Roof Top Tent (RTT) Questions

Randun said:
Why do you like the Trailrecon? Anything that you don't like about it?
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He seems level headed and makes good videos, he also has lots of friends that seem to try everything so if he’s using it there’s probably a good reason. He’s also the main guy behind E3 overland.

My concern is he does have some favoritism when it comes to some companies that he deals with.
 
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Apparition said:
The quality is very good, when you use it you realize they hit a lot of details such as interior light, a PowerPoint in tent, the way it folds, Velcro vs zipper cover...

The thing I don’t like is I don’t think the ladder on mine is quite right (it works fine though) and the other thing is the shoe bag doesn’t work well with the annex, you can hang the bag on the ladder or simply keep it in the tent.
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What great opinions you have!

Thank you so much for the update on your pros and cons of your tent too!

Do you always set up your annex room, or do you only use it part of the time?
 
Randun said:
What great opinions you have!

Thank you so much for the update on your pros and cons of your tent too!

Do you always set up your annex room, or do you only use it part of the time?
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I only bought the annex so we had a place to change.

We stayed at a campground in Moab for a week and with two adults and a child it was nice to have a good place at our site to completely change or say throw on your swimsuit since they had a pool. Just a bit more convenient than running to the shower houses or changing in the tent.

Definitely not needed, just convenience and we only use it when we have a need such as privacy for or from the kid

On other bigger tents the ladder ends up in the annex.

Another note look at the reviews on YouTube there is a very detailed comparison of the smittybilt to a tent that costs several hundred dollars more, they have both tents on tables but look at nearly every aspect of them.
 
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Apparition said:
I only bought the annex so we had a place to change.

We stayed at a campground in Moab for a week and with two adults and a child it was nice to have a good place at our site to complete change or say throw on your swimsuit since they had a pool. Just a bit more convenient than running to the shower houses or changing in the tent.

Definitely not needed, just convenience and we only use it when we have a need such as privacy for or from the kid

On other bigger tents the ladder ends up in the annex.

Another note look at the reviews on YouTube there is a very detailed comparison of the smittybilt to a tent that costs several hundred dollars more, they have both tents on tables but look at nearly every aspect of them.
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Thank you so much for your input on the annex room. I think I will be getting that too.

I probably will not set it up all of the time, but it definitely seams like something you should have under the right application.

Thank you again!
 
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We have the large Smittybilt RTT and annex. It’s on our off-road trailer and we use the bigger one due to having 3 boys. Quality is good, haven’t had any issues. The ladder is old school compared some of the other RTT’s and their telescoping ladders, but at nearly a third the cost, we decided to try the cheaper option to see if we would like the RTT. We do and are happy with the purchase.


I’d like to have a hard shell for the top of our 4Runner for just the two of us, but spending 3-4K on one seems a bit much.
 
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Randun said:
Thank you so much for your opinions! I really appreciate it.

I have been reviewing both of those too.

The brand that has seem to stick out to me the most lately in my reserch is Tuff Stuff Overland. I really like their Alpha. Have you seen that one?
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no I have not is that a Hard Shell?
 
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Rubi04 said:
We have the large Smittybilt RTT and annex. It’s on our off-road trailer and we use the bigger one due to having 3 boys. Quality is good, haven’t had any issues. The ladder is old school compared some of the other RTT’s and their telescoping ladders, but at nearly a third the cost, we decided to try the cheaper option to see if we would like the RTT. We do and are happy with the purchase.


I’d like to have a hard shell for the top of our 4Runner for just the two of us, but spending 3-4K on one seems a bit much.
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I have a Smittybilt XL too. I hope to have my trailer done soon with camping weather coming.
 
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tworley said:
I can set up camp with a ground tent and then leave. Something that is a little harder to do with a RTT. Plus, unnecessary weight when wheeling. Also just being in the way. I wouldnt have made it thru this with an RTT

View attachment 190322View attachment 190323
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Thank you so much for your opinion and for getting back to me.

I have heard some other people mention the weight issue too.

What a beautiful rig you have! Thank you so much for sharing.
 
Rubi04 said:
We have the large Smittybilt RTT and annex. It’s on our off-road trailer and we use the bigger one due to having 3 boys. Quality is good, haven’t had any issues. The ladder is old school compared some of the other RTT’s and their telescoping ladders, but at nearly a third the cost, we decided to try the cheaper option to see if we would like the RTT. We do and are happy with the purchase.


I’d like to have a hard shell for the top of our 4Runner for just the two of us, but spending 3-4K on one seems a bit much.
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Thank you so much for your time and for your opinion. I really appreciate it.

I am really leaning towards getting a RTT. I have been doing so much research comparing soft sided RTTs vs hard shell RTTs too. I'm glad you are happy with your Smittybilt.

I saw these hard shell RTTs from Tuff Stuff: https://tuffstuff4x4.com/collection...ha-ii™-hard-top-side-open-tent-black-2-person

They are under $2K. All of the reviews I have seen on them have been so positive. I'm leaning towards that tent. :)
 
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