RSI Smartcap

[JBahr]

@EWP I was thinking the exact same thing and was about to ask @RSI North America Inc the same question. I am leaning towards the ROAM Vagabond XL tent, and was going to ask them next.

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[LaRock]

One thing to think about is the Positive Pressure Filtered Air Vent, it looks higher than the roof rails.

 

[EWP]

One thing to think about is the Positive Pressure Filtered Air Vent, it looks higher than the roof rails.

Yes, it's about 1/2" higher than the channels. I have about 8" to spare on top of the cap to still fit in my garage. Several RTTs are in the 6-7" range leaving a very fine margin for load bars etc. I'm toying with ideas using extruded aluminum in the 3/4-1" range that might work directly affixed to the RSI and just clear the vent:

https://www.tnutz.com/product/ex-3075/
https://www.tnutz.com/product/ex-1020-black/

 

[JBahr]

Yeah I was thinking some unistrut would work, need to research the loading though. Accessing the bolts/nuts to tighten everything may be a barrier. Interested to see what people come up with.

 

[LaRock]

Ah, now I see where your mentioned the spacer for the vent in your post.

If I get to the point of mounting a RTT to the RSI I was thinking of fabing up some cross bars similar to Alu-Cabs low profile cross bars to keep everything as low as possible.

first of course the RSI has to ship/show up, it’s only been a month and a half.

 

[Jaxmax]

First off, I am NOT going the RTT for now but perhaps if the RTT company says they can be supported by the distance between the rails start by inserting a pair of nuts in rear of track with spacers on top of rail then have the front of roof top tent loosely bolted to them , then just slide tent front and keep repeating process, until you get to the last ones then tighten them all up, really need to size bolts proper length and use fender washer lock washer and cap nut inside.....it’s just a thought!......Jack

 

[johng]

The main consideration of whether you need cross bars or not is determined by the orientation of the support bars under the RTT you choose.
For example the Bush Company supports run side to side so with the correct mounting bracket you could go straight to the canopy channels. https://www.thebushcompany.com/product-category/4wd_accessories/roof_top_tents/fitment-solutions/
If the supports run front to back you will have to have crossbars to support the RTT.

I think a Bush Comany Alpha https://www.thebushcompany.com/product/clamshell-roof-top-tent-alpha/ with the Z-rails https://www.thebushcompany.com/product/z-rails/ would be perfect.

 

[SmartCap]

Question for RSI: I'm looking at options to mount a very low profile rooftop tent. Is there any reason why an aluminum base tent can't be semi-permanently mounted directly to the roof channels on the Smartcap? In other words, are load bars a necessity? It seems that if one can find a solution for the mounting (not a given), the load would be more evenly distributed if the aluminum base of the tend rested directly on the roof channels or nearly so with a small spacer for the vent. Thanks.

You’ll need to begin by using M8 stainless steel square weld nuts in the Roof Rails and you’ll also need to use a mounting platform of some sort to raise the bottom of the RTT above the height of the Positive pressure air vent and simultaneously help disperse the weight load. The height difference between the top of the Roof Rails and top of the Positive Pressure Air Vent is 10mm (a little under 1/2"). https://www.amazon.com/Stainless-St...8011&s=industrial&sr=1-4&ts_id=307022011&th=1)

 

[OneTraveler]

Loving the SmartCap! Almost got everything ready to go.

 

[bquiz]

Whelp... 4 months 25 days later it’s finally here! and i must say, worth every day of waiting. best looking topper on the market hands down. d-ring definitely pretty tight on the tailgate, so ill be fixing that first but overall im pumped. my half bin was a no-show but was told february sometime it should get here.

 

[MARSSIVPilot]

Loving the SmartCap! Almost got everything ready to go.

Do you have more photos? Different angles/closer shots of mounting? Great setup!

 

[GladnotSad]

Loving the SmartCap! Almost got everything ready to go.

That backdrop is so sick it almost looks fake.

 

[NORDNDED]

Well it showed up, damaged of course. Whoever thought the way it is packaged would suffice for transportation halfway around the world should be fired.. There is zero protection for the roof panels box corners both inside and out and the whole box was banded to the side of the main box allowing it to drag the floor. If they had put half the effort into packaging that they did in the social media hype then this would be a non-issue.

I’m most likely sending it back since @RSI North America Inc did not answer my question on availability of new panels, I don’t want a repaired roof. We’ll see what ORA comes up with in terms of replacement but damn, how disappointing this is after being on board since the springtime..

 

[briscoelab]

Man, I'm sorry to see yours is screw up. The damage is almost identical to the way mine was bent (although your corner is worse than mine, by far). I agree, it was packaged in a terrible way.

Even more of a problem is that RSI did not order in ANY spares for warranty issues like this. They still haven't set any aside, despite more shipments coming in. You'd think it would be possible to pull a few orders and delay people who ordered theirs much later, so they could fix the broken ones from the first round of shipments.

I opted to have my roof panel fixed at a body shop. They did a near perfect job. It sucks to have a damaged panel, but it is on the roof and will never be seen.

When I assembled mine and noticed the rear lift gate door was also bent... that's when I got pretty upset. It's still sitting in my garage, not installed. I've been promised a replacement rear lift gate at some point. Part of me just wishes I'd gotten my money back and went with something else. But the design of the RSI and utility is still the best out there.

Off-road Alliance were quick to help me get things sorted out as best they can. I'm not going to be a dick and demand a refund/discount from them (yet). But they are stuck with no replacement parts available and at the mercy of RSI and Keystone. Simply a botched product rollout, which is too bad.

 

[CMac]

Well it showed up, damaged of course. Whoever thought the way it is packaged would suffice for transportation halfway around the world should be fired.. There is zero protection for the roof panels box corners both inside and out and the whole box was banded to the side of the main box allowing it to drag the floor. If they had put half the effort into packaging that they did in the social media hype then this would be a non-issue.

I’m most likely sending it back since @RSI North America Inc did not answer my question on availability of new panels, I don’t want a repaired roof. We’ll see what ORA comes up with in terms of replacement but damn, how disappointing this is after being on board since the springtime..

I'd be sending that right back.... not another second needed to consider.

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