Your corner poles goes horizontally to keep water from puddling. There's a slot designed for one end of the pole to be inserted on the base where the boot bags were attached. Once inserted in the grommet you swing up the pole to base on fold out you should see a sewn in slot with a fitting behind it. The base of pole was designed to be inserted here, it will be a tight fit but it's designed to keep the top taunt so no puddling of rain water. So many think of the annex as a tent and place the poles vertically.
That is a serious design flaw if that was done on purpose. We tried it for 24 hours on one trip and failed miserably. It is so tight it was starting to pull the stitching apart. We have been able to keep the roof slanted correctly by adjusting the height of the pole when placed vertically.
Great video! Just wondering if the annex doors can also serve as an awning if not in use? Seems like the bottom corners of the doors has gromet holes in it that can be used for poles if extended...
Thank you for your video, we just got out Alpha 2 today. We only looked in the box and have not opened it or installed it yet. Is the annex shipped in the tent or is it in a different box? If you remove everything from the tent including mattress is it a lot lighter to install?
We purchased them separately but I would think they should be in a separate box. There really isn’t anything you can remove from the tent other than the mattress. We were able to get the tent in place with 2 people as long as you are careful.
Just received same no weld rack kit as you. Trying to plan the same build on a 5x8 landscape trailer. I was planning on having the tent at 72 inches. Was there a reason you went lower with yours? Also how does it drive with the weight high up this was another thing I was worried about. Thanks Chris from NJ
We ended up setting the tent height just high enough to slide our bikes underneath. I wanted the tent to be as low as possible so the trailer wasn’t too top heavy. We also had to make sure it was high enough so the top rack cleared the top of the truck. We designed the top rack to transport kayaks above the tent but it turned out to be the perfect height and placement for the awning. The trailer drives great and hasn’t been an issue.
I bought both tent and annex and still waiting on them to come in. Do you think it is possible to fold the annex up into the tent to make a quicker set up time or will that not work? I plan on always using the annex and would be great if I didn’t have to unzip it.
You have to slide the tent into the back channels before you zip it on which means it's not going to work. Our tent is pretty tight so I don't like to add anything extra inside when folding it down. If you do figure out a way let us know!
I totally agree with you regarding the quick setup. We only purchased so our large old puppy to have a place to sleep at night. We had been setting up a separate tent for him which has problems of its own. We usually camp in one spot for 3-5 days so its not too bad.
@@ExploreTrekAdventure I have a softopper on my truck. If I get a RTT it will be either something like this or the falcon xl for fast setup. Our 3 dogs can sleep inside the softopper underneath on their dog beds. That's IF I get a RTT. I mat just get the DAC2 rent add on for softopper, are you familiar with those? If that's the case, we will all squeeze in there. I have a 6 foot 4 inch bed plus 2 more feet from tailgate down it would gives us lots of space.
Not familiar with the Softopper products but sounds like a unique option. Having 6+ feet will give you lots of space. Our puppy is approaching the end of his run so we are trying to just keep him comfortable but still do a little camping before its time.
Steel on Target, you obviously have never camped with a RTT WITH an Annex? We love ours, I can set it up in less than 5 minutes and we have a warm, dry large area for a small living room and kitchen set up as well as additional sleeping space, if needed for a large pup or guest. We just spent four days in our RTT and Annex, two full days of which in an almost non-stop pouring rain and stayed completely warm and dry in cold weather, and happy. On grid, $50 heater warms annex and rtt all day and night. Off-grid, propane indoor safe heater in Annex hooked to 20lb LP tank (ours on roof rack, runs for many days). An Annex is a literal game changer. You slip a beaded side into a track, and zip one zipper around three sides of the tent. Boom! Done! With an Annex you then have a downstairs and upstairs with storage for all your gear close at hand and protected from the elements and prying eyes. If your doing a quick trip, or don't have a few additional minutes in your busy schedule to deploy your Annex, don't. Not complicated. Simple.
Your corner poles goes horizontally to keep water from puddling. There's a slot designed for one end of the pole to be inserted on the base where the boot bags were attached. Once inserted in the grommet you swing up the pole to base on fold out you should see a sewn in slot with a fitting behind it. The base of pole was designed to be inserted here, it will be a tight fit but it's designed to keep the top taunt so no puddling of rain water. So many think of the annex as a tent and place the poles vertically.
That is a serious design flaw if that was done on purpose. We tried it for 24 hours on one trip and failed miserably. It is so tight it was starting to pull the stitching apart. We have been able to keep the roof slanted correctly by adjusting the height of the pole when placed vertically.
Great video. Just watched: ua-cam.com/video/gBa91ONfb6w/v-deo.html. They talk about taking it off the track to stretch the annex.
oh nice! Ours just arrived last week but between rain & scheduling we just haven't had a chance to set it up yet. Can't wait, great video! -Josh
Exciting! Annex rooms for everyone!
@@ExploreTrekAdventure lol, yep
The clearance issue...Charlie @ TuffStuff told me as long as I had 70" of clearance we'd be good, fingers crossed I think we're @ 70-72"
Ya I think you will be fine. Worse case is a little extra material at the bottom.
@@ExploreTrekAdventure 😬🤞
Which way did you put your support poles? Did you put the smaller diameter end with the adjustment knob at the top or the bottom?
We ended up putting the small end at the top and put the black stoppers on the bottom. 🤷😂
@@ExploreTrekAdventure 🤣🤦🤷
Great tutorial ty
Glad it was helpful. 😀
Great video! Just wondering if the annex doors can also serve as an awning if not in use? Seems like the bottom corners of the doors has gromet holes in it that can be used for poles if extended...
The annex didn’t come with extra poles but it should work. If there were trees nearby you could tie up the doors with a bit of rope.
There is a video by overland_AZ that demonstrates using it as an awning.
Thank you for your video, we just got out Alpha 2 today. We only looked in the box and have not opened it or installed it yet. Is the annex shipped in the tent or is it in a different box? If you remove everything from the tent including mattress is it a lot lighter to install?
We purchased them separately but I would think they should be in a separate box. There really isn’t anything you can remove from the tent other than the mattress. We were able to get the tent in place with 2 people as long as you are careful.
Just received same no weld rack kit as you. Trying to plan the same build on a 5x8 landscape trailer. I was planning on having the tent at 72 inches. Was there a reason you went lower with yours? Also how does it drive with the weight high up this was another thing I was worried about. Thanks Chris from NJ
We ended up setting the tent height just high enough to slide our bikes underneath. I wanted the tent to be as low as possible so the trailer wasn’t too top heavy. We also had to make sure it was high enough so the top rack cleared the top of the truck. We designed the top rack to transport kayaks above the tent but it turned out to be the perfect height and placement for the awning. The trailer drives great and hasn’t been an issue.
I bought both tent and annex and still waiting on them to come in. Do you think it is possible to fold the annex up into the tent to make a quicker set up time or will that not work? I plan on always using the annex and would be great if I didn’t have to unzip it.
You have to slide the tent into the back channels before you zip it on which means it's not going to work. Our tent is pretty tight so I don't like to add anything extra inside when folding it down. If you do figure out a way let us know!
Great way to make a quick set up and tear down tent into another nightmare roof top tent that negates the quick set up benefits
I totally agree with you regarding the quick setup. We only purchased so our large old puppy to have a place to sleep at night. We had been setting up a separate tent for him which has problems of its own. We usually camp in one spot for 3-5 days so its not too bad.
@@ExploreTrekAdventure I have a softopper on my truck. If I get a RTT it will be either something like this or the falcon xl for fast setup. Our 3 dogs can sleep inside the softopper underneath on their dog beds. That's IF I get a RTT. I mat just get the DAC2 rent add on for softopper, are you familiar with those? If that's the case, we will all squeeze in there. I have a 6 foot 4 inch bed plus 2 more feet from tailgate down it would gives us lots of space.
@@ExploreTrekAdventure what I DO like about this is maybe having the heater downstairs on a table nice and safe.
Not familiar with the Softopper products but sounds like a unique option. Having 6+ feet will give you lots of space. Our puppy is approaching the end of his run so we are trying to just keep him comfortable but still do a little camping before its time.
Steel on Target, you obviously have never camped with a RTT WITH an Annex? We love ours, I can set it up in less than 5 minutes and we have a warm, dry large area for a small living room and kitchen set up as well as additional sleeping space, if needed for a large pup or guest. We just spent four days in our RTT and Annex, two full days of which in an almost non-stop pouring rain and stayed completely warm and dry in cold weather, and happy. On grid, $50 heater warms annex and rtt all day and night. Off-grid, propane indoor safe heater in Annex hooked to 20lb LP tank (ours on roof rack, runs for many days). An Annex is a literal game changer. You slip a beaded side into a track, and zip one zipper around three sides of the tent. Boom! Done! With an Annex you then have a downstairs and upstairs with storage for all your gear close at hand and protected from the elements and prying eyes. If your doing a quick trip, or don't have a few additional minutes in your busy schedule to deploy your Annex, don't. Not complicated. Simple.