Smittybilt Overland XL RTT?

I'm looking at roof top tents. Need to sleep 3 comfortably with the possibility of 4. That alone limits me quite a bit.

I have my eye on the Smittybilt Overland XL 2883. It's huge and can be had for under $1k. It gets good reviews elsewhere. Wanted to see if anyone on here had 1st hand experience with them.

This will be for select trips. I still have a 28' camper. This is in no way a heavy use, overland rig, or primary camping situation. It will probably get used 4-6 times per year on 1-2 night trips that make more sense to travel this way versus pulling the camper.

I'm sure someone will say just get a ground tent. No interest in sleeping on the ground and I won't sleep well. Where we will be traveling with this setup has bears, wolf, coyote, etc... I also prefer fast setup/teardown.

 

I'm about to pull the trigger on Smittybilt's non-XL version of this tent. I cant speak from personal experience, but I have researched RTTs pretty exhaustively and I think you're making a good call as long as 2 of those 4 people that you need to fit are kids. As far as I can tell, the Smittybilts are only a slight decrease in quality from other brands for about half the price, especially when you look at the larger 4-person RTTs. The biggest complaints I have seen have been about the Smittbilts have been the straps & velcrow on the cover wear out, which seems like an easy fix to me. Oh, and also I've heard the ladder can get stiff & difficult after a while if dirt and debris gets into it.

Personally I can't justify spending that much more money on other brands when these are available, that's why I'm getting a Smittybilt.

 

^^^Agreed.

If I was going to be using this as my primary camp shelter and it was going to stay on the truck all year, then I would think about a higher end unit or even a hardshell. But it will be pulled when not in use and realistically it will be used lightly compared to what RTT's are designed for.

1-2 of the occupants will be children, only 2 adults.

I've read much of the same about the Smittybilt RTT. Straps, velcro, etc.... And i said the same thing, all easy fixes if/when I do need to replace them. Everyone has said how heavy the canvas is and how quality the zippers are, two important things to me.

 

Oh the RTT debate. Always read good things on them. I myself needed the same capacity went with the 23Zero. They also just came out with new fabric that limits light, and I have their matching 270 awning. Can’t say enough good things about the quality and Justin is the man.

Know it doesn’t answer your question but my capacity requirements were similar.

 

I’m a slacker and never take pictures of the setup so I think I’ve used this one about 10 times now. Ha

 

I got the non-XL and just got back from a 3-week off-road adventure (about 2,000 miles of dirt/gravel). I'd suggest you check every single bolt on tent and tighten it and maybe even threadlock it. I had about 8 bolts come loose on mine in the 3 weeks, it was driving me insane! I will be thread-locking every single bolt on the thing and buying extra bolts/nuts before my next trip. If it keeps falling apart I will be buying a hardshell... Not like I was racing either, I was taking slow and comfortable...

Other than that issue, I like the tent. I think the mattress is comfortable, it's easy to set up and put down, and it just works (when the bolts stay in place).

 

I've read the same and plan on Nylocs or Loctite. This is another thing that I can live with for the a sub $1k tent this size.
I'm prepared to spend some time upon arrival going through it.
And if need be 2-3 years down the road I will spend $20-$30 on some new cinch straps.

Glad to hear you were happy otherwise though.

I do have a fairly specific question about the extruded aluminum mounting bars. I'm not sure how you have it mounted, but do you notice if they flex much if at all? I ask because this is going to be mounted on my 2018 Armada. I prefer to keep this as low to the roof as possible. I currently have the option to mount it directly to the side rails, this would leave me with about 1.5" under the aluminum braces. Or I would have to get Yakima/Thule crossbars and then mount the tent to them, that would raise the tent a total of 4-6", making it almost 7" off of the roof. Again, i prefer to keep it low, but not at the expense of the tent flexing into my roof.

Thanks

 

No one else on here with a Smittybilt tent?
Surprising.

 

I have a the small version. Great tent at a great price. I sleep exceedingly well in the RTT. One very important thing: add more fasteners to the track!!! There are only 4 bolts that connect the tracks to the the tent floor and then those tracks connect to your truck rack. 4 bolts is not enough. The floor is framed like a common house floor but with aluminum "joists". Laying a flash light on it's side, on the floor you can see where they are. Each one should have a fastener (1/4 20 ???) with fender washers and nylocks. This is a cheap/simple piece of insurance.
Mine come off and cartwheeled over boulders at 50mph. Granted, I drive a little differently than most. But, I replaced the cover and it still works great.

 

lmao... cue “Benny Hill” song

 

Btw they run sales from time to time around big holidays so you can snag one for sub 1K.
Most RTT are made in China anyways.

 

@osidepunker had just told me about this potential problem (it's all RTTs not just Smitty) that very same morning.

 

The Smitty Overland XL can be had on Amazon for $975, pretty unbelievable given the size. It recently went back up to $1099, but I'll keep my eye on it within the next few months.

This is all in preparation for a cross country trip in summer of 2020.

 

This. I've been watching them on Amazon for 5 or 6 months and seen them on sale at least 3 times for $100 or so off the price.

 

There's one factory in China putting out the same tents for a dozen different "manufactures" here in the states. I bought a Tepui ruggedized XL, same exact tent as the one you're looking at. There are some differences in fabric and Tepui added some aluminum diamond plate to the base, but these are all made in the same place.

I went through and replaced every single bolt and nut with ss hardware and nylocs. I cut and filed the bolts so they wouldn't dig into the tent fabric.

I had my rails pull out of the floor just like Warren said. I have also seen 4 or 5 friends have the exact same problem. Add a bunch of bolts to the rail to fasten it the floor better. Also, make sure your rack and hardware that you use to attach it to the roof is secure. The less parts the better; I would avoid a thule or yakima rack if you can. That just adds another point of failure.

I sold that tent because it weighed 220lbs and I absolutely HATED the zipper on the cover. But it was decently reliable after I fixed everything.

 

I have the Overlander XL on my 4runner. Moving it over to the Tundra some time soon just trying to get a rack that will fit my z125 in the bed with the tent on top.
I have noticed that bolts are loose on it an 1 fell out. Go over and replace or tighten all of them.

I did not like only having 2 cross bars when mounted to the 4runner, I am cheap and didn't want to spend $400+ to mount a tent. I got some uni-strut and cut it to the length I wanted and made 3 cross bars for the tent. Has been on for about 6-8 months, no problems so far.

 

Can you attach a few pics of the setup on your 4runner?
This is exactly what I envision doing on my Armada. Mounting with a 3rd piece of unistrut and directly to my side rails.

 

This is the only photo i have on my phone showing the mounts. I can take a better one after work. Unistrut goes across the 2 side rails and is connected with u bolts. The tent does not rest on the oem cross bars they cant hold the weight.

 

I have the non-XL version as well. I've used it the last two summers and it's been great. I also have their awning.

 

Looks like the XL is on sale for $999 right now on Amazon.

Smittybilt Overlander XL 4 Person Roof Top Tent (2883) - Folder With Bedding for Camping & Hiking- Coyote Tan

https://www.amazon.com/Smittybilt-2...570739536&sprefix=smittybilt+r,aps,184&sr=8-2

 

It appears to be on eBay perpetually from 2 different sellers for $949 and $945.

1 seller is even offering tent plus annex for $1099.

 

Jump on that.

 

How are you liking the 23Zero? How's the quality? I just ordered the weekender 62 with free annex on black Friday.

 

Absolutely love it. No complaints. I have their 270 awning and shower enclosure too.

 

Their customer support is awesome too. I’m changing out the rack and had a few questions and they were Johnny on the spot getting back to me.

 

That’s great to know, never been camping in my life and now I’m trying to get my new wife and step daughters as enthused as me. I found a Thule xsporter rack for a steal on Craigslist a few days ago to put the tent on and got my shipping notification from 23zero today. Crazy how they took pictures and included them in the email, pretty smart.

 

They’re good peeps. My wife hated camping for the record. An RTT and shower changed all that.

 

RTT hot shower and fridge and anybody would be happy. Most people dont believe you can spend the night away from home and be just as comfortable

 

Fridge is next. How are you powering it?

 

I have a dual battery setup. I mounted a couple group 34s in the bed.

If you dont want to do all that you can swap your main for a group 31 and that should be enough to power it for a day or maybe two. Just have to run your truck for a few minutes to charge it back up. Or add solar, its not that expensive.

dual battery is the way to go though. Would save you in case you accidentally drain your main