new smaller CampingLab tent and awning!!

[campinglab]

We now carry a smaller version of our Rooftop tent. A 47" wide model ideal for 2 people and to set it up opening towards the rear of the truck.

Special introductory price $650 shipped :victory:
http://campinglab.com/carpatecho02.html

We also have a smaller version of the awning, short enough for the back of almost any truck at 47" long.

$190 shipped
http://campinglab.com/awning.html

Cheers,
Fernando

[adventureduo]

We also have a smaller version of the awning, short enough for the back of almost any truck at 47" long.

$190 shipped
http://campinglab.com/awning.html

Cheers,
Fernando

Oooh, now i can have 3 awnings! :ylsmoke:

[jeepmedic46]

That would work for a little while while my 2 kids were little.

[BIGdaddy]

I love my awning, I might have to go for the little one, too.

[socaljeeper]

I have been waiting for a smaller awning, so I will put it on my wish list. I think it would work perfect for my trailer.

[Skim]

That smaller tent would work perfect over the bed of a pick-up truck.

[digitalferg]

We now carry a smaller version of our Rooftop tent. A 47" wide model ideal for 2 people and to set it up opening towards the rear of the truck.

Special introductory price $650 shipped :victory:
http://campinglab.com/carpatecho02.html


Cheers,
Fernando


What is the footprint of this new smaller tent when it is closed and bundled up?

-Ferg-

[Strizzo]

how tall are the tents when folded up without the ladder on top? i only have about 7-8" of headroom on top of the camper shell to get in the garage. i'm hoping that i can find a RTT that will fit, otherwise it may have to be an oasis II.

[campinglab]

What is the footprint of this new smaller tent when it is closed and bundled up?

-Ferg-

the tent's 47X47" when closed...

[campinglab]

how tall are the tents when folded up without the ladder on top? i only have about 7-8" of headroom on top of the camper shell to get in the garage. i'm hoping that i can find a RTT that will fit, otherwise it may have to be an oasis II.

Without the ladder the tent's 12" tall.

[digitalferg]

the tent's 47X47" when closed...

That is what I suspected... :sombrero: Wasn't sure if the cover somehow made it an inch or so wider.

I think this might just be the one I've been waiting (more like hoping/dreaming) for/about.

Do you think these mounts will work for attaching it (these are specific to my factory 4runner roof rack rails)? Or is some sort of crossbar necessary? I've decided I don't really want/need to use a roof rack and thought these might work. It's a total of 6 mounting feet. No cross bar. I just so happen to already have them kicking around and would love to make use of them...

http://www.defenderracks.com/catalog/DSMountingBracket.jpg

Defender DS Mounting Bracket (http://www.defenderracks.com/products.asp?id=69#self)

-Ferg-

[digitalferg]

We now carry a smaller version of our Rooftop tent. A 47" wide model ideal for 2 people and to set it up opening towards the rear of the truck.

Cheers,
Fernando

Also, just reread this post. You indicate "to set it up opening towards the rear of the truck"...can i assume it can do either?--open towards the rear or open towards the side, depending on which way you mount it? Or is there a structural reason to only mount it the one way?

(Sorry, a bit new to RTTs and still researching them a bit.)

-Ferg-

[campinglab]

Also, just reread this post. You indicate "to set it up opening towards the rear of the truck"...can i assume it can do either?--open towards the rear or open towards the side, depending on which way you mount it? Or is there a structural reason to only mount it the one way?

(Sorry, a bit new to RTTs and still researching them a bit.)

-Ferg-

The tent can open to either side depending on how you mount it. This size is suitable to set it up opening towards the front/rear of the vehicle because it's not very wide but it can open towards the side just as well.

The feet you posted above look good. If they reach the tents mounting rails you can use them without cross bars attaching the feet directly to the rails. If they don't reach the tent's rails you might have to get creative with some additional brackets or use cross bars. For this tent 2 bars is enough.

I will port the distance between the rails latter.

Cheers,
Fernando

[digitalferg]

Fernando has emailed me some pics of the tent mounting rails and mounting bolts and I'm very confident these defender mount feet will work perfectly.

I am completely sold on this tent! Fernando, you'll be hearing from me soon.

-Ferg-

[emohn]

Any pictures of the smaller tent yet? I'd like to get a sense of scale for it to see how it might fit my TJ.

[Scott Brady]

The Camping Lab and ARB awnings are really quite sweet. They have my thumbs-up! :victory:

[campinglab]

Any pictures of the smaller tent yet? I'd like to get a sense of scale for it to see how it might fit my TJ.

Sorry but no pics yet :(

Will try and get one on my truck this weekend though...

[digitalferg]

Order placed! Thanks again Fernando for all the help and the introductory free shipping!

Man, I am so stoked to get this sucker. Got a week long trip coming up mid October.

-Ferg-

[SWbySWesty]

Hi Fernando - does the changing room come with a floor? I'm curious about using it as an area for rainy/wet weather. What do you think?

[campinglab]

Hi Fernando - does the changing room come with a floor? I'm curious about using it as an area for rainy/wet weather. What do you think?

The enclosure does not have a floor.

It could work for rainy weather as long as it's not a storm :)

[vonbrandt]

So I have just stumbled across this post and I am definitely in the market for a good rooftop tent. This would be perfect as my lady and I are planning an Atlanta to PEI trip over the summer. My only hesitation is possible mounting ideas as I am new to the rooftop tent. My roof rack is not as it has been used by many people for different rooftop tents, if I could have some help regarding the mounting I believe we would be ready to purchase...

I have a Discovery Series 1 with a Safety Devices expedition rack.

[lostworldexpedition]

So I have just stumbled across this post and I am definitely in the market for a good rooftop tent. This would be perfect as my lady and I are planning an Atlanta to PEI trip over the summer. My only hesitation is possible mounting ideas as I am new to the rooftop tent. My roof rack is not as it has been used by many people for different rooftop tents, if I could have some help regarding the mounting I believe we would be ready to purchase...

I have a Discovery Series 1 with a Safety Devices expedition rack.
Did you get the answer you were looking for?

As far as I can tell, the only way to use your current rack with a Campinglab style RTT is by modifying the rack in order to allow the tent to open... In other words cut one of the side walls of the rack. You should contact Fernando from Campinglab he may have some ideas, he is a pretty good fabricator.

Good luck.

[alia176]

Just to clarify, all awnings are 83" long but they pull out to: 47", 70" or 79". Right?

[campinglab]

Just to clarify, all awnings are 83" long but they pull out to: 47", 70" or 79". Right?

It's actually the other way around.

All awnings pull out to 83". What varies is the length of the roll.

[Clark White]

I don't know how I missed this before. I'm guessing the $650 price is over and done with?

Clark

[campinglab]

I don't know how I missed this before. I'm guessing the $650 price is over and done with?

Clark

Well the price's up to $725... Shipping to the lower 48 is still included though :)

[Clark White]

Is there any way to mount stuff to the tent floor when it closed up? I often carry a kayak or canoe on my rack and would have no other way to carry them.
Clark

[campinglab]

Is there any way to mount stuff to the tent floor when it closed up? I often carry a kayak or canoe on my rack and would have no other way to carry them.
Clark

The tent is pretty sturdy and I see no problem with it supporting a couple of kayaks. Damaging the tent's travel cover would be my only concern.

[Clark White]

Damn, I was hoping you would say no way so that I wouldn't have to seriously consider buying one! :ylsmoke:

Clark

[adrenaline503]

What is the total weight for this model?

[Printer]

So I could have this open to the rear of my truck and the ladder would "land" in the bed?

[socaljeeper]

Does anyone have any pictures of how these mount? It will be for a custom application and I am curious if it would work.

[pray4surf]

Does anyone have any pictures of how these mount? It will be for a custom application and I am curious if it would work.

http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q312/pray4surfadventures/RTT%20and%20rack/DSC01819.jpg

You attach two extruded aluminum u-channels to the bottom of the tent. You can choose to install in either direction. You are also supplied 8 bolts and a special spacer that slide in the extruded channel, 4 per channel - so positioning is limitless. You capture two of these bolts on either side of your mounting point using another supplied spacer and nuts.

Someone has a better term for these items I'm calling 'spacers' - please (brain-fart smiley)

[socaljeeper]

Thanks for the pic! Can you walk under that awning how you have it mounted? In my case, if I do mount it under the tent on my trailer it will be a little low. So I would need to fabricate some kind of telescoping tubing to raise it a little, maybe 8 inches or so.


You attach two extruded aluminum u-channels to the bottom of the tent. You can choose to install in either direction. You are also supplied 8 bolts and a special spacer that slide in the extruded channel, 4 per channel - so positioning is limitless. You capture two of these bolts on either side of your mounting point using another supplied spacer and nuts.

Someone has a better term for these items I'm calling 'spacers' - please (brain-fart smiley)

[pray4surf]

Thanks for the pic! Can you walk under that awning how you have it mounted? In my case, if I do mount it under the tent on my trailer it will be a little low. So I would need to fabricate some kind of telescoping tubing to raise it a little, maybe 8 inches or so.

Check your PM's...

[digitalferg]

Does anyone have any pictures of how these mount? It will be for a custom application and I am curious if it would work.

Never updated with how mine turned out with the Defender mounts I was asking about in the first pages of this thread... And figured since you asked, this is an alternative way to mount the tents.

The tent floor is super close to the roof as you can see. I had to purchase shorter bolts to go from the tent mount rail to the Defender L-bracket as the included bolts would've hit into the top of the roof. I also am planning to add a second bolt for each tent rail to L-bracket.

I really like how it turned out. Unfortunately, I haven't really had the rig offroad since I added the tent so I can't really comment on the way it behaves offroad. I can definitely feel it dragging on the highway after about 65mph and can feel it in heavy crosswinds.

-Ferg-

http://www.desertcruzer.com/images/tent-defendermount1.JPG

http://www.desertcruzer.com/images/tent-defendermount2.JPG

http://www.desertcruzer.com/images/tent-defendermount3.JPG

http://www.desertcruzer.com/images/tent-defendermount4.JPG

http://www.desertcruzer.com/images/dsrtcrzr-2010-01-11.jpg

[nater]

Never updated with how mine turned out with the Defender mounts I was asking about in the first pages of this thread... And figured since you asked, this is an alternative way to mount the tents.

The tent floor is super close to the roof as you can see. I had to purchase shorter bolts to go from the tent mount rail to the Defender L-bracket as the included bolts would've hit into the top of the roof. I also am planning to add a second bolt for each tent rail to L-bracket.

I really like how it turned out. Unfortunately, I haven't really had the rig offroad since I added the tent so I can't really comment on the way it behaves offroad. I can definitely feel it dragging on the highway after about 65mph and can feel it in heavy crosswinds.

-Ferg-


Ferg,

Are the stock toyota rails strong enough for the weight of that tent, plus 1 or 2 people? I was always told they were not that strong?

Also, did those defender feet fit without mods into our roof rail?

[socaljeeper]

I guess I should of been a little more specific. I was asking about the awning and not the tent. Thanks anyways.


And figured since you asked, this is an alternative way to mount the tents.

[usadventureracing]

I have a 2008 Toyota FJ with a Bajarack, would this RTT mount to it with no extra hardware? Thanks

[campinglab]

I have a 2008 Toyota FJ with a Bajarack, would this RTT mount to it with no extra hardware? Thanks

Ideally you would want to use the BajaRack Expedition series rack so that the tent sits as low as possible.

If you do have the EXP rack all you need are the 4 rooftop tent brackets supplied by BajaRack with the rack.

If you have the regular BajaRack you can still mount the tent but it will sit on top of the rack's sides so it would be quite high. You might need to figure out some brackets to properly secure the tent to the rack's railing because the supplied hardware will not work very well on the skinny round tubing.

[digitalferg]

Ferg,

Are the stock toyota rails strong enough for the weight of that tent, plus 1 or 2 people? I was always told they were not that strong?

Also, did those defender feet fit without mods into our roof rail?

The only info I heard was that the factory crossbars were not strong enough to hold much weight. I don't know the weight capacity of the roof or the roof rails, but I'm confident it'll easily hold the weight of the tent both stationary and driving. And I've had myself and a buddy in the tent for a total of about 330 pound (plus the tent weight which was I think 70 pounds) and it felt completely fine. I would wager 500 static pounds would be fine up there, but again, I don't know for certain.

Anyone care to comment further on this? Fernando maybe?--weren't you running one of your tents on a baja rack on a 3rd Gen 4Runner for a while? Any thoughts?

The defender feet fit without any mods into the roof rail as they are specifically made for the 3rd Gen 4Runner roof rail.

-Ferg-

[campinglab]

The only info I heard was that the factory crossbars were not strong enough to hold much weight. I don't know the weight capacity of the roof or the roof rails, but I'm confident it'll easily hold the weight of the tent both stationary and driving. And I've had myself and a buddy in the tent for a total of about 330 pound (plus the tent weight which was I think 70 pounds) and it felt completely fine. I would wager 500 static pounds would be fine up there, but again, I don't know for certain.

Anyone care to comment further on this? Fernando maybe?--weren't you running one of your tents on a baja rack on a 3rd Gen 4Runner for a while? Any thoughts?

The defender feet fit without any mods into the roof rail as they are specifically made for the 3rd Gen 4Runner roof rail.

-Ferg-

The factory cross bars are not strong enough but we've found that the rails are. I have a BajaRack mounted to the factory rails on my 3rd gen and frequently put a tent up there with no problems.

I'm pretty sure this is exceeding the factory rating though.