two questions

what is the cheapest i can get one of those on the top of the xj tent things that will be big enough for a 6'3" guy open but small enough to still fit on the roof with a light bar and rack

and second anyone know how to run a wall plug for the jeep as in i plug my jeep into the wall if i want to run a high powered stereo tv and xbox and not have to worry about the battery, even though im going to run two optimas i like the extra plug in option

bump


anyone????

You could setup your vehicle with a connector like what people use for block heaters, but connect it to a charger/inverter that lugs into a wall socket.

that sounds good i do have a block heater already in could probably use whats already there dont really need a heater in anaheim lol

I assume you are talking about a roof top tent? The cheapest right now is from camping labs. You can often find them used for cheaper, but they are hard for the average person to ship, so you almost need to be local. RTT's, are not cheap by any stretch though. They are usually very well made, and put regular tent material to shame. So, expect to pay quite a bit more than a regular tent.

For your second question, I would simply plug in a battery charger. If you will have access to a 110volt plug, then a battery charger/battery tender will do what you want. Simply pop the hood, hook the charger to the battery, and plug in the charger to the wall. Most newer battery chargers have smart features that will not over charge the battery, so it should not hurt anything to leave it plugged in.

Check out the RTT's here.

http://www.campinglab.com/ The owner is Fernando, and he will take care of you.

For much more info on RTT's, and often a place to find used models, you should check out www.expeditionportal.com

Here are a few pics of my RTT and it still allows room for a light rack, and storage. I am 6'2" and my wife and I fit quite easily in the RTT, although there are a bunch of different sizes to choose from. I have the 60" version. (queen size, but longer)










This is on my old truck, it shows the optional changing room and awning.









~James

stumpXJ said:

I assume you are talking about a roof top tent? The cheapest right now is from camping labs. You can often find them used for cheaper, but they are hard for the average person to ship, so you almost need to be local. RTT's, are not cheap by any stretch though. They are usually very well made, and put regular tent material to shame. So, expect to pay quite a bit more than a regular tent.

For your second question, I would simply plug in a battery charger. If you will have access to a 110volt plug, then a battery charger/battery tender will do what you want. Simply pop the hood, hook the charger to the battery, and plug in the charger to the wall. Most newer battery chargers have smart features that will not over charge the battery, so it should not hurt anything to leave it plugged in.

Check out the RTT's here.

http://www.campinglab.com/ The owner is Fernando, and he will take care of you.

For much more info on RTT's, and often a place to find used models, you should check out www.expeditionportal.com

Here are a few pics of my RTT and it still allows room for a light rack, and storage. I am 6'2" and my wife and I fit quite easily in the RTT, although there are a bunch of different sizes to choose from. I have the 60" version. (queen size, but longer)

This is on my old truck, it shows the optional changing room and awning.

~James

Click to expand...

very nice i like the way that looks i was also wondering how much it effects off road performance if any?

i am looking for a slightly smaller version though as far as when its closed up since i want a larger rack than that being that the rear of my xj is going to be filled up with subs and a tv hahaha

(with all the mods im throwin in all my friends think one day im just going to disappear lol)

Subs and TV's? Isn't that like....so... 90's? (j/k... if that's your thing, go for it)

Anyway, the camping labs site just released a smaller 47 inch version, and thats about as small as they get and still be usable. The length is still plenty, but the width is whats narrower.

If has some effect off road. How much just depends on your version of 'offroad'. I have wheeled plenty of times with my tent up there, and havent had a problem yet. As long as you are aware its up there, you will be ok. If you get into a lot of off cambered stuff, then you should be careful. My tent only weighs 90 pounds, and the smaller version should be even less. But, 90 pounds makes a difference when its that high up.

stumpXJ I love your setup with the awning and all! How much traveling have you done with it like this? My wife and I are talking about going across country and doing some wheeling along the way and I'm not sure if I want a small camper or a RTT. Obviously I would get more use out of the RTT in the long run. Just currious if you would recommend it for about 5-7 weeks of straight use or not.

Skull_Black, if you are near a power source, why do you need to run the power through the Jeep? Just because you plan on having it wired to the inverter all the time and don't want to have to switch it? Why not look into an RV setup where you would have an inverter/charger system? Probably your most expensive option, but if that's what you want it would be your most complete.

I would not hesitate one bit to stay in it that long. The longest stint I have done in my setup was 3 weeks, and it wasnt a problem at all.

I have done a ton of travels with my set-up, in my XJ and my old tacoma. I probably have 60 nights or so spent in the RTT in the past 2.5 years. I have done 17 countries during that time as well, all in the RTT. ( I just moved back here from Europe, where I was for 4 years).

I have done:

Germany
France
Belgium
Lithuania
Latvia
Estonia
Sweden
Denmark
Finland
Italy
Switzerland
Austria
Poland
Holland
Czech
Spain
Morocco

Understand though, it may not be for everyone. That was our (my wife and I) hobby while we were in Europe, so she was way cool with it. Its an experience for sure. I have a full kitchen, hot shower, 110 volt power, flushing toilet, the whole nine yards for big trips, which keeps the wife happy. I could not do it with someone I didnt enjoy spending every minute with, because it can try your patience. (as ghey as that sounds, its true)

Our next big trip will be to the Artic Circle and back, once I get my offroad trailer built (it will hold the RTT then). Probably summer of 2011.

~James

Char-Broil said:

stumpXJ I love your setup with the awning and all! How much traveling have you done with it like this? My wife and I are talking about going across country and doing some wheeling along the way and I'm not sure if I want a small camper or a RTT. Obviously I would get more use out of the RTT in the long run. Just currious if you would recommend it for about 5-7 weeks of straight use or not.

Skull_Black, if you are near a power source, why do you need to run the power through the Jeep? Just because you plan on having it wired to the inverter all the time and don't want to have to switch it? Why not look into an RV setup where you would have an inverter/charger system? Probably your most expensive option, but if that's what you want it would be your most complete.

Click to expand...

how would that system work ive never really looked at motorhome power setups?

stumpxj im actually doin the soundsystem bein that i already have had it in my jeep for a long time and would miss it haha
the tv will be accompanied with an xbox 360 so that way all three of the componets will be working together and when im not offroading i can play some video games or something like that and have some movies too

also what about a quick disconnect system for the tent do they make those?

Its 4 bolts holding it on. Takes about 2 minutes with a ratchet wrench. not sure how 'quick' you are talking, but thats pretty quick.

~James

stumpXJ said:

Its 4 bolts holding it on. Takes about 2 minutes with a ratchet wrench. not sure how 'quick' you are talking, but thats pretty quick.

~James

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i was thinkin like a clip system that taking off would be a matter of unclipping like four clips then just get some people to help me lift back up and like set it on and it clips in tight

The rv thing is probably more trouble than it's worth. Would t you just run the AC stuff off an extension cord when you have it available? Sounds like you already have an inverter and dual batt setup for when it's not.

Char-Broil said:

The rv thing is probably more trouble than it's worth. Would t you just run the AC stuff off an extension cord when you have it available? Sounds like you already have an inverter and dual batt setup for when it's not.

Click to expand...

i could do that, but i just dont want to have to carry extra wires around im really into the orginized wires things and everything just bein available
and i dont have the set up yet soon though