Darche Ridgeback Hard Shell Rooftop Tent | Install And Overview!

The Import Prado 70 Series gets a rooftop tent! Today we install and take a look at the Darche Ridgeback Hard Shell Rooftop Tent which is one of the newer rooftop tents on the market. Get your questions in for the Darche Ridgeback Rooftop tent and I will be sure to answer them in the review!
Thank you to Moxwelding Fabrication for organising and fitting the Darche tent! - www.moxwelding.com.au/
The Darche Ridgeback RTT - darche.com.au/product/view/14693
For ultimate roof top quality and comfort, look no further than the DARCHE Ridgeback series. This flagship aluminium hard shell roof top tent range delivers every bit of quality engineering and construction that you’ve come to expect from DARCHE - all in a stunning aluminium shell.
The Darche Roof Top Tent is aimed to be one of the best on the market in 2023. However there is no perfect rooftop tent, to big and it looks ugly and is heavy but you can fit all your clothes, to small and its lighter but you cant fit anything. The Darche hits right in the middle allowing some internal room without it being overweight or ugly on a wagon or a canopy.
Follow me!
/ adamreed_aus

[@HammerRocks]

I have the same RTT on my 80 Series. It's amazing how much extra room you get inside with that U bar extension at the rear. It really opens it up. I also fitted a 30mm mattress topper in mine & has improved the comfort a great dael. Keep an eye on the LED light strip as it is only stuck hap-hazardly & it tends to lift off, particularly in hot weather. This is probably the poorest part of this tent. It seems like an after-thought feature by the way its placed & mounted. I also got a 2m USB to USB extesion for its power cord, so that I can place the USB power bank at one of the rear pockets (where our heads are), rather than the side, for convenience when turning it on & off. I bought mine in April 2022, and 6 months after I bought it, Darche sent me 2 pairs (4x) of L shaped metal end-caps for the mounting rails. These new metal end-caps bolt to both the mounting rail & the side extrusion channel of the RTT. Apparently this was added to provide extra safety. This is to prevent the tent sliding off the rails if the bolts come loose. I noticed from your video, you still only have the plastic end covers. Perhaps something to contact Darche about. My understanding was these metal end-caps were being included automatically on new batches of Ridgebacks. Unless yours was an old stock and was in the same batch as mine.

[@fatmanoverlanding]

Thanks for the tip about the USB extension. And I totally agree with you with the LED light strip. It's poorly done. I too received the new metal L brackets for my Ridgeback, post purchase (Jul '22). Also keep an eye on the 3 "stainless steel" hinges at the front. After 2 months, one of mine started to rust. I thought stainless steel didn't rust? But Darche replaced it under warranty. And while the 2 x boot bag were nice to have, they require a sail track to mount them, which the RTT does not have. So I bought a 1m length from Bunnings and cut 2 x short pieces from it and bolted both on the RTT's channel rail (on the ladder side). Now I can mount and remove them easily.

[@_knotty3510]

Such a sweet rig, love how unique it is. Bring on the touring capabilities.

[@Chasing_Back_Roads]

The Tradesman Roofracks Wedgetail rack is their new platform series mate. Made in Victoria in Bayswater

[@slygamer01]

Have the pull-down strap outside of the elastic when closing the lid. Then the elastic will help to pull the sides and back in.

[@rosskelly8268]

I looked at this one and the "Highrize" version that costs another grand. I actually prefer the standard Ridgeback because I like the skylight and the particular fitout of pockets inside. And it's $1k cheaper:)

[@shipsey2]

Can't wait for your first initial review been eyeing one of these for ages

[@CMReid]

Looks good mate, keen for your review. Safe travels 👍🏼

[@Sunderlanding_AUS]

you couldnt have made it come together better if you tried! that looks a million bucks and ties in so well with the whole car

[@derrickmurphy9859]

Loving it.

[@voodoocruiser2543]

Good run down mate. I have the same tent. Couple suggestions. Take a knife and remove the outside few CMs from your mattress topper. Makes all the difference to how much you can fit in there. I have 2x toppers, pillow, dooner etc and it closes fine. Also, open all the windows and lay them in before you close. Makes life quick and easy

[@njpw1402]

thanks heaps Adam loved the video and I think I might go get it now 🙂

[@JacobTraficante]

Now its got touring capabilities, Just needs treps......

[@spellerlittlewing]

Cool tent my style

[@oldluxy]

My ironman awning came with a ratchet spanner 🤙

[@robertanderson5796]

I love Darche products, this is a great RTT except for the fact that there no awnings over the entries. I spent the extra and went Bush Company

[@mickhutterer9105]

Hardkorr with the 270 awning provided a 13mm spanner first time I have seen that

[@roberttaylor7451]

Tuff stuff overland tents come with a ratchet wrench, or spanner if you’re down under

[@Phillip_The_Fry]

interesting that u put the awning on the drivers side. The rig looks mean, it;s nice and clean. How's the troopy? Hold on to that mate, Ronny Dahl has a pretty good build I think you should have a look at.

[@chrissadventures6678]

Question for next video. Are you going to get a sola panel on top if you ever or already have a 12 volt system?

[@nearlygnarly6526]

I just bought the same RTT. I was wondering how it’s been after a year?

[@ToyTehShammy]

Is there any way to mount a solar panel to the top of it?

[@ota-outthereadventures510]

Hey mate hows the flyscreen ? Will it be midge proof ?

[@randommumble.wavfiles6952]

How much does 1kz engines go for around you in aus?

[@jeremyagnew333]

What wheels are you running?

[@HardstylePete]

What's it like to drive offroad with these roof top tents?

[@quinnwarman5139]

How much does the tent weigh and price please thanks

[@Watto1981]

Can you add solar panels or maxtrax to the roof of the tent? Also, I'm 6 foot 4, I reckon I would struggle to fit in there

[@Natehorsfall]

How much are they?

[@jamiemolan8666]

How come you decided to go with darche instead of the boss aluminium rtt? Did you have a falling out or something?

[@adamreed4x4]

I had no falling out with Boss, Darche suited my needs for sizing weight and price. The Boss tent is wide and the Prado is skinny, it would hang out on the sides which I can't stand, plus its double the price 😅

[@jarrodphillips9076]

How much was it ?

[@superhacker101]

like 5k

[@ashleyjamieson7172]

Ironman 4x4 hand out ratchet spanners

[@thaomakris5528]

Wasn’t to long ago that he was a crash pad dealer wasn’t he ? What happened there ?

[@moxweldingfabrication5113]

During covid, we had trouble getting stock from many different suppliers. Due to this we decided to drop all retail products and focus primarily on our builds. We are not a darche retailer/reseller, we use this rooftop tent as one of our tent options on our builds. We have absolutely no beef with crashpad, in fact we have the utmost respect for Brett and his team and their fantastic quality product range. Darche also have some great products but once again we are not a retailer and we carry no stock.