I bought this tent after seeing one at an acquaintance's house and decided to try it out. I found it on sale, so the price was reasonable compared to the other options. Mounting is easy, but you need a higher rack to gain access to the cross beams - I made adapters for my OEM Z-71 Tahoe rack to raise it 1.5 inches which required slightly longer bolts. Ease of setup is great and the travel cover goes on better the more it gets used.
The amount of room inside the 55 is perfect for 2 grown adults - no way a 3rd will fit unless it's a baby. The mattress is OK, but I would recommend getting a memory foam topper. We made due with a sleeping bag on the bottom, which helped some. Ventilation is good, but moisture tends to accumulate on the top after a cool night with minimal air movement - not the end of the world, but something to know.
We did find the we can leave 2 comforters/blankets spread out inside and still fold down for travel. The ladder is very easy to use and stow away - slightly hard on bare feet FYI if you are trying to leave shoes on the ground.
We have only used it on one trip thus far, but it is a neat way to travel. It does drop the fuel economy of the vehicle by about 2 mpg at highway speeds. I did find that the fuel economy wasn't affected as much doing slower speed driving on back/dirt roads.....physics. Overall handling of the vehicle was about the same for cornering, etc. Lite enough to install with 2 people.
Installed on 2008 Yukon Denali with a Chevy Z-71 Tahoe rack (2001 to 2006 era) and home made spacers.
First tent damaged in shipping, finally got it sorted and they sent new tent. Cheyenne stepped in and saved the day! New tent had dent on pole, but frame was in good shape. Looks like it will be ok, time will tell. As far as tent goes, looks good… easy set up and take down. Cover is not tough to get on and off, takes 2-3 minutes once you figure it out. Mattress is very comfortable. Ladder is really nice, but on this model they only put the ladder rests on one side for entry. It would have been nice if they put them on the other side as you need to rest ladder somewhere for set up. I did not see them available on their site, but need to figure something out so ladder does not slip when on non entry side for set up. My biggest concern are the plastic/composite fittings at the joints of all the poles, could break easily especially in colder weather. Take your time setting up and taking down. Will get it out for a 2 week trip to mountains next week and field test. All in all good tent for price.
I absolutely love my manual 55" RTT ! It's super easy and fast to put up. I think it is very comfortable and its so light that it is very easy to take on and off the truck. The product is well made and I look forward to many years of use. A big shout out to Cheyenne who works at the Bend, Or, store. She is the cornerstone of this company. Ask for her!
Really does bridge the gap between a bulky softshell and a hardshell. Crazy easy to open and close. Low profile on the roof, the cover has enough room to be able to store stuff underneath if need be, love the buckles rather than zippers or velcro. So nice not to have 48 spring rods to install or take down or extra fabric all over the place to flap in the wind. The only improvement for us is adding a 2" memory foam topper to soften things up. Stoked to be spending the summer in this thing!
I bought this tent after seeing one at an acquaintance's house and decided to try it out. I found it on sale, so the price was reasonable compared to the other options. Mounting is easy, but you need a higher rack to gain access to the cross beams - I made adapters for my OEM Z-71 Tahoe rack to raise it 1.5 inches which required slightly longer bolts. Ease of setup is great and the travel cover goes on better the more it gets used.
The amount of room inside the 55 is perfect for 2 grown adults - no way a 3rd will fit unless it's a baby. The mattress is OK, but I would recommend getting a memory foam topper. We made due with a sleeping bag on the bottom, which helped some. Ventilation is good, but moisture tends to accumulate on the top after a cool night with minimal air movement - not the end of the world, but something to know.
We did find the we can leave 2 comforters/blankets spread out inside and still fold down for travel. The ladder is very easy to use and stow away - slightly hard on bare feet FYI if you are trying to leave shoes on the ground.
We have only used it on one trip thus far, but it is a neat way to travel. It does drop the fuel economy of the vehicle by about 2 mpg at highway speeds. I did find that the fuel economy wasn't affected as much doing slower speed driving on back/dirt roads.....physics. Overall handling of the vehicle was about the same for cornering, etc. Lite enough to install with 2 people.
Installed on 2008 Yukon Denali with a Chevy Z-71 Tahoe rack (2001 to 2006 era) and home made spacers.
First tent damaged in shipping, finally got it sorted and they sent new tent. Cheyenne stepped in and saved the day! New tent had dent on pole, but frame was in good shape. Looks like it will be ok, time will tell. As far as tent goes, looks good… easy set up and take down. Cover is not tough to get on and off, takes 2-3 minutes once you figure it out. Mattress is very comfortable. Ladder is really nice, but on this model they only put the ladder rests on one side for entry. It would have been nice if they put them on the other side as you need to rest ladder somewhere for set up. I did not see them available on their site, but need to figure something out so ladder does not slip when on non entry side for set up. My biggest concern are the plastic/composite fittings at the joints of all the poles, could break easily especially in colder weather. Take your time setting up and taking down. Will get it out for a 2 week trip to mountains next week and field test. All in all good tent for price.
I absolutely love my manual 55" RTT ! It's super easy and fast to put up. I think it is very comfortable and its so light that it is very easy to take on and off the truck. The product is well made and I look forward to many years of use. A big shout out to Cheyenne who works at the Bend, Or, store. She is the cornerstone of this company. Ask for her!
Really does bridge the gap between a bulky softshell and a hardshell. Crazy easy to open and close. Low profile on the roof, the cover has enough room to be able to store stuff underneath if need be, love the buckles rather than zippers or velcro. So nice not to have 48 spring rods to install or take down or extra fabric all over the place to flap in the wind. The only improvement for us is adding a 2" memory foam topper to soften things up. Stoked to be spending the summer in this thing!