CVT Mt St Helens and V 2.0!

WashingtonTaco

WashingtonTaco

Adventurist
Out with the old and in with the new!!!! For the past 6 years I've been using a roof-top-tent.com Mombasa model tent. On my first multi day trip to the second NWOR in Washington I learned I hated that tent! Not really the tent but the tent cover. The first three days of that trip was all rain. So when deploying and stowing that tent cover I was constantly covered in mud and wet. Finally a great deal came along on a group buy for a CVT Mt St Helens!!

I camped this past Friday and Saturday nights came home and put the Mombasa up for sale on a few FB 4X pages and if the dang thing didn't sell fast. Posted at 4:30 Sunday afternoon and had cash in hand by 8:30!!!!
 
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So out with the old!!!
 
Of course the tent had the last laugh, you would have thought it knew its was being sold because on Sunday morning without a rain storm on the weather radar we got rained on for about an hour!!!
 
So my buddy Dan who put this GB together had CVT install his St Helens so he'd have enough room for the other tents in his trailer for the drive back from Bend. While installing his they discovered that the tent requires shimming to get it not to chaff on the Front Runner rack accessories such as light, shovel, axe and table bauente fitting. CVT did a quick job that worked. After being informed of this I went to work!!

First and foremost when get rolling on a installation I loath going to the hardware store as it is a major time suck especially on a Saturday, the day we plan on doing this.

Dan gave me some basics and I got to work. First I searched our scrap bin here at work and we had nothing thick enough so I sourced some 1/2" 2"X4" 6000 series aluminum from the local dock builder.

Brought it home and drilled it up. During work that night I was able to use our industrial buffers to debur and clean up the edges. In aerospace repair we use a etch for aluminum called Alodine it's a anti corrosion etch so I dipped then in the Alodine tank then primed and painted.
 
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And somehow managed to load the pictures backwards! So I made 12 spacer blocks for the three tents we bought. Saturday Ill head down to Vancouver WA to pick up my tent!!!!
 
I'd consider something to put between the block and the rack as they are dissimilar metals subject to galvanic corrosion.
 
bob91yj said:
I'd consider something to put between the block and the rack as they are dissimilar metals subject to galvanic corrosion.
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Aggreed if I was leaving it on there long term, probably install some Micarta. I change camping arrangements like a 16 year old chearleader though! Depending on the trip I could run Oz tent (base camping), RTT (glamping with the GF) or sleep platform in truck bed (what I prefer) for day to day movement type trip.

Longer term concern though is the spacer rotating like a prop. We will see what happens in September I have a 9 day trip planned. I was thinking along the lines of getting some L channel aluminum 2"X4" and cut the leg down to about 1/2" and locate it as to butt up to the FR RTT braket to act as a anti rotation device... but its summer camping season so im runnin it!
 
I see you are in Washington, I'm sure you have contacted the city building inspectors and procured all the proper building permits, paid the fees, taxes and submitted the engineering proposals for this project? Certainly you have no intention of crossing state lines and inviting federal regulation enactment?
 
buckwilk said:
I see you are in Washington, I'm sure you have contacted the city building inspectors and procured all the proper building permits, paid the fees, taxes and submitted the engineering proposals for this project? Certainly you have no intention of crossing state lines and inviting federal regulation enactment?
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Yeah they are pretty heavy on regulation in WA, Ill be sure to stay in WA to avoid the feds!
 
It was a tentapaloza last weekend!! Installed three St Helens on three generations of Tacos!!! Theses things are huge!!!! It weighs about 30-35 pounds more than my old RTT. Initially I really like the tent with a few reservations on some quality items that I'm in contact with CVT about. The mattress is comfy and there is plenty of room to stretch out!! The USB ports and dimmable light are a great feature!! With this being said I am holding short of a full blown review until late September. I have a 10 day trip planned and will have numerous nights in it by then then.
 
The tent has a ton of pockets! No it doesn't come with a 12 volt USB powered fan or the Snow Peak light. Some things to consider my shovel no longer fits on the rack in the Quik Fists but the axe does. I'm in the process of building a rack extension so I can bolt the awning back on. In its old location you couldn't get to the rear RTT latches.
 
Nice. I picked up the same tent as well. I have yet to use it at all though, but looking forward to the review of your experiences.
 
This weekend now has me at 5 nights of use. I really like this tent!! Put up and take down is easy and this morning I put it away first thing as the heat in central WA ramps up quickly as the day goes on. With just a few stowings under my belt it's smooth and seems less like a task as compared to my old school RTT. I'm looking forward to my Silver City Idaho trip next month using the St Helens and new addition of 120 watts of Overland Solar!!
 
Brandon Wright said:
Any more in depth considerations of the tent? Might go pick one up this week.
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So far Brandon I've had about ten nights in the tent no more than two nights in a row. I have found the mattress very comfortable, tent space is enormous, set up and take down very easy.

If you you want to wait till the end of September I'll have a little better in depth review as I have a nine day trip planned. It'll give me a better insite on daily life with this tent longer term.
 
It’s been a while since I updated but have solid information on the CVT Mt St Helens. After putting in better than 20 nights between mid July to early September I can say I like the comfort of the tent. Sent up and take down is a breeze. The build quality on the other has left something to be desired. Right out of the shipping crate the roof had a large bubble in the fiber glass. One of the secondary closing springs broke when I touched it. After about 15 nights the entry zipper blew out.
 
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