RTT ups and downs

Got the Yakima posts and HD bars. Buddy loaned me his Tapui RTT to try out. Yakima set up cost me 1500 at REI. Not sure I’m sold on the RTT but looking forward to using it. What do you think?

 

That’s quite the chateau with the tent room on the side and pet quarters in the bed also gaining some weather protection, and no need to bring animals up the ladder, looks like a great setup, I like it! I see the bikes… I always find I want to hop in the truck and go in the morning when camping, off to the trailhead or tourist trap or fire road to drive, so I am stuck sleeping on the ground in a tent for now if/until I do a wedge camper or six foot bed and topper. All depends on how important that quick setup/breakdown time is to you

Edit: Also, welcome to Tacomaworld new member!

 

I went with a RTT because my wife no longer would sleep on the ground. Been happy with it for several years now.

 

We went the opposite. Wife didn’t like the RTT now we have a big ass springbar like tent and an air mattress.

I will say the only real downside to an RTT is taking a leak in the middle of the night.

Set up is way better though. RTT less than five minutes. The big ground tent? I’ve been close to an hour a couple times.

 

I was about the RTT life for a few years. Just this summer I was 'over it'. Too many times I get to my camping spot, setup, and then wanna go out and explore or find a fishing spot....but would have to pack up the tent and sleeping bag and all my gizmos inside of it. Switched to a Gazelle Tent and sets up in literally 30 seconds lol and its huuuge, only downfall. Now I can have buddies crash in my tent if needed and its easier to get the dog in the tent with me. With my sleeping pad and big sleeping bag, I sleep like a baby, even while being on the ground like some caveman!

 

I’m on this same dilemma right now. I love the ikamper 2.0. Plenty of room for me, the wife, and 1 year old. In the year of ownership we’ve taken it on plenty of trips with windy/dusty condition, rain, and snow. Really enjoy being out of the ground elements. Huge downside for us right now is the kid opening up the windows and door which opened up the possibility of falling out. Another disadvantage is a quick trip to the store isn’t possible without breaking down the tent. Midnight bathroom trips sucks to go down. Been looking at the Shift Pod because it can protect us from the elements in poor conditions plus has plenty of room for us and our gear all inside one tent. Another huge benefit will be the use of an AC/heater with a generator, there’s ports for the vent hose. The tent is also insulated and can withstand high winds of about 90mph I believe. The other major plus is that we could store more stuff on the roof racks since the RTT won’t use all the space. But we’re also debating on a small trailer lol so there’s that.

 

I love the RTTs so far and now looking to upgrade from a Thule Tepui to Ikamper 3.0.
Might be facing an issue tho and looking for advice. Can I mount the Ikamper 3.0 on a mid-height bed rack? I have a 5ft short bed or would a cab height rack be needed?

 

It depends which model you’re getting. The small ikamper fits in the 5 foot bed length and you can use it with your rack. The bigger one is a lot longer and will hang out of the back at least a foot. This one is better mounted on a cab high rack for clearance.

 

I decided against a RTT pretty much straight away.

1) I don’t want it mounted to my truck all the time. I haul motos often, so my only real option would be to mount it on my Prinsu roof rack. You can tell yourself “I’ll take it off when necessary” but we know that’s bullshit. I see RTTs on commuters all the time. Almost no one is taking them on/off.

2) They’re too small if you want/need to hang out inside. You can do so but it’s not ideal, even less so if multiple people or pets are involved. A second awning/shelter can become necessary for lounging, so add this to what you’re going to carry.

3) Price- you can spend $4/5/6k for a RTT but the dilemma I noted in #2 will still exist.

4) If traveling solo, once you’ve set up camp, your only option is to pack things back up if you want/need to use the truck. This is further complicated if you have all the add-on vestibule/awning attachments. You can bring a moto or mountain bike to cover this, but that could require several thousand dollars more unless you already own one of these.

The only pros for a RTT for my needs are set up/stow speed, the ability to store bedding/mattress, and the fact that rain/mud don’t really affect a RTT rig.

After considering my options, a hardshell became the the only RTT I would consider, so that put me into the $4k+ range for the one I liked most. However, I couldn’t escape the cons or justify the price for the smallest of pros. I decided that a three-man Gazelle tent was overwhelmingly best for my needs. I can set it up/tear it down in 60 seconds(tent poles are integrated, so no ‘assembly’ - it just quickly unfolds similar to an umbrella and you ‘pop’ the sides/roof out into place). Then it takes me about 120 seconds to set up or stow my bedding. It’s large enough that three people can sit comfortably inside and hang out for hours. Having to sit on the ground in rain or mud is the only real disadvantage for me, but that’s minor and really only makes for a bit of a mess on rare occasions. And the Gazelle tent was $300. I’ve spent much more on much lesser tents too. In my opinion, it’s a $750 tent for less than half that price. Only thing to consider is that a Gazelle T3X tent is 2x as heavy and about 70% longer when stowed than is a large 4-man tent such as a Eureka. Still fits in my truck bed or I can lash it quickly to my Prinsu.

Moral of the story- Gazelle T3X tent meets 95% of my needs for less than 10% of the RTT cost I was considering. No brainer.

 

Gazelle t3x here also. It fits in my bed and is super fast up or down.

 

I showed my smoking hot trophy wife a picture of one those things and her response was "are you out of your phucking mind, I'm not sleeping up there"

 

REI shopper huh? That's some seriously over priced woodsman cosplay.

 

I went with the Tepui Low Pro to save on weight because I knew I wasn't going to be taking it off. I did keep it below cab height to get less wind resistance.

The only real downsides are getting out in the middle of the night to pee, the initial cost, and looking like you're driving around on an urban safari during the week.

 

I recognize this truck!! You live in PTown Southgate? Looking good.

 

Coleman fast pitch. $175

Not paying $3,000 for something I can't shit inside.

 

It's still a fraction of the size/weight of most RTTs.

I'd guess about 90% of people who bought RTTs would have been better off in a ground tent if they had thought it through as thoroughly as you did.

 

...I thought about a roof top tent but decided that the breaking camp every time I left to fish or launch in another area everyday would get old pretty quick.

So I use a hammock stand and hammock, and I get the same sleep every night and can take my truck anywhere I want in the morning....Most of my camping involves fishing and I throw the boat in the bed of the truck when I head to different launch spots

 

I'm awaiting a long bed so that I can buy a topper and sleep in the bed.

 

Some people are strictly against RTT’s and that’s ok. It comes down to two simple things. Money and storage space. There’s been several times that I was glad I had a RTT over a ground tend. When we got snowed in at sequoia National park. When overlanding in ocotillo wells and someone in our crew broke a ball joint, we had to setup camp in a really rocky, uneven area. One time we got caught in a rain storm. One time when camping and the state park had knee high tall grass and weeds everywhere with bugs and critters. One camp ground with unlevel ground. There can be many more instances but these are just the ones we’ve come across in a years worth of use. That includes trips to Pismo beach, Monterey/Carmel, Yosemite, Sequoia, Grand Canyon, Austin Texas USGP.
I built a hoist in the garage roof and take off the tent after use so that’s easy storage. When we needed a shelter we had awnings setup, one of which connects to the RTT. The dogs don’t sleep in our bed so we easily put them in the camper shell of the truck, they sleep better because they have more space and it’s a solid shelter inside the RSI SmartCap. The only real downside was breaking down camp to go somewhere, but we just plan better so we don’t need to go anywhere until we’re ready to leave.
I recently got the Shift Pod 3 which we’re going to use in June when we go to Zion and North Rim Grand Canyon. We only plan to use the ground tent when we know the camp environment. You can’t plan for everything but maybe this can give you a better idea of the pros and cons. Shift Pod makes a great product very similar to the gazelle. You won’t know what you like until you use it for a while and figure out your needs.

 

Pic please