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Roof Top Tents

Fenwayfan77

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Anyone have any personal experience, opinions, hysterical stories, etc. regarding roof top tents and available options/brands?

Since we are going the R1S route, I think it might be a great fit once we know the crossbars will work. I was looking at the iKamper brand. www.ikamper.com. Other than the lack of novelty in their naming convention (Apple, cough cough), they do look pretty sweet.

I'm going to have to figure out a solution in lowering down & raising up the dog in the middle of the night. Maybe use Buffalo Bill's solution with the basket in Silence of the Lambs? "Now it places the lotion in the basket"......
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aAlpine

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I was looking at the iKamper Mini myself! Looks like the perfect size for the bed of the R1T.
 
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Fenwayfan77

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I was looking at the iKamper Mini myself! Looks like the perfect size for the bed of the R1T.
Yup! Same here. It's strange that that mini seems to have a bigger sleeping compartment yet a smaller overall footprint than the 2x version. The sleeping orientation is different as well. I'll have to give them a call to really dial in the differences. The are quite pricey though.....which is hysterical when I think of the cost next to the Rivian. It definitely adds up!
 

DucRider

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I've been looking at options myself, but haven't made a decison on how the pros/cons will weigh out in the end.
Definitely want a hard shell. Why take all the disadvantages of setting up a traditional tent and complicate it by having to climb around up in the air to do it?
Leaning towards a clamshell instead of a fold out that will allow for it to be closed with the bedding/pillows/etc in place and offers more mattress options.
The iKamper Mini is indeed attractive for fitting on the bed of the R1T, vs extending over the cab. but your pretty much stuck with the mattress (or similar) they provide and you've got to take at least the majority of your bedding out to get it to close.

Lowest cost Hard Shell option could be the Superlite from Go Fast Campers. At 80 lbs, also the easiest to install/remove and you can bring your own mattress/ladder. My wife is fairly particular and I think it more likely than not that we would look a different mattress than included with most anyway (although their optional mattress looks promising)

Also looking at the James Baroud Space. Baroud is apparently considered the gold standard in RTT (and they do charge accordingly). Interesting option is that you could get it in a custom color to match/complement your Rivian (for $550).
 
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Fenwayfan77

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I've been looking at options myself, but haven't made a decison on how the pros/cons will weigh out in the end.
Definitely want a hard shell. Why take all the disadvantages of setting up a traditional tent and complicate it by having to climb around up in the air to do it?
Leaning towards a clamshell instead of a fold out that will allow for it to be closed with the bedding/pillows/etc in place and offers more mattress options.
The iKamper Mini is indeed attractive for fitting on the bed of the R1T, vs extending over the cab. but your pretty much stuck with the mattress (or similar) they provide and you've got to take at least the majority of your bedding out to get it to close.

Lowest cost Hard Shell option could be the Superlite from Go Fast Campers. At 80 lbs, also the easiest to install/remove and you can bring your own mattress/ladder. My wife is fairly particular and I think it more likely than not that we would look a different mattress than included with most anyway (although their optional mattress looks promising)

Also looking at the James Baroud Space. Baroud is apparently considered the gold standard in RTT (and they do charge accordingly). Interesting option is that you could get it in a custom color to match/complement your Rivian (for $550).
The clamshell is definitely an alternative. Thanks for the option. Shouldn't be too big a deal to pull out the bedding of the iKamper and stuff it in the Rivian since you're literally standing right there. Haha. I am getting lazier as I get older though ;) I would like to see how comfortable the iKamper bed is too.
 

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davrow_R1T

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I spent hours last night perusing the roof top tent options. I had no idea how many there are!

I'm intrigued but no longer do tent camping, so I'll be keeping an eye out for reviews and offerings specific to Rivian. :)
 
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Fenwayfan77

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I spent hours last night perusing the roof top tent options. I had no idea how many there are!

I'm intrigued but no longer do tent camping, so I'll be keeping an eye out for reviews and offerings specific to Rivian. :)
Ground tent camping!? Meh, that's for peasants! haha. I don't mind tent camping anymore, but it's getting to be a pain for unpacking, clearing the area, breaking down camp, and so on and so forth. It would be nice for a change to roll up to camp, toss the sleeping bags from car into the roof top tent and be off the ground. Almost had a bad incident with a bear once. Good time! Plus, easier to sell the better half with this option ;) Grab your self a Ground Zero Power Station and an electric heater and you got it all. The ground zero can power everything you might want in the tent, and I believe you'll be able to recharge it off the Rivian if needed!
 

skyote

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I plan on folding down the seats "nearly flat" in my R1S & camping in it. I'll banish the kids outside to a ground tent.
 

DucRider

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Ground tent camping!? Meh, that's for peasants! haha. I don't mind tent camping anymore, but it's getting to be a pain for unpacking, clearing the area, breaking down camp, and so on and so forth. It would be nice for a change to roll up to camp, toss the sleeping bags from car into the roof top tent and be off the ground. Almost had a bad incident with a bear once. Good time! Plus, easier to sell the better half with this option ;) Grab your self a Ground Zero Power Station and an electric heater and you got it all. The ground zero can power everything you might want in the tent, and I believe you'll be able to recharge it off the Rivian if needed!
For 30+ years, our camping trips have been primarily on our motorcycles. This limits the equipment choices and increases the time to both set up and tear down. And we've either become soft or wise (maybe a little of both). Often the areas we want to get to that have lots of twisty roads with little traffic and great scenery require many hours of droning on uninspiring roads - sometime in weather conditions that are challenging miserable on a motorcycle. 110 degree heat for hours on end or summer snow storms in the mountains make for great stories - but at this point we feel we've got enough of those stockpiled. Dropping down toward Flathead Lake watching lightning bolts framed by a double rainbow was spectacular. The ensuing dime sized hail at 50+ mph on a motorcycle not so much.
 
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Fenwayfan77

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For 30+ years, our camping trips have been primarily on our motorcycles. This limits the equipment choices and increases the time to both set up and tear down. And we've either become soft or wise (maybe a little of both). Often the areas we want to get to that have lots of twisty roads with little traffic and great scenery require many hours of droning on uninspiring roads - sometime in weather conditions that are challenging miserable on a motorcycle. 110 degree heat for hours on end or summer snow storms in the mountains make for great stories - but at this point we feel we've got enough of those stockpiled. Dropping down toward Flathead Lake watching lightning bolts framed by a double rainbow was spectacular. The ensuing dime sized hail at 50+ mph on a motorcycle not so much.
Yep. Getting pelted and being a frozen popsicle on my now sold BMW R1200 GS was not the fun part of the those trips!
 

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skyote

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thrill

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Ground tent camping!? Meh, that's for peasants! haha. I don't mind tent camping anymore, but it's getting to be a pain for unpacking, clearing the area, breaking down camp, and so on and so forth. It would be nice for a change to roll up to camp, toss the sleeping bags from car into the roof top tent and be off the ground. Almost had a bad incident with a bear once. Good time! Plus, easier to sell the better half with this option ;) Grab your self a Ground Zero Power Station and an electric heater and you got it all. The ground zero can power everything you might want in the tent, and I believe you'll be able to recharge it off the Rivian if needed!
"Ground Zero" power station sounds downright nuclear ... talk about a fast charge. (Goal Zero?)

Motorcycle war story. Riding HP4 in Blue Ridge mountains on twisties, really bad storm comes up. Put up faceplate to be able to see, wet though it was. Suddenly lighting strikes a tree limb hanging across the road that was barely visible through the sideways sheets of rain and hail. I brake expecting it to fall, once I quit quivering. Instead a large black smoking shadow falls out of the tree and hits the windscreen. I'm smart enough to stop to see what it was. Well, it looks like it's gonna be pre-cooked possum for dinner, woohoo :) I chicken out and finally make it to Chick-Fil-A for very wet leather clad lunch. First time I thought seriously about getting a truck, and so here we are.
 
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Fenwayfan77

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"Ground Zero" power station sounds downright nuclear ... talk about a fast charge. (Goal Zero?)

Motorcycle war story. Riding HP4 in Blue Ridge mountains on twisties, really bad storm comes up. Put up faceplate to be able to see, wet though it was. Suddenly lighting strikes a tree limb hanging across the road that was barely visible through the sideways sheets of rain and hail. I brake expecting it to fall, once I quit quivering. Instead a large black smoking shadow falls out of the tree and hits the windscreen. I'm smart enough to stop to see what it was. Well, it looks like it's gonna be pre-cooked possum for dinner, woohoo :) I chicken out and finally make it to Chick-Fil-A for very wet leather clad lunch. First time I thought seriously about getting a truck, and so here we are.
Ha! Yes. Goal Zero!!! I have no clue what I was thinking about when typing. Lol.

Always go with the roadkill free meal!! Next time! ;) Solid story!
 

C.R. Rivian

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So, does anyone know anything about the purported Rivian tent that is shown on the crossbars above the bed in the Rivian promo pictures...sure hasn't shown up in my configuration.

Also curious about whether the iKamper or other solutions would install on the Rivian crossbars...which are also purported...not in my current option list.
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