Canadian Nissan Truck Club

CruiserRomey wrote:True. I look forward to seeing that FB cover and see how you plan on mounting it, should be a nice project. Negligible mileage, wow, thats great aerodynamics then, must be the deflector doin its thing. (btw, whats decent mileage for your X?) nice hilift mount! Boils down to what works for you in the end. Cheers.

It wouldn't be a complicted project, maybe on my summer break, you're getting me anxious to start that, heh, been a few years since that idea's been floating around in my brain.

I don't think it has much to do with aerodynamics as how inefficiently efficient (or would if it efficently inefficient) the truck is. Doesn't matter how much gear I'm carrying, what tires I have on, it doesn't many a difference. On a good tank, I'll get over 400km on a tank (469 being my best tanks ever)

so, finally got the chance to spend at least one night in the RTT. took my son to the pinery this weekend and did a little cold weather camping!

got to our spot, not much campers around which was nice and started settin it up for the first time.

undo 2 main cover straps, unzip cover



undo tent straps



climb on top through the back and undo ladder strap and pull it out



pull down on ladder and unfold tent and you're almost done!



peg down 2 anchor points at the end of the overhang



open window awnings using metal bows (x8). i had 1 pair left for inside the front entrance, but that can roll up out of the way



metal bow attachments for the window awning..
also, velcro down centre strip that goes over the main hinge. there's also a corresponding flap on the inside of the tent.


it's best to slide one end into the tent frame first, then bend and hook into the hole of the awning.



cover can stay there, or you can roll it up. i really should have tried using the annex room, but my son was buggin me to kick a ball around and it was getting dark soon (and i remembered that the cover has to come off first, simply slide it out, then one side of the annex room would slide into place, and the remaining 3 sides would zip around the perimeter of the overhanging section)



easily well under 15 minutes with just one person, under 10 for sure with a few more practice runs.



all 4 windows/screens can be opened



close up on the fabric and how the water can just bead and roll off it



not too many neighbours around



i think the high of the day was 9 or 10 degrees (C), lows of below freezing. i brought a feather down duvet along with 2 -9 degree sleeping bags and 2 0 degree sleeping bags. we were quite warm and cozy in there and had fun reading stories before bed.



there are 2 vents at the top of the tent, on either side to let air in and condensation out. i cracked open a couple more windows just to get more air in. it was a very nice sleep. high density mattress was fine on its own and did not need extra padding (although you could add some thermarests underneath it, personal preferrence really).

the inside of the tent was moist in the morning. so before take down, i just wiped all the sides with a towel and opened the windows to dry it up before folding it close again.

overall, im sold, impressed, and quite happy with this roof top tent!

CruiserRomey wrote:there are 2 vents at the top of the tent, on either side to let air in and condensation out. i cracked open a couple more windows just to get more air in. [...]
the inside of the tent was moist in the morning. so before take down, i just wiped all the sides with a towel and opened the windows to dry it up before folding it close again.

Indeed it's one of the issues I've encountered, a double-edge sword with using the good material; water doesn't get in, or out. I tried this one basket that you put these pellets in, suppose to absorb the moisture, but didn't really work. May try a revision with a fan to circulate air, see if that helps. I'd like to try something more conventional like a 100w windshield defroster, that should last the night on a car battery. Propane would be nice, but I don't feel comfortable with a combustible inside a tent.

Heh, just looking, here's a perfectly relevant thread!
http://forum.ih8mud.com/camping-outdoor ... eater.html

all tents will pretty much do the same, it's ventilation that you need and what mostly makes a tent a 4 season over a 3 season (you definitely need CO2 to escape). no biggy, just open all/some of the windows and let the air in. i just wiped it down to make sure most of the moisture was gone and to speed up the airing out. what i also had in mind was IF i had the annex room set up and IF i had a small space heater (and if i had electric hookup on the site/long ext. cord), then i could set that on the floor of the annex room, leave the tent entrance open, screen closed, and let the warm air rise up and into the tent. that's IFFF that set up was 100% safe..and IF i really needed the extra heat, prolly wont if we're prepared . and yes, it's not adviceable to be running any kind of heat source inside a tent that may catch things on fire...

spring/summer/fall this wont be an issue really actually, wasn't really an issue for me this time either.

Hey Romey - thanks for all the info, detailed pictures, and field test report. Your research and posts are greatly appreciated.

Looks good. Did you go to the beach?

netime Jas, it's fun for me! glad you were able to see it up close. i'm sure i'll post more once i finally get the awning installed (gotta get the right metal drill bit to install the L brackets).

x-kid, went to the beach alright! my son was like "i can't go in the beach papa cuz i forgot my bathingsuit..." lol. too bad i didn't bring the bucket and shovel, he wanted to build sand castles, lol. it was nice to see grand bend all quiet and peaceful. just a handful of people walking about, stores closed, but it was a sunny and warm afternoon. i think i may have convinced the wife to go back next fall, just when the colours are right, and maybe stay in a heated yurt with the little one at least (she hates the cold). . . and i'll just jump up on the RTT with junior i think we've done most of our car camping at the Pinery, just the right prov. park, with lots of campsites, trails, never ending beaches, great facilities/programs for kids, and not too too far from home. i'd love to go back when the place is snowed in, but that'll be a tougher sell. . .

If you can swing it Thanksgiving weekend is usually nice for that.

yup! great idea Ron!

Hey Romey - I have a nicely stocked shop if you want any help with the brackets. I am around this weekend. Let me know.

cool dude! thanks for the offer. will do!
cheers.

CruiserRomey wrote: too bad i didn't bring the bucket and shovel, he wanted to build sand castles, lol.

You carry a tent on the roof but no shovel?

just wanted to share these awning pics now that i found some time to finally get it on. tried it on our delica while i was setting up our thule stuff to carry more stuff and our paddle board.

pretty straight forward. the bracket is adjustable along the channel in the back of the awning/frame. just so happens that the L brackets can slide into the thule load bar. didn't have the tools to drill holes in them at the moment. so as a temporary install, i just used a strap to pull/hold in the frame. it's in there good. then got me thinking of a quick release way to move it to the land cruiser with different load bar widths. or i can just drill one hole, slide the bracket through and just use one bolt...anyway..















zipper side faces down, unzip and undoo straps, and unravel awning. 2 poles on the corner are wrapped in and 2 more poles are tucked in the back which pull out and support the sides if you choose to use the awning room. didn't get a chance to set that up, so next post hopefully. comes with rope and pegs to secure and you're ready to chill in the shade. set up in minutes.

Awnings are cool. Is the paddle board for stand up kayaking?

Stand up paddle board. Although if you sat or knelt down and had kayak paddles, thatd work too. Fun stuff.

CruiserRomey wrote:True. I look forward to seeing that FB cover and see how you plan on mounting it, should be a nice project. Negligible mileage, wow, thats great aerodynamics then, must be the deflector doin its thing. (btw, whats decent mileage for your X?) nice hilift mount! Boils down to what works for you in the end. Cheers.

I think the difference being negligible is more attributed to the roof rack/deflector being a fairly big drag item already... The whole set up catches a lot of wind to begin with, so adding the RTT on top of that doesn't make much of a difference, as it's already horrible.

Most who have taken their roof racks off have noted an increase in mileage. Not a huge one, but enough to make it worth their while.

I mean, RTT or not, it's already an over-sized garden shed on wheels... There's no possible way you can make it any LESS aerodynamic.

hmm, if that's the case, then most should just pop their racks off. i don't see many use their racks on X-s, except cntc folk that wheel and haul stuff on top. "it's already horrible"...lol.

speakin of which, i'm gonna shift my rtt back and thinkin of adding a shorter thule box infront of it with a sharper more aerodynamic front, then i'll see if that brings my l/100ks down a notch. it definitely has affected the mileage on the cruiser, more so in city driving. but highway, if i keep the rev's down, only very slightly..

just a mini update after i shimmied the RTT back a few inches to add a thule box infront. it barely fit with enough room in between to open the zipper and get access to open the thule box (which i got for 80 bucks). it's looking like my mileage has returned to normal too!



the box is blocking one rod to hold the window awning up, so i just jimmied a strap, it works.



nice access to roof box from the window too!







i added aluminum U rods along the bottom of the box to give it more rigity as it sticks out. no problems on the highway and i get an extra sun shade!

what's nice about moving it back is that i can get to the ladder and the zippers around easier and it's made set up time that much quicker, gettin good at it too. i took it to a park to air it out after the torrential rain we got and it was bone dry inside.

Looks like quite the sunshade, can you still see the traffic lights? LOL

Looking good!

lol. yeah, lights are still there...i think?

i shimmied the rtt another 2.5 inches back from the load bars and got that much more room up front to slide the roof box back about the same, but front bars stayed so that much better. i think it's good now.