Smittybilt XL Roof Top Tent | Unboxing and Installation
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- Опубліковано 28 вер 2024
- Unboxing and Installation Of the Smittybilt XL Roof Top Tent. We had a bunch of problems with the installion of the this tent, mostly due to the terrible instructions. In this video we show you step by step how the installation process went for us, give some tips on how to make this process go smoothly for you and also have a few laughs along the way.
#rv #camping #rooftoptent
I want to say thank you both SO MUCH! I watched this video one time and when my tent came in this afternoon I was able to install it within an hour all on my own. NO WAY could I have done this without all the trouble you two went through. THANK YOU!!
That's so awesome! Thank you for the comment I'm glad it helped you out.
And even today you helped me out immensely. Was able to do this solo in about 35 min because you guys walked me through it!!!
I genuinely cannot thank y’all enough for this video!!! We just installed the Smittybilt Overlander XL Gen2 and your video made what would of been a miserable process extremely straight forward! The instructions it came with are completely useless and there really aren’t any other videos out there doing a full install process from start to finish like this. Thank y’all!
Good supportive partner at 17:10, getting ready to have my wife help me put our rtt on, good to see the proper form. Cheers.
Your video was not only HILARIOUS but SOOOOO helpful! We didn't even use the instructions, because we thought we didn't have them, and found them in one of the bags at the very end. My husband was also very upset we stopped the video too early when putting the mounting brackets on, as he lost the opportunity to "support" me while I screwed the brackets on 😂. 10/10 on your video, thank you so much!
Just got my smittybilt XL today, I HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM WITH THE CLEARANCE ISSUE WITH THE FACTORY BARS!!! I have a 2015 Subaru Outback with factory bars, the bars sit so low and the vertical bars are so big and awkward I can barely get a wrench to tighten the nuts on the clamp. It took me 5 hours tonight to install all the clamps because they would move literally a centimeter each turn. If i got aftermarket bars im sure it would be much better but I honestly don't know how im gonna get the tent off because it takes so dang long. Im glad someone else is feeling my pain.
I also had to hammer the bolts into the slide plate because the bolts would turn with the nuts and the top of the bolt would not fit into my slide plates.
Best installation video for this on UA-cam. Thank you!
Holy cow. The instructions really are terrible 😂😂 thank you for this video. Life saver.
Great video...excellent team work!
We did 3 months and 10k miles in Australia in a smaller Adventure Kings version of this on a Toyota Prado. It was already attached and setup instructions were long gone. Biggest problem was figuring the right placement of the canopy supports. On the 1st leg of our adventure we spent four very wet days ìn the Daintree Rainforest. Yeah I know...Rainforest, but it rained more than usual that time, because they actually closed the Ferry, that never stops running we were told, for 24hrs. We had to find a dry area to let the mattress dry out. Seemed everywhere we traveled, even to Ularu, Ayers Rock, the rain followed us. One store in the middle of The Outback closed for the rain so people could enjoy it. Yeah...its that hot and dry in January there.
But, after 23 years with Uncle Sam, in two different services, I have to say this was one of my top ten life experiences and I would not trade it for anything.
I finally broke down and ordered the XL for my suburban. I hoped to mount it where it opened over the back so I could get an annex later, but it sticks out a foot on each side. Looks like an airplane with its wings slightly chopped. I don't believe its a good way to mount it and the other way the cross supports are flimsy. I even got extra supports from another factory roof rack, but the attaching points for all the cross supports are plastic.
I've seen an entire roof rack lieing on the side of the road that had a sheet of plywood on it in North Texas...constant 40mph winds there. So I was very concerned and interested in the stability of yours being attached only to the crossbars and driving interstate or highway speeds with an additional headwind.
I see you have already migrated yours to a trailer, but I'm curious how this affected your original setup before the migration.
Love the video...Thank you!
I just picked up the gen 2 xL. If i did not find your video I probably would’ve been a lot more irritated haha. Appreciate the help amazing video and step by step what’s needed to be done. Seen at least 6 other videos and non are as informative as you guys. Enjoy yourselves. You’ve helped me get more excited about beach camping in Oregon this upcoming weekend for mrs. Labor Day birthday, should be fun. Besides the 10hour drive. Safe travels and enjoy the rest of the year. 👍🏼
I found if you install the the rails on to your rack first, leave everything loose, then line the tent up I feel that will be less heavy lifting and sliding around. Not tearing the video down by no means. Awesome job thank you for all your pointers!!!
The instructions were so hard to follow so thank you for your video it helped so much 😊
THANK YOU for showing the veranda install!! I couldn't find ANY videos or instructions on this and I ended up doing it wrong the first couple times. Seems like common sense once you finally do it right! Much appreciated for the instructionional. It is still a pain in the a** to set up every time because those bungies are so tight
Yes! I still feel like that's the one part the set up that gives us the most trouble. I'm glad this helped you out. God bless!
@@journey2asimplelife609 I do t get the veranda setup!! Do you do it from the inside?? Do you put the poles together , the u piece first? Do you assemble it inside?? I don’t get it
Hey thanks for the vid, I’m thinking of upgrading from regular tent to overlanding but wasn’t sure because of don’t know what’s involved. Again thank you, now I can move forward on purchasing my rooftop tent ⛺️
Thank you! I can't come close to estimating how much time and aggravation you two saved me. Much appreciated!
You prolly dont give a shit but does anybody know a method to log back into an Instagram account..?
I somehow forgot my account password. I love any tricks you can offer me
@Hayes Elisha Instablaster ;)
@Finley Eugene i really appreciate your reply. I found the site thru google and im waiting for the hacking stuff now.
Looks like it's gonna take a while so I will get back to you later with my results.
@Finley Eugene It worked and I finally got access to my account again. I'm so happy!
Thanks so much, you saved my account!
@Hayes Elisha you are welcome =)
Thank you two for such an informative presentation. You're UA-cam video provided more than enough direction in the unboxing and installation of my Smittybilt XL. I literally just now finishing installing mine on a custome build ofroad, travel/camping trailer. Threw out the instructions as soon as it was mentioned on your video. Also it was informative enough to get the job done all by myself. Great job.
I have a SmittyBilt 2983 rooftop tent roof, and a Chevy Tahoe. I went to my local Ace store and bought shorter SS bolts.(two different lengths) Worked better. You will scar your roof with those. Nice hand placement by the way.
Arizona here
Thank you so much! Your video save us hours on our installation.
You're welcome! Our video wasn't the shortest, but we wanted to be real and thorough as possible to help others out.
I have no clue why but when the music kicked in at 1:18 I laughed so hard
Great video. Real world experience is always better than factory installs. You guys make a fun team to watch. Thanks for the info
17:16 I'm dead......you guys are so funny and awesome. I laughed so hard at that segment 🤣
Thanks for the feedback video. After watching you climb all over the tailgate and bed rails trying to close this tent up, I'm positive it's not for me. I'm getting way too old for those shenanigans anymore. Think I'll buy a Hiker trailer instead.
Haha I hear you on that.
We also put ours on a suburban, you are right about the suburban rails. Took forever to screw in. I ended up replacing with wing nuts...much easier.
Nice teamwork. Really liked your honest commentary on the setup. I am looking at installing a Roofnest Condor XL. Your tent appears a lot larger making me second guess my Roofnest purchase.
Great to see that you are such a great couple. Liked the part where you showed what it looks like fitting it on the roof. Have you noticed how many times you mentioned that the instructions are crap? That was a bit overboard though but nothing personal.
Yeah I noticed! No offence taken. I think in the moment it was so frustrating I may have said it to many times
Well done. Thanks for this video. It helped me out, the instructions are crap.
Great job
In the Smittybilt Rooftop Tent Owners Manual it’s says “It is recommended to season your tent before your first trip.” Did you go through the process of taking a hose and wet down the rooftop tent 3 times before using it?
Great video could you guys do a follow up video with how its working for you so fare?
Will do soon
@@journey2asimplelife609any update??
Please let me know if the manufactur crossbars don’t break... I have an old Ford Explorer and my smitty tent arrived yesterday ⛺️ I’m exited but I’m not sure if I really need new crossbar..thank you for your video and help🙏🏼
So far so good, I'm not 100% on it just yet give me another week in it and I'll get back with you
CulverFamilyOutdoors sounds great 👍 thank you for you fast answering
Yes, that was my question also. I was told my factory bars won’t hold
@@mcquade4811 so far they are holding, i did have to replace the bolts with shorter ones because the low profile factory cross bars sit so low to the roof of my suburban the bolts were hiting the roof we got inside the tent. Follow up video soon!
Thx guys.
You can saw those mounting screws once you loosely fit the nuts
I’ve been running this tent on my stock 4 runner cross bars and it’s a little noisy but it has no problems
Great video. Thanks you two.
Thanks for the video. I installed mine in under an hour thanks to you all letting me know where the problem areas where. I too am wondering if 3 crossbars are needed.
In still only using 2 crossbars, no problems so far.
Awesome video! It really helped a lot, so thank you!
Looks like I’m a bit late on this one, but I can’t find an answer anywhere else. What is the width between the rails that bolt onto the crossbars? I need to figure out if I can even install this on my factory rack and I can’t seem to find a measurement for the minimum crossbar width this tent needs.
Smittybilt makes quality and affordable stuff but...they need to fire their tech writer. Nice video. 👍
this was a life saver!!!
Thank you! I'm so glad it helped.
How do you know how far to space your cross bars? It seems to be based off of one's own judgement. You wouldn't want them too close together or else someone who sleeps too close to one edge will bend that edge of the tent base. You also wouldn't want them too far apart for someone who sleeps in the middle or else the tent will sag in the middle. ?
I know this is stupid but those supports bars for the front do you need to take them out everytime? or you can leave it there?
We put ours on today, what are your guys’ thoughts on needing 3 crossbars? We only have two, and most people only have two, but the instructions say you need 3 for the xl version.
Yeah my instructions did say you need 3 bars but I'm only using 2 for now. I'm honestly just trying to see if it's possible to use this tent with my factory rack and bars. Will see if it holds over the next couple weeks. I'll post a follow up soon.
@@journey2asimplelife609 ours broke the factory bar after a summer of use and made a pig on the exterior of our vehicle roof from rubbing . :( we got a new one fabricated which should last for ever now
Hey guys, I finished installing our XL last night and the kids are out beta testing it tonight. Question, though, @29:05 up top, where do those aluminum poles that are part of the rain fly attach to? Someone please rewrite the instruction manual!
Those just slide into little pockets on the tent. It's so the rain fly can be removable so you can use the skylight
@@journey2asimplelife609 Gotcha, thanks for the quick reply. We're going to test it out on the beach this weekend.
How is it as far as noise when you're driving? I notice wind howling at 65-75mph, so I wonder if a really big wind deflector will help things. Thanks again for the informative video
Wind was minimal when on the suburban, we have it on a trailer now.
So amazing
Great stuff!
Excellent tutorial. Thank you guys.
How do you tell if it's the newer model?
I bought mine from a dealer and I just asked him to make sure it was the newer model. That's why I didnt buy it off amazon i couldn't figure out any differences in part numbers
How well does it hold up in a rain shower? Does it leak?
Do yall have the gen 1 or gen 2? Looks like it might be the gen 2 We have the XL as well and on our last trip the front canopy collapsed due to rain pooling in that area. I see on this version there are 3 supporting bars over that area, Interesting. We ended up having perform make shift repairs to finish our trip!
Yes we have gen 2
Any chance you could send some pics on how the shoe bag attaches? I want to see if it'll work with my tepui as theirs is like $80..
How did the stock roof rack hold up??
Any issues with the crease portion of the tent dipping under pressure? I unfolded the tent and when I went to get in, the crease portion began to sink.. Any reason why??
I know this question was asked a few times, I noticed it wasn't answered. The 3 bars you installed inside do those have to come off before you close it back up? or can they stay in place?
Had anyone put this on their Jeep Cherokee trail hawk? I like just ordered one this exact size but grey and now I’m worried.
Do you have to take the poles in side iff when u out it down?
How far below the bottom of the tent floor do the rails hang. Are the 1" tall?
lol at 17:35. Nice tent.
I am worried the brackets won't go over my bars. My bars are 3 inches wide and 1.5 inches tall. Will the brackets work with this type of bar? Thanks for your help!!
Hey Garret, the factory brackets are 4inches wide from bolt hole to bolt hole. Hope that helps
I would say you will have exactly 3.5 inches between the bolts so it will be tight squeeze but it should work.
As for the hight of your bar your good. I'm pretty confident this will work for you!
CulverFamilyOutdoors awesome! Thank you for the information! I think this is my pick of tents!! Seems pretty well built but yet still affordable.
HI got a question, whats support the flip down side ... the ladder? Thx
Yes the ladder. I was worried about that at first but its solid!
Great video, has the factory roof rack held up?? We have a Nissan Armada with similar roof rack. I'm having a hard time finding aftermarket upgraded cross bars, if you can let me know, thanks!!
The factory crossbars on our suburban held up but the problem was they sit to low so the bolts from the tent clamps would press into the roof of the car while when you put wieght in the tent. We ended up mounting the tent on a trailer recently. I would recommend get new crossbars or a roof rack that will support the weight better if can
@@journey2asimplelife609 thank you for the quick reply!! Going to an aftermarket shop today, I wonder if cutting the screws shorter would work
@@veteransforequality7347 i think it would work and that is what I was going to try but then we decided to build a camping trailer and use that instead
@@journey2asimplelife609 got it, but held on well when you drove it right? Very sorry last question
@@veteransforequality7347 oh yeah it held on great when I was driving, no problems there.
How thick is the mattress if you don’t mind me asking?
It’s like 2.5” memory foam
Tepui bought by Thule (Sweden) over all much better quality Ladder, Cover ect....
How much is this tent? And what website? Thanks
www.4wheelparts.com/p/smittybilt-overlander-xl-roof-top-tent-coyote-tan-2883/_/R-DSBP-2883
Who the heck has these in stock these days?
Local dealers is the best bet right now, anything todo with camping or outdoors stuff seems to be sold out everywhere
@@journey2asimplelife609 I'm trying, but they're on backorder. Great video, by the way! Especially the part where you point out the hole in her pants, LOL
Hlow idol morning payakap nman po
Thank you! The instructions are useless
Made in China
Yall arent very mechanically inclined i see lol
👍
It's so annoying how the wife doesn't shut her mouth and is always trying to speak over the husband. Let the man speak, I'm pretty sure the wife wouldn't be able to even open the box without her man's help. Put a sock in it wife!
First off, don’t disrespect my wife like that!
Second- she’s not talking over me, but helping explain and joining in on our experience of putting it together.
And Third- she might be tiny, but is super strong and could probably put lift your big mouth self. You don’t know what you’re taking about- so take your sock and shove it down your throat!
You obviously came to watch our video because you’re stupid enough to need the help- so take the help and keep your mouth shut!
@@journey2asimplelife609sorry man, no pun intended.
After hours of research, this is by far the best information on the Smittybilt overlander XL. How did it work out on the factory roof crossbars? I am looking to do the same thing with my Expedition
Did your roof rack break yet?
14:06 I would have swapped those bolts for shorter ones. I hope they haven’t gouged down into your roof under the weight when you guys climbed it. 😬
This helped me a lot thank you
Awesome video really appreciate the full process shown! If i were looking at getting a smittybilt rooftop tent for 2 people, would you recommend going with the XL still? For only $100 more you get a lot of sleeping room and features with the XL as opposed to the standard. Let me know what you think! Happy camping
Absolutely go for the XL! The amount of room between the the 2 models is substantial! The smaller one is way smaller in person that it looks in photos or video
Thank you very.... I struggled for two days sticking things here and there and was close, but no go.... there's longer support like the three that you place in the entrance that I just stuck on the inside for support... that's all I could think of.... but really, really appreciate you both
Nice to meet you. This is Seoul South Korea.
I saw the video well.
Thank you for watching nice to meet yoy.
Without this video I would have died on the inside and probably out. Thank you guys for making my project easier. 10 out of 10
A truly enjoyable, and very helpful Video on assembling,installing and setting up this Tent. Thank you!
On that specific tent, what is the measurement from the middle of the bottom track to the middle of the other bottom track? I'd like to see if it would fit my bed rack. Thanks!
Thank y’all so much! Saved me so much time, those directions aren’t worth anything! Just go to this video. Thanks again!
Thank you for posting this video. very helpful
I think the plastic washers on ladder don't go together but one on each side
Factory cross bars hold up ? You only have two right?
What’d y’all do when the ladder fell off?
Ever figure out what the longer pole is for?
I love the video!! Thank you!
Well this was adorable.
Just got this tent, your video was VERY helpful. One question- Do you have to take the vestibule poles out completely to pack it away? I have not set it up yet, I was a little intimidated before watching your video. Thanks- Lee from Idaho.
Great video. It helped me decide on the overlander xl. Mine should be here tmmrw. I’m going to instal it on a Tahoe with factory crossbars. How are your crossbars holding up as of late.
The crossbars held up just fine, the biggest problem with the factory bars is because they sit so low to the roof of your vehicle, the bolts of the tent will make contact with your roof when you put weight inside the tent, your options are either go with shorter bolts for your clamps or get different bars. I recently put mine on a trailer. Thanks for the comment
That's assuming the Tahoe and suburban crossbars are the same height, you may or may not have the same problem
CulverFamilyOutdoors I saw that in you comments and video. My plan is to cut the bolts before instal. Thanks for the response.
@@journey2asimplelife609 Would another solution be to put in some squares of carpet under the bars (or some other non-scratching spacer) to shorten the mount bolts? Just thinking aloud.
What would cross bars would your recommend?
Getting the Gen2 XL with annex. Not only do I know what to expect for setup of the tent but also the type of roof rack I should get. Thanks for this!
So you put this on the factory roof rack? I thought those are only rated for like 150lbs. I have this same tent and was thinking it's going to be way too heavy for my factory rack (fully loaded). Did you have any problems with the factory cross bars bending?
Yeah we did put it in the factory cross bars, mainly wanted to see if it "could be done" it did not hurt the crossbars, however it did flex them enough that the bolts on the tent clamps were making contact with the roof of our Suburban. Since the video we have the tent on a trailer with heavy duty steel crossbars. I definitely recommend upgrading your bars.
@@journey2asimplelife609 Thanks for the response. I'm looking at my options. I might just reinforce the factory cross bars. Thanks for the video.
Thanks for the great video! Helped me set up my tent fast!
you guys look like you'd be fun to camp with!
Best ever dIY guide! Thank you
Thx, this really helped us
How's the tent holding up?
Holding up good. Had it in 40 mph winds the other day
y'all weren't kidding about those instructions, haha. We just got ours yesterday and set it up in the living room for the kids and dogs to play in it. We found some aluminum shards inside ours though, had to clean those out... Otherwise, great looking tent for the price! We look forward to escaping to the woods. Cheers Culver family
MADE IN CHINA