rooftop tent mounting

[F1504x4]

I do a lot of camping with my truck and have been looking into those tents that mount to the rooftop. however it says they mount to rooftop racks which my trucks neither has nor do i wish to pay out the ass for one. does anyone have any experiance with how these mount to the roof? In other words is it a flexible mounting system to where i can spend $50 on pipe to build a mounting system for the tent

[bcolman]

why not mount it to your bed rails?

[F1504x4]

i had thought about that but again i cant find a description better than the "mounts to your vehicle in minutes!" crap

[DRAGOONRANCH]

why not mount it to your bed rails?

Yes...

[DRAGOONRANCH]

Paging Chris/FJ.

[uglyota]

yakima/thule racks only have like a 150# weight limit. Flip pacs are sweet if you want something semi-permanent. Or you could get a big air mattres and set your tent up on the ground :confused2

[FJAggie07]

Step into my office... :D

For ease of use, go get a Yakima system that will mount to your roof. In fact I have two sets of bars that will work that you can have. I personally would recommend mounting it to a camper over the back of your truck or on a rack system that is mounted to your bed rails. I have done and seen all of the above.

Yakima mounts for bed rails on our old Tundra...

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f105/starranchjoker/Tundra2007/IMG_0054.jpg

[FJAggie07]

yakima/thule racks only have like a 150# weight limit. Flip pacs are sweet if you want something semi-permanent. Or you could get a big air mattres and set your tent up on the ground :confused2

That is their Dynamic Load rating, not their static. A typical RTT weighs in at anywhere between 70 to 120 lbs. The Static load rating is about 8 times that of the Dynamic load. Trust me between my wife and I and all our gear and two dogs in a Roof Top Tent we push the weight limit...


Now if only I could find that pic of the Tundra with the Roof Top Tent on the back...

[F1504x4]

the reason i wanted something like this is mainly because we get to wherever we're going late at night if not early morning and after driving for a long time im not in the best of moods to set up a tent at 1am with stakes and all i just wanna go to sleep. Hence this sort of tent becuase its supposed to like just unfold or something

[bcolman]

i bet you can build one that will mount to your bed rails easy and cheap

[FJAggie07]

Ta Daaaa1!!!!111!!!


http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa112/amandaj937/TTR%20campsite%20build/TTRCampsitepics044.jpg

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa112/amandaj937/TTR%20campsite%20build/TTRCampsitepics046.jpg

[F1504x4]

yea something like that would be nice..and save me drilling holes and whatnot into the cab roof

[uglyota]

chris didn't you have more than 2 bars on your rack?
f150 they make tents that set up easily and don't require stakes. They just cost more than $100

[FJAggie07]

the reason i wanted something like this is mainly because we get to wherever we're going late at night if not early morning and after driving for a long time im not in the best of moods to set up a tent at 1am with stakes and all i just wanna go to sleep. Hence this sort of tent becuase its supposed to like just unfold or something

Roof Top Tents aren't cheap bud. If you are looking for ease they are the way to go. If your wife insists on not sleeping on the ground, and you have no other choice they are also the way to go.


i bet you can build one that will mount to your bed rails easy and cheap

Si, I would concur with this. After going through Yakima and Thule and figuring out which one would work if I had to do it all over again, I would just weld some Tubing to some L Brackets and bolt them to the bed rails.

[FJAggie07]

chris didn't you have more than 2 bars on your rack?
f150 they make tents that set up easily and don't require stakes. They just cost more than $100

Actually no, but now that I had him make the rack on the Trailer to have three support bars, I wouldn't go back to only two. I think the load should be distributed out across three bars.

[F1504x4]

yea i know they arent cheap but i was looking into getting one for the ease of setting up

[Doug Krebs]

Why not just get a camper top? You can find them cheap... I found an aluminum skinned one on craigslist for $50. It has windows with screens and everything. It even has a sliding window so you can reach through to the cab. Fail on my part as my truck doesn't have a sliding window. Camping is the only reason I bought the top.

[FJAggie07]

Why not just get a camper top? You can find them cheap... I found an aluminum skinned one on craigslist for $50. It has windows with screens and everything. It even has a sliding window so you can reach through to the cab. Fail on my part as my truck doesn't have a sliding window. Camping is the only reason I bought the top.

I agree with this also if you have a truck. A camper top would work just as well, unless you want to keep stuff in the bed. I only went with the Roof top tent because of the FJC and the fact that I knew I would have a dedicated trailer at one point in time.

[AggieTJ2007]

i just sleep in the camper, just move the stuff to the side/ keep everything on the trailer

[F1504x4]

Why not just get a camper top? You can find them cheap... I found an aluminum skinned one on craigslist for $50. It has windows with screens and everything. It even has a sliding window so you can reach through to the cab. Fail on my part as my truck doesn't have a sliding window. Camping is the only reason I bought the top.

wow i never thought you could get one so cheap..ill hafta keep my eye out for something like this because given my bugdet right now that would work wonders

[Doug Krebs]

They are all over craigslist... Hell I'll let you borrow the one I got if you want to try it out. I assume it would fit.

I'd look for one like I got. I just got lucky to tell you the truth as I didn't know much about them. I like that it has an aluminum frame and aluminum sheeting over it rather than fiberglass. They probably don't look as snazzy but I didn't buy it for that.

[JB]

Chris, so how does thta RTT look when it is all collapsed? Who makes it?

I have been contemplating buying a camper top for the F150 for my yearly trips to CO and was just planning on building a temporary bed platform in the bed that would take up about half of the width, elevated maybe 2' so I could see outthe windows at night and to store stuff underneath. The prices for them new are pretty high though. I think I had one quoted a while back for over $1600.

But I have never seen a tent like that that mounts to the bed rails. That would save me alot of vital storage space.

[JB]

What are the dimensions? I wonder if I could keep my toolbox in and have the RTT. It has a 6.5' bed

[Shaggy]

so what is so wrong with a tent on the ground?

[Seth]

Critters on the ground, rough or unlevel ground, hot summer nights, torrential downpours, ground too hard for stakes, etc.

[uglyota]

Critters on the ground better tent, rough or unlevel ground air mattress, hot summer nights beer, torrential downpours better tent, ground too hard for stakes better tent, etc. beer

:)

[DRAGOONRANCH]

It all boils down to the ratio of just how cheap you are:just how lazy you are. ;)

[FJAggie07]

When I get back to a computer I will post pics of it collapsed. I bought mine on sale for $650. That is a bit of money but it is easy, what she wanted and fits the bill.

[FJAggie07]

JB this is what it looks like collapsed...

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f105/starranchjoker/Trailer/CIMG1275.jpg

Other Truck options...

http://www.markdstephens.com/frontier/mods/frontier_bed_tent.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2100/2188693280_eeb2e3bf48_b.jpg

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g230/devildoc25/100_0618.jpg

http://www.markdstephens.com/mexico/3-chacala4.jpg

Also The manufacturer of my tent is http://www.car-top-tent.com/

You can buy them from TRDParts4u.com (Toyota of Dallas) Here... http://www.toyotaoffroadoutfitters.com/Scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=1517

[JB]

Their website really sucks if you are looking for detailed pictures.

So on your Tundra, the bed rail mounts and bars across the bed are from Yakima? And how does the tent attach to these bars?

[uglyota]

the kind that the platform flips off to the side just look like a crappy walmart tent on an expensive platform. They don't drive you crazy when the wind's blowing? Doesn't even look very watertight

[FJAggie07]

the kind that the platform flips off to the side just look like a crappy walmart tent on an expensive platform. They don't drive you crazy when the wind's blowing? Doesn't even look very watertight

Very watertight. Heavy Duty Canvas material. I was camping in Jan. of 08 with the tent in about 15 degree weather with some sleet and with it all sealed up in the morning I was out of my sleeping bag and the inside of the tent was in the 60's. I have also dealt with some spring Texas "showers" in it and have never once gotten water in it. Trust me the material on this Tent is better than on my Marmot Area 51 that has also never let me down. :)

[FJAggie07]

Their website really sucks if you are looking for detailed pictures.

So on your Tundra, the bed rail mounts and bars across the bed are from Yakima? And how does the tent attach to these bars?

the hard ware comes with the tent to attach to any kind of load bar (yakima, thule, or homemade bars)

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f105/starranchjoker/Trailer/img1236006566041.jpg

There is a rail system on the underside of the tent that allows you to make a type of U-bolt with two bolts and a plate. You can see where the bolts come down in the next two pics...

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f105/starranchjoker/Trailer/CIMG1280.jpg

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f105/starranchjoker/Trailer/CIMG1279.jpg

Hopefully this helps?

[uglyota]

wind?

[FJAggie07]

wind?

Held up just fine the last time I went to Katemcy. The support poles for the rainfly are pretty stout and everything zips up nice and tight. This thing weighs about 100 pounds by itself so it ain't light. I don't have a lot of experience camping in the wind cause most of the time we camp in the trees, but it did hold up fine to the openness of the Katemcy campground.

[Doug Krebs]

Check the thread on pirate under expedition vehicles. I'm too lazy to link it!

They were showing some cot tents that looked pretty sweet for much cheaper.

[FJAggie07]

Make sure you get the XL's if you are going Tent Cot (they have a couple of sizes and I don't fit into anything smaller than that). They are easy to set up, but take up a lot of room. We have a couple of guys up here that have them that like them.

[KrazyKarl02]

Check out my new expedition tent :flipoff2: I think it will make the truck's value increase, since it is so rare now.

[uglyota]

PVC frame? No smoking in the tent! :D

[Sharpe]

Clarke did that for TCC two years ago.

[breckboarder55]

Just nut up and sleep on the ground. Seems like allot of wasted money just so your tent is off the ground. Also seems like it is a great way to reduce your mileage with a huge tent sticking up.

After driving non stop for 20-to even 30 hours I know about the don't want to bother setting up the tent. Just wrap your sleeping bag in a tarp and you'll be good to go. If your worried about the elements... Buy a better tent, I have a North Face backpacking tent that has never let me down, and sets up in minutes.

Wouldn't you rather spend your money on something else? Or at least put it off till you've graduated and have a bit more to throw around.

[FJAggie07]

6 month old thread....

[Sharpe]

Just nut up and sleep on the ground. Seems like allot of wasted money just so your tent is off the ground. Also seems like it is a great way to reduce your mileage with a huge tent sticking up.

After driving non stop for 20-to even 30 hours I know about the don't want to bother setting up the tent. Just wrap your sleeping bag in a tarp and you'll be good to go. If your worried about the elements... Buy a better tent, I have a North Face backpacking tent that has never let me down, and sets up in minutes.

Wouldn't you rather spend your money on something else? Or at least put it off till you've graduated and have a bit more to throw around.

Reduced mileage? I dont know about Chris's widdle yota but Karl's truck would probably get the same mileage towing a small trailer, and I assume his ghetto ass shanty thing is going to be disassembled for driving. As far as putting it off, Chris and Karl are both grads, Karl just choses to live like a broke ass student :flipoff2:

[FJAggie07]

For the record my Roof Top Tent got sold with my trailer but I am sure I will be buying a larger one in about a year and a half for the power wagon that will be able to sleep the wife, baby and I comfortably.

[KrazyKarl02]

Karl just choses to live like a broke ass student :flipoff2:

I like to call it living below my means...

[Sharpe]

Poh-tay-to po-tah-to