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

Time to initiate a chargeback. You have done your best to work with them. There’s an email trail as proof.

 

A charge back without getting the tent back in their hands could be a legal hurdle. I’d wait and see how cooperative they are on the refund request.

 

That's the plan. I'm even willing to drop it to them over in the Laramie area or possibly even Denver because I have family I can visit. How nice I am moving forward depends entirely on how hard they try to screw with me with their restocking fee nonsense. I hope to hear something tomorrow, but I know the guy emailing me just works there. He has to clear it with his bosses, and if they are dumb I'll get mean.

 

Is the persons name you’ve been communicating with start with an “I”? Just wondering if it’s the same I’ve been talking to. After you mentioned that you emailed them this morning I also sent an email asking for an update on my replacement parts. I have not received a reply yet so obviously your refund request got their attention.

 

I vote #2 but I’m selfish and enjoy watching DIY threads!

 

Definitely has appeal except that I can only camp with the trailer at that point. A GFC can be more versatile. Realistically IDK if I need that versatility.

 

The go fast is over a year wait

 

Yeah, that would be a deal breaker for me. Those last minute 2-3 night trips would be less likely to happen with the trailer. Plus, your mpg's per trip would be a bit higher.

 

Their website says April for the RTT and rack and 4-6 weeks for just the RTT

 

What @BayRunner said.

 

Well cool! If that's the case that would be awesome. Last time I checked it was over a year. Maybe they amped up their production finally

 

And if RN follows through on a full refund I'll be eating these words!

 

I was looking at their updated pricing last night. Given where it’s made and their reputation it doesn’t seem too bad. A top end RTT is $4000 anyways, and something like a smart cap with sides that hinge open is $3000+.

The GFC is surprisingly light for what it is, and the ability to go into the tent from inside the bed is awesome. I’d definitely add the front and rear windows which I’m not sure if they are $250 total or $250 for each.

 

The base for a full size is $8200




The windows are $200 each, and getting side doors on the tent is $525. If you want a color it's $399.






So the quick build estimate for what I'd want would have both windows and the tent doors in the Grey color for a $9524 price. Then having them install it after driving up is a $175 charge for a grand total of $9699. Using my previous motorcycle down payment budget of $6500 and if I get the $3295 refund from Roofnest I'd have $9795 for the GFC. If I forgo the special color I can save $399. It's a lot of dollars to be sure, but being able to see and inspect it before install, and having them do the install sound great after the RN mess.

 

$1 for the red.

 

Man the run around with this story… just the thought of having to arrange a return on something of this size would stress me out.
I went with an enclosed utility trailer, its our camper first, but can also haul my boat of a mountain sled and handle most any other sort of moving needs. Nice to be able to have a place to lock things up when we leave camp for the day. It is by no means a perfect solution, but the compromise works for us.

 

Yeah, but my truck is Cavalry Blue. The red would just not go well IMO. I'd do grey or black.

 

I'm considering an enclosed trailer as well. The only thing that gives me pause with it is that I would be restricted to camping where I can haul a trailer. If I want to just go camp and fish and don't need the SxS the GFC allows for that. Though, the trailer would likely handle colder weather better as you could easily use a heater.

 

I do quite a bit of biz travel with a trailer and it can be a royal pain at times. I think a RTT/RTC would provide you much more flexibility.

while the GFC really does not appeal to me, I do think it’s a solid build. The shear fact that it’s built buy a crew that actually cares speaks volumes. Reminds me of when I had some large custom hand rails made for a large boat I had. Lots of unique design, bends and such. The shop that did it had a top notch fabricator who insisted on delivering them himself because he wanted to make sure I was happy with his work. Top quality workmanship. Anyhow, long story short, everything I read about GFC is that they have the same mentality and are proud of their work.

@AzureNightmare Any new feedback from RN? BTW you are almost up there with my RedTail price

 

Good luck trying to do a chargeback with your credit card. My experience after the caliraised light bar fiasco is that the credit card company won't do shit unless you send the product back AND THEN the seller refuses to issue a refund.

 

That's part of the GFC appeal. They aren't super far away either, and the fact that they do in house repairs and such is a major boon IMO.

The RedTail minimum price is a bit over double the GFC. At that price point I'd be looking at a toy hauler. Just can't do it. I think the RedTail is badass, but being made of carbon just puts the price way too far out of my budget. I don't want another payment.


As for RN, after the response that ignored my refund request I replied in a bit harsher/more firm manner and expressed my displeasure at the radio silence. The next response I got was from the Customer Support Manager, Stephanie. Went about like so

• Basic apology for the lack of comms
• Covid again and my ticket responses were only going to the Covid guy
• Bit of a balk at my mention of delay tactics
• Waiting to hear from factories on the Overland repair info, but it's a holiday there so they are waiting to hear back, too
• Snarky remark referencing my previous comment about being a patient person
• You can use the tent as is and it won't affect our offer to replace tent material (yes let's camp in a tent with a hole in it )
• If you want to return it I have to escalate to my supervisor since it has been mounted and driven
• Tents cannot be returned in Colorado. Has to be freighted back to the warehouse in LA.
• If a return is approved, they have to schedule a freight carrier to pick it up
• "We are here to assist you and want to make sure you are a satisfied customer. I apologize again for the pause in communication" (Apparently 2 weeks is "a pause")
• I have mandatory meetings all day, but I'll respond as soon as I am able

I replied about like so

• I am patient as long as I am in the loop. You said a couple days until next communication and that did not happen.
• I had Covid as well, but I made sure my work was taken care of while I was unavailable.
• Only having one person be the recipient of customer emails is ridiculous.
• Snarky comment about "what if that person goes on vacation, has an emergency, or is ill? Wait, I already know the answer. Customers are ignored."
• He was out for a week, what about the week before that and the two days this week before I pressed for a refund?
• At the very least I should have been contacted after a couple days to let me know there was a mistake/delay
• Still waiting on info that was only a couple days out as of the 11th.
• No response for 2 weeks, but within an hour of asking for a refund I get a reply? Fishy.
• Poor condition of tent + poor communication = zero faith in company or product. Full refund.
• Installed and driven? I promise, the tent is in better condition now than when I received it because I cleaned up the mountain of aluminum shavings it came with.
• No garage means I have no option to store it otherwise. Can't leave it sitting out in the snow.
• As long as $3295 is refunded and I am not on the hook for your shipping cost I'm happy to strap it to a pallet for pick up.
• Please understand, I am more disappointed than angry.
• Text/emails come off angrier than intended and none of this is personal toward you or the Covid guy.
• Here's my phone number call me to discuss, so long as both parties agree to whatever was discussed in writing afterward.

And now I am waiting for a call or email.

 

Fairly through response. However they do come across like they are positioning themselves for a refund refusal and a fight. Also, that’s BS that they don’t take returns to their CO office. She only mentioned that knowing your location and was pre-positioning herself.

 

She mentioned it because I offered to meet somebody in Laramie or Denver. I have family in the area and could make a visit of it.

As for a refusal/fight I plan to pitch it this way: I got the tent for $3295, but the full price is $3595. Give me a full refund and you are still getting your restock fee/freight covered compared to a full price refund.

 

Dang, so are you still gonna camp and stuff? Or are you gonna wait to get the refund with the RN then purchase and wait the GFC?

If so, I’d recommend using a ground tent or one of the truck bed tents for 100 bucks to hold you off for a bit.

 

It's a bit too cold for tent camping here. Camping season will be kicking off spring time-ish, so if RN gets the refund to me in a timely manner I can put in for a GFC that would be ready in April. Just about perfect time to start the camping stuff. If I opt to travel somewhere a bit warmer I can readily snag a ground tent and rough it for a few nights.

 

I bet this company would be better with customer service, at least they have been with me.

https://ironman4x4america.com/camping/tents/


An then there is always IKamper who seems to be pretty popular with the Youtubers


Or this...

https://tuffstuff4x4.com/collection...-alpha-hard-top-side-open-tent-black-4-person

 

Thing is, after having had a RTT on hand I have learned some things.

1. They are much larger than I had visualized. I am claustrophobic so I was heavily geared toward "get the biggest one there is." Well, the one I got is huge, and it's not the biggest there is by a fair margin. From this I learned that I can go with a 2 man and be ok with it.
2. If I can go smaller space on the tent then there are way more options. The A frame/clamshell or whatever tents were suddenly back on the option list, but the caveat is that all of them are longer than the one I have now. They cannot fit at the low level my current bed rack has without a silly amount of overhang out the back.
3. To avoid the overhang I have to go with a taller bed rack so it can put the tent partially over the roof, and if I'm going above the roofline I may as well get a camper shell and get some weather protected space. Shells that are reinforced to carry stuff like a RTT mounted up top are expensive, plus the cross bars on them and the tent. My budget needs to be upped.
4. RTTs are heavy and awkwardly sized for a one man install/uninstall. I don't have help, so I have to be able to manage it alone, and whatever it is needs to be able to live on the truck as permanently as possible.

From all this I arrived at the GFC or an enclosed trailer with a DIY mini camper set up. Those are the options I'm seeing as best fitting my needs.

 

One thing I learned from all this is that the tents made in China factories are a crap shot. I believe both Ironman and Tuff stuff tents are made in the same region so I think the gamble is the same as RoofNest. iKamper is made in S Korea so perhaps there is a better shot at quality there. Kinda follows the saying that you get what you pay for. The US built tents appear to definitely have better quality. However you pay premium for it. Not being a nationalist here just simply stating facts based on our experiences.

 

I agree. Nothing nationalist about the facts. Making things in the states costs more, and that cost shows in the price. I'm 100% ok with that so long as the quality shows it. Researching GFC that appears to be the case. Another member here (@TheBeast) posted a video of Last Line of Defense YouTube taking a tour of their shop. Pretty sure I'm sold and I'm only 8 minutes in.

https://www.tundras.com/threads/gfc-campers-hq-tour-by-llod.82572/

 

Totally agree, that's why I went with the South African made tent. It was more expensive than the others but it was worth it. But my needs changed and so did my camping setup.

@AzureNightmare - have you seen my current setup? (check sig) This was my answer to my current needs. Hopefully I'm done for a while, time will tell. It's not for everyone, it's not even close to perfect, but it is way cheaper than the GFC or equivalent. It's probably not as durable as the GFC but again significantly cheaper.

This whole game is a compromise between this and that. Unfortunately there is no perfect setup and never will be. Just have to try and decide what your needs are and then make it work as best you can.