Heh, indeed. I've had it for almost as long as I've had the truck, so almost 7 years I've had the tent. I picked it up through Titan Winch, but I don't think he deals with them, or anything anymore. His site is pretty bare...
You can get them through Autohome Canada, but there are other options. There's a few used on Kijii right now, but even then, there are a few ads for new tens as well:
http://www.kijiji.ca/v-other-trailer/mi ... nFlag=true
http://www.kijiji.ca/v-achat-et-vente-d ... nFlag=true
Personally, I love it. It's solid, I'd stayed in mine (with the flaps down) in heavy storms and it didn't feel at all like it was going to come apart, while we watched other people's tents and shelters tear apart, collapse, or even just fold in.
The thing is waterproof, so I've woken up and never even realized that it may of rained during the night, but with that, I need to keep flaps open, cause otherwise there will be condensation inside from my breath.
The guys at AW have seen the pros and cons of the tent first hand. They see me have to take it down every morning to hit the trails, and put it back up at night to sleep, but on the nights where we do the blindfold run, it stays packed until after that so that my truck can participate. And once your setup, you got to think; do you need to do errands? Is the washroom/shower far to walk? It's ok when I was single, I even brought my bike with me so use around the park, but having a girlfriend, they need a little more comfort and have a few more needs, so having the truck tied down becomes more of an issue...reason for the trailer project becoming a priority.
The tent clearance on the trails hasn't really been an issue, although everyone was always concerned, but once there was a storm that affect the area and BobC was hit hard. There was a HUGE downed tree across the trail. I think some had to tweak what was on their roofs. I don't remember what Morpheous had to remove off his rack, even broke a light? However, I had to remove my tent completely, drive under, and reinstall the tent. It's not a big job, 5min+5min, and I'd say I didn't hold up people for long, especially while they were working on clearing the tree as well, but it's the single and only time that the tent was a restriction.
The cover does get fragile over time as it's exposed to the sun. I've replaced it once two years ago. Got it custom done by a local canvas shop and chose black to match. I had initially went to order one from Titan Winch, and it's a long (6 month)wait, but he threatened to sell it to someone else because he didn't want to wait the few weeks for me to swing by to pick it up, after I waited for months for it to come in, so I let him. I didn't want to pay to ship it for *his* convenience, I was driving right by!
I do LOVE the hard top ones. I see them once in a while. I saw one on a Fusion this past winter (I hope they had heat) (I have a pic but it was dark and it's blurry), and there's this one I saw at a Wendy's in St Catharines a few years ago
.
But I do see the hard top ones much, much more then my style. CVT and Tepui are very popular models, I see them on the net a lot. Actually I saw an Xterra with a Tepui late last year in Kingston, but didn't get a pic.
And for sleeping, I find it great. The girls seem to find it much more comfortable then they thought it could be, but my current girlfriend has a herniated disc, she finds it ok for a night or two, but we are looking at a better mattress option for her back. While they're suited for the outback, not sleeping on a wet or uneven ground is great. I just love the waterproof material, and that it block out the morning heat and the tent doesn't turn into a mini sun at 6am when the sun hits it; makes for a much better sleep. Also with all he sides open for air and makes great shade for those mid day naps.
While I am building a trailer to deal with the short comings of the RTT, because life changes, I still did 7 years with it and enjoyed it. It's not for everyone, but it's a great piece of kit.
