*THE RTT Owners Thread (With BS)*

Can't speak for all RTTs, but mine only has mounts for 2 bars.

 

Id buy the tent that works best for you. Down the road if you find the mattress to be uncomfortable (you probably will) consider investing in nice air mattress like an Exped Megamat 10

 

I’ve gone through a bunch of RTT’s already and I’m still going. Anybody picking up the new Inspired Overland Carbon Fiber hard shell RTT? Dropping in the next few weeks. Going to compare it to the Alu-cab LT-50 which I currently run. I predict that the IO will do better. Will report back in a few months.

 

What rack/bars are you talking about? You need to make sure they are rated for the static load of the tent, yourself, and any gear in the tent when in use. You also need to he sure it's rated for the dynamic load of the tent and anything that'll be in it when moving.

I say this in case you're talking about factory bars, because most aren't rated for a RTT.

 

The smart cap load bars

 

Hey all, I've got my wedge rooftop tent selection narrowed down to four and I was curious to get y'all's thoughts on which tents to avoid or definitely get.

1. iKamper BDV Duo
2. Free Spirit Aspen Lite XL (Releasing next week, the non-XL has been out for a bit)
   • I live in Colorado so I'll be visiting their showroom this week to try it out. Would also save on shipping.
3. CVT Mt Hood
4. Roofnest Falcon 2 XL
   • Have heard they have terrible customer support

I wanted a Super Pacific/Topo Topper/GFC, but ultimately could not justify the price. I have various criteria and made a spreadsheet with 28 different tents. In short, I am looking for a wedge style RTT that:

• Is under 8" when stowed/Is under 180-200 pounds
• Is not a condensation trap.
  
• Fits an Exped Megamat inside
  
• Is well-constructed and will not leak

The tent will be mounted onto my Diamondback and will overhung the cab of my Tacoma.

Any insights that y'all may have would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much for your time!

How the tent will sit:


The rack:

 

Not only is Roofnests service crap, you can buy the same shit quality tents direct from China for less money. My Roofnest showed up with holes in it, and it took over a month to get them to agree to a refund. I had to get pretty aggressive to get them to do what should have been on offer from the get go. They ignored my contact for over two weeks and then tried to blame it on covid and the guy being out of the office. They are a scam.


Are you dead set on a wedge?

 

Ever looked at doghouse tents? I have one of theirs (not a wedge) and had good experiences with them. Seem to be good quality.

https://www.doghousetents.com/collections/soft-top-tent/products/wedge-aluminum-hardshell-tent

 

Is your truck a long bed or short? I'm looking at that tent. If it's a short bed does it basically line up with your tailgate?

 

How tall are you? I’m 6’. I tried out BDV Duo at the show room. I did not fit. Not enough foot room. Your feet will be sideways.

 

This is why I was asking if a wedge was mandatory. I have an iKamper Skycamp Mini, and me and a buddy used it elk hunting when we had extra guests for a day. He's 6'3" and didn't have any issues with room. I think the side opening hard shells are just a better design for space. That was one of my big hang ups on the GFC. Well, that and their door design for the tent.

 

I'm 6'1" and a side-sleeper, usually with my knees tucked up.

The interior sleeping dimensions of these tents are:

• BDV Duo: 83 ¾" L x 53 ¾" W
  
• FSR Aspen Lite XL: 78.5” L x 52.5” W
• CVT Mt. Hood: 81" L x 57" W

I'm surprised to hear the BDV Duo does not have adequate leg room given its 83" long. I'll have to see how I feel about the Aspen Lite XL in their showroom. Thanks for the heads up.

Wedges seem to be the best for slimness and for fitting an exped. The iKamper Skycamp Mini would probably be the only one I'd consider, but there seem to be wildly varying reviews on them. Some say it's amazing, some say it's shameful in its pricing for its quality and features.

I will say, the pricing to add basically-exped-type-sleep-foam-mattresses is a bummer.

The advantage of wedges over those side-opening hardshells is that my girlfriend would like a place to sit and read while I'm parked at trailheads fishing. Normally she's in the truck itself, but it gets stuffy or buggy. A wedge confined to the footprint of the truck would enable us to deploy the tent at busy parking lots. (This is a niche and unusual requirement, so I mention it last.)

I'll look into these. Thank you!

 

The reason I ask if you're utterly committed to a wedge is because a side opening tent has similar room without the sharp angle and can be mounted on a bed rack that makes it not stick up above the cab much, if at all. Mine is mounted on a mid height Caliraised bed rack, and it's at almost the same height as the shark fin antenna on the roof. The quality is light years ahead of the roofnest you had on your list, and will be on par with anything else on the market IMO. I bought a cheaper RTT, regretted it, and wound up in an iKamper. I've not had any issues with it so far, and I've had it a couple years.

As for sitting and reading, there is easily enough space for this in a hard shell. The height of a wedge is only better if you plan to stand in it, which at your height you likely can't do anyway. Now, for the narrow space deployment, in a parking lot... IDK how important that is to you. You have to evaluate that on your own. See the image below for dimensions. It's easily 40" at it's lowest point when deployed and 46.5" at the top. Unless your GF is 8 feet tall, she'll have plenty of room to sit. There's also a skylight that you can have exposed, or even open if you roll up the rainfly.




Here's the Mount Hood for comparison. It's almost got 10" in height, but only at it's peak. It is an almost 2 inches shorter in length, but does have almost 2-3" more width if you get the medium or large. It's also quite a bit heavier than the Skycamp Mini's 125 lbs. Not sure that part will matter as much unless you plan to mount and unmount it a bunch.

Yes, it's 83" long, but the lower angle of top on a wedge tent means that there's a good portion at the corner that is not really usable space for sleeping. Either your head goes at that end and when you sit up you hit your head, or your feet are down there and can be cramped. Likely not as big an issue with you being a side sleeper with knees up, but that is what was being referred to.

I too am a side sleeper, and I'm fat. I have just rolled out my old sleeping bag and laid on top of it while covering up with my rumpl blanket and been fine. No hotspots or aches in the morning. My buddy I mentioned before didn't have any issues with it when he was in his sleeping bag, and he sleeps in a near fetal position on his side. Comfort is such an individual thing that it's hard to judge it for somebody else. Room won't be the issue, but some people can't have a firm bed while others must have a firm bed. Adding an exped is always an option with any tent, but it's also added cost to any tent.

Something to keep in mind with the prices of an iKamper is that they are one of the pioneers, and their designs have been ripped on by chinese manufacturers who can undercut on prices. iKamper manufactures all of their tents in their own factory in South Korea, so that is part of the cost. They also have established distributors here in The States to handle any issues here. You're not stuck waiting on responses from a factory in China, like what happened to me with roofnest.

As for "features" I'm not sure what people want out of a tent. They open. They close. Hard shells do it fast and easy, while soft shells take more time. They keep you warm and dry. Not sure how one tent has "features" beyond that besides some little things like pockets/pouches or how the awnings might work.


And for price, sticking with the CVT and iKamper, the Mt. Hood in it's medium size (closest to the mini's size) is $3199 while the Skycamp Mini is $3699. CVT is 280g poly cotton and the iKamper is 300g. I don't know exactly what the 20g difference translates too, and my google skills are weak at this hour.

Anyway, I suggest you find a showroom for each tent you are considering and put your hands on them. I hear good things about CVT, so I'm sure you can't go wrong with either one.

 

short bed, yes it lines up with the tailgate, it's not hanging and there's probably about 4-5 inches from the back window.
best pic i could find

 

My Aspen Lite XL:



BTW the Aspen Lite XL (60") has been out since FSR made it. The narrower 50" Aspen lite is the new tent.
I can almost stand up completely and I'm 5'8" I had the GFC SUPERLITE and I couldn't do that by a long shot. I wanted the lightest rtt while still having the highest head room possible.

 

This was a great write-up, thank you! PM'ing you bc I have further questions about your Skycamp Mini!

 

I'll do my best to answer.

 

Food for thought / my opinions on bullet points 2 and 3:
-All tents will trap and hold condensation. Its critical you open the RTT on a nice sunny day asap after a trip. Give it an hour or two to air out in the sun and completely dry.
-You do have a bit of wiggle room with the Exped. My OVS Mamba III is ~50" wide interior. But the Exped still works just fine.

 

I owned a Mt. Hood for two seasons with no complaints. Prior to that I owned another CVT tent. Their customer service is good. I'm beyond done dealing with companies with bad customer service, and based on what I've read here that should take Roofnest off your list.

I'm not sure what size Mt. Hood you're looking at, but I had a small and there was no good way to put an Exped in there. I think the medium size would work well based on what I remember.