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OrthoBlock

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Will try the minimalist route next trip and have the wife and kids sleep in the car while I and the dog sleep in a tent.
Does this mean that all of you slept in the roof top tent this time? And then next time you would have 3 people inside car and one in roof top tent, or one in the tent you had outside on the ground?

What's the motivation for switching it up? [wasn't sure what we were "minimizing" between the two versions]
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Does this mean that all of you slept in the roof top tent this time? And then next time you would have 3 people inside car and one in roof top tent, or one in the tent you had outside on the ground?

What's the motivation for switching it up? [wasn't sure what we were "minimizing" between the two versions]
Yep, we usually have the whole family in the RTT. Next time, I'd like to try leaving the RTT at home and having everyone sleep in the R1S, except me and the dog who'd sleep in a ground tent.

It seems like it'd be fun for the kids and the R1S is the perfect platform for it before they get too big. Plus, it'd be easier for quick trips with limited prep time. Mostly just to see how it goes šŸ˜€.
 

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On the last picture of the car (side profile), does it seem like thereā€™s an excess of weight in the back? The rear suspension appears to be lower and it doesnā€™t seem to be due to ground level (it could just be my eyes).
 

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Are there any other viable tent options that don't cost the same as a family vacation? the iKamper is nice, but over 4K? Yikes.
I picked up a nice Skycamp gen 2 for $2700. iKampers seem to hold their value well so your total cost of ownership if you decide to sell it at a later date shouldnā€™t be too bad. There are plenty of more affordable options but support can be sketchy.
 

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On the last picture of the car (side profile), does it seem like thereā€™s an excess of weight in the back? The rear suspension appears to be lower and it doesnā€™t seem to be due to ground level (it could just be my eyes).
They level out with additional load. More likely they have it in camp mode
 

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The wind noise was mostly fine except one section on the freeway where it was loud. We think it might've been due to cross winds, since it didn't happen again all trip. If it becomes a recurring thing, I'm looking at the Frontrunner wind faring, which another poster has installed and looks to be thoughtfully built.

To be honest, I'm not good about keeping track of efficiency since it's mainly my wife's car. Before this trip, the guess-o-meter was usually spot on. On this trip, the guess-o-meter was a bit off since efficiency was around 2 miles/kWh.

No vibrations, either. The Rivian crossbars are really solid. Our other car has a Prinsu style rack and the iKamper would sometimes squeak or there would be vibrations. That's because the tent laid across several crossbars, and the crossbars that weren't attached to the tent's mounting bracket would rub against the bottom of the tent at times.
Ok great! Thatā€™s good to know info. If the SUV is considerably more windy much more inefficient than the truck with the tent Iā€™ll stick to the truck. Thanks for the info.
 

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I guess this is a matter of personal preference but I've always thought rooftop tents odd. To me, they don't have any attraction or benefit, only negatives of cost, inconvenience, weight, air resistance, etc.
We've always camped with a tent on the ground and been very happy with this arrangement. We don't have to worry about the inconvenience of climbing or falling, especially for nighttime and morning "comfort breaks".
It's kind of the same reason we have avoided buying any kind of camping trailer. The point is to get out close to nature, not insulated from it.
 

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I guess this is a matter of personal preference but I've always thought rooftop tents odd. To me, they don't have any attraction or benefit, only negatives of cost, inconvenience, weight, air resistance, etc.
We've always camped with a tent on the ground and been very happy with this arrangement. We don't have to worry about the inconvenience of climbing or falling, especially for nighttime and morning "comfort breaks".
It's kind of the same reason we have avoided buying any kind of camping trailer. The point is to get out close to nature, not insulated from it.
now that you mention it, I agree. Also what if you are out and about in the vehicle daily? Pack up your bed/tent each time? Seems like it would be really cool to have one, but not optimal for flexibility.
 
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jplblue

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now that you mention it, I agree. Also what if you are out and about in the vehicle daily? Pack up your bed/tent each time? Seems like it would be really cool to have one, but not optimal for flexibility.
Are you replying to someone? Might be someone I ignored because I can't see who, lol.

To pack up, you just close the tent. The mattress, bedding, and pillows all stay in the tent, so no need to pack those. It doesn't take long to close up the tent, although there are variables that will affect your time.

It's a style of travel that's best for those who are at different locations each night, rather than "base camp" trips where you go back to the same place after your day trips.

We traveled across the country and back last year in the RTT, where we never stayed at a place for two nights, and a similar setup worked great. It would not have been possible without an RTT because we needed the extra storage to store bedding. There were times when we pulled into sites past midnight, and setting up a tent, bed, blankets, etc. would've been a pain.

There are definitely tradeoffs, so whatever fits your preference!
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