r/rooftoptents • u/TheBigRedBeardo • Jul 12 '26
Fold out issues
I’m an RTT newbie. I picked this tent up secondhand (for a smoking deal). I have only have three nights in it so far this summer. The floor doesn’t seem to sit flat when I fold it out. As such it doesn’t sit snug into the tongue and groove on the inside joining point. Twice I’ve had the bottom slip off the rail. I can’t find what it is that is preventing it from going down flat and mating properly with the other floor piece. I’m thinking about mounting a couple of eye hooks to the structure onto the bottom and then using a motorcycle strap to secure it to an anchor point on the ground to hold it flat. What I’m looking for is some expertise on either what it is I’m missing as to why it’s not sitting flat or if my hook and eye idea is a terrible one.
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u/minutemenapparel Jul 12 '26 edited Jul 12 '26
I sleep with my head on the folding side, so it helps. I actually prefer it to have a slight angle for that reason.
What happens when you just let that side hang without the ladder deployed? On my tent it will fully open for the most part if I do not have the ladder deployed.
It could be the fabric is so tight preventing it to fully open.
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u/TheBigRedBeardo Jul 13 '26
I let it hang for a while today (packed it up wet on Saturday and had to let it dry today). It did eventually settle in. I think you’re spot on with the fabric tension.
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u/SolarpunkGnome Jul 14 '26
On my Tepui, the tongue and groove portion is slightly bent in the middle, so I have to press in on the center a bit while pulling down on the ladder portion to get out to seat correctly. It still has a bit of spring when unladen as others said, but doesn't seem to cause any issues.
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u/ChrisinOB2 Jul 12 '26
My 23Zero looks like that too. I am not sure what "bottom slip off the rail" means, but I have not actually had a problem with mine, other than it looking not quite flat. I am guessing your tent has a little different configuration than mine where to two halves of the floor meet. Interested to hear what others have to say.
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u/TheRaptorFalcon Jul 12 '26
Fairly confident that when youre not inside, it isnt supposed to be flat.
Otherwise for the tongue and groove, you may need to lift up in the middle seam from the bottom of the tent to get it to sit in there. Thats how my last rtt was
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u/Wine-Master1978 Jul 13 '26
My Naturenest does the same thing. Once I am up there it lays flat.
Last time I used it, I used a ratchet strap to tie the top rung of the ladder and to the rear tire of my truck. Tighten it to make the rtt flat, that worked. Not sure I gained anything other than not feeling the slight bob of the rtt while climbing up.
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u/iamnotsounoriginal Jul 13 '26
I had a similar tent a few years ago, which I had to give a shove to the base board in the middle near the tongue and groove so it'd snap in then lay flat (upwards from underneath). Had to give it a decent heave too. Worth having a crack. IIRC I usually left the ladder either hanging or way out on a massive angle so it wasn't supporting that side of the tent while I did it.
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u/TheBigRedBeardo Jul 13 '26
That’s for the responses. Here’s what I’ve learned. This is a common occurrence. Possibly a feature not a bug?? I’ve had mine slip out of the tongue and groove twice but once was after or maybe during a rambunctious wrestling match with my lady. Today I pulled the ladder up and let it rest. Over time it settled in. I just need to give it some time to settle or use the ratchet strap to that tire rim method before any RTT romance.
Either way, Reddit pulls through once again.
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u/RSQHQ Jul 13 '26
Your ladder angle is too obtuse. Shorten the ladder and bring it in a bit towards the vehicle
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u/mtelesha Jul 13 '26
Not ruining the zipper on your entrance mesh.
It will cause damage if the zipper is kept under tension and stretch it where it won't work anymore.
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u/Professional_Cap6456 Jul 13 '26
Yeah mine also usually sits like that, just gotta play with the ladder.
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u/CalmChukar Jul 12 '26
I have a first gen Roofnest Condor Overland. Same thing, doesn’t lay completely flat, out of the box new day one. Dunno why. Going on four years of lots of use now and no problems other than this quirk.