That was one of the best reviews I’ve ever seen. You did a fantastic job and I thank you for taking the time to do it. I’m in the market for a RTT and have been considering the SmittyBilt. You’re insights and honest explanations of your experiences are very valuable for people like me to make a well informed purchase. You seemed so comfortable doing that review and have a talent for it. Thank you again and keep up the RUclips videos.
Thank you so much, Spencer! You made my day. Helping folks out by sharing our experiences with products is one of our goals for this channel. This is the only RTT we've ever had. We bought it sight unseen because there weren't any within a day's driving distance to look at, of any brand. At that time there weren't any video reviews of the Smittybilt RTT online either so we thought we'd do what we can to help others who are in the same boat. We appreciate your time, comments and encouragement.
Very well done review! After watching your video’s I found the exact tent for sale on Facebook Marketplace in my area and got a great deal. With literally no experience or knowledge of how a Smittybilt RTT works, I relied on your thorough explanation of every thing this tent has and can do! Thank you very much!!
You're welcome. Right now the price of the standard Smittybilt Overlander RTT on Amazon is lowest I've seen it, at around $730... amzn.to/2HSjbtW We paid $850 for the same tent 3 years ago.
Very good question about replacement parts for a custom and not so cheap purchase that you want to enjoye.. come on Smittybilt replacement parts need to be available and on your site for your customers
Well now you both have done it. We picked up our Smittybilt tent with the Smittybilt trailer. Were going to get a head start on the herculiner now while it's new. :)
You're welcome. I hope you have many wonderful adventures in your rooftop tent. We had never seen one in the wild when we bought ours. We could only hope that it would work well for us. Fortunately, it has. :)
Thanks for the review, I have not seen a bad review yet on the Smittybilt but it is great to know what the shortcomings are, which are not many at all, especially considering the price. One always wonders regarding reviews not knowing how the user treats the product, and I have yet to see any product no matter how good, that someone does not give a bad rating, go figure. Im hoping that I can get one before winter comes this year and before the price goes up! Look forward to more videos.
The straps which hold down the cover aren't particularly suited for dealing with weather. Had one fail on my last trip. Had to use tie-down strap to make it through the trip.
Thank you for your review. I have just purchased an SB XL and am currently finishing my 4X6 trailer on which to mount the tent. One element of recommended set up procedure that no one I've run across yet on RUclips has addressed and that is wetting down the tent before first use and letting it dry in order for the fabric and seams to properly set in place (so to speak). Did you do this? Like I already wrote, no one has mentioned that procedure.
Would it be possible to leave a one inch mattress topper inside when folded and still properly fold and put on travel cover? I've heard no way with a two inch topper... Thanks for the reviews and other great content!
Hello Richard. Hmmmm. A down alternative mattress topper would fold okay and probably compress well enough to work. The concern with a memory foam mattress topper would be its thickness at the fold and its ability to fold/compress at at the hinge. You might consider replacing the rtt mattress completely with a 2" or 2.5" memory foam mattress (as long as it folds over on itself easily).
I purchased a WalMart 1.5" memory foam mattress topper as extra padding. Worked great on our 9-day trip and compressed nicely. Added insulation and we slept great with temps in the low 30s with our canvas and flannel 25 degree bags.
Thank you. No, we haven't run a heater in the RTT. We looked at the Propex heater, but have not made a decision to buy one. www.dasmule.com/propex-hs2000-blown-air-space-heater/
Looking forward to hearing which one you choose. Pretty sure you'll have a blast using either one. Been thinkin' about your Mr. Buddy question. Bill and I completely fill up the little RTT. There is about a foot of space at the door end where we stow shoes and jackets. No room for a Mr. Buddy for us.If only one person is in the tent there will be room for a little Mr. Buddy. We have seen a YT video where a gentleman puts his M. Buddy on a cookie sheet in his RTT... for himself and two calm medium sized dogs.
hello and thank you for the video's.. I just got my smittybuilt tent and after installing it to my roof top i got inside and the part that hangs over the edge bowed down. Have you ever seen the floor of yours bow down on the ladder side? This concerned me right away and think i need to somehow reinforce the seam on the floor. I have my mounting bars going the full width of the tent and not how you have. I think that extra 3 inches or so could help support the ladder side floor.
Hello, Seth. Thank you for watching our videos. We haven't experienced the floor on the ladder side bowing down. However, we have some ideas that may help. When we got our tent and used the holes that were already in the ladder, the ladder kicked out pretty far when extended. Bill slid the ladder into a position directly under the tent, so the ladder would be in position to support the tent... like a leg. Then he drilled holes in the ladder so that the pins would pop into place in the new supporting position. Another thought... If your tent is way high and the ladder doesn't completely touch the ground when extended. Smittybilt makes an extension for the ladder.
Thank you for the reply. actually in just installed onto my Thule 53" aero bars on a Chrysler 200 (Small car) i have the smittybuilt aluminum rails installed the width of the tent so i could install on my car setup. Problem is when i open the tent and climb in the 4 foot area hanging over the side of the vehicle bowed in the center due to the weight. I'm approx 260LBS so possibly that is the issue. I need to add additional support to the middle hinged section i guess. I think because all my weight was in the center it caused the base to flex (bow) since there is no support in that area.
Seth, we went out and took the cover off of our tent and took a look. There are two areas of support for the floor of the tent when it folds out. One is the ladder. The other is the joint where the floor sections meet. Where they meet, there is a tongue and groove. Here's a picture of the tongue part: www.wobblyotteroutdoors.com/images/yt-comment-pics/smittybilt-tent-top-hinge-side_spine_432_1000w.jpg Here's a picture of the groove part: www.wobblyotteroutdoors.com/images/yt-comment-pics/smittybilt-tent-bottom-hinge-side-groove_456_1000w.jpg If the tongue doesn't fit firmly into the groove, you may need to adjust the tent hinges so that they do. If this doesn't fix the bow, then the structural integrity of the floor may be broken. One of our family members who is a big guy too has been in our tent and now has his own Overlander tent, and we haven't seen the floor bow on either of them. The tent is supposed to support much more weight than you weigh.
Hmmm maybe i didn't joint the 2 floors together.. I thought i pulled the ladder side down flush with the part mounted to the roof but maybe during my excitement of just trying the tent out for the first time i missed that tongue and groove section that needs to be mated.. I did noticed you have the stock aluminum mounting brackets that come with the tent going in the opposite direction I do. I like that additional overhang of approx 3" to support the base of the portion that overhangs so will try to fabricate something like that... but based on what you said i think maybe i didn't fully mate the 2 floor sections together before getting in.. Thank you very much for all your help!!!!!
Hello, John. Yes, the bungees that hook up to the side walls of the inside of the tent are only put in place before closing it. They assist in pulling the walls toward the inside while closing the tent.
So you’ve changed the strap, you’re planning to change the straps inside tent, you’ve found a better way to feel comfortable sleeping on the mattress cause you feel bad only with the mattress, you had to spray it for waterproof after not even a year, poor management because they don’t specify where to buy the parts or the cost of it, but afterall you will buy it again and you’ve been happy with it LOL
Well, yeah. As it turns out, we came up with a different solution and we haven't replaced any of the straps. See ruclips.net/video/wSk-R-2QwJk/видео.html. We supplement the mattress with air mattresses that we carry anyway as part of our backpacking kit. We spray the tent and seal the seams as normal maintenance. As a result, we haven't had any serious leaks in three years. of use. The lack of a public parts list is annoying but hardly worth paying twice the price to another company.
Hi Eric. It is a Morris Mule trail grade trailer. They are made in Alabama. The trailer comes with both a high rack and a low rack. The tent is on the high rack which also allows the top trailer doors to open fully. This tent fits the high rack without customization. Morris Mule trailer website: morrismule.com
Thanks, just looking around now. This is all new to me. I'm looking for something to go camping with behind a Jeep Wrangler. After looking here I came across the Smittybilt Scout trailer. Did you know of that one when you got your Mule? If so, what made you go with the Mule instead?
+Eric Frederich... No sir, we didn't know about the Smittybilt Scout when we bought our trailer. We really like how the top doors on the Morris Mule open out on the sides like table space. The Morris Mule is very well built. We are happy with it and haven't seen anything we like better so far.
Hi ya, Darrell. That's George! George is a Morris Mule trailer, circa 2014. It's an amazing trailer and built like a tank. This link will take you to the Morris Mule website: morrismule.com
Awww. They would make perfect little pillows. Well, except for that side of your face that would be a little drier than the other after a nights sleep. Ha.
Hello. Yes we have replacement parts and let me first Thank you so much for buying our ... wait what? you said they charge by the letter? oh.... *deletes* Hello Yes we have replacement parts
Heh, Smittybilt aren't know for their customer service. What kind of goof would think a reply of "Yes, we have those." and not answering the obvious question of how to get them would be sufficient?
That was one of the best reviews I’ve ever seen. You did a fantastic job and I thank you for taking the time to do it. I’m in the market for a RTT and have been considering the SmittyBilt. You’re insights and honest explanations of your experiences are very valuable for people like me to make a well informed purchase. You seemed so comfortable doing that review and have a talent for it. Thank you again and keep up the RUclips videos.
Thank you so much, Spencer! You made my day. Helping folks out by sharing our experiences with products is one of our goals for this channel. This is the only RTT we've ever had. We bought it sight unseen because there weren't any within a day's driving distance to look at, of any brand. At that time there weren't any video reviews of the Smittybilt RTT online either so we thought we'd do what we can to help others who are in the same boat. We appreciate your time, comments and encouragement.
Very well done review! After watching your video’s I found the exact tent for sale on Facebook Marketplace in my area and got a great deal. With literally no experience or knowledge of how a Smittybilt RTT works, I relied on your thorough explanation of every thing this tent has and can do! Thank you very much!!
Thank you, Darren. I hope you enjoy the Smittybilt RTT as much as we have.
I am researching a Smittybilt tent to possibly purchase. Thank you for the information!
You're welcome. Right now the price of the standard Smittybilt Overlander RTT on Amazon is lowest I've seen it, at around $730... amzn.to/2HSjbtW
We paid $850 for the same tent 3 years ago.
I ordered one! A mechanic at work asked if I was worried about the part that folds out sagging down, being that the ladder is the only support.
Hope you enjoy the RTT as much as we do. We haven't had issues with the tent sagging/tipping.
...There is a tongue in groove joint below the hinge where the two parts of the floor meet. This also provides support.
Thanks for the honest review... will be finishing my over landing trailer soon and will choose between the smittybilt and tepui rtt
+Jeff M ... You're welcome, Jeff. That's so cool that you're building your own trailer!
Very good question about replacement parts for a custom and not so cheap purchase that you want to enjoye.. come on Smittybilt replacement parts need to be available and on your site for your customers
Good review. I just ordered the tent, the lashing straps, the canvas drop cloth, and the dehumidifier.
Thank you. Wow! That's great.
Well now you both have done it. We picked up our Smittybilt tent with the Smittybilt trailer. Were going to get a head start on the herculiner now while it's new. :)
LOL. Love it! That's so cool. Ya'll are definitely going the total immersion route. Wishing you many happy trails.
thank you for your very thorough review I love and helped convince to purchase my own rooftop tent
You're welcome. I hope you have many wonderful adventures in your rooftop tent. We had never seen one in the wild when we bought ours. We could only hope that it would work well for us. Fortunately, it has. :)
Thanks for the review, I have not seen a bad review yet on the Smittybilt but it is great to know what the shortcomings are, which are not many at all, especially considering the price. One always wonders regarding reviews not knowing how the user treats the product, and I have yet to see any product no matter how good, that someone does not give a bad rating, go figure. Im hoping that I can get one before winter comes this year and before the price goes up! Look forward to more videos.
+Robert Desrosiers ... You're welcome. Thank you for the thoughtful comments.
The straps which hold down the cover aren't particularly suited for dealing with weather. Had one fail on my last trip. Had to use tie-down strap to make it through the trip.
This is a great review, love the honestly and all the practical advice.
Thank you so much, Kenny! Our 2-year review of the RTT is going up tomorrow morning.
Kenny, our 2-year review of the Smittybilt Overlander RTT, is now live: ruclips.net/video/EBhEe8bdOzc/видео.html
Thank you for your review. I have just purchased an SB XL and am currently finishing my 4X6 trailer on which to mount the tent. One element of recommended set up procedure that no one I've run across yet on RUclips has addressed and that is wetting down the tent before first use and letting it dry in order for the fabric and seams to properly set in place (so to speak). Did you do this? Like I already wrote, no one has mentioned that procedure.
Thank you. Congrats on the RTT. No, we didn't wet the tent down before its first use.
Great review. Thanks! We have ours coming soon and we are very excited.
Thank you kindly and you're welcome. Congrats on your upcoming RTT!
I like your review. Straightforward and informative
Thank you, fogstain.
The dog at 3:06 😂😂
Hi, I was wondering if you had any problems on the ladder when wet from rain or morning dew?
We haven't had any troubles with the ladder being slippery. There are sizable ridges on the top of every rung that make it grippy when wet.
Awesome thorough review...convinced me to buy one....
Cool!
Would it be possible to leave a one inch mattress topper inside when folded and still properly fold and put on travel cover? I've heard no way with a two inch topper... Thanks for the reviews and other great content!
Hello Richard. Hmmmm. A down alternative mattress topper would fold okay and probably compress well enough to work. The concern with a memory foam mattress topper would be its thickness at the fold and its ability to fold/compress at at the hinge. You might consider replacing the rtt mattress completely with a 2" or 2.5" memory foam mattress (as long as it folds over on itself easily).
I purchased a WalMart 1.5" memory foam mattress topper as extra padding. Worked great on our 9-day trip and compressed nicely. Added insulation and we slept great with temps in the low 30s with our canvas and flannel 25 degree bags.
Excellent video. Thanks. Did you ever run a heater, like a Buddy propane heater in the tent?
Thank you. No, we haven't run a heater in the RTT. We looked at the Propex heater, but have not made a decision to buy one. www.dasmule.com/propex-hs2000-blown-air-space-heater/
Wobbly Otter Outdoors , thanks!! Its down to a CVT or Smittybilt😀
Looking forward to hearing which one you choose. Pretty sure you'll have a blast using either one. Been thinkin' about your Mr. Buddy question. Bill and I completely fill up the little RTT. There is about a foot of space at the door end where we stow shoes and jackets. No room for a Mr. Buddy for us.If only one person is in the tent there will be room for a little Mr. Buddy. We have seen a YT video where a gentleman puts his M. Buddy on a cookie sheet in his RTT... for himself and two calm medium sized dogs.
What an excellent review! Thank you.
I don't think you mentioned zippers. Are they YKK? I'm assuming you've had no issues as they were to highlighted?
You're welcome. The zippers work great and are SBS brand. Thank you for watching and the kind words.
hello and thank you for the video's.. I just got my smittybuilt tent and after installing it to my roof top i got inside and the part that hangs over the edge bowed down. Have you ever seen the floor of yours bow down on the ladder side? This concerned me right away and think i need to somehow reinforce the seam on the floor. I have my mounting bars going the full width of the tent and not how you have. I think that extra 3 inches or so could help support the ladder side floor.
Hello, Seth. Thank you for watching our videos. We haven't experienced the floor on the ladder side bowing down. However, we have some ideas that may help. When we got our tent and used the holes that were already in the ladder, the ladder kicked out pretty far when extended. Bill slid the ladder into a position directly under the tent, so the ladder would be in position to support the tent... like a leg. Then he drilled holes in the ladder so that the pins would pop into place in the new supporting position. Another thought... If your tent is way high and the ladder doesn't completely touch the ground when extended. Smittybilt makes an extension for the ladder.
Thank you for the reply. actually in just installed onto my Thule 53" aero bars on a Chrysler 200 (Small car) i have the smittybuilt aluminum rails installed the width of the tent so i could install on my car setup. Problem is when i open the tent and climb in the 4 foot area hanging over the side of the vehicle bowed in the center due to the weight. I'm approx 260LBS so possibly that is the issue. I need to add additional support to the middle hinged section i guess. I think because all my weight was in the center it caused the base to flex (bow) since there is no support in that area.
Seth, we went out and took the cover off of our tent and took a look. There are two areas of support for the floor of the tent when it folds out. One is the ladder. The other is the joint where the floor sections meet. Where they meet, there is a tongue and groove.
Here's a picture of the tongue part: www.wobblyotteroutdoors.com/images/yt-comment-pics/smittybilt-tent-top-hinge-side_spine_432_1000w.jpg
Here's a picture of the groove part: www.wobblyotteroutdoors.com/images/yt-comment-pics/smittybilt-tent-bottom-hinge-side-groove_456_1000w.jpg
If the tongue doesn't fit firmly into the groove, you may need to adjust the tent hinges so that they do.
If this doesn't fix the bow, then the structural integrity of the floor may be broken.
One of our family members who is a big guy too has been in our tent and now has his own Overlander tent, and we haven't seen the floor bow on either of them. The tent is supposed to support much more weight than you weigh.
Hmmm maybe i didn't joint the 2 floors together.. I thought i pulled the ladder side down flush with the part mounted to the roof but maybe during my excitement of just trying the tent out for the first time i missed that tongue and groove section that needs to be mated.. I did noticed you have the stock aluminum mounting brackets that come with the tent going in the opposite direction I do. I like that additional overhang of approx 3" to support the base of the portion that overhangs so will try to fabricate something like that... but based on what you said i think maybe i didn't fully mate the 2 floor sections together before getting in..
Thank you very much for all your help!!!!!
Thank you. Good review... cant wait to get through some more of your videos.
Thank you, J Ad. We sure do appreciate the positive feedback.
Just curios about the bungies on the inside of the tent. Are they only hooked up when in storage or while using? Thank you.
Hello, John. Yes, the bungees that hook up to the side walls of the inside of the tent are only put in place before closing it. They assist in pulling the walls toward the inside while closing the tent.
So you’ve changed the strap, you’re planning to change the straps inside tent, you’ve found a better way to feel comfortable sleeping on the mattress cause you feel bad only with the mattress, you had to spray it for waterproof after not even a year, poor management because they don’t specify where to buy the parts or the cost of it, but afterall you will buy it again and you’ve been happy with it LOL
Well, yeah.
As it turns out, we came up with a different solution and we haven't replaced any of the straps. See ruclips.net/video/wSk-R-2QwJk/видео.html.
We supplement the mattress with air mattresses that we carry anyway as part of our backpacking kit.
We spray the tent and seal the seams as normal maintenance. As a result, we haven't had any serious leaks in three years. of use.
The lack of a public parts list is annoying but hardly worth paying twice the price to another company.
Are you having any problems with the ladder getting stuck?
Hi, Chris. We haven't had any troubles with the ladder sticking. Maybe try some silicone spray lubricant and see if that helps.
1:15 look out for that lion in the background
Eeeee. Lion alert! :)
Are you still using the Nemo Helios shower pls?
Yes.
What kind of trailer is that? Is it custom made or do they make them like that just for the purpose of using a tent on top?
Hi Eric. It is a Morris Mule trail grade trailer. They are made in Alabama. The trailer comes with both a high rack and a low rack. The tent is on the high rack which also allows the top trailer doors to open fully. This tent fits the high rack without customization. Morris Mule trailer website: morrismule.com
Here's a link to our video overview of the trailer: ruclips.net/video/lw58Tjd_Jf0/видео.html
Thanks, just looking around now. This is all new to me. I'm looking for something to go camping with behind a Jeep Wrangler. After looking here I came across the Smittybilt Scout trailer. Did you know of that one when you got your Mule? If so, what made you go with the Mule instead?
+Eric Frederich... No sir, we didn't know about the Smittybilt Scout when we bought our trailer. We really like how the top doors on the Morris Mule open out on the sides like table space. The Morris Mule is very well built. We are happy with it and haven't seen anything we like better so far.
no tent related... but what is the make and model of that trailer???
Hi ya, Darrell. That's George! George is a Morris Mule trailer, circa 2014. It's an amazing trailer and built like a tank.
This link will take you to the Morris Mule website: morrismule.com
Yes, so very. They made amazing trailers!
very helpful video! thank you!
You're welcome, Ben. Thank you for the kind comment and for watching.
Thank You!
You're welcome, Brian. Thank you for watching and commenting.
Already have it In my cart just need to click buy
Awesomeness!
the undead1 me too 👍🍻
Have to keep an eye on the humidity sacks or the 'little people' will have em' for pillows lol
Awww. They would make perfect little pillows. Well, except for that side of your face that would be a little drier than the other after a nights sleep. Ha.
@@wobblyotteroutdoors Haha Wake up with half ya face chapped lol
@@naturallawprinciples Yep! 🤣🙈
You forgot the Birthday Cake lolhehe
Oops... 🎂
my compression straps disintegrated after 3 months
Oh no! Dang it.
Looked like your husband was trying to get you to laugh in the start of the video.. :)
Wow really buddy? 3:06
We've got a POOPER!!!!!
Hello. Yes we have replacement parts and let me first Thank you so much for buying our ... wait what? you said they charge by the letter? oh.... *deletes* Hello Yes we have replacement parts
😂😉
Heh, Smittybilt aren't know for their customer service. What kind of goof would think a reply of "Yes, we have those." and not answering the obvious question of how to get them would be sufficient?
Exactly.
Great review, thanks so much for posting.
Thank you and you're welcome. We will be posting a 2+ year update too... some time.