CT_AZ_4x4
Well-known member
- First Name
- Jay
- Joined
- May 22, 2024
- Threads
- 20
- Messages
- 411
- Reaction score
- 686
- Location
- Scottsdale, AZ
- Vehicles
- AWD CT
- Occupation
- Self employed
- Thread starter
- #1
My understanding is that Urander is coming out with a new RTT that will mount easily with their 270 awning. Then there are those of us without this new tent but have purchased the Urander awning.
The Urander awning is exceptional. I’m sitting is the shade right now beneath mine in sunny Scottsdale enjoying today’s breeze. The poles provide more than sufficient support in today’s wind and if the wind is ever crazy there are tie-down ropes that could be used. It has built-in LED lighting that very simply plugged into the CT’s 110 bed outlet, directly above the bed outlet. The LED lights are dimmable and have 3 modes: (1) white, (2) amber, or (3) soft blue. The poles are not attached permanently and store in their own bag. They adjust sharply and are sturdy. They vary in length awaiting your adjustment for height and tension. It is a really nice awning. Wind in Scottsdale right now is gusting about 8-12 mph and the awning is just solid even without tie-downs.
But there is an issue! The Urander awning brackets have a curved lip that rises above their rack. This curved lip is about 5/8ths of an inch but because of its curve it puts the bracket in the space needed for mounting my non-Urander tent!
Now these brackets are solid. I like that they are well designed for loads. But they present the issue with mounting my RTT.
I have a @Mars Adventure Gear RTT, the Basecamp. I really like it. Well-made. Great design. I love getting to my driving location, popping it up, using Cybertent mode to level the truck and nearly instantly having a chance to sleep without pitching a tent on the ground or “blowing” up a tent, and doing all that in the dark with possible critters and who-knows-what. So I love the Mars RTT.
To make the Urander awning allow for the Mars tent, I crafted some 1-inch rubber mounts out of some Quick-fist mounts and some rubber stoppers. You can get Quick-fist mounts off Amazon or practically anywhere. I bought some rubber stoppers from Home Depot. I drilled out partial holes in the rubber stoppers using a 1/2 inch drill bit. I plugged this hole with the head of an M8 bolt and using some lock-tite I threaded a T-nut onto the end of the bolt. I made 4 of these and then mounted them onto the Urander’s crossbars where my Mars tent will rest. I then cut off all of the closing clasps of the Quick-fists, and placed the Quick-fists (which are really just hunks of rubber at this point) around the rubber stoppers and then used a heavy duty zip-tie for keeping the Quick-fist where I want it and to keep it “closed” so-to-speak, around the rubber stoppers. Then I hefted the Mars RTT into the correct location and tightened down the mounting brackets, which compresses my rubber mounts enough to further keep them immobile.
Problem. Solution. I am getting ready for Zion National Park with a few additional tweaks to the CT setup!
If anyone were to do this, make sure that the rubber stoppers are quite hefty and that they are very, very close (preferably the same) in height to the thickness of the Quick-fists, and that you do not drill probably more than 1/3rd of the way into the rubber stoppers. One additional reason for using the Quick-fists is that they have pre-existing holes that make mounting them into place a simple process.
The Urander awning is exceptional. I’m sitting is the shade right now beneath mine in sunny Scottsdale enjoying today’s breeze. The poles provide more than sufficient support in today’s wind and if the wind is ever crazy there are tie-down ropes that could be used. It has built-in LED lighting that very simply plugged into the CT’s 110 bed outlet, directly above the bed outlet. The LED lights are dimmable and have 3 modes: (1) white, (2) amber, or (3) soft blue. The poles are not attached permanently and store in their own bag. They adjust sharply and are sturdy. They vary in length awaiting your adjustment for height and tension. It is a really nice awning. Wind in Scottsdale right now is gusting about 8-12 mph and the awning is just solid even without tie-downs.
But there is an issue! The Urander awning brackets have a curved lip that rises above their rack. This curved lip is about 5/8ths of an inch but because of its curve it puts the bracket in the space needed for mounting my non-Urander tent!
Now these brackets are solid. I like that they are well designed for loads. But they present the issue with mounting my RTT.
I have a @Mars Adventure Gear RTT, the Basecamp. I really like it. Well-made. Great design. I love getting to my driving location, popping it up, using Cybertent mode to level the truck and nearly instantly having a chance to sleep without pitching a tent on the ground or “blowing” up a tent, and doing all that in the dark with possible critters and who-knows-what. So I love the Mars RTT.
To make the Urander awning allow for the Mars tent, I crafted some 1-inch rubber mounts out of some Quick-fist mounts and some rubber stoppers. You can get Quick-fist mounts off Amazon or practically anywhere. I bought some rubber stoppers from Home Depot. I drilled out partial holes in the rubber stoppers using a 1/2 inch drill bit. I plugged this hole with the head of an M8 bolt and using some lock-tite I threaded a T-nut onto the end of the bolt. I made 4 of these and then mounted them onto the Urander’s crossbars where my Mars tent will rest. I then cut off all of the closing clasps of the Quick-fists, and placed the Quick-fists (which are really just hunks of rubber at this point) around the rubber stoppers and then used a heavy duty zip-tie for keeping the Quick-fist where I want it and to keep it “closed” so-to-speak, around the rubber stoppers. Then I hefted the Mars RTT into the correct location and tightened down the mounting brackets, which compresses my rubber mounts enough to further keep them immobile.
Problem. Solution. I am getting ready for Zion National Park with a few additional tweaks to the CT setup!
If anyone were to do this, make sure that the rubber stoppers are quite hefty and that they are very, very close (preferably the same) in height to the thickness of the Quick-fists, and that you do not drill probably more than 1/3rd of the way into the rubber stoppers. One additional reason for using the Quick-fists is that they have pre-existing holes that make mounting them into place a simple process.
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