Roofnest Condor Overland Roof Top Tent (RTT) + R1T

[agame32]

Would it be possible/smart to use the Condor Overland crossbars to install a 270 degree awning at a decent height? See crude mock-up of bars and yellow awning install point idea.

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[kylealden]

Would it be possible/smart to use the Condor Overland crossbars to install a 270 degree awning at a decent height? See crude mock-up of bars and yellow awning install point idea.

It would certainly be possible - you would probably have to fab something custom (there are a fair number of 90 degree brackets for side extrusions, but you'd probably want something more like a 120 degree bracket).

I bet it would like pretty weird when closed though, and it would stick up high enough that you might as well just put a 180-degree awning over the cab at that point (which will be a lot less fussy, and plenty high if you raise the suspension when parked).

Realistically, I think you're probably better off putting a freestanding canopy and some guylines in the truck. I was pretty interested in a Kinsmen 270 degree awning when I thought I'd be able to fit a GFC on the Rivian, but failing that, I think it's easy to overestimate how much time you want to hang out directly next to your truck (the exception might be the Camp Kitchen, which a 180-degree awning over the passenger doors would cover nicely).

 

[Alchemy8279]

Now if only it had an openable rear cab window so you could duct cabin air into the tent for camping heat and AC!

I'm sure someone will fab an air inlet/cover for the gear tunnel pass through, put a hose on it and run out through the gear tunnel door and into the tent. A small PC fan at each end would move the air well.

I suggested that Rivian look for an easier way in a chat about a year ago

 

[dmc94]

Can you mount a bike rack to the top of the Roofnest?

Roofnest says it can handle 100 pounds on top of the tent, but only 40 when it's opened so the bikes would need to be removed and set to the side when you're set up.

Edit: @kylealden @moosehead I just remembered Rivian states 250lbs max while driving on the racks.

250lbs - 165lb tent - 10lbs (est.) roofnest racks - 36lbs two (18lb each) Yakima Highroad racks = 39 lbs left over for bikes.

That isn't enough for most people. My electric adventure bikes are 42 lbs each so a swing out hitch rack is my only option for mounting with a tent. Take off the bike racks and that leaves you with 75lbs of gear which is great for recovery boards, axe, jack, and maybe even an awning.

 

[dmc94]

For folks who may be interested, I got my Condor Overland installed on the R1T and went for my first camping trip up on Orcas Island over the weekend. I'm still on a broken ankle so while I'm cleared to drive, I'm not super mobile outside the truck, so I only grabbed a few pictures, but thought I'd share them here.

The tent looks super sharp closed and doesn't affect clearance at all. I'm not crazy about the canvas colors (the new iKampers look much sleeker when opened with the black/grey colorway) but the Roofnest looks great closed.

Pretty easy to mount (I needed to borrow a friend since my ankle is broken but two adults can lift it pretty easily). No noticeable affect to wind noise or range. The silver "Roofnest" badge is kind of obnoxious in the rearview mirror so I'm gonna try taking a heat gun to those to see if I can get them off.

It's a bit of a pain to close (the rubber gaskets are really tight and you have to pretty proactively stuff the tent fabric in as you close it). This will be less of a hassle once my ankle is healed - right now it's a lot of hopping back and forth

I have crossbars for the tent but haven't installed them yet. My tentative plan is to mount my MaxTrax and a Roam Adventure Co storage box to the top of the tent so the box can be my dedicated car camping kit, then add my shovel/axe to a side of the rear. The extruded t-slot rails on the tent are super handy, although the ones on the hinge side are pretty limited since they will be up against the crossbars/bed rail when open.

Still trying to figure out the best way to carry mountain bikes on this setup without being super tall or blocking the tailgate - I'm not super crazy about swingout hitches since most of them add a lot of length and ruin departure angle. Suggestions welcome!

Happy to answer any questions you might have about the tent, truck, or the combo!

Tent is plenty spacious for two (I'm 6'4" and not small) and maybe a small dog. Our 70lb Berner slept in the truck. You can't put the awning poles in on the cab-side window due to the clearance of the window + spoiler, but I ran some Stratchit straps to the front crossbar mounts over the cab which worked great and let us keep the tent windows all open even in a heavy rainstorm.

Bonus with the pupper:

Man great setup! I'm in Seattle as well and have been back and forth between the Condor Overland, iKamper 3.0 Mini, or Tuff Stuff Alpha II. The Condor is really close in price to the iKamper while the Tuff Stuff is about $1k cheaper.

What made you pick the Roofnest? I've heard their biggest issue is customer service.

 

[kylealden]

Man great setup! I'm in Seattle as well and have been back and forth between the Condor Overland, iKamper 3.0 Mini, or Tuff Stuff Alpha II. The Condor is really close in price to the iKamper while the Tuff Stuff is about $1k cheaper.

What made you pick the Roofnest? I've heard their biggest issue is customer service.

The two factors that pushed me to the Roofnest are:

1. The all-aluminum shell with the accessory rails so I can add crossbars and mount gear (planning to add some boxes, maxtrax, and a shovel) as well as bikes in a pinch (e.g. when towing).
2. It's a little roomier (especially lengthwise) on the inside. I tried out the SkyCamp Mini 2.0 at the Kent facility a while ago and it was a bit snug for my tastes - I'm 6'4" and had very little room to spare.

That said, I was really close between those options. My runner up was probably the iKamper XCover Mini 2.0 which has crossbars (but no accessory rails), but is the largest (when opened) of the lot and seems to have better side awning rails. But I don't like that it's soft-sided and doesn't seem to have a super tight latch, which is important to me (I park my truck outside and get lots of spider babies in anything that isn't good and buttoned up).

So far I'm pretty happy with the Roofnest - it comes with a bunch of accessories the others charge extra for (interior lighting, shoe bags, etc.) and seems reasonably high quality. The biggest drawback I've noticed is that there is a small but real gap in two places on the canvas along the bottom, where the panels hinge on each side. It's covered with a small velcro flap but there's enough opening that when the tent is deployed, there is a spot that mosquitoes could get in which has no mesh and can't be sealed tightly. It's not a huge issue unless you're in true mosquito hell but seems like a glaring oversight. My plan is just to spray it down with permethrin and hope for the best.

 

[NorskBoy]

For folks who may be interested, I got my Condor Overland installed on the R1T and went for my first camping trip up on Orcas Island over the weekend. I'm still on a broken ankle so while I'm cleared to drive, I'm not super mobile outside the truck, so I only grabbed a few pictures, but thought I'd share them here.

The tent looks super sharp closed and doesn't affect clearance at all. I'm not crazy about the canvas colors (the new iKampers look much sleeker when opened with the black/grey colorway) but the Roofnest looks great closed.

Pretty easy to mount (I needed to borrow a friend since my ankle is broken but two adults can lift it pretty easily). No noticeable affect to wind noise or range. The silver "Roofnest" badge is kind of obnoxious in the rearview mirror so I'm gonna try taking a heat gun to those to see if I can get them off.

It's a bit of a pain to close (the rubber gaskets are really tight and you have to pretty proactively stuff the tent fabric in as you close it). This will be less of a hassle once my ankle is healed - right now it's a lot of hopping back and forth

I have crossbars for the tent but haven't installed them yet. My tentative plan is to mount my MaxTrax and a Roam Adventure Co storage box to the top of the tent so the box can be my dedicated car camping kit, then add my shovel/axe to a side of the rear. The extruded t-slot rails on the tent are super handy, although the ones on the hinge side are pretty limited since they will be up against the crossbars/bed rail when open.

Still trying to figure out the best way to carry mountain bikes on this setup without being super tall or blocking the tailgate - I'm not super crazy about swingout hitches since most of them add a lot of length and ruin departure angle. Suggestions welcome!

Happy to answer any questions you might have about the tent, truck, or the combo!

Tent is plenty spacious for two (I'm 6'4" and not small) and maybe a small dog. Our 70lb Berner slept in the truck. You can't put the awning poles in on the cab-side window due to the clearance of the window + spoiler, but I ran some Stratchit straps to the front crossbar mounts over the cab which worked great and let us keep the tent windows all open even in a heavy rainstorm.

Bonus with the pupper:

It would certainly be possible - you would probably have to fab something custom (there are a fair number of 90 degree brackets for side extrusions, but you'd probably want something more like a 120 degree bracket).

I bet it would like pretty weird when closed though, and it would stick up high enough that you might as well just put a 180-degree awning over the cab at that point (which will be a lot less fussy, and plenty high if you raise the suspension when parked).

Realistically, I think you're probably better off putting a freestanding canopy and some guylines in the truck. I was pretty interested in a Kinsmen 270 degree awning when I thought I'd be able to fit a GFC on the Rivian, but failing that, I think it's easy to overestimate how much time you want to hang out directly next to your truck (the exception might be the Camp Kitchen, which a 180-degree awning over the passenger doors would cover nicely).

My condor overland is being delivered tomorrow. I’ve ordered a 180 degree awning and a second set of roof racks already ordered. Going to put condor

It would certainly be possible - you would probably have to fab something custom (there are a fair number of 90 degree brackets for side extrusions, but you'd probably want something more like a 120 degree bracket).

I bet it would like pretty weird when closed though, and it would stick up high enough that you might as well just put a 180-degree awning over the cab at that point (which will be a lot less fussy, and plenty high if you raise the suspension when parked).

Realistically, I think you're probably better off putting a freestanding canopy and some guylines in the truck. I was pretty interested in a Kinsmen 270 degree awning when I thought I'd be able to fit a GFC on the Rivian, but failing that, I think it's easy to overestimate how much time you want to hang out directly next to your truck (the exception might be the Camp Kitchen, which a 180-degree awning over the passenger doors would cover nicely).

For folks who may be interested, I got my Condor Overland installed on the R1T and went for my first camping trip up on Orcas Island over the weekend. I'm still on a broken ankle so while I'm cleared to drive, I'm not super mobile outside the truck, so I only grabbed a few pictures, but thought I'd share them here.

The tent looks super sharp closed and doesn't affect clearance at all. I'm not crazy about the canvas colors (the new iKampers look much sleeker when opened with the black/grey colorway) but the Roofnest looks great closed.

Pretty easy to mount (I needed to borrow a friend since my ankle is broken but two adults can lift it pretty easily). No noticeable affect to wind noise or range. The silver "Roofnest" badge is kind of obnoxious in the rearview mirror so I'm gonna try taking a heat gun to those to see if I can get them off.

It's a bit of a pain to close (the rubber gaskets are really tight and you have to pretty proactively stuff the tent fabric in as you close it). This will be less of a hassle once my ankle is healed - right now it's a lot of hopping back and forth

I have crossbars for the tent but haven't installed them yet. My tentative plan is to mount my MaxTrax and a Roam Adventure Co storage box to the top of the tent so the box can be my dedicated car camping kit, then add my shovel/axe to a side of the rear. The extruded t-slot rails on the tent are super handy, although the ones on the hinge side are pretty limited since they will be up against the crossbars/bed rail when open.

Still trying to figure out the best way to carry mountain bikes on this setup without being super tall or blocking the tailgate - I'm not super crazy about swingout hitches since most of them add a lot of length and ruin departure angle. Suggestions welcome!

Happy to answer any questions you might have about the tent, truck, or the combo!

Tent is plenty spacious for two (I'm 6'4" and not small) and maybe a small dog. Our 70lb Berner slept in the truck. You can't put the awning poles in on the cab-side window due to the clearance of the window + spoiler, but I ran some Stratchit straps to the front crossbar mounts over the cab which worked great and let us keep the tent windows all open even in a heavy rainstorm.

Bonus with the pupper:

For folks who may be interested, I got my Condor Overland installed on the R1T and went for my first camping trip up on Orcas Island over the weekend. I'm still on a broken ankle so while I'm cleared to drive, I'm not super mobile outside the truck, so I only grabbed a few pictures, but thought I'd share them here.

The tent looks super sharp closed and doesn't affect clearance at all. I'm not crazy about the canvas colors (the new iKampers look much sleeker when opened with the black/grey colorway) but the Roofnest looks great closed.

Pretty easy to mount (I needed to borrow a friend since my ankle is broken but two adults can lift it pretty easily). No noticeable affect to wind noise or range. The silver "Roofnest" badge is kind of obnoxious in the rearview mirror so I'm gonna try taking a heat gun to those to see if I can get them off.

It's a bit of a pain to close (the rubber gaskets are really tight and you have to pretty proactively stuff the tent fabric in as you close it). This will be less of a hassle once my ankle is healed - right now it's a lot of hopping back and forth

I have crossbars for the tent but haven't installed them yet. My tentative plan is to mount my MaxTrax and a Roam Adventure Co storage box to the top of the tent so the box can be my dedicated car camping kit, then add my shovel/axe to a side of the rear. The extruded t-slot rails on the tent are super handy, although the ones on the hinge side are pretty limited since they will be up against the crossbars/bed rail when open.

Still trying to figure out the best way to carry mountain bikes on this setup without being super tall or blocking the tailgate - I'm not super crazy about swingout hitches since most of them add a lot of length and ruin departure angle. Suggestions welcome!

Happy to answer any questions you might have about the tent, truck, or the combo!

Tent is plenty spacious for two (I'm 6'4" and not small) and maybe a small dog. Our 70lb Berner slept in the truck. You can't put the awning poles in on the cab-side window due to the clearance of the window + spoiler, but I ran some Stratchit straps to the front crossbar mounts over the cab which worked great and let us keep the tent windows all open even in a heavy rainstorm.

Bonus with the pupper:

My condor overland is in the box in the garage. My my OVS 180 awning and a second set of rivian crossbars are being delivered tomorrow. Plan to do the RN overland on driver side like you did and OVS 180 on passenger side to cover camp kitchen. Figure bike racks on top of condor or perhaps on roof rack. I’ll build next week and post pics. I see you are in Seattle area we should arrange a rivian meet up. Burgermaster in Bellevue???

 

[Joints4Sale]

My condor overland is being delivered tomorrow. I’ve ordered a 180 degree awning and a second set of roof racks already ordered. Going to put condor



My condor overland is in the box in the garage. My my OVS 180 awning and a second set of rivian crossbars are being delivered tomorrow. Plan to do the RN overland on driver side like you did and OVS 180 on passenger side to cover camp kitchen. Figure bike racks on top of condor or perhaps on roof rack. I’ll build next week and post pics. I see you are in Seattle area we should arrange a rivian meet up. Burgermaster in Bellevue???

Did you get it set up? I'm looking for an awning solution.

 

[NorskBoy]

Did you get it set up? I'm looking for an awning solution.

Worked great. Had to go to Home Depot and get ⅜” carriage bolts which slid into the rivian rack to make the final attachment. I did have to offset the condor overland quite a bit to get enough clearance so the can both be open. I’m really happy with the set up.

 

[kylealden]

FWIW I set up a Moonshade awning with my Condor and it worked out great. Not as simple as a swing out but I like that I don’t have to put anything else on the roof. It just suction cups to the roof glass.

 

[NorskBoy]

FWIW I set up a Moonshade awning with my Condor and it worked out great. Not as simple as a swing out but I like that I don’t have to put anything else on the roof. It just suction cups to the roof glass.

That looks great and will not effect aero so much.

 

[kylealden]

That looks great and will not effect aero so much.

I can confirm that I've seen essentially zero impact from the tent + accessories at highway speeds after a couple decent road trips with them. Even the bike rack is negligible.

I haven't added anything to the cab roof yet but I'd bet that's where the losses start to show up.

 

[kylealden]

I finally got around to setting up a storage solution for my tent: Rooftop tent storage for Rivian R1T

 

[DJG]

I can confirm that I've seen essentially zero impact from the tent + accessories at highway speeds after a couple decent road trips with them. Even the bike rack is negligible.

I haven't added anything to the cab roof yet but I'd bet that's where the losses start to show up.

Yeah, I think it's the same reason the tonneau being open or closed doesn't matter much either. If you draw a line roughly from the edge of the roof to the back of the tailgate, everything inside of that isn't in the flow of air over the vehicle and sits in a vacuum. If you were to ride up there on your stomach you probably wouldn't even feel the wind blow your flowing hair....

 

[NorskBoy]

I finally got around to setting up a storage solution for my tent: Rooftop tent storage for Rivian R1T

That is an elegant solution. I have storage lifts in my garage and did the same thing on those. It’s a little Rube Goldberg but works very well. I do love an elegant solution like that Looks super clean. Two thumbs up.

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