Just seeing this three years after it was posted. I got the same tent and agree with most of your observations. They have now added an additional bar across the vestibule that I think may not have been there three years ago (have seen multiple posts about the same pole bending that you had bend, so my guess is they figured out a "fix" to make that area a little stronger.) One big down site to this tent (and probably all rooftop tents) is that they are VERY heavy. The XL is among the heaviest. The ideal setup would be to rig a pulley system to lift it up off your car and store it against the garage ceiling (where it could then be lowered down onto the car from there). Lifting it up and down would be a HUGE pain. The better solution, IMO, is to mount it on a small trailer with "risers" on it. Mine sits on a 4x6 trailer with 48" risers on it. Camping gear stows below with the tent on top. And it all sits sideways in my garage in front of my car. Eliminated the need for having to move the tent on and off the car. Overall great video. Keep it up!
I have the same tent. It’s a good tent. About half the cost of some of the competitors. I wish I did not get the XL version. I wanted the additional space of the vestibule. It adds several minutes and some frustration to the set up time. I don’t have kids so I only need space for 2. If your in the same boat, strongly consider the non xl version. Another issue is the ladder length. I have mine mounted on my truck rack. I have a stock Nissan Titan XD pro4x. It is not crazy high off the ground and I had to buy the ladder extension. It was only like $50 so no big deal. Just be advised a lot of people will need that extension.
yeah we definitely needed the extra space, and we actually built a rack and moved the tent to our car hauler for ease of setup and mobility of the tow rig. we have actually just about outgrown the tent now that our dog is about 100lbs and the kids are getting bigger. just picked up a 6x12 enclosed trailer converted to a camper to pull behind our JKU.
Very nice video. I am looking at this tent as well, the Gen2 though. I appreciate it if you can share how much weight your vehicle's roof can support. I am worried about if my Atlas can hold it. We are a family of 4. Thanks!
i am pretty sure the sequoia is rated for 250lbs in motion, 500lb static. i actually ended up building a rack on our car hauler and putting the tent on that. its still working great
Where all the poles meet in the middle that fold, is that a opening through the tent. If so, can it be 100% closed off. I wanted to buy but wife wants a 100% sealed tent so no bugs can find a way in.
there is a small gap at the bottom in the middle where the hinge lets the tent fold. never been an issue. one of the big draws of tents like these is being high off the ground, far less likely to have bugs inside the tent than on the ground. but yeah It's not 100% sealed
Hey, great video. I have the same truck and just got the same tent. I wondered, did you mount it on the factory cross bars? They're rated for measly 150lbs.
thank you! we did mount it on the stock bars, but since the video we have it mounted on our car hauler on a rack I welded up. this way we can take the yota on parts runs or get to town without tearing down camp.
we have had it in some pretty intense rain storms, and it never leaked a drop. we don't get snow very often, but we have camped in temps in the 30s and stayed comfortable with good sleeping bags.
We use a small $20 ceramic heater in ours (which shuts off if it tips over) and we can keep it 70 degrees in the tent even if it's 30 degrees outdoors.
thank you for watching, I was using the stock roof rack rails on the toyota, we now moved the tent onto a rack I built on our car hauler. we never had an issue with the cross bars on the Toyota though
they were close, and probably did touch once we had weight in the tent, I honestly didn't notice if it was an issue. we moved the tent to our car trailer and it's an awesome setup so we can run to town for parts or supplies without having to tear down camp.
Just seeing this three years after it was posted. I got the same tent and agree with most of your observations. They have now added an additional bar across the vestibule that I think may not have been there three years ago (have seen multiple posts about the same pole bending that you had bend, so my guess is they figured out a "fix" to make that area a little stronger.) One big down site to this tent (and probably all rooftop tents) is that they are VERY heavy. The XL is among the heaviest. The ideal setup would be to rig a pulley system to lift it up off your car and store it against the garage ceiling (where it could then be lowered down onto the car from there). Lifting it up and down would be a HUGE pain. The better solution, IMO, is to mount it on a small trailer with "risers" on it. Mine sits on a 4x6 trailer with 48" risers on it. Camping gear stows below with the tent on top. And it all sits sideways in my garage in front of my car. Eliminated the need for having to move the tent on and off the car. Overall great video. Keep it up!
*pistol if you're an American Loved it man, great video.
haha, always gotta be prepared! thank you!
Awesome tent! Love the first hand experience description! Hope smittybilt comes through with a replacement pole soon
We will see...
Btw i have an idea / fix for your bent pole too. Just get an aluminum sleeve cut it in half and jam them back in it should fix it right up
Smittybilt came through with a new one, and apparently they changed the design to a 3 piece pole that is a good bit thicker
I have the same tent. It’s a good tent. About half the cost of some of the competitors. I wish I did not get the XL version. I wanted the additional space of the vestibule. It adds several minutes and some frustration to the set up time. I don’t have kids so I only need space for 2. If your in the same boat, strongly consider the non xl version. Another issue is the ladder length. I have mine mounted on my truck rack. I have a stock Nissan Titan XD pro4x. It is not crazy high off the ground and I had to buy the ladder extension. It was only like $50 so no big deal. Just be advised a lot of people will need that extension.
yeah we definitely needed the extra space, and we actually built a rack and moved the tent to our car hauler for ease of setup and mobility of the tow rig. we have actually just about outgrown the tent now that our dog is about 100lbs and the kids are getting bigger. just picked up a 6x12 enclosed trailer converted to a camper to pull behind our JKU.
Curious why you wish you did not get the XL?
Outstanding!!!!!! Looking to put this on my M1102 trailer for the family.
nice! sounds like a killer setup. actually planning to build a smallish simple camper and mount this on top to pull behind our JKU rubicon here soon.
@@SketchyJeeps That is going to be great for you guys. Thanks again for reviewing this as I was looking at some that were almost double the price.
Excellent Video. Keep them coming
thank you, for sure more to come!
Dope video, awesome info!
Thanks bro, it just makes wheeling trips that much better!
Great video!
Thanks man, the camera work was on point!
Question buddy, can you fold the tent up with the memory foam you added in there? And what size fits best for the xl
Thx
yeah, no problem, it also has enough room to have a few blankets inside as well.
we have a queen size in it
Nice, thanks for the info! Thumbs up!~John
no problem!
Very nice video. I am looking at this tent as well, the Gen2 though. I appreciate it if you can share how much weight your vehicle's roof can support. I am worried about if my Atlas can hold it. We are a family of 4. Thanks!
i am pretty sure the sequoia is rated for 250lbs in motion, 500lb static. i actually ended up building a rack on our car hauler and putting the tent on that. its still working great
$850 for this tent was a steal. I paid $1250 for mine with the annex
yeah we got a great deal on it, it's still working well, just spent the weekend in it!
I got mine for 550. Got lucky.
@@Crespofutbol hell yeah that's crazy
@@SketchyJeeps brand new, that's amazing.
@@primeral yeah it is
Where all the poles meet in the middle that fold, is that a opening through the tent. If so, can it be 100% closed off. I wanted to buy but wife wants a 100% sealed tent so no bugs can find a way in.
there is a small gap at the bottom in the middle where the hinge lets the tent fold. never been an issue. one of the big draws of tents like these is being high off the ground, far less likely to have bugs inside the tent than on the ground. but yeah It's not 100% sealed
just bring a rag to stuff in this area. Seriously, that easy.
Hey, great video. I have the same truck and just got the same tent. I wondered, did you mount it on the factory cross bars? They're rated for measly 150lbs.
thank you! we did mount it on the stock bars, but since the video we have it mounted on our car hauler on a rack I welded up. this way we can take the yota on parts runs or get to town without tearing down camp.
Did you install yours on stock rack? How did it go? Thanks.
@@michaelmontes3933 I did and I had no problems. Except it's really hard to access the bolts when putting it on.
Nice video man. What about its waterproof.?Have you tried it in a very cold, snowy or storm?
we have had it in some pretty intense rain storms, and it never leaked a drop. we don't get snow very often, but we have camped in temps in the 30s and stayed comfortable with good sleeping bags.
@@SketchyJeeps thank you for the answer...
We use a small $20 ceramic heater in ours (which shuts off if it tips over) and we can keep it 70 degrees in the tent even if it's 30 degrees outdoors.
Thanks for the videos
Quick question
what kind of roof rack you using to hold the rooftop tent?
thank you for watching, I was using the stock roof rack rails on the toyota, we now moved the tent onto a rack I built on our car hauler. we never had an issue with the cross bars on the Toyota though
Is that a Sequoia? Also, it looks like you used the stock roof rack?
yes a 2008 sequoia, was using the stock rack with no problems. we have since moved the tent to a rack I built on our car hauler trailer.
@@SketchyJeeps I saw you had an issue with the bolt ends touching your roof? How did you overcome that?
they were close, and probably did touch once we had weight in the tent, I honestly didn't notice if it was an issue. we moved the tent to our car trailer and it's an awesome setup so we can run to town for parts or supplies without having to tear down camp.
I added another smittybilt 2 inch mattress to mine and I can’t fold it up now, what am I missing?!
you will have to use the compression straps on the sides to squish it down a good bit. ours definitely fits though and folds up nicely
Can you close it with the extra pad?
Yeah it closes just fine no issues
what 2" mattress did u buy for this tent? king ? queen ?
queen size