That I can respect. I'd imagine they are heavy so no point taking it off if you're using in a week or two.
Oh absolutely they do. You’ll probably see maxtrax riding around on those vehicles. Anyone who actually uses those knows not to daily drive with them on as UV kills them real quick like.
UV does break down the polymer, but not to a horrible extent. Especially with the actual MaxTrax brand tractions boards. You'd be surprised at how faded they may look after 10 years of use and storage on the outside of a vehicle. But they will still hold up and work pretty well!
If I ever went with an RTT I'd find anywhere to put it that's not on my truck when not in use. Garage, basement, backyard, leaning up against the side of my home. Anywhere to avoid carrying around that much weight that high on my rig everyday.
It's not too much weight. 110 lbs for my Smittybilt Overlander. You can't feel it on the truck at all (acceleration or roll center). It is big and bulky however. It's a PITA to move around. It takes 2 people to move it, install it, and to remove it. Plus the hardware is aluminum for the most part. I wouldn't recommend taking a RTT on and off a lot. It sounds good and all but in reality it's a major PITA and invites more probability of damaging the RTT. Storage is the biggest headache off the truck. It requires a pretty large, dedicated area. I ended up stashing mine in the shoot house building at work. Even then, in a big warehouse like structure, it was in the way even when pushed aside on an extra large pallet. I would highly, highly suggest you don't store one on the ground in the back yard or leaning up against the side of your home (not very attractive either!). Not unless you could raise it up AND insure no water or animal intrusion from the bottom, and not make your property look like ass.
IF I ever went with one on my truck I don't see why it would be too difficult to modify the hoist in my garage for the YJ top to work on a RTT. The other options were just to point out that I would not want to carry it around all the time. Your tent seems to be on the lighter side from what I've seen.
I'd like to do a trailer build myself; it really increases your storage space for camping specific gear and makes accessing the tent easier on lower trailers. Storing the trailer can be an issue, but WAYYYYYYYY less of an issue than just the tent by itself. Plus, with the proper hitch setup like a Lock N' Roll, you can still take a trailer almost anywhere the truck can be pointed. I like the idea of keeping all of my camping stuff onboard a trailer and out of my garage, and out of my truck! Maybe one day!
