Box topper that can hold a tent

etranger

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I am seeing tents on top of Ranger cab and my Thule reference told me that it’s only possible on the top with factory roof rack installed by Ford. So my plan is to buy a box cover/topper but I realized that they are not all good to support the weight of the tent while driving ( and weight of the occupants...sleeping!)

do you know a brand/ model/ that is available in North America?

The tent I am looking for is a 3-4 person Tepui..

thanks
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etranger

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I am seeing tents on top of Ranger cab and my Thule reference told me that it’s only possible on the top with factory roof rack installed by Ford. So my plan is to buy a box cover/topper but I realized that they are not all good to support the weight of the tent while driving ( and weight of the occupants...sleeping!)

do you know a brand/ model/ that is available in North America?

The tent I am looking for is a 3-4 person Tepui..

thanks
@Peas Got that info today from ARE, but I'm curious to know about other options:

WEIGHT RATINGS



1. A.R.E. does not have a published weight rating or warranty any weight rating except on the HD Series (550lbs). NON-HD units we do not recommend over 200lbs evenly distributed.

2. All A.R.E. fiberglass caps can withhold the weight that the rack and/or truck is rated for. “How much can your product hold?” “Please consult your truck manufacturer’s center of gravity as well as the weight rating of the rack you will be using in conjunction with our cap.”

a. Essentially, our caps can hold what any rack supplier will rate

3. All A.R.E. aluminum caps have a 200lb weight rating.


For example, the Yakima Core Bar & Jetstream have a 165lb & 220lb weight rating on their cross bars (can be found on Yakima’s site). If a customer is inquiring about putting a tent on their cap, it has absolutely nothing to do with what our cap can hold and everything to do with what the crossbars can hold. Therefore, in this example, the Yakima Core Bar is a 165lb rating and if they wanted to add a 200lb tent to it, they would be over the “rating” of the rack. The customer should speak to Yakima (or whatever rack they are going to use) to find out if the product can work with a tent system.


Again, A.R.E. has no written warranty on weight ratings – any added weight to the top of our products is always the customer’s liability.
 

Peas

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@Peas Got that info today from ARE, but I'm curious to know about other options:

WEIGHT RATINGS



1. A.R.E. does not have a published weight rating or warranty any weight rating except on the HD Series (550lbs). NON-HD units we do not recommend over 200lbs evenly distributed.

2. All A.R.E. fiberglass caps can withhold the weight that the rack and/or truck is rated for. “How much can your product hold?” “Please consult your truck manufacturer’s center of gravity as well as the weight rating of the rack you will be using in conjunction with our cap.”

a. Essentially, our caps can hold what any rack supplier will rate

3. All A.R.E. aluminum caps have a 200lb weight rating.


For example, the Yakima Core Bar & Jetstream have a 165lb & 220lb weight rating on their cross bars (can be found on Yakima’s site). If a customer is inquiring about putting a tent on their cap, it has absolutely nothing to do with what our cap can hold and everything to do with what the crossbars can hold. Therefore, in this example, the Yakima Core Bar is a 165lb rating and if they wanted to add a 200lb tent to it, they would be over the “rating” of the rack. The customer should speak to Yakima (or whatever rack they are going to use) to find out if the product can work with a tent system.


Again, A.R.E. has no written warranty on weight ratings – any added weight to the top of our products is always the customer’s liability.
Thanks for the info. Seems like ARE is not willing to fully commit to the weight of a RTT under their warranty.
 

T-Wrecks

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I am seeing tents on top of Ranger cab and my Thule reference told me that it’s only possible on the top with factory roof rack installed by Ford.
The NA Ranger doesn't have a factory roof rack, if they do I'd like to know about it!

The 200# limit ARE states for their toppers is for driving around (which makes the load heavier when you hit bumps). Static weight can be more, but they are never going to tell you that. It's safe just to list #200 as most people can't follow directions. I also think that's why they also stated the Yakima rack has a lower rating, once again this is for driving around. Parked it can hold more.

Not sure on the weight of such a huge RTT but you would need to spread that weight around. Maybe use 3-4 cross bars and a track that spans the entire roof. The cab can hold more weight it's designed to protect you in a rollover but I'm guessing Ford will only list the driving around weight if they list anything at all.

My new ARE topper has the roof rails on top close to the outside edge. This is not the strongest place, that would be on the vertical sides. On my old Ranger topper I put yakima rain gutter mounts on the sides as close to the top as I could get. I plan to get a RTT too but only a 2 person. I'd like to mount this on the cab leaving the topper rack for my canoe.
 

Peas

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This just showed up at my local ford dealer. Looks awesome. The place I bought my topper from did the build. I’ll give them a call soon to chat about it. More details to follow...

2BBBA1B3-9B4A-48E9-90B4-9E9284EB1B4C.jpeg


904A45AA-AD8A-4BA2-B7E8-AF138868E8B5.jpeg
 


ISUACE

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This just showed up at my local ford dealer. Looks awesome. The place I bought my topper from did the build. I’ll give them a call soon to chat about it. More details to follow...

2BBBA1B3-9B4A-48E9-90B4-9E9284EB1B4C.jpeg


904A45AA-AD8A-4BA2-B7E8-AF138868E8B5.jpeg
I would be interested in a setup like that... so all you would really need is the Smittybilt Tent, and the Rhino Topper platform if you already have a topper with the Yakima Rack.
 
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RVA Overland

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I have a tent and awning on top of my Leer topper. Had it on the f150 for 2 years with no issues. Offroading and high speed 80+ mph. I moved it over to the Ranger last month and have had no issues yet. The Thule racks and leer cap I believe both say 200 lbs.
 

ISUACE

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Has anyone else done this setup yet?
 

ISUACE

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