• Jack-it Night: April 2024 RS Meeting Hey Guest: Wed. April 3rd is the next Rising Sun meeting, and you won't want to miss it. We're doing our annual offroad recovery equipment demonstration and trail skills training aka "Jack It Night." Meeting starts at 6:30 p.m. (early) Click here for all the details.

Aluminum Clam Shell RTT Evaluations

Romer

RS Moderator
Staff member
Moderator
Joined
Aug 22, 2005
Messages
10,007
Location
Centennial, Colorado
Anyone seen one personally

https://roofnest.com/product/falcon/

The competition are
Eezi-Awn stealth and Blade https://www.equipt1.com/collections/hard-shell-tents

Alu-Cab https://ok4wd.com/brands/alucab/alu-cab-expedition-tent

Camp King https://www.rhinoadventuregear.com/products/camp-king-industries-camp-king-aluminum-roof-top-tent

And one coming out in January the bush Company Alpha https://www.thebushcompany.com.au/product/clamshell-roof-top-tent-alpha/ (That is in South African money :)

I like the aluminum Hardshell
On the Falcon, I like it is only 50" wide so it doesnt overhang
On the Falcon, I like it is only 130 lbs which is the lightest
On the Falcon, I like the 6-7 inch height for better airflow
I like thetelescoping ladder on the falcon
You can add rack bars on top to carry Max Trax or other
On the Falcon, even though it is made in China the company is local (Boulder) and reviews said they provide quick and excellent customer service

ON the Eezi-awn - Quality is top notch, mattress should be better. Stealth has ladder incorporated, Paul May at Equipt is awesome to work with. Stealth also has more foot room with scissor mechanism. Not sure if that should be a concern

Alu-cab has a lot of reviews and looks like a well built quality unit. It has power, pockets along the roof for storage. You can add rack bars on top to carry Max Trax or other

Camp King is similar to Alu-cab but one reviewer said better quality

Bush Company has two layers of canvas, larger awning covering side windows and has not yet been released in the US (January). Told its around $4K

The Roofnest Falcon is the lightest, least expensive, lowest profile and provides less overhang. If the outside shell is quality, then I can always change the mattress, yet the mattress has good reviews. I can also add power sockets. One key thing would be if my feet will be cramped being a clamshell type. The others are a bit longer

The reason I like these is 15-30 second setup and less than a minute take-down. Staying next to Jeff Hamilton in Ouray, I saw how fast he put his Hard shell down and went on the trails. Having a fold out soft sided RTT takes 5-10 minutes setup and longer on the tear down

This is an advantage also when bringing my trailer with others. Rachel and Wes setup the ground tent as we were wheeling every day and this would provide a fast setup/takedown they could stay in so wheeling everyday doesnt matter

You can tell I am leaning towards the Roofnest Falcon. I plan on going up to Boulder in a couple of weeks to check one out. Anyone with first hand knowledge?

I thought figuring out what I want before Black Friday in case there are sales would be a good thing to do
 

nakman

Club Secretary
Staff member
Moderator
Joined
Aug 23, 2005
Messages
14,548
Location
north side
No firsthand experience with that one... my advice though is take a trip to Spirit of 1876 and talk to Mike about them. He's a CVT & James Baroud dealer, and has experience with others also. If nothing else, it's fun to crawl around inside the trailers and poke your head into a JB- he's right by I-70 & I-25 so easy to get to. https://www.spiritof1876.com/
 

Romer

RS Moderator
Staff member
Moderator
Joined
Aug 22, 2005
Messages
10,007
Location
Centennial, Colorado
No firsthand experience with that one... my advice though is take a trip to Spirit of 1876 and talk to Mike about them. He's a CVT & James Baroud dealer, and has experience with others also. If nothing else, it's fun to crawl around inside the trailers and poke your head into a JB- he's right by I-70 & I-25 so easy to get to. https://www.spiritof1876.com/


Thanks Tim, I was considering The JB Space as its a clamshell that provides addition room at the feet. It is a lot taller though. I was planning on checking them out before I made my choice. Leaning pretty heavy towards the Falcon though
 

Romer

RS Moderator
Staff member
Moderator
Joined
Aug 22, 2005
Messages
10,007
Location
Centennial, Colorado
I have been doing a lot of research on the aluminum hard shell RTTs. Just a personal preference as I like those over Fiberglass ones

I developed the below table to help me compare. I have links on vendors and reviews in my table, but can't see how to post a table here. So here is a screen shot and I put the links below. Note the prices are what I was given for the Holiday (Black Friday) and they would honor them until that time

1573266829978.png


Bush Company Alpha RTT
1573265598178.png

The Bush Company Alpha is an South African product. It is a new product coming to the US at an introductory price of $3650 with pickup or shipment from Houston. I liked this unit and when I asked about getting one, the local distributor told me the first shipment (expected in Feb) is sold out and the next shipment is May and they were not sure the Introductory price would hold.

Here is a good review of it

This is very similar to the Alu-Cab Alpha with a better ladder, wrap around awning and few features that make it a little nicer than the Alu-Cab

Alu-Cab Gen 3
1573265547976.png

The Alu-Cab Gen 3 is also a South African Product. Very similar to the Alpha as you can see from these reviews



https://www.basillynch.com/new-blog/2017/7/2/tested-alu-cab-expedition-iii-rtt

The thing I don't like about this tent is the ladder being one piece and dealing with the bag. This is resolved with a $100 telescoping ladder

Lots of reviews and history on this.

For both the Alpha and Alu-cab I was concerned about the width causing extra drag and the 194 lbs on my roof when wheeling. I think my current CVT Mt Bachalor Ultimate Extended is close to that though. A guy with an 80 and another with a 100 said it isnt an issue and they do the same trails I do (Ouray and Moab)

Camp King
1573265497563.png

What is nice about the Alu-Cab is there is a local dealer in Arvada https://juniperoverland.com/ . The distributor of the Alpha is a Auto Body repair shop https://www.facebook.com/rideshiny

The nicest looking of the bunch is an Australian product, It's the Camp King and the local distributor is a CM sponsor (Peter Sloop). I really like the finish on this one the best. It is less weight than the Alpha or Alu-Cab at 176 lbs. This is a nice review of it



Roofnest Falcon
1573265434771.png

Roofnest Falcon is from a boulder based company. At first glance this seemed to be a winner for me. First it is only 50" wide which would have zero overhang. that is fine for just me but likely cramped for two. They do have a 60" wide version. It's only 135 pounds and is only 6.5" tall. These are made in China and have had some quality issues. One owner told me it arrived damaged, the stainless steel started rusting after a couple of months and it leaked. They get shipped to LA were they are stored in a warehouse and then shipped directly to your house. The folks who did the two reviews liked it though so maybe it is a consistency issue which could be returned to Boulder if I were to get a bad one. Here are the reviews




It has only been out since July, so could be growing pains. Not a lot of reviews

GFC
1573265361230.png

GFC is an American made product. It is the thinnest of the bunch at 6" tall. Based on that size, the mattress is only 2" It's specs are similar, but a little bigger than the Falcon. Most everyone complains about the mattress and there isnt room to add a topper to this if I wanted to. The ladder also costs extra, not that big a deal though.

https://gearjunkie.com/go-fast-campers-platform-rooftop-tent

I had decided (Personal Preference on the Aluminum Hard shell style. I want a clam shell type as the set up fast, under 30 seconds with a similar take down

I have ruled out the GFC due to the mattress size

The Falcon has a 3" mattress and I like the size and weight. It appears to have thinner canvas and also there is no insulation on the top and bottom. You cant store your sleeping bag or pillows in it and I am concerned about the quality issues. I have reached to them to discuss

The Alpha and Alu-Cab are very similar with the Alpha likely nicer due to it's features, just harder to get.

The Camp King seems to be the best built and nicest quality, but is also the most expensive. It would be nice to support a CM sponsor and if I get this one I would buy from Peter rather than Rhino. Rhino does have it on their 200 series :)

I am still deciding, but thought this might benefit someone else
 

Attachments

  • 1573261467576.png
    1573261467576.png
    21.4 KB · Views: 234
Last edited:

Jenny Cruiser

Hard Core 4+
Joined
Nov 22, 2006
Messages
1,168
Location
North of Hell
Sounds like you've made up your mind, but Terrapod might be worth a look. Here's his Fakebook link. https://www.facebook.com/terrapod/
He's down in GA. I'd be happy to run it out there on my next trip to CO.
Terrpod.jpg
Terrapod2.jpg
 
Last edited:

Jenny Cruiser

Hard Core 4+
Joined
Nov 22, 2006
Messages
1,168
Location
North of Hell
The Terrapod is 5.5 ", under 100lbs and priced under 3K.
 

nuclearlemon

Hard Core 4+
Joined
Aug 23, 2005
Messages
8,297
Location
windy wyo
just curious, why are you set on clamshell?

i love having a straight up design. i have two directions my rig can face if i can't get on a flat spot. i can just move my pillow. i've been looking at a few others, but will most likely go with maggiolina again. i was the third owner when i bought mine over a decade ago and i've used the piss out of it and it's just now starting to truly wear out. it may be a bit taller, but it works well for me as i keep the mattress on a condensation mat, plus my thin blanket, electric blanket and comforter, along with the pillow and ladder in there 24/7/365.
 

Romer

RS Moderator
Staff member
Moderator
Joined
Aug 22, 2005
Messages
10,007
Location
Centennial, Colorado
The clamshell seems to set up and take down faster, not that big a deal. The clamshell is much taller on the open end and you can stand up to change if needed. I guess it is really like anything, personal preference just like I prefer Red Land Cruisers :)

I looked into the no clamshell Hard shell RTTs and just vectored this way after tons of reading, videos etc. I did see the Camp King at CM from Peter Sloop and thought it was pretty cool then, but wasnt in the market

As my girls or I should say grown ass women with husbands etc grow older, I want to make sure we can still go hang out places together. I gave Rachel my CVT Mt Bachelor and Sarah my Jettent 25. Rachel wanted a RTT and just bought a Gamiviti rack and Sarah has her two dogs and new baby so a ground tent is better as my granddaughter grows older.

For me, the CVT by myself is a pain to put away jumping back and forth from the sides tucking in. That will be easier with two of them. That is why I gravitated to the Hard Shell to begin with
 

Romer

RS Moderator
Staff member
Moderator
Joined
Aug 22, 2005
Messages
10,007
Location
Centennial, Colorado
I talked to Jeremiah Proffitt since he has a Camp King. He likes the Camp King Better and stated they have better struts, but he also said the Alu-Cab is a quality product.

I was going to a local dealer today to look at an Alu-Cab. They didnt have any in stock but would give me a pre Black Friday 5% discount for when the shipment comes in

They were demoing a 2018 model that belonged to one of the folks who worked there and they told me he was selling it to go with a camper setup for his truck. It had some scratches on the outside and was perfect on the inside. He had already taken care of the two complaints I see in reviews. He bought a telescoping ladder and added a 1" foam mattress. I bought it for $3000 no tax as it was a private sale and they installed it right then and there

I could feel the additional weight on my way home, but not significant

This is for when I don't take my Kimberley Karavan that you can see in the background of my second garage. Hey when you get old and they kids move out you have more money to spend on toys and a place to keep them :)
IMG_0024.jpg
IMG_0032.jpg
IMG_0033.jpg
IMG_0034.jpg
IMG_0035.jpg
 

Mendocino

RS Chapter Eternal
Gone But
Not Forgotten
Joined
Sep 27, 2005
Messages
2,466
Location
North Side
Awesome! I'm sure you will get years of enjoyment out of it. That was a great deal!
 
Top