Opinions and where to buy (ARB Series III Simpson tent)

[bloodfart]

I'm not a snob by any means, but a while back i've arrived at the conclusion that if you're gonna pay for accommodation for 1 or more nights, you really should do yourself a favor and pay a little more and stay at as nice a hotel/resort you can afford. Why? Because whatever money you save you'll make up in hating the smell, or the loud AC, or wishing you had a nice pool and hot-tub, etc.  So for years we've stayed just at hotels, with the occasional cheaper accommodation to remind me that i was totally right. Well, as we've explored more and more of the mountain ranges, we've found it more and more appealing to camp out. Now, lets be clear, we don't want to camp in a campground, but what we really would like is to pitch a tent in the middle of absolutely nowhere, after a long day of trails. This brings the obvious problem of bears and other members of the animal kingdom, which we would like to avoid while we're sleeping.

Therefor, we started looking at rooftop tents, and the ARB Series 3, which while pricey, would fit perfectly for what we need. It's cheaper than the other rooftop tents, and it would totally pay for itself as long as we used it at least 16 nights, which doesn't sound like THAT much, but figured i'd ask for some opinions first. Has anyone tried them or know someone who has? Anything in particular that I should know about? Will it last in stronger winds if we needed it too? Are they overkill? Any information or ideas would be great!

Also, I did notice the Northridge sells it locally, and so do Modern and Cap-it. Any suggestions about who will have the best deal?

[WhiteOut]

Stan at Northridge can probably get you the best deal.

He gets stuff in for a VERY competitive price. Or you can always have it shipped to Sweetgrass from a US supplier ad pick it up (8 hours round trip).

If you go through Stan, I can probably grab it for you depending on when it arrives.

[specialk]

I got a Mumbasi (spaelling?) from rooftoptents.com.  WAY cheaper than an ARB amd it is great.  I have it on my off-road trailer. Sets up great and allows the wife to glamp rather than camp.  Folds out to 6 x 8.  I use it year around.

Even with doing the brokerage and customs and crap, it was a good deal (Mine all in was 1300 but I know prices have gone up). 

Let me know if you want to check it out prior to buying one.

[w squared]

Bears and other members of the animal kingdom can climb trees....what makes you think they cannot climb the ladder to your roof top tent?

Keep a clean camp, pay attention to the presence of bear scat and other sign, Don,t dip yourself in bacon grease before going to sleep, and you should be fine. If you do all that and yogi still comes calling, the best solution goes "bang".

I think that a roof top tent is a good idea....but don't think that it is magical insurance against bears. Snakes and scorpions if you're wheeling in koab - absolutely.....but bears are harder to protect against.

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[w squared]

Double post. I blame weasley.

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[bloodfart]

Stan at Northridge can probably get you the best deal.

He gets stuff in for a VERY competitive price. Or you can always have it shipped to Sweetgrass from a US supplier ad pick it up (8 hours round trip).

If you go through Stan, I can probably grab it for you depending on when it arrives.

nice to see you guys recommend Stan. I had a good experience with him when i ordered my ACE sliders, and so did my step dad when he ordered his ARB front bumper. But I remember my step dad saying that when he stopped by national 4wd, they told him they could have gotten his ARB bumper for quite a bit cheaper, so figured i'd check.

as a side question though: do i need a roof rack too for this?? at first i thought the tent comes with the roof rack, but i'm starting to realize that it doesn't. Is there any way to mount this without a roof rack? i'm not spending 3K just to sit in a tent, i'd rather get a basic tent and a gun, or better yet, keep spending $100-$150/night for hotels  i mean, it's cool and all, but i can get so many mods for 3K...

[specialk]

About the roof rack... yes - you will need one and one that can support the tent and people...  not just a 150 lbs of gear.

About National - I know they are under new ownership so their pricing/availability may be better than it was...  most regs here have stopped going to National for various reasons...

It will be WAY cheaper to get a regular tent.   And even back country camping, bear spray and clean campsite are all you need.  Bears in the wild really don't want to have anything to do with us.  Its the garbage bears and campground bears that are more curious.   

[tubby]

I've been in the market for a RTT for about 2 years now and I've encountered a few folk who own different models of them. Only one person had the ARB but I'm not sure what model he had. His only beef was that it was expensive and that the zipper was finicky . There wasn't a lot of RTT's available at the time so his choices were limited, but now there are several companies selling them in Canada.

I've been leaning towards getting a Tepui RTT that is available in Canada through North Shore Offroad in Vancouver . I've poked around expeditionportal.com and read the multiple reviews of rooftop tents. I'm stoked to pick one up next year. I got to sleep in one last weekend with a friend while camping near Radium BC  and after  30 plus years of sleeping in a  tent on the ground, I'll never go back to it !

I understand your concern about bears as I too stay away from campgrounds and travel deep in the bush to avoid crowds. I'm bear aware and take precautions to keep encounters low.  A suggestion to keep your ol' lady happy and sleep sound at night would be the purchase of an electric bear fence. Deluxe Wall Tents has the UDAP Bear Shock kit that fits in a duffle bag and sells for $300.

[bloodfart]

About the roof rack... yes - you will need one and one that can support the tent and people...  not just a 150 lbs of gear.

About National - I know they are under new ownership so their pricing/availability may be better than it was...  most regs here have stopped going to National for various reasons...

It will be WAY cheaper to get a regular tent.   And even back country camping, bear spray and clean campsite are all you need.  Bears in the wild really don't want to have anything to do with us.  Its the garbage bears and campground bears that are more curious.   

thanks for the quick reply! well, it was a cool idea, but if it's gonna cost so much... i'll have to think about if we could get enough usage for the roof rack to justify it.

[bloodfart]

I've been in the market for a RTT for about 2 years now and I've encountered a few folk who own different models of them. Only one person had the ARB but I'm not sure what model he had. His only beef was that it was expensive and that the zipper was finicky . There wasn't a lot of RTT's available at the time so his choices were limited, but now there are several companies selling them in Canada.

I've been leaning towards getting a Tepui RTT that is available in Canada through North Shore Offroad in Vancouver . I've poked around expeditionportal.com and read the multiple reviews of rooftop tents. I'm stoked to pick one up next year. I got to sleep in one last weekend with a friend while camping near Radium BC  and after  30 plus years of sleeping in a  tent on the ground, I'll never go back to it !

I understand your concern about bears as I too stay away from campgrounds and travel deep in the bush to avoid crowds. I'm bear aware and take precautions to keep encounters low.  A suggestion to keep your ol' lady happy and sleep sound at night would be the purchase of an electric bear fence. Deluxe Wall Tents has the UDAP Bear Shock kit that fits in a duffle bag and sells for $300.

i'll look into them, thank you! i did notice there are other brands out there, but they are even more expensive 

[binare]

Its short notice but if you find something American made this week and overnight or two day it to my shipping address in Montana I'll bring it back Monday for you, pm me if your interested.

[Spinalguy]

Usually when i want to know a price, i phone the places to find out. Seems crazy but it works.

[bloodfart]

Its short notice but if you find something American made this week and overnight or two day it to my shipping address in Montana I'll bring it back Monday for you, pm me if your interested.

thanks for the offer, much appreciated!

Usually when i want to know a price, i phone the places to find out. Seems crazy but it works.

no doubt, but if a vendor that i'm not aware of is sponsoring the forum or has a good relationship with the forum, i'd like to find out about them if they also give good deals. Stan is my first choice, but since I only know of a couple places locally for jeep stuff, thought it was worth the question


On a different note, I have a strong feeling that the answer is NO, but what the heck i'll ask: can the tent be strapped on to the roll cage if i were to fully remove the hard top?

[specialk]

No.

[bloodfart]

well, i tried Stan but he called ARB and they won't deliver any until about the fall. tried my luck with cap-it and they explained why; i guess the fire regulations for tents have supposedly changed for Canada, and they are adjusting to make them comply. they had 3 in their depot and were willing to match Stan's listed price so just bit the bullet  

I narrowed down the roof rack options to MBRP 2 door version without the windshield bit, or the GOBI stealth. I like the GOBI stealth because there's no drilling required, but it's expensive. I also like the MBRP rack because you have the option to do just the backside and it's half the price. Of course, the downside is the holes in the hard top .

My questions are:
1) is the 2dr mbrp rack enough to support the tent and a skinny couple in their late 20s
2) which one would you go for? I dont really care for a huge amount of roof storage, i just want it to hold the tent in the summer and the snowboards in the winter.
3) if i get the mbrp, should i actually get the full rack instead? would the front bit that goes by the windshield provide some extra protection from leaves and daisies if i'm on a trail that's less than two RVs wide???