G8rRanger
New member
First time last weekend (09OCT20) using the new Tuff Stuff RTT. Verdict on the RTT itself: Outstanding. It was everything Tuff Stuff advertised. The foam mattress is effective but a tad stiff for our 60-year frames so we are working on a mod to use inflatable therma-rests (which we have and have used for years of backpacking) covered by a fitted sheet to add the plush we need. Still, we both slept fine and the rain throughout the night was like a sound machine on a "rain" setting...weird, I know.
Setup in the dry and that really could not have gone any easier. Tent and annex ready to go in 20 minutes, including stakes, etc. Everything worked just as tested in the driveway. Cover off and annex slid on and zipped smoothly. The annex, with floor zipped in, was installed correctly. It seemed to be the quality so many raved about. I noticed all of the seams were sealed at the factory. I had used the installed annex cinch straps to get the annex to the correct height for our F150 bed rack height. It was staked it out properly. BTW, I have 50-ish years of camping/backpacking experience. It's not my first rodeo setting up a shelter in such a way as to be weather-proof. I saw no evidence that there would be any issues. The gravel we were set up on was level and I had put a tarp under the floor to protect it.
Rain was in-bound for later in the evening but we had a great first night supper/campfire. Weather app said rain starting around 2300 but we were 2 hours into Zs by then. Wife went down to the annex to use the porta potty at 0200, so 3 hours of normal rain by then. The annex was dry at that time.
I climbed down at 0630 to find puddles all over the annex. There were multiple places with water dripping from the edges at the top. I did not, at the time, look at the lower zipper for seepage since there was ample evidence of drips' from the upper edge. It was not confined to one spot. The rain had continued throughout the night and was only a mist at 0630. I was pretty annoyed to find my bag of clothes for the day had been soaked from below and above. Where was all this water coming from? I noticed that all of the folds at the top of the annex (just below the zipper attaching it to the RTT) had formed catch pockets for rainwater, and were the source of the drips from above. I noticed the floor zipper, however, was also seeping water from the bottom. I assumed that the idea of getting the right height for the annex was from people that "use these things were it never rains because surely they had tested this thing out before they sold them." I loosed all of the cinches and thus added 6 inches of annex wall on all sides. The rain was scheduled to abate for about 3 hours. I unzipped the most downhill corner of the annex floor and drained all the accumulated water out, and used a towel to get it completely dry. I then checked the outside to re-stake it due to the new added side wall length. I made certain to tuck the floor zippers under the overhanging fabric at the bottom of each side wall. I saw nothing amiss that would have been created either by the design or by my set up. It seemed like any other tent I’ve ever used that, when properly established, should fulfill it’s basic purpose of keeping the interior free from water.
The rain returned even harder at around 0900 and persisted for over 2 hours. We got about 1.25 inches over the next 90 minutes, so "a heavy rain". The parking lot was filling and we had a nice drainage channel running beside our campsite but the gravel pad we were on was above that. (I say this to note the issue is NOT the runoff which was near to, but not a function of the continuing issue.)
Upon opening the zipper after 60ish minutes of rain, I saw the floor of the annex was, again, filling with puddles, this time coming from, primarily, the zippers on the floor. Even though the zippers were not directly exposed to the rain, I would have to say that the fabric that is on either side of the zipper was so saturated that the water seeped though and into the floor, and did the same for the zippers at the top, causing them to drip down. I went back outside to inspect the top and bottom and found that all was in place as it should have been: The RTT flaps covered the place where the annex zipped to the floor of the RTT and the floor zippers were completely under overhang. Granted, the outside fabric was soaked but was also draining as designed. The sides of the annex were beading and pouring water down, as they should. There was no leakage or seepage through the sides. All of the water inside the annex was associated with the place where the annex zips to the bottom of the RTT or where the annex floor zips to the walls. After 3 more hours of rain, it stopped and we had a 4-hour predicted window of dry. Looking at the forecast, and knowing rain would continue off and on throughout the weekend, I decided I did not intend to resolve this issue in the heat of battle. We bailed out, and broke camp in the one opening in the weather we’d have. A complete tear down in a pouring rain is not my idea of fun.
NOTE: the RTT was completely watertight, snug and dry. Can't emphasize that enough.
I looked for some info online about Tuff Stuff annex leaks when I got home but there was little of the issue. Could it be me? Perish the thought. There was one Amazon review that could have been written by me. “RTT high and dry/ Annex flooded in a heavy rain first time used.” I didn’t see a single mention of annex flooding issues on this forum and I am sure a bunch of people here camp in the pacific NW, not exactly warm/dry So Cal. Any observations I need to consider? I am considering modifications I can make, such as using Plasti-dip to completely seal the tent floor zipper, which I never intend to remove from the walls. That is an extreme solution but would resolve half of the issue. I know of no such solution for the zipper at the top.
I have sent a message to Tuff Stuff and will see what they recommend. I am not so arrogant as to think I could not have made a mistake but I have so much experience, it will be surprising to me if that is the case. The quality of the items used has exceeded my expectations and I "see" no reason for it to be behaving as it is. I've slept in tents with plastic zippers that have fabric around them that gets wet/soaked and they have never leaked on me like this.
Setup in the dry and that really could not have gone any easier. Tent and annex ready to go in 20 minutes, including stakes, etc. Everything worked just as tested in the driveway. Cover off and annex slid on and zipped smoothly. The annex, with floor zipped in, was installed correctly. It seemed to be the quality so many raved about. I noticed all of the seams were sealed at the factory. I had used the installed annex cinch straps to get the annex to the correct height for our F150 bed rack height. It was staked it out properly. BTW, I have 50-ish years of camping/backpacking experience. It's not my first rodeo setting up a shelter in such a way as to be weather-proof. I saw no evidence that there would be any issues. The gravel we were set up on was level and I had put a tarp under the floor to protect it.
Rain was in-bound for later in the evening but we had a great first night supper/campfire. Weather app said rain starting around 2300 but we were 2 hours into Zs by then. Wife went down to the annex to use the porta potty at 0200, so 3 hours of normal rain by then. The annex was dry at that time.
I climbed down at 0630 to find puddles all over the annex. There were multiple places with water dripping from the edges at the top. I did not, at the time, look at the lower zipper for seepage since there was ample evidence of drips' from the upper edge. It was not confined to one spot. The rain had continued throughout the night and was only a mist at 0630. I was pretty annoyed to find my bag of clothes for the day had been soaked from below and above. Where was all this water coming from? I noticed that all of the folds at the top of the annex (just below the zipper attaching it to the RTT) had formed catch pockets for rainwater, and were the source of the drips from above. I noticed the floor zipper, however, was also seeping water from the bottom. I assumed that the idea of getting the right height for the annex was from people that "use these things were it never rains because surely they had tested this thing out before they sold them." I loosed all of the cinches and thus added 6 inches of annex wall on all sides. The rain was scheduled to abate for about 3 hours. I unzipped the most downhill corner of the annex floor and drained all the accumulated water out, and used a towel to get it completely dry. I then checked the outside to re-stake it due to the new added side wall length. I made certain to tuck the floor zippers under the overhanging fabric at the bottom of each side wall. I saw nothing amiss that would have been created either by the design or by my set up. It seemed like any other tent I’ve ever used that, when properly established, should fulfill it’s basic purpose of keeping the interior free from water.
The rain returned even harder at around 0900 and persisted for over 2 hours. We got about 1.25 inches over the next 90 minutes, so "a heavy rain". The parking lot was filling and we had a nice drainage channel running beside our campsite but the gravel pad we were on was above that. (I say this to note the issue is NOT the runoff which was near to, but not a function of the continuing issue.)
Upon opening the zipper after 60ish minutes of rain, I saw the floor of the annex was, again, filling with puddles, this time coming from, primarily, the zippers on the floor. Even though the zippers were not directly exposed to the rain, I would have to say that the fabric that is on either side of the zipper was so saturated that the water seeped though and into the floor, and did the same for the zippers at the top, causing them to drip down. I went back outside to inspect the top and bottom and found that all was in place as it should have been: The RTT flaps covered the place where the annex zipped to the floor of the RTT and the floor zippers were completely under overhang. Granted, the outside fabric was soaked but was also draining as designed. The sides of the annex were beading and pouring water down, as they should. There was no leakage or seepage through the sides. All of the water inside the annex was associated with the place where the annex zips to the bottom of the RTT or where the annex floor zips to the walls. After 3 more hours of rain, it stopped and we had a 4-hour predicted window of dry. Looking at the forecast, and knowing rain would continue off and on throughout the weekend, I decided I did not intend to resolve this issue in the heat of battle. We bailed out, and broke camp in the one opening in the weather we’d have. A complete tear down in a pouring rain is not my idea of fun.
NOTE: the RTT was completely watertight, snug and dry. Can't emphasize that enough.
I looked for some info online about Tuff Stuff annex leaks when I got home but there was little of the issue. Could it be me? Perish the thought. There was one Amazon review that could have been written by me. “RTT high and dry/ Annex flooded in a heavy rain first time used.” I didn’t see a single mention of annex flooding issues on this forum and I am sure a bunch of people here camp in the pacific NW, not exactly warm/dry So Cal. Any observations I need to consider? I am considering modifications I can make, such as using Plasti-dip to completely seal the tent floor zipper, which I never intend to remove from the walls. That is an extreme solution but would resolve half of the issue. I know of no such solution for the zipper at the top.
I have sent a message to Tuff Stuff and will see what they recommend. I am not so arrogant as to think I could not have made a mistake but I have so much experience, it will be surprising to me if that is the case. The quality of the items used has exceeded my expectations and I "see" no reason for it to be behaving as it is. I've slept in tents with plastic zippers that have fabric around them that gets wet/soaked and they have never leaked on me like this.
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