Uploaded August 2020 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Overlander Gen 2 Roof Top Tent From Smittybilt
Harry's Article on The Dirt: 4wheelparts.com/the-dirt
Buy an Overlander Gen 2: 4wheelparts.com/s/_/?Ntt=overlander+gen+2&_requestid=1609
Hi this is mike I’m an adventurer and a dad and today I’m going to talk about Roof Top Tents. Specifically the Overlander II Roof Top Tent from Smittybilt. This particular example was provided by Smittybuilt and 4 Wheel Parts for the purposes of this review and an article with photos by Harry Wagner, who is here behind the camera today. This is the Standard Model Roof Top Tent which is 55 inches wide and it sleeps 2 and retails for $1149.99 Harry’s article will answer a lot of questions you might have about this product so click the link in the description to read that over on The Dirt. I’ll be talking about my experience with the Overlander gen 2 tent on my 2017 Tacoma and showing you how it sets up and some of the features I like.
The tent attaches to the rack with 4 clamps that key into the extruded aluminum support tracks. You can mount the tent to open on the left, right or to the rear. Attaching is is fairly easy, but you should check the bolts before each trip as the metal straps here can bend causing the whole thing to loosen up.
Roof Top Tent Set up
So here’s the key feature and one thing I suggested Harry change in his article. They are fast to deploy, but roof top tents are not necessarily easy to deploy. By the second or third time setting it up I had it done in 9 minutes. That’s pretty good. 9 minutes and you can crawl in a go to sleep. But it’s not easy per se. First you have to undo the main straps holding the vinyl cover on. They’re velcro with a double D-Ring buckle. The velcro makes it hard to get off the buckle. What I’ve found makes it easier is to peel the velcro, and reattach it with a loop loose, then use my thumbs to force it loose. Then repeat. Next you unzip the cover. The zipper starts on the driver side front and we’ll call this station 1. You can reach about halfway across then walk around to passenger side front (station 2) and reach the zipper and walk it back through passenger rear (station 3) to where it ends at driver side rear (station 4). Then you go back to station 2 to peel off the cover, do the same at station 3 then go to driver side and pull it all down. You can zip it off if you enjoy trying to re-attach zippers on big heavy dusty things, or just leave it hanging if you just want to be done faster. Next there are 4 more velcro straps with double D-Rings securing the RTT in the folded position. I’m sure it’s recommended to always double buckle these, but I haven’t been. It’s the only way I can keep my times under 10 minutes. As such, these are easy and require you to hit station 1, station 2, station 3 and station 4 again. At this point you can deploy the ladder. The ladder has a strap and quick clip to hold in securely on the tent. To get this you either have to stand on the passenger tire, or the tailgate and reach over. If you’ve guessed that I don’t strap it in because, "where’s it going to go under that heavy vinyl cover," give yourself a gold star.
Overlander Gen 2 Roof Top Tent From Smittybilt
Harry's Article on The Dirt: 4wheelparts.com/the-dirt
Buy an Overlander Gen 2: 4wheelparts.com/s/_/?Ntt=overlander+gen+2&_requestid=1609
Hi this is mike I’m an adventurer and a dad and today I’m going to talk about Roof Top Tents. Specifically the Overlander II Roof Top Tent from Smittybilt. This particular example was provided by Smittybuilt and 4 Wheel Parts for the purposes of this review and an article with photos by Harry Wagner, who is here behind the camera today. This is the Standard Model Roof Top Tent which is 55 inches wide and it sleeps 2 and retails for $1149.99 Harry’s article will answer a lot of questions you might have about this product so click the link in the description to read that over on The Dirt. I’ll be talking about my experience with the Overlander gen 2 tent on my 2017 Tacoma and showing you how it sets up and some of the features I like.
The tent attaches to the rack with 4 clamps that key into the extruded aluminum support tracks. You can mount the tent to open on the left, right or to the rear. Attaching is is fairly easy, but you should check the bolts before each trip as the metal straps here can bend causing the whole thing to loosen up.
Roof Top Tent Set up
So here’s the key feature and one thing I suggested Harry change in his article. They are fast to deploy, but roof top tents are not necessarily easy to deploy. By the second or third time setting it up I had it done in 9 minutes. That’s pretty good. 9 minutes and you can crawl in a go to sleep. But it’s not easy per se. First you have to undo the main straps holding the vinyl cover on. They’re velcro with a double D-Ring buckle. The velcro makes it hard to get off the buckle. What I’ve found makes it easier is to peel the velcro, and reattach it with a loop loose, then use my thumbs to force it loose. Then repeat. Next you unzip the cover. The zipper starts on the driver side front and we’ll call this station 1. You can reach about halfway across then walk around to passenger side front (station 2) and reach the zipper and walk it back through passenger rear (station 3) to where it ends at driver side rear (station 4). Then you go back to station 2 to peel off the cover, do the same at station 3 then go to driver side and pull it all down. You can zip it off if you enjoy trying to re-attach zippers on big heavy dusty things, or just leave it hanging if you just want to be done faster. Next there are 4 more velcro straps with double D-Rings securing the RTT in the folded position. I’m sure it’s recommended to always double buckle these, but I haven’t been. It’s the only way I can keep my times under 10 minutes. As such, these are easy and require you to hit station 1, station 2, station 3 and station 4 again. At this point you can deploy the ladder. The ladder has a strap and quick clip to hold in securely on the tent. To get this you either have to stand on the passenger tire, or the tailgate and reach over. If you’ve guessed that I don’t strap it in because, "where’s it going to go under that heavy vinyl cover," give yourself a gold star.
