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rustyboxx

Member Since: 08 Oct 2012
Location: Poole
Posts: 548

2015 Defender 90 Puma 2.2 CSW Montalcino Red

Armadillo+ roof tent- advice please

Hi all, I'm in the process of looking to buy a roof tent for the 90 and I'm weighing up the pros and cons of all the usual suspects. However, before I make my mind up I was wondering if anyone had knowledge or experience of Armadillo roof tents.

I saw the guys exhibiting up at Billing last month and their tent looked pretty good to my novice eyes. I know it's not in the HM, Hannibal camp, so to speak, but are they any good? They look very similar to the Primetech offering and I was wondering if they are the same but rebranded.

I have done a search on here but didn't find any reference to Armadillo tents. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers

Rusty 2015 90 XS CSW TDCi - Beautiful
2007 110 XS DCPU - An itch that needed scratching
2005 90 Td5 XS CSW - Utterly brilliant
2001 Discovery 2 ES Auto - A phase I went through
1996 90 Tdi CSW - Uber reliable
1989 90 2.5 Petrol Hardtop - My first proper Landy
1985 Range Rover Vogue V8 -Troublesome

28th Aug 2013 5:05pm

GUM97

Member Since: 05 Feb 2012
Location: Cheshire
Posts: 3555

1997 Defender 90 300 Tdi HT Stornoway Grey

A good friend of mine has one. The quality is 'lacking' compared to the other, more popular brands. Also, Armadillo seem to be lacking customer service skills somewhat

They're a local company to me, only about 7 miles away, and they wouldn't allow my friend to pick his tent up, and insisted that they had to courier it out, at his cost. Most unnecessary

An engine to TDi for!
"Land Rover- Proudly turning drivers into mechanics since 1948"

28th Aug 2013 7:33pm

leeds

Member Since: 28 Dec 2009
Location: West Yorkshire
Posts: 8581

Do I need to state vested interest??

Had a quick look at the Armadillo website.

What I could not find easily was

1) Company Registration Number

2) VAT registration Number

3) Postal address

OK 1 and 2 are explainable by saying it is a new small company with a small turnover

No postal address???

A quick look at the description of the roof tent shows it was formally known as RT01. Odd that is the description another company uses to describe a Chinese roof tent which we have also been offered.

Looking further around that website they do a copy of the Oztent/Rhinorack Foxwing. Exactly the same price as genuine Foxwing less the VAT however they make a darn sight more money on those then on genuine Foxwing as I know trade prices on them.

Fridges??

Quote:

Armadillo struggled to understand why an expedition Fridge/Freezer should be so expensive, we understood that a portable unit should be more robust than your standard domestic fridge sitting inert under your kitchen work top but why does that raise the cost by a factor of 10 for every cm3.

So we looked into the problem, after all there’s no point having the truck, the roof tent, the awning and the willingness if your beers going to be hot!

Well after considerable hunting we found a range of fridges that we think perform just as well as the leading brands presently available within the UK market.

Sounds impressive?

Then you see this

Quote:

Average Running Current: 4AMPS on 12V DC

That means it will flatten the standard 55 -100 amp hour battery in say 14-25 hours.

Compare that to say an ARB fridge

Quote:

CURRENT DRAW 0.89 amps/hour*
*Average power consumption tested at 3°C
cabinet temperature, 26°C-31°C ambient
temperature range, test duration of 66 hours
and supply voltage of 12V DC

i.e. It will last 4 times longer.

Now if you want a decent quality roof tent, not as high spec as the Autohome range consider the Roof Lodge tents by Nakatanenga. Their tents range from say about £840 to £1250. Am not sure what carriage costs would be. At least you will know who the manufacturer is.

Brendan

28th Aug 2013 8:39pm

rustyboxx

Member Since: 08 Oct 2012
Location: Poole
Posts: 548

Thanks Gum, good points to consider.

I'm leaning towards the established brands but time and money are a bit short. I need to find one before the L2B run in October. Happy to buy secondhand for the right money but ideally need a tent with covered ladder access and annex. These are a little scarce on fleabag and the usual sites.

It might be worth posting a wanted ad on here and see if anyone has something suitable. I'll be going to Peterborough, so might find something there. 2015 90 XS CSW TDCi - Beautiful
2007 110 XS DCPU - An itch that needed scratching
2005 90 Td5 XS CSW - Utterly brilliant
2001 Discovery 2 ES Auto - A phase I went through
1996 90 Tdi CSW - Uber reliable
1989 90 2.5 Petrol Hardtop - My first proper Landy
1985 Range Rover Vogue V8 -Troublesome

28th Aug 2013 8:56pm

bpman

Member Since: 21 May 2008
Location: Oslo
Posts: 8069

2008 Defender 110 Puma 2.4 SVX Station Wagon Santorini Black

russ

I'd recommend you look at this tread .... http://www.defender2.net/forum/topic21696.html

This is an excellent rtt

28th Aug 2013 9:06pm

rustyboxx

Member Since: 08 Oct 2012
Location: Poole
Posts: 548

Thanks Steve, I did see that and its very nice indeed, probably a bit too posh for my needs though.

I also appreciate Brendan's research and advice. I might just look into Nakatenga a bit further. Cost-wise they're not too bad, although it would be interesting to see what the shipping works out at.

Food for thought and a couple more options to consider, thanks guys

2015 90 XS CSW TDCi - Beautiful
2007 110 XS DCPU - An itch that needed scratching
2005 90 Td5 XS CSW - Utterly brilliant
2001 Discovery 2 ES Auto - A phase I went through
1996 90 Tdi CSW - Uber reliable
1989 90 2.5 Petrol Hardtop - My first proper Landy
1985 Range Rover Vogue V8 -Troublesome

28th Aug 2013 9:21pm

bpman

Member Since: 21 May 2008
Location: Oslo
Posts: 8069

No worries Russ, you would also get a good return on the maggie, and I've opted for a quick up 1.5 metre square changing room, happy to lend if you want

I was quite tempted to buy it ... Looks in great condition and has the bars too

28th Aug 2013 9:25pm

bpman

Member Since: 21 May 2008
Location: Oslo
Posts: 8069

Just remembered, JST has a maggie for sale, and Ken has a HM / foldy-out one for sale too

29th Aug 2013 5:31am

GUM97

Member Since: 05 Feb 2012
Location: Cheshire
Posts: 3555

rustyboxx- I'm sure you'll see something at Peterborough, and Armadillo are there too apparently

They didn't bother turning up on the Saturday at Harrogate in May! An engine to TDi for!
"Land Rover- Proudly turning drivers into mechanics since 1948"

29th Aug 2013 6:09am

rustyboxx

Member Since: 08 Oct 2012
Location: Poole
Posts: 548

Steve, thanks for all the advice and your very kind offer.

I've had a look at the Nak Roof lodge RTT's suggested by Brendan and I must admit I prefer the layout of that type of tent. I know the Maggies are an ace piece of kit but I really do need the additional annex (for the other half) and flexibility the Nak type tents offer. I would also struggle with the cost of a Maggie once the other bits are added.

Its a difficult choice and one that I need to consider carefully. I think I'll have a good look around at Peterborough, not only at what exhibitors might be offering but also RTT's that other LR owners have and figure out what is likely to suit best.

Thanks to all who have given advice so far, its very helpful indeed.

29th Aug 2013 11:51am

rustyboxx

Member Since: 08 Oct 2012
Location: Poole
Posts: 548

Been looking at Hanninbal family roof tents too. Would this be too big for a 90? Seen one with an annex, all less than a year old for £1200. Waddya think? 2015 90 XS CSW TDCi - Beautiful
2007 110 XS DCPU - An itch that needed scratching
2005 90 Td5 XS CSW - Utterly brilliant
2001 Discovery 2 ES Auto - A phase I went through
1996 90 Tdi CSW - Uber reliable
1989 90 2.5 Petrol Hardtop - My first proper Landy
1985 Range Rover Vogue V8 -Troublesome

1st Sep 2013 6:41pm

Tarrel

Member Since: 21 Sep 2012
Location: Ross-shire, Scotland
Posts: 94

2012 Defender 110 Puma 2.2 USW Santorini Black

I had a very close look at the Armadillo at Peterborough. I've used both Eesy-awn and Hannibal extensively in Africa (multi-week trips, moving on every day - lots of putting up / taking down), so I have a critical eye.

The tent looked well made and had all the "essentials" (e.g. elastic cords to pull the fabric in as you fold it.) The mattress is thinner than, say, Howling Moon, and the tent cover didn't look as substantial as the Eesy-awn. I liked the telescopic ladder. Obviously one can't comment on long term durability, but the price point is compelling compared to the big brand competitors.

Brendan's point about the company "substance" is worth thinking about IMO, but I did ask the guy if it might be possible to collect and have fitted on site to save transport costs, and he said that would be fine.

Good point about the fridges. I have a three-way (240/12/gas) absorption fridge which drinks power, and I couldn't understand how people managed to run their fridges on an auxilliary battery, until I discovered how little current a top-spec (ARB, Waeco, etc) model draws.

(FWIW, we find the most effective way to run ours is on gas).

HTH. 2012 Defender Utility Wagon
1981 SIII 88 inch SW
Follow our blog: www.newlifeinnorthernscotland.blogspot.co.uk

11th Sep 2013 5:44pm

sc70

Member Since: 29 Jun 2010
Location: Tregaron
Posts: 261

2015 Defender 90 Puma 2.2 CSW Santorini Black

We brought two of there fox/bat wing copy at billing, service was excellent one had brackets missing and they were posted on as promised. Are they as good? We paid £300 compared to about £700 and I dont see that much difference.

Oh and regards to the made in china, my new jet tent (oztent) guess where its made

www.Equi-Trek-Tregaron.co.uk

Main Dealers for Equi-Trek and Brian James Trailers

17th Sep 2013 6:20pm

Jim_Bean

Member Since: 10 May 2011
Location: Staffordshire / Shropshire border
Posts: 613

2013 Defender 110 Puma 2.2 XS CSW Santorini Black

Thread resurrection!

I just saw the Armadillo tents at Billing and wanted to see if anyone else had any further experience with them. They seemed a very helpful bunch and the Armadillo+ (larger version) seemed a reasonable deal at £1100 for the tent and the annexe.

http://www.armadillo4x4.co.uk/Armadillo4x4_Roof-Tent_plus.html

I just wondered if anyone else had had any real world experience of them?

Is there a better deal for a tent and annexe at £1000ish?

I was hoping to look at the Tuff-Trek tent as well but they did not attend Billing.

3rd Aug 2015 3:05pm

Buzzsaw

Member Since: 15 Aug 2012
Location: Swindon
Posts: 61

Another thread revival! Was on the lookout for a future roof tent purchase at LRO Show today.

Spent some time on the Armadillo stand today and I have to admit I was fairly impressed, definitely not the same build quality as the other big names though. Given that it might get used a couple of times a year, I don't know if it's worth me spending a huge amount on a posh one!

Having said that, I saw quite a few second-hand ones on the top of vehicles with for sale signs! Maybe that's the better buy!

19th Sep 2015 5:02pm

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