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RTT owners, are you satisfied with..

tsyj

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I'm very happy with my Smittybilt Overlander RTT. It's been from Florida to Colorado and back on my JKU. Can't wait to get my rack on and try it out on the Gladiator.

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EstoJTR

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Anyone have experience with Tuff Stuff Alpha or Alpha II RTTs? They lack a few of the frills (clear windows and skylight layer for example) of iKamper and Roofnest, but are much more competitively priced for hardshell options.
 

cgflyer

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Anyone have experience with Tuff Stuff Alpha or Alpha II RTTs? They lack a few of the frills (clear windows and skylight layer for example) of iKamper and Roofnest, but are much more competitively priced for hardshell options.
I believe they are made in China (knock offs of iKamper)...same exact tent as Torro Offroad and at least one other importer branded differently and selling on eBay. I just imported one myself (knock off of the iKamper Skycamp mini). With the integrated awning, shipping, duty/tariffs and the custom broker fees, I will be in at around $1400-$1500. It's scheduled to arrive in Baltimore 11 December. I bought through Alibaba. I can't vouch yet for the quality, but knowing that Tuff Stuff and Torro Offroad import theirs from China, I can only assume this will be the same exact tent they are offering only unbranded. Note, if I buy 10+ I could put my own logo on it in one of their 3 standard colors. 50+ and they would start making it in custom colors.

I took a gamble on it and hope it pays off. I had a SmittyBilt RTT, but wanted a hardtop for better aerodynamics and mpg and to possibly mount a solar panel to. I am considering importing more if this one turns out to be what I am hoping it will be. As long as I wasn't looking to make a huge profit, I could probably retail unbranded ones (no logo, generic color) for $1500-$1700. I think the cheapest I saw the Tuff Stuff version was $1900 on sale and they were back ordered for like 6 weeks and is why I decided to check out Alibaba myself. Torro Offroad is literally 20 minutes from me and they wouldn't even let me come check out their stock or offer a discount for local pickup. I will post pictures once it is here and provide a review. If it gets here anywhere close to the 11th, the whole process took about 6 weeks.
 

Jeepasaurus_Rex

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I have a Quick-Pitch and I love it!
 

EstoJTR

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I believe they are made in China (knock offs of iKamper)...same exact tent as Torro Offroad and at least one other importer branded differently and selling on eBay. I just imported one myself (knock off of the iKamper Skycamp mini). With the integrated awning, shipping, duty/tariffs and the custom broker fees, I will be in at around $1400-$1500. It's scheduled to arrive in Baltimore 11 December. I bought through Alibaba. I can't vouch yet for the quality, but knowing that Tuff Stuff and Torro Offroad import theirs from China, I can only assume this will be the same exact tent they are offering only unbranded. Note, if I buy 10+ I could put my own logo on it in one of their 3 standard colors. 50+ and they would start making it in custom colors.

I took a gamble on it and hope it pays off. I had a SmittyBilt RTT, but wanted a hardtop for better aerodynamics and mpg and to possibly mount a solar panel to. I am considering importing more if this one turns out to be what I am hoping it will be. As long as I wasn't looking to make a huge profit, I could probably retail unbranded ones (no logo, generic color) for $1500-$1700. I think the cheapest I saw the Tuff Stuff version was $1900 on sale and they were back ordered for like 6 weeks and is why I decided to check out Alibaba myself. Torro Offroad is literally 20 minutes from me and they wouldn't even let me come check out their stock or offer a discount for local pickup. I will post pictures once it is here and provide a review. If it gets here anywhere close to the 11th, the whole process took about 6 weeks.
Yeah interestingly I thought Torro and Roofnest were using the same source because their setups looked pretty much identical to me, whereas the shell for Tuff Stuff looks larger and slightly different. Though I do see that the Condor shells from Roofnest got a redesign to support some solar panels now. Also interesting that Tuff Stuff is bringing an aluminum hard shell to their lineup now too.

Definitely interested (using that word a lot) in seeing what your mystery unit ends up looking like though.
 

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cgflyer

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Yeah interestingly I thought Torro and Roofnest were using the same source because their setups looked pretty much identical to me, whereas the shell for Tuff Stuff looks larger and slightly different. Though I do see that the Condor shells from Roofnest got a redesign to support some solar panels now. Also interesting that Tuff Stuff is bringing an aluminum hard shell to their lineup now too.

Definitely interested (using that word a lot) in seeing what your mystery unit ends up looking like though.
Roofnest is made in the USA and is the straight up opening like a box. Torro is a clamshell like iKamper. As far as I could find in my research, Roofnest is the only made in the USA RTT. But I don’t like that design.
 

EstoJTR

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Roofnest is made in the USA and is the straight up opening like a box. Torro is a clamshell like iKamper. As far as I could find in my research, Roofnest is the only made in the USA RTT. But I don’t like that design.
You're referring to their Sparrow model. Roofnest actually offers several clamshell versions as well. https://roofnest.com/store/
My friend has the Condor XL, it's quite nice.
 

cgflyer

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You're referring to their Sparrow model. Roofnest actually offers several clamshell versions as well. https://roofnest.com/store/
My friend has the Condor XL, it's quite nice.
I’m curious now about Roofnest. I didn’t do enough research apparently on all their models and wondering if they are all made in the USA. I would have given them my business had I known about the Condor. Their side opening clamshells are still very much like iKamper and the Chinese knockoffs. I’d find it hard to believe they aren’t importing them. iKamper is supposedly made in South Korea.
 

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From Roofnest's own site:

https://roofnest.com/product-information/#toggle-id-3

"Roofnests are made in China in a factory with over 20 years of experience building outdoor products. Manufacturing in China has come a long way and I’m very pleased with the workmanship and professionalism of the Roofnest factory. I’m confident in the materials and build quality of all our roof top tents and I know you’ll be happy with your purchase."

I'm not sure there's a mass produced american made hard shell roof top tent in existence. And if the Chinese versions cost $3k, I don't want to see the price tag for the American version.
 

cgflyer

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From Roofnest's own site:

https://roofnest.com/product-information/#toggle-id-3

"Roofnests are made in China in a factory with over 20 years of experience building outdoor products. Manufacturing in China has come a long way and I’m very pleased with the workmanship and professionalism of the Roofnest factory. I’m confident in the materials and build quality of all our roof top tents and I know you’ll be happy with your purchase."

I'm not sure there's a mass produced american made hard shell roof top tent in existence. And if the Chinese versions cost $3k, I don't want to see the price tag for the American version.
I misspoke, I believe it is Roost that is made in the USA, but again, I'm going by what the interwebs tells me, and I still don't like the Roost tent design...and it does take me back to the original point that I don't think any of the mass marketed RTTs are made in USA and for that, I am hoping that the one I decided to buy direct from China will meet the qualities of all the other ones available for half the cost.
 

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cgflyer

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matter76

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I misspoke, I believe it is Roost that is made in the USA, but again, I'm going by what the interwebs tells me, and I still don't like the Roost tent design...and it does take me back to the original point that I don't think any of the mass marketed RTTs are made in USA and for that, I am hoping that the one I decided to buy direct from China will meet the qualities of all the other ones available for half the cost.
Yeah, the Roost does appear to be USA made, Iowa to be specific.

Agreed on the design. There are so many options out there in that style where the footprint of the tent closed is the same as when open with just one end lifting up . Other than a low profile and weight, not sure why those are so popular.

My use case is half rack on the 5 foot bed, so that limits me to iKamper Mini, Tuff Stuff Alpha 2, Torro, etc.
 

Sportsbiz

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I'm quite satisfied with my choice. I went with the Freespirit Odyssey, which is a hard clamshell that opens on the side. My main reason for selecting this is I often camp in windy environments, and being able to have the hardshell aimed at the wind gives me a much quieter night's sleep. This tent is also rather slim (important as this is a daily driver), and deploys and packs very easily.
Jeep Gladiator RTT owners, are you satisfied with.. IMG_4588.JPG
 

andrew8404

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I'm quite satisfied with my choice. I went with the Freespirit Odyssey, which is a hard clamshell that opens on the side. My main reason for selecting this is I often camp in windy environments, and being able to have the hardshell aimed at the wind gives me a much quieter night's sleep. This tent is also rather slim (important as this is a daily driver), and deploys and packs very easily.
IMG_4588.JPG
nice i almost purchased this due to the slim design also but ended up ordering the Evolution instead. The big difference is we can actually leave our bedding and pillows in the evolution and it’s 360 views but two inches thicker. Looks great I’ll post mine up when I get it.
 

Sportsbiz

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nice i almost purchased this due to the slim design also but ended up ordering the Evolution instead. The big difference is we can’t actually leave our bedding and pillows in the evolution and it’s 360 views. Looks great I’ll post mine up when I get it.
The Evolution is sweet! I can't fit any bedding in mine either. Had the Evolution been available when I bought I think I'd have made the same decision and still bought the Odyssey. Being a desert dweller and camper I like being able to point the hard side at the wind to quiet things down. My girlfriend would say otherwise, and would want those 360 views (and added headroom). Looking forward to seeing your setup!
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