design (which has subsequently been used by CVT, TJM, Tepui, etc) as the guy line design is pretty lame in real world use. Fast forward 7 years and new companies are still copy/pasting that design.

I have been watching reviews of the ARB 3.. They seem identical to the 2 to me?? What is the guy line you speak of? What is the upgrade?

 

[cruiseroutfit]

I have been watching reviews of the ARB 3.. They seem identical to the 2 to me?? What is the guy line you speak of? What is the upgrade?

The III came out 8 years ago and hasn't had the guy lines since that time. The guy lines at the awning and you need to pull them down and away from the tent to keep it from flapping in the wind and to keep the top material tight against rain, etc. You can see them in this old Simpson III stock photo near the ladder.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

More on the new Yakima tent I talked about earlier:
https://www.rei.com/s/yakima-skyris...b-_-always_on-_-yakima_roof_tent-_-collection
(Yes it's a link to crummy REI)

 

[cruiseroutfit]

And add another "insert name here" tent clone to the market:
http://www.popeoverlandexpedition.com/

The ingenuity is staggering lol

 

[Bart]

This is probably a crazy question but is there a company that rents RTT's? I know they take some time to mount, but I think it would be pretty easy to set one on my CJ's roll bar and I'd like to try one on the Rubicon when we go.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Nothing in SLC. From a retailer perspective, by the time you chat with a customer, mount it, adjust ladder for height, show customer how to open/close and store and open and inspect when it comes back... there is little ROI. the companies I've seen doing it actually sell the tents too so they can charge a bit more for the rental bit give that back as a discount if the tent is purchased.

 

[Kevin B.]

A little bit out of the way, but the price is right.

https://www.tepuiadventurerentals.com/collections/frontpage

 

[Bart]

Thanks Kurt and I understand the ROI aspect for sure. Thanks Kevin, now you've got the wheels spinning wondering if it's worth the extra drive, to and from.

 

[Kevin B.]

Or there's these guys.

https://turtlebackrentals.com/

 

[johngottfredson]

I think your best bet is to post up here or similar, looking to pay someone local some type of a weekend fee to use their tent. That's what I did, a local guy let me take his tent for the weekend for $50, and I felt good enough about the product that I purchased one. I don't know that it makes sense for a company to do this as part of their business model, but there are plenty of tents in the valley not getting used, and if you're part of a community like RME, people would feel more comfortable letting you take it out for a spin.

This is probably a crazy question but is there a company that rents RTT's? I know they take some time to mount, but I think it would be pretty easy to set one on my CJ's roll bar and I'd like to try one on the Rubicon when we go.

 

[Cody]

I think that yakima one will fail...i just don't think switching up the materials is what it would take to really make something different. To Kurt's point, it's going to cost some money in R&D. I'm picturing a platform that folds out and has the air mattress integrated. Then a tent roll that you might store in the vehicle, that latches onto each corner. Slide in your 2-3 poles and pop up the tent.

You would gain a lower profile and lighter weight roof box, and potentially improve the sleeping surface and technology of the tent itself. You'd sacrifice the ability to keep your sleeping stuff inside as well as the heavy duty nature of canvas. I don't know if it would work or not, but I think there would be a market for people that are willing to trade the inside storage space for a lower profile/lighter roof option.

I guess imitation is the most sincere form of flattery, but I hate companies who bring a product to market with price being the only value proposition.