ARB Simpson III Review

[COJeeper]

A quick review of my new Simpson III RTT I tested this weekend.
My intial impressions are very good. The quality is very good all around. The seams are very nice, Mattress is firm and supportive, and everything functions as it should. I do like the weight of the tent and it has a very substantial feel to it. I had to adjust the height of the ladder for use with my offroad trailer. This was acoomplished by drilling two holes so the locking pins would set to a shorter height.
One shortfall is the cover zipper. I spoke with Buddy at ARB prior to my install of the tent and he reccomended spraying the zipper with a wax based lubricant. I did this prior to my trip this weekend and still managed to find a few choice words while working the zipper around the corners of the tent platform when closing it up. I am sure I have a couple misformed teeth on the zipper applied to the cover. I will work with it a little more and see if it gets better the next trip out. I will give ARB a call on Monday and see what they can do?
I am posting a few pictures of this weekend's trip so everyone can see the RTT mounted to my newly completed trailer.
To sum it up I love it! I am very happy with the tent and how it looks on my Rig.

[cruiseroutfit]

I use a "zipper wax" with my Simpson III (and SII and Mombasa before that ). You can score it at a marine store as its often used on wet-suits. It comes in what looks like an over-sized chapstick applicator. I now use it on my sleeping bag, Engel transit bag and jacket zippers as it really does make zippers glide. If your tent cover takes a 'beating' in the wind you might also look into using a 'cargo net' to keep it from flapping and billowing in the wind, more on that later.

Great pics & trailer

[Martyn]

Chapstick or a bar of soap works well on sticking zippers.

[COJeeper]

Quick update on the zipper issue. I contacted ARB and spoke with Mike he is going to send a complete cover out N/C to resolve my zipper issue on the cover! Great service, Great product, and the Great outdoors. COjeeper is a happy camper.

[overlander]

I'm definitely interested in details, as I need to make a decision by the fall between this one and the Eezi-Awn T-Top. One shortcoming of the EZTtop is that the bottom of the doors and hinge flaps lets bugs in. Is the ARBIII any better?

[COJeeper]

I am Very happy with my ARB RTT. On the trial run last weekend I had plenty of blood thirsty misquito's, nats and horseflys looking for a snack.
The window netting used on the new unit is very good. The flap which covers the hinges, seals well. I did not have many visitors due to the RTT not sealing well. The bugs that did get in, came in attached to me.
The doors do not zip across the bottom, Just straight down but the bug screen zips all the way around like most tents.
I investigated all most RTT's on the market prior to making my selection. I am happy.

[HDM]

Overlander, FWIW, we've used our Eezi-Awn many times when the mozzies were thick. Like any tent, ingress/egress will let them in, but otherwise, I've never had the problem you suggest. Perhaps it's more of a talking point and an actual issue? dm

[overlander]

HDM and COJEEPER,
Thanks for the feedback. Good to know that the problem is overstated in the Eezi-Awn.

How about some good pics of the ARB Simpson III up close, inside and out? I would sure appreciate it in making my final selection. Nobody really sells RTT's that I can find on the East Coast, and there are none in Baghdad, so I'm going to have to buy from pics alone.

Also, looks like the ARB only comes in a 1400 equivalent size, is that correct? I was thinking 1600 would be preferred for the extra room, but not sure if that's a deal breaker yet. (I'm going to have to tape it out on the floor to visualize the size differences)

[COJeeper]

I will get some additional photo's of the ARB RTT in a week or so. I am heading to Colorado this weekend to my mountian property, but I am taking out a fourwheeler not my off road trailer. The tent is 55" x 96" inside when folded out. I found it to be pretty roomy. I was looking at the Eezi 1200which was slightly smaller. But I think think the Eezi 1600 is slightly bigger. I did not look at the 1600 as it would not fit my trailer application.

[Fireman78]

I am going to be buying a roof top tent this weekend, monday at the latest. I am between the ezi-awn econo line and the ARB 3. I am leaning towards the ARB. I am also getting an ARB Fridge and PETT. I can't wait.!!!