While adventuring all across the western United States I have spent a lot of nights up off the ground away from bugs and bears. I feel like I’ve experienced all the major weather events that we must get used to out here from snow and hail in Colorado to ferocious winds in Utah that literally broke parts off of the tent while we were trying to sleep inside of it.
It’s impossible to say for sure which tent I have enjoyed the most. It would be pretty easy to pinpoint which ones I liked the least but that is not what this rant is all about.
No matter how difficult a tent is to set up or put away the ultimate reason that we use these things is to rack out after a long day and get a good sleep in so that we can be rested for the next day. If you have a rough night sleep it will impact your trip. I don’t know about you, but I get grumpy.
I am here today to talk about tent mattresses and more importantly the fact that as tents start to eclipse the $4-5K price points the mattresses seem to keep getting worse. It seems that most manufacturers have gotten so consumed with low profile tents that they have completely thrown in the towel when it comes to what I feel is the most important thing about a roof top tent. Am I going to be able to sleep in this without waking up the next day feeling like I just went 3 rounds with Conor McGregor? Unfortunately my experience with stock tent mattresses across the board is……..No. Not even close.
We were very excited to bring on iKamper as a premium product offering to pair with our roof and bed racks. These things check all the boxes, right? A ton of space. Easy to set up and tear down. Built to last a very long time. I was super excited to use mine for the first time. Until the next morning. As much as I like to sing praises during a product review I think it is more important to give an honest take on my experiences.
The iKamper SkyCamp 3.0 is probably the closest you are going to get to five-star accommodations under the stars. Set up takes about a minute. Putting it away the next morning is about the same. The ladder is great. You get a big window at the top of it to stare at the stars. Almost perfect. The mattress, like all the others had me wishing I had just slept in the truck instead of on it. I came home tired, sore, and irritated.
I also came home determined to figure out how to solve this issue once and for all. If you have searched around at all you already know it is almost impossible to find a replacement mattress for a roof top tent that will be comfortable, leave room inside the tent for sleeping gear, and actually fit the tent floor plan.
I started on Google and after about two hours I had found a couple of options that touted dual stage memory foam and washable covers but nothing that really fit my tent. Is it really this hard?
Before I admitted defeat I sent an email to the customer support over at iKamper and I asked them flat out if I am just being bougee or do other people have the same issues? Not surprisingly I got some great information from them on why the stock mattress is the way it is as well as what they have engineered and released as an option for my situation.
To get to the bottom of the problem you really do have to step back and see it from their side of the fence. iKamper produces and ships thousands of tents every year. They send them all over the world to people who live in different climates, with different sleeping habits.
When you are in the market for a new mattress for your house there are hundreds of options. For back sleepers, side sleepers, toss and turners, or on the tummy people there are countless brands and options available for you to choose from. There is no perfect one size fits all solution.
Now let’s take a look at roof top tents. The people that design these things have a lot to tackle to stand out in the crowd. They are also in a constant battle to be as low profile as possible while leaving the maximum amount of space in the tent when closed for sleeping bags, blankets, and pillows.
If they produced the perfect mattress for a side sleeper that camps in sub zero temperatures it would not be the best mattress for someone that sleeps on their back staring up at the stars after a night on the beach.
As frustrated as I was with the situation - I had just never given any of them the benefit of the doubt and thought about it from that viewpoint. So, what do you do?
Well, if you are iKamper you design and produce an optional mattress that can be dialed in to fit just about everyone. Just like all of your other truck parts you can buy them, use them, and upgrade them. This is exactly what they have done with the RTT Comfort line of products.
Your iKamper tent has been designed from the beginning to be rugged, user friendly, and durable. That is what you are paying for when you buy a tent from them. The mattress they have provided is the best common ground solution available because they know that if you love everything else about the tent, upgrading the mattress is an easy decision to make.
I spent my first weekend trip on the RTT Comfort mattress for the iKamper Skycamp 3.0 and I can tell you with one hundred percent confidence that is the best nights sleep I have ever had in a roof top tent. The inflatable air bladder lets you tune the mattress to exactly what you want it to be and the foam top adds just the perfect amount of “floof” that you don’t feel like you are sleeping on an air mattress at all. I was even more impressed that we slept through a night where the outside temperature was right around zero degrees (F) and I never felt a cold spot on the mattress. I’m blown away with how awesome this thing is. It is important to note that the mattresses are somewhat self-inflating but I grabbed a little cordless air pump off Amazon to take along with me. If you want some info on the pump I used, feel free to email me at micah@uptopoverland.com.
So I guess the point I am trying to get across to you is that if you are going to step up and spend the money on one of the best roof top tents on the market you should definitely add the RTT Comfort to your cart at the same time and find out what it all about to be excited to go camping knowing that you will sleep as good in your tent as you do in your house. I will never spend another night on a foam mattress again. After five years of struggle I am finally sleeping the way I dreamed I would. 😉
Here are the RTT Comfort Mattress options depending on which iKamper Tent you have:
Click here for the Mattress Application Guide
Below are links to the iKamper Tent Models and required mattresses.
iKAMPER TENT MODEL | MATTRESS REQUIREMENT |
iKamper Skycamp 3.0 | (1) RTT Comfort 7850 and (1) RTT Comfort 7332 |
iKamper Skycamp Mini 3.0 | (1) RTT Comfort 5082 |
iKamper X-Cover | (1) RTT Comfort 6944 |
iKamper X-Cover Mini | (1) RTT Comfort 5087 |
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You might have seen upTOP’s roof racks with their color matching, scenePODs, grab handles, and unique front wind fairings but have you seen their bed racks? They burst into the overland scene in 2019 from a DIY thread on a Tacoma forum that quickly launched into a business. Two years later they have amassed a large social media following by gaining notoriety for their high-quality roof and bed racks manufactured in Colorado. These guy really have pushed the limits when it comes to rack setups! Including a roof rack capable of mounting seven Baja Designs LP4’s, yes, that is a whole lot of light. Additionally, they have pushed to create multiple variations of their TRUSS bed rack system for different applications. We are going to be going over the pros and cons of each bed rack setup to help you choose what is right for your Tacoma!
The TRUSS bed rack is made completely of aluminum and utilizes legs, side armor, and load bars to create a modular setup that is lightweight as well as strong. The bed rack weighs in at around fifty pounds. It comes in three different heights ranging from six, eleven and a half, and nineteen inches. Each leg mounts to the bed rail or cover and is connected to another leg via side armor. Side armor is designed to help strengthen the TRUSS bed rack. It also has the capability to mount Rotopax, MaxTrax, Waterport, bicycles, shovels, axes, and more to the side armor. Load bars are extruded aluminum powder coated black and slotted for easy mounting options. Overall, the bed rack is strong enough to mount a roof top tent and has multiple load out setups allowing you to customize your setup. Install time on these bed racks is relatively short with an estimated amount of one hour.
This is the original TRUSS bed rack by upTOP Overland mounting directly to the existing bed rails on your Tacoma. If you are just getting into overlanding this bed rack is a quick addition to allow you to mount gear and a roof top tent. This setup is also great for someone who wants to be able to remove their bed rack and have full access to hauling with their bed. With no bed cover there is unrestricted loading height under your bed rack, it allows you to fit taller objects such as large coolers, storage containers, or even stack gear. Perfect to get a bed rack setup and on the trails!
Retrax bed covers are retractable bed covers that have been around for over 20 years. Their special Trax Rail System allows for unique and personal customization above their truck bed cover. The team at upTOP designed a bed rack that works directly with this rail system that is strong enough to hold a roof top tent. It is a standout setup as you get the ability to have a bed cover that is able to be retracted (opened) with a bed rack. Almost any folding bed cover will lose function once you have a bed rack, roof top tent, and gear. Great retractable cover with a bed rack!
Got a Softopper canvas bed cover? These are great solution for adding a bed cover similar to a cap, but it can easily be folded down and secured without having to be removed. With this in mind the Softopper Compatible TRUSS bed rack is designed to maintain the function of the cover without having to take off the bed rack. Simply removing middle load bar, you can quickly fold the Softtopper down and be on your way. Additionally, this is the only bed rack made by upTOP that is adjustable in height. This has to be one of the nicest setups that can give you a secure area for your gear, zero sacrifice on height under the bed rack, and help keep the elements off of your gear when you are on the trail.
These tough heavy-duty covers are built to take on adventure or load gear on top of. With a design that revolves around folding it is difficult to have a bed rack and still maintains this functionality. Mounting the TRUSS bed rack to the tie down cleat locations with two separate racks allows you to keep the same great functionality of the Diamondback bed cover. Unfortunately, when you add a roof top tent it will span the length of the TRUSS bed rack you will no longer be able to fold open the cover. That’s okay, take your tent off when you are not using it, and you now have all the functionality back. Great setup for someone looking for a heavy-duty bed cover that could be used to load some weight on. This is an extremely secure setup, keeping your gear in the bed locked up and hidden, and it is the only cover that can hold a lot of weight loaded onto it.
If you are looking for a high-quality bed rack the team at upTOP overland has got you covered. Breaking down the pros and cons of each setup it is best to always plan out your build. Take time to assess what sacrifices you are willing to make and what is most important.
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Girard Butlers words echo through my head every time I throw my leg up to climb in our new Jeep Gladiator demo truck. Part of it is because that part of the movie was awesome, and the other part is because the thing is so tall that without an effective front kick, I don’t stand a chance of getting into it with any grace at all.
I knew the number one reason I wanted a Jeep was because of the challenge of designing a rack system for it. It has a removable three-piece top and would need to use gutter mounts instead of our traditional feet we use on a Tacoma, 4Runner, Tundra, or a Raptor roof rack. Likewise, I wanted to be indoctrinated into the Jeep wave community and feel as though I had more friends than I really do.
Multiple days of long hours spent trying to work through the geometry of a gutter attachment system that looks and performs like an upTOP overland product. Piles of scrap on the floor and failed attempt after failed attempt I was beginning to lose my mind. Sure, this is where it would have been easier to copy an existing design, buy some readily available parts and fit them into what would be left of my idea of the Jeep rack, but I was not ready to settle for any of these solutions. I knew I could break through to create something better than anything else out there.
I’m going to skip the boring math and the long-winded explanation of how I got to where I did because the result is one of the parts that I am most proud of for our company. On the surface it may look like a simple little clamp that does a really good job of locking the rack onto the roof of a Jeep Gladiator without drilling a single hole. In reality it is a very complicated, fairly hard to produce little clamp that does an absolutely bang-up job of locking the rack onto the roof of a Jeep damage free.
But wait a minute…. there is more. Jeep life is all about basking in the sun with the doors off, top left back at base camp, flying down a trail with all of the freedom that the new Freedom Top is supposed to deliver. In a couple of minutes, you can easily remove the front of the rack off, relocate your epic 200k lumen front light bar to the rear of the rack and proceed to weekend mode with the front tops off. I like to think of this as modularity level jedi.
Finally, I want to acknowledge Jeeps are usually used for rock crawling. My new JT may never be accepted by the masses as anything more than a funny looking rock crawler with a pickup truck bed hanging off the end of it to the discerning overland crowd. But what if I told you that you can have straight axles, 40-inch tires, heated steering wheel, doors that were actually designed to come off, and still have a roof rack that is ready for any adventure with all the bells and whistles that makes an upTOP an upTOP? Maybe they are right, or maybe I’m just different. Yet most Jeep owners would say, it’s a Jeep thing.
]]>Please do not hesitate to contact us via phone or email for assistance with installs.
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Several years ago, we had purchased three different roof racks for our Tacoma trucks, and they all had shared the same major issues: wind noise, quality, and durability. Wind noise is caused by the way the wind passes over the vehicle while in motion, pushing force down on to the roof. Since they all shared a very similar design, they all had a quite a bit of wind noise. Another major and even more important issue was the durability of the racks. The poor quality of materials used in manufacturing and overall structure left us with more to be desired after just one overland excursion. While the rack itself had already shown major signs of wear, the details and thoughtfulness in design just simply did not function or make sense to us. This is when we realized there was a need for a roof rack that solved all of our wants and needs. After months of designing & testing to create the best roof racks, bed racks and more, upTOP was born.
Our team tackled the wind noise issue by completely reimagining the design and improving the aerodynamics. Our split front fairing is much more like a diffuser. The wedge front end allows air to pass both over and under the rack unaltering the aerodynamic profile of the vehicle. What does this do for wind noise? The rack is damn near silent. Most companies use a simple flat piece of aluminum to break up the air, and then charge additionally for a noise reducing edge. It is important to understand this design is inherently flawed because in some cases it requires a piece of aluminum to rest on your paint, allowing it to eventually wear through your clear coat, paint, and down to the bare metal of your vehicle due to vibration when in motion. Our front fairing does not sit on your paint, which avoids this entirely, and helps keep the roof of your vehicle in pristine condition.
While no wind noise was our initial concern, we didn’t settle or stop there. In true upTOP fashion, we had to make it even better. We designed our rack with integrated light bar cut outs that allow the light bar to be installed behind the front fairing for a sleek aesthetic. Offering multiple cutout options as well, ranging from a no cut, Extreme LED X6S, or for Baja Designs light bars. If none of those fit the bill for what you’re looking for, or if you just can’t make up your mind, we also offer a few universal fitments as well. Our competitors only offer a simple dip in the top edge of their fairing for a light, which was just not a good enough solution for us!
So how did we address quality concerns and develop one of the strongest racks on the market? We started at the foundation, where the rack meets the roof. We optimized the mounting process by creating feet that reinforce the rails. This offers easy installation, allows for even pressure points, and avoids any grinding. In terms of materials, hardware, and overall structure, we opted for a durable and lightweight construction. In terms of finish, most other companies use anodized load bars that will fade to a shade of purple after about 6 months. Instead, we powder coat all of our load bars to stealth black making them UV resistant and offering a tougher finish that stops the elements from eroding our racks. The powder coat also helps to insulate the bar cutting down on noise and vibration. Whether you choose an Alpha or Bravo series roof rack we build them all to last through every season, year after year.
We also developed some of the most innovative features in the industry, helping our upTOP racks stand out from the competition. In terms of styling, we are proud to provide custom color matching to your vehicle which creates a sleek overall aesthetic. Additionally, our grab handles allow you to easily access your gear that’s stored upTOP, while our scenePODs offer a low-profile lighting solution that illuminates 360 degrees around your vehicle. Be sure to check out all of our add-ons and custom accessories here.
Ok let’s talk numbers. We are committed to our upTop community and always do our best to keep our costs down for you guys because we believe everyone should be able to experience an upTOP. Born and built by our dedicated team in Castle Rock, CO, all of our racks are made to order and ship free within the continental United States. We’re proud to manufacture some of the widest, longest, and lowest racks on the market for a range of vehicles including Tacoma, 4Runner, Tundra, FJ, Gladiator, Colorado, F-150, and many more. As we like to say - Adventure Ready, Always!
]]>We have the TRUSS availble for Tacoma, Tundra, Ford F-Series, Chevy Colorado, Ranger, Nissan Titan, Silverado, Dodge Ram, and many more vehicles!
]]>In a recent forum post from Trail4Runner.com we were ranked as one of the top 7 CNC roof racks for the 5TH GEN 4Runner. The following excerpt was written by Heath - 4R_2016 and quoted directly from their website. Go check them out for great information on mods, lighting, armor, accessories, gear, off-road, overland, installs, and more!
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Specs
The upTOP Overland Bravo racks and Alpha racks are both two pretty stunning racks. The design is probably the best on the market in terms of aggressive looks and uniqueness.
The Bravo is one of the more affordable full-length CNC racks on the market. Don’t think that lower cost means lower quality because the Bravo has a lot to offer. It has a unique wind deflector unlike any of the other racks. The wind deflector is not as “low profile,” as the other racks, but it looks awesome! The wind deflector has multiple light bar cutout options, varying from 10-inch bars to 40-inch bars and more. This makes the upTOP stand out above many as they design fairings for full pars, partial bars, and even pods like the Baja LP-series. Some of the other racks mentioned in this article have a “one size fits all” cut out. So if you don’t get a light bar to fill the entire cutout, your rack just won’t look right. Well done upTOP!
Also, the Bravo has built-in scene pod knockouts. Scene pod knockouts are an incredible new feature that upTOP is using on their roof racks. These are perfectly cut, CNC holes in the side rail that allow for easy attachment of “scene pods.” Made out of aluminum, scene pods allow you to mount Baja Designs LED Rock Lights to your rack with ease. No extra drilling or cutting is required.
The Alpha is another low-profile roof rack, however, it offers a massive footprint. The rack measures 50″ wide in 98.5″ Long. That’s larger than almost any other roof rack on the market. The design of The Alpha is unlike anything we have seen before. It’s safe to say that UpTOP Overland is probably the leader in ingenuity, creativity and design integrations right now.
They feature internal design rails that you can have color-matched to your 4Runner which really sets this rack apart from the competition. The Alpha rack comes with the same scene pods as the Bravo, just another great feature of this rack.
6 grab handles are also included in your purchase of the Alpha rack. No other roof rack mentioned in this article comes with a set of handles (other than Sherpa although those are built-in). While it might not seem like much, having those handles adds a secure place for you to hold onto while you are reaching for something on top of your 4Runner. Whether it be mounting equipment or washing off your rig, the handles will definitely come in handy. If you are looking for a unique roof rack with a massive footprint for rooftop tents or storage, this rack is one to consider. Plus, it looks freaking killer!
One of the best things about upTOP is we have created over 15+ mounts to use on your roof or bed rack. When it come's to installation it is quick and easy as we provide drop in Tracnuts that can be used without removing a load bar.
Our most recent mount is the Straight-Up Side Mount allowing you to put gear off the side of your vehicle. Many of the roof top tents out there cover the racks useable space on a 4Runner, Tacoma, Jeep, and similar vehicles. It mounts flush to a load bar while having a roof top tent and has 3" of horizontal adjustment. This mount can hold an awning, recovery gear, shovels, axes, fishing poles, and a whole lot of other things!
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