Found a few pictures with the AirLand mounted to a Tacoma.
The guy has an FJ Cruiser too, and mounts his the same way as mine.

He is using Thule bars on the Tacoma.







An FJ 40 with one on the roof and a trailer
http://www.expeditionportal.com/equi...40/edsfj40.php





Custom rack setup for a Tacoma, same tent as mine.





On a 4th gen 4Runner, again, same tent I have.

 

Good reading on roof top tents and wind.
http://expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6271

The consensuses is that there is nothing to worry about.

Now about weight on top of a roof rack, that depends on your crossbars and your rack system you use.

If using a factory rack such as I am using, you have to beef it up a bit by adding aftermarket crossbars and distributing the weight.

Most factory racks are fine if you use enough crossbars.

 

We still sell the roof-top-tents and they have a new larger version coming soon. We have them listed in the Vendor section. Made on the assembly line as the ARB tent. In fact they were made before ARB started offering them. For the money the RTT is a great value. For more information on these tents send your request to info@trdparts4u.com or visit the vendor section and see our ad. TRDParts4U.com Here is the old style...

 

Ran across an old thread over on Expeditionportal.com
http://expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=8148

Very very old roof top tents, a little history on them.






Lots more pictures at the above URL.

 

great link/pics Corey...
You really have to admire them back in the 50's everything was 'aero' style.

 

Yeah, you can see where the sci-fi comes in too in that era for the rocket ships they had in the movies.

Fins fins everywhere



I am looking through a bunch of old threads over at the Portal in the camping section where I found that thread.
Already drained my battery once today on the laptop, back on it again.

 

Wow that would almost be like having a big wing on top of the car. I bet it wanted to fly at high speeds!

 

Cool historic pics, Corey. The lower-right pic of the woodie looks like Timberline Rd. on Mt. Hood (along with an old Oregon plate).

 

I thought so to Bob, looks like your neck of the country.

Here is another pic, but not of an old one.
Just another rig I found.
I like how he is camped right by the water.

I know some nice sites like that up at Greenwater where I have gone for years.
That is if the forest service has not destroyed them all.

 

Actually purely from a safety standpoint "right by the water" like the above pic is the last place you want to camp, heavy rains/spring run-off sometimes miles away can cause any river/small lake to over flow it's banks in a flash flood, often with little or no warning to you. Larger lakes/seas/oceans are not usually a concern in this way although they carry the dangers of storm surges/abnormal tides and so forth.
It's always best to camp above the "flood plain" when camping near a river/lake. You can usually identify it easily. Look for a defined edge or ridge to the side of the body of water this is a good identifier of the highest "normal" average water level. Another good 'high water' identifier is the gravel esker, this marks the river bed "in flood". If you set up your camp beyond this edge and off the esker you should have no worries at all.
Don't forget when digging your toilet pit you must be at least 30' from any body of water to prevent contamination of the water.

During the spring season and when stormy weather is in the area be extra vigilant when wheeling along river banks, always keep an eye open for places to climb out of the river bed. This applies to our desert region members too, remember desert land does not absorb water very well and when cruising up narrow arroyos these places can flood violently and unexpectedly.

safety lesson over
Aviator

 

Interesting thought Joey... if you could design the tent's body to maximize lift and minimize drag you could reduce the effect of the added weight and posibly improve the vehicle's fuel efficiency.

 

Now I am looking at awnings for it.
Found a good brand, the Fiamma F35 Pro.
Here it is on three Toyotas.
Fist an 80 series, A Tacoma, then an FJ Cruiser.

These pull out much like a projection screen.





Awning is not deployed though below.

 

I'd be interested to know how they get it to stay out without guy-wires to brace the poles. A lower cost alternative would be a simple tarp, 2 poles, 4 tent pegs and some rope lol.

 

Check this out.
At first glance in the down position it looks just like my Maggiolina AirLand tent.
But when opened it is the Columbus model.

You can enter them from the rear and sides.
He has a cool aftermarket bumper made by Luke at www.4X4labs.com

The ladder is an option, and with just moving it to the left some, it will make entering the tent very easy.
No need to use the Maggiolina ladder at all.





The Columbus model is here.
http://www.autohomeus.com/
http://www.autohomeus.com/products/columbus.php

It has more headroom than my AirLand model, but you loose some at the end for your feet.
Not quite as warm as my model since the lower roof overall traps in more heat which is great for winter camping or cold climates.

I am digging the rear bumper, may see if the place intends to ever make one for the FJ Cruiser.

 

I had heard that Autohome was going to revamp their website to add more info on their gear, and indeed they did.
http://autohomeus.com/index.php

What I saw next put a smile on my mug
The Maggiolina model I have comes in a few different configurations.
Mine is the AirLand.
What I saw next on the page made me smile.
Far right, third pic down.
http://autohomeus.com/rooftop/maggiolinaAirlander.php

Then I clicked into the gallery as I like to see the different rigs there what they look like.
Whoaa, top left pic.
http://autohomeus.com/gallery/index.php

Then I scrolled down to the Toyota section.
Top left again.
http://autohomeus.com/gallery/toyota.php

That is pretty cool they used a picture I sent in awhile back.

Getting very excited about taking it out over the upcoming holiday.
There is nothing like camping to get away from the everyday stress from work and life

 

Congrats Corey your rig is now defintitely going to be world famous...

 

Nice! Gotta save those screenshots! Will you become a brochure shot, too?

 

Thanks Paul and Bob.

Bob, I will get him some nice pics when I head out camping with the tent opened up.
I did not want to submit any of the driveway shots

Not sure if they have brochures or not.
That is the USA site, the mother site is in Italy where they make all of the tent models.
http://www.autohome.it/
I am not on that one.

 

Grats Cory looks great. I showed my girlfriend a pic of the rooftop Tent's and now she wants one for her runner. lol the ARB catalog is in route as we speak

 

Workhorse, thanks.
Get a hold of members trdparts4u.com or strap22.
They can get you the ARB tent.
They work at the same place, so contacting either of them is good.