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Roof Top Tents- My Pet Peeve

kylealden

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As my profile pic indicates, I'm leaning towards a wedge camper or similar over an RTT because I want interior room to stand up and change. They share a lot of disadvantages (including weight and having to break camp every morning) but it's worth shopping against your use case.

Do you enjoy going to established campgrounds and spending multiple nights, ranging out for day excursions (hikes, fishing, whatever) while leaving your camp in place? Yeah, skip the RTT.

Do you do extended overland expeditions where you camp a different place every night, or fixed-position boondocking for something like skiing? RTT/camper has a ton of advantages, not least of which is getting a hard start on your cold ones while your buddies are still making/breaking camp twice a day.

Most of the other things can be mitigated (for a RTT, put a ceiling hoist in your garage and you can add/remove it no problem; on the Rivian, I'd just take it off crossbars and all for simplicity), except cost. But don't come at me about shaving single-digit thousands off the total cost if you're buying a Rivian.
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JeremyP

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Sounds like you could call your flotilla of RTT's the "Condorado 3".

I truly appreciate the input from @Colorado3, but will still go with the RTT due to the wet ground and the onslaught of slugs and snails I'll face in the PNW. I still have nightmares of waking up in an open tent at the Oregon Coast as a kid, only to see my sleeping friend with his head covered with Sea-slugs. Also, having no kids or dogs eliminates some of the problems mentioned. Speaking of elimination, my bladder still holds through the night. So I've got that going for me, which is nice. Earplugs and fine Single Malts will help with the wind-noise of being elevated. Granted, as I'll be in the R1T, with the tent above the bed, my fear of heights won't be an issue, and the increased road noise and mileage hit wont be quite as bad as perhaps they would be with the tent above the R1S, or on top of the R1T's cab.

I'll still carry a free-standing tent for those times when there's a setting I want to enjoy, or should I need one to hold the campsite while I roll through the countryside in the R1T. Again, thanks to @Colorado3 for making me think this through further, even if it did evoke memories of seeing my friend slimed as he slept.
Im just impressed the sea slugs made it that far from the ocean! I'm more familiar with the large west coast banana slugs (having grown up on Vancouver Island).
If it were just my wife and I without the 3 kids, I could consider a hard shell RTT, but then I would probably rather stay inside the vehicle (R1S). But I do agree with a lot of the OP's points and we use a large family tent with comfy sleeping pads when we aren't using our trailer. Just watching others on the trail have to squeeze past trees or other obstacles with a bulky heavy RTT makes me cringe.
 

DuckTruck

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Im just impressed the sea slugs made it that far from the ocean! I'm more familiar with the large west coast banana slugs (having grown up on Vancouver Island).
If it were just my wife and I without the 3 kids, I could consider a hard shell RTT, but then I would probably rather stay inside the vehicle (R1S). But I do agree with a lot of the OP's points and we use a large family tent with comfy sleeping pads when we aren't using our trailer. Just watching others on the trail have to squeeze past trees or other obstacles with a bulky heavy RTT makes me cringe.
I think you're right about the genus of the slugs. Regardless of what they were, I'm just glad they chose to nest on my friend's head. I was too freaked out to check their markings. The industrial strength Brylcreem they left behind was quite impressive.

I'm liking my options of having both an RTT and a backup, free-standing tent available. The RTT seems like a nice middle position between a more expensive, range-hobbling trailer and relying solely on a tent. The RTT will also be fairly easy to load and unload, depending on need. I'm fortunate to have a heavy-duty block and tackle built into to the ceiling of my garage.
 

virgnia_rivian

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If you’re considering a RTT, check out Drew Simms YouTube channel And his Wrangler with a RTT.
 

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These responses are golden! Well done!

Obviously my post is half joking and half pointing out the true downsides of RTTs. They certainly have their drawbacks that I don’t think many people consider before buying them. But you all should camp however you’d like, it certainly wouldn’t work for my style. I just can’t help but wonder how all the sudden half the 4x4’s in Colorado have RTTs on them.
Thanks for stirring up the punchbowl and spiking it with something fun! To your last point, I wonder why the other half of Colorado's 4x4's have yet to catch on? Pavement Princesses?
 

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If you’re considering a RTT, check out Drew Simms YouTube channel And his Wrangler with a RTT.
Sweeeet. I mean... dude makes it look so easy just flipping it up and swinging the ladder out. I'm jealous. Curious about the awning, too. I haven't seen that style. Anyone know what that is? And is he supposed to be running that heater inside the tent?
 

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Give the guy a break. Most trolls are anti RTT because they're short, spend most of their time under bridges and are afraid of heights so sleeping on the roof is scary to them.

(I don't use RTTs for a lot of the same reasons but I find rants both for and against RTTs even more pointless)
 

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If you’re considering a RTT, check out Drew Simms YouTube channel And his Wrangler with a RTT.
Good god was this some sort of exercise in seeing how many different pieces of equipment could be used in a two day trip? ?
 

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If you’re considering a RTT, check out Drew Simms YouTube channel And his Wrangler with a RTT.
Thanks for sharing, that footage is beautiful!
 

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Colorado3,

You make some really good points. Based on your info, I'll likely limit my RTT purchases to just one.

Thanks! ??
Actually, that brings up a good point. For the R1T you can technically have two RTTs, right? One on the roof and one on the bed. Wild. I’m sure someone will try it.
 

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I'm actually a fan of ground tents and being able to set them up where ever closer to the nice scenery. We use an air mattress in a larger 8 person tent and i can set it up fairly fast. Anyway last time we went camping it was pouring rain in the dark as we were setting it up on grass that was saturated needless to say the tent was full of water by the time it got set up. You could feel the water under the tent we tried drying it out but it was almost pointless. That trip has had me thinking about a RTT it would have folded right out been ready to go and up out of the water.

I think different occasions one may be better than the other.
 

koersontap

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I'm actually a fan of ground tents and being able to set them up where ever closer to the nice scenery. We use an air mattress in a larger 8 person tent and i can set it up fairly fast. Anyway last time we went camping it was pouring rain in the dark as we were setting it up on grass that was saturated needless to say the tent was full of water by the time it got set up. You could feel the water under the tent we tried drying it out but it was almost pointless. That trip has had me thinking about a RTT it would have folded right out been ready to go and up out of the water.

I think different occasions one may be better than the other.
This is the only correct opinion. They're both functional, and both have different strengths and drawbacks.

This has been such an entertaining thread! Personally, I'm getting one because of the kids. Holy moley, they're going to be beside the moon with joy at getting to clamor up there and camp amongst the stars.

But honestly, I'll probably be packing a ground tent too. Because I have one anyway, and it's not like it's big. And if for some reason I feel like it, I'll pop my ground tent and sleep there. Or maybe I'll just sling my camp hammock up and call it a night.

Point being, I've got lots of options, and I like having the choice in how I'm camping that night. I plan on using all of them./
 

virgnia_rivian

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Thanks for sharing, that footage is beautiful!
He's a videographer/photographer. His channel is pretty good. He's lived on the road out of that Jeep for 2-3 years.

He does an episode that walks through his Jeep and his full setup.
 

DuckTruck

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This is the only correct opinion. They're both functional, and both have different strengths and drawbacks.

This has been such an entertaining thread! Personally, I'm getting one because of the kids. Holy moley, they're going to be beside the moon with joy at getting to clamor up there and camp amongst the stars.

But honestly, I'll probably be packing a ground tent too. Because I have one anyway, and it's not like it's big. And if for some reason I feel like it, I'll pop my ground tent and sleep there. Or maybe I'll just sling my camp hammock up and call it a night.

Point being, I've got lots of options, and I like having the choice in how I'm camping that night. I plan on using all of them./
I agree. Certainly, if you have the RTT, all options are available. I see no reason not to bring an extra tent along. It could be used in an emergency, a camp holder, if a better spot is available, or should the RTT fly off the back and take out that nasty tailgating Coal-roller. "Oops! My bad! Tragic accident...) ?

It's always nice to maximize your options.
 

camaroz1985

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If you’re considering a RTT, check out Drew Simms YouTube channel And his Wrangler with a RTT.
I actually just found that last night, then went down a rabbit hole watching some of his other videos. Beautiful photography.

Sweeeet. I mean... dude makes it look so easy just flipping it up and swinging the ladder out. I'm jealous. Curious about the awning, too. I haven't seen that style. Anyone know what that is? And is he supposed to be running that heater inside the tent?
The awning is an Eezi-Awn Bat 270.

https://eezi-awn.com/us/product/bat-270-awning/

He has a video where he goes through his whole setup. Very interesting.

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