Willing&Able
Well-Known Member
Hello from a fellow [near] Chicagoan.
I've had the same debate myself and landed on ground tent. I did spend for a top tier tent (think Everest base camp) and bags/pads that can easily manage 0 and lower temps. So it wasn't cheap, but not close to a RTT.
The pads I use are 4.5" thick and very well insulated so outside of protection from the cold ground, they are super comfortable as well.
I have a growing family and going up/down the Jeep with a crew - assuming we could all fit - didn't seem realistic. It's much smaller and keeps my entire roof rack open for gear specific to the adventure - i.e. fishing pole mount for a weekend fishing trip, etc.
I've also heard that even with strong platforms, you are still slightly flexing the fiberglass tops when you put hundreds of pounds of moving weight on top of them and that over time (years) they could get damaged.
I have the rhino rack backbone installed, so if I ever change my mind (doubtful) I can go that route, but part of me feels that it RTT's are somewhat trendy. Similar to the way trailers have become over the last year. We aren't too many trends until we have some Jeep/RV morph going on...
I've had the same debate myself and landed on ground tent. I did spend for a top tier tent (think Everest base camp) and bags/pads that can easily manage 0 and lower temps. So it wasn't cheap, but not close to a RTT.
The pads I use are 4.5" thick and very well insulated so outside of protection from the cold ground, they are super comfortable as well.
I have a growing family and going up/down the Jeep with a crew - assuming we could all fit - didn't seem realistic. It's much smaller and keeps my entire roof rack open for gear specific to the adventure - i.e. fishing pole mount for a weekend fishing trip, etc.
I've also heard that even with strong platforms, you are still slightly flexing the fiberglass tops when you put hundreds of pounds of moving weight on top of them and that over time (years) they could get damaged.
I have the rhino rack backbone installed, so if I ever change my mind (doubtful) I can go that route, but part of me feels that it RTT's are somewhat trendy. Similar to the way trailers have become over the last year. We aren't too many trends until we have some Jeep/RV morph going on...
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