I want to start camping again. (The unintentional build)

@Wallygator I just looked at both of these websites. Yes, these are aluminum cases but they are not clam shells. They are wedge style tents similar to all the other wedge styles. Clam shells open from the side and the new RoofNest Condor Overlander is the only aluminum case that opens from the side. I’m basing this on what’s on their website. If those have aluminum clamshells then they are not listed on their website.,

 

Looks like Tuffstuff now has a aluminum clamshell the Stealth for pre-order looks like Feb 2022 deliveries... I have the Alpha II like it very much. only 17 days of camping in it so far

 

Yup, that is definitely a different tent from the RoofNest. The case and design is different. Also, that thing is huge and heavy., it’s 75” long and weights 221 lbs and 13” thick. It’s also fairly pricey. For that length of a tent I think one of the wedge style tents would be easier. Their the same length but much thinner and lighter.

 

Another company worth checking out is GFC, made in Montana. They do a combo cap with pass through to the tent, or just the tent by itself, and they’re built to withstand the rigors of serious off-roading. Very lightweight yet strong.

 

Super expensive. I was looking at them and if you want a window it's crazy expensive.

 

They don’t let you price it out on their site. You can only place a deposit. Just curious what they charge for windows?

 

I don't remember where I priced it all, but I did document it earlier in the thread. I'll find it and link it.

 

Here it is. Keep in mind, this may be outdated price info.

https://www.tundras.com/threads/i-w...unintentional-build.91512/page-4#post-2310880

 

All the ones I listed are considered clam shells. YMMV. Here is a thread about some clam shell tents.

https://risingsun4x4club.org/xf/threads/aluminum-clam-shell-rtt-evaluations.28622/

 

I see. Diferent terminology used depending on the circle you travel. My circle has always referred to clam shells as the side opening like a suitcase and the other as a wedge style. But I see where your coming from so it’s all good.

 

For sure. It’s a small operation, built by hand.

At one point they offered the superlite which was just the wedge tent without the bed frame/doors for under $2000, which wasn’t a bad deal at all. It looks like they’ve put a hold on that specific product since they’re so inundated for orders of the gfc camper.

 

For thise interested, I found a nice tire step which makes opening and closing a side opening tent much easier. It’s also a nice location for the diesel heater.

$41 Powerbuilt Heavy Duty Tire Step for Truck, SUV, Non-Slip Steel Surface, Adjustable to Fit Tire, Fold Flat for Storage – 647596 Large, Black

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0002Q8TWI?ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

 

Oh nice! Very good find!

 

Which diesel heater is that? Any issues?

 

Its one of the Chinese ones off Amazon.

UNQWIN Air Diesel Heater 12V 5KW,All-in-One diesel heater with LCD Monitor,Diesel Heater withRemote Control for Car,Bus,Caravan,Trucks,SUV,Boat

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B09H5JJM7W?ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

it’s basically the updated generation 2 of all the others that were released the last few years. Even though the control panel looks and is the same as the previous versions, the configuration has changed. This means all the how to’s on the www and all the videos on YouTube do not apply. There’s 2 pages in the poor user manual that will give you the basics and how to pair the remote. I basically figured it out with those 2 pages and playing around. Once you figure it out, it works quite nice. It’s a good product especially how cheap it is. You will need to order some other parts to make it useful such as a longer air duct, power cord to connect to a battery pack, and I put some adjustable feet on to make room for the exhaust pipe. Have not had it long but will be testing this weekend in a deep freeze and snow storm.

 

I really want to try one of these out!

 

Thanks! An please report back on your testing. Be safe this weekend!

 

I tested this little diesel heater this weekend in some decent winter conditions. Temperatures held consistently in the low 20's producing a few inches of snow turning into rain on Sunday. Let me say, I am really liking this heater.

The heater has 6 speed / heat settings. I kept the setting at the 2 lowest settings and it did quite well. The first night I had it at the lowest setting (H1) and temps inside the tent was consistently around 53 (21 outside the tent). Midway through the night I bumped it up the the next setting (H2) which brought the temp up to 57 - 59. In a sleeping bag, this was quite comfortable. The following morning a steady snow started turning into sleet around noon. I remained in the tent most of the day catching up with reading and such and the second setting of H2 kept the tent around 57. By late afternoon, the snow/sleet turned into rain. I built a bar that attaches to the top of the tent with an upright leg that will keep the top of the tent in an "A" shape. The resolved the leaking problem I had for the inside of the tent remained bone dry the entire time. I also installed the Sailrite anti-condensation matting which eliminated all condensation. All in all, it was a good weekend test and really impressed with this diesel heater.

Here are some stats that I compiled:

Fuel Usage: I calculated the fuel usage to be around .05 gallons / hour. This is based on the lowest 2 settings. Obviously running at higher settings runs the engine faster and will burn more fuel. The fuel tank is 5 Liters (1.32 gallons) and the engine ran for 17 hours on a tank. It did not use all the fuel, but once the fuel drops to a certain level around the pickup tube, it stops with an E-8 code. So taking into account the cutoff level, the engine runs at .078 gallons/ hour. (H1-H2 settings).

Electric Usage: I plugged this into my Ecoflow River Pro battery pack and the following is the electrical usage.

Startup: 125 watts (Only about a minute of this wattage for glow plug and engine startup)
H1 (lowest setting): 7 - 8 watts
H2: 10 - 11 watts
H3: 14 - 15 watts
H4: 17 - 18 watts
H5: 23 - 24 watts
H6: 25 - 26 watts

Comment: The watt usage constantly flickers between the 2 stated watt usage of each level because the fuel pump is a pulse pump. This means the fuel pump constantly pulses on and off so the watt usage to power the fuel pump will also pulse.

In summary, I can't speak for the longevity of this diesel heater, but considering the fairly low cost, it does a good job. As I mentioned earlier, you will need to have some technical know how to figure the unit out and decipher the poorly translated manual. You will also need a few extra items to use it such as remote battery (A27 type), longer ventilation duct, longer exhaust pipe, and wiring to plug into battery pack.

 

Thank you for that write up! My next buy!

 

Great write up and review, thanks!!

 

did you have to trim the decked system to fit the Cali raised bed stiffeners?

 

No, they fit fine with the decked system. I had to remove them though to fit the Leitner bed rack

 

Good to know. Thx!

 

So, Caliraised had a satisfactory response, but I also wasn't looking for much more than for them to step up their quality control. Time will tell if they were just blowing smoke, but I hope not.

Now, for Roofnest... I asked for detailed instructions on the process of swapping the canvas so that I can determine if it's something I want to undertake, or if I just want to return the damaged product. Back on the 11th the rep said "I hope to have those directions finalized in the next couple days" so I have been checking my email for them. So far I've gotten nothing. I followed up with an email a few hours ago so we'll see what their response it, but the longer this goes on the less enthused I am becoming.

Perhaps it's because I've been under the weather for a week, but I'm just not thrilled with Roofnest's responses so far. They shavings and damage are bad enough, but the first email saying essentially "Good news, you can clean up the mess and we can sent you stuff to fix that brand new product you bought" was pretty disappointing. If you bought a new car and it had scratches and the inside was full of trash, would you be ok being told "Here's a trash bag and some detailing supplies so you can clean up your brand new car"? Am I being overly petty when I am thinking that if I have to unmount the tent to fix it, then I just want a new one or a different one?

 

I can definitely understand your frustration. Pertaining to the shavings. I myself did not think that much of it. I quickly vacuumed them up in like 20 seconds. I’ve read about others having the same shavings in other brands as well. As I mentioned earlier, it think this is an issue where the tail is wagging the dog. I think these over seas tent manufacturers make the tents the way they want with some poor QA in place and simply brand them to whoever is buying. I truly think in our case, RoofNest has very little say in the matter.

As far as the instructions to replace the material, those too are coming from overseas. This is what I was told when I asked. I think the RN folks are waiting for them to cone in via email and then translate to proper English.

in summary, I think RN and others are basically hostage to what the overseas manufacturer wants to do.

Let us know what they respond with.

 

That's entirely possible, but who they choose to do business with shouldn't be a problem passed on to the customer.

I know the shavings happen to others, and I did clean it up as best I could, but there was an absolute ton of them. I started cleaning them up before I thought to take the pictures, so you only see a small amount of what was in the tent in my photos. Again, it's only clean up, but if I wind up with a metal burr in my ass from their poor housekeeping then I will be super pissed.

 

I completely agree getting a brand new tent and then having to completely take it apart to fix it would not be cool.

 

Im also wondering if we are suffering the woes of a new model. I’d like to hear from those who purchased a regular Condor, Condor XL, or a Falcon tent. Did they have any QA issues as well?

Maybe that’s why iKamper went with a S Korean manufacturer. I’ve delt with manufacturing there in the past. Their not perfect but they do strive for excellence.

 

I could probably look past the shavings, but on the damage to the tent I don't think you are being petty at all!
We aren't talking about a $50 dollar product here, it was thousands, and a certain amount of quality should be expected. Roof Nest should either come out and fix it or send out a new one IMO.

 

It’s impossible to lay all blame at the feet of the Chinese manufacturer. Roofnest has their name on it. They should be inspecting every tent before it ships out. This is definitely an example of piss poor QC.