Thule Tepui Autana 3 Rooftop Tent With Annex. First Impressions Of This Premium Three Person RTT

So I recently picked up this Thule Tepui Autana 3 with Annex, and after struggling like mad to get it assembled and on top of my Jeep, I thought I'd do a little overview of the tent and the annex. This is just my initial thoughts and impressions as I have not had a chance to actually spend a night in this, thought that is going to change in five days from uploading this video.
Please visit me over at Patreon - / fortheloveofgear
I will say that I think the tent is built pretty darn well and sturdy. Time will tell if this is true. The materials are certainly extremely burly and I wonder if that just conveys the idea of them being built really well. I have already torn a couple of stitches in trying to get it set up.
So far my biggest complaint is that it truly is maddening to assemble. Thule provides instructions in the form of non-descriptive pictures. There are absolutely no written directions for what goes where, and how, or why. They say pictures are worth a thousand words but I have found that to be far from the truth.
I am excited to get this rooftop tent transferred over to my utility trailer. The major drawback with RTT's is that you have to break the tent down if you want to go anywhere. Seems pretty obvious, but I know I tend to either run into town or to just go for drives in the woods when i'm camping. Having this RTT on a trailer will make that easy as you can simply park the trailer and you're good to go.
If there are more details you'd like to see about this tent let me know in the comments and i'll try and reply or make a video about those details.
As always, go ahead and like this video and subscribe to see more!

[@amreadyconsulting]

Thanks for the review. I've had mine for almost 2 years now and many adventures. Love it. The ladder trick is to extend all the way, then starting at the top rung, collapse it, then the next, then the next. The collapsed rungs should all be at the top. If the bugs are bad, I throw a t shirt of something down the side to seal those velcro hinge flaps etc. On trips where I need to fold it up to travel, I don't completely set it up. If it isn't hot, I just use one spring pole on one or two windows and don't spring pole out the head end. It saves setup and teardown time. I only use the annex on a small proportion of trips, the rest of the time I don't bother.

[@stuartdorman128]

Hey John, thanks for this - I just picked up a new old stock pre-Thule Autana 3 and I was trying to figure out how to pack it up after use. Having owned a Kukenam 3 before, I assumed it'd be similar. Could be more elegant for packing up - that's a struggle without a detachable ladder when mounted on the cab of a full size pick up. You're right, the instructions stink. But, the space is amazing, the ventilation rocks, being 6-7' above the ground means breezes are easier to catch in hot weather, and the annex means I'll be able to have my dogs sleep at the bottom of the ladder instead of inside the truck. The Thule colours are ok, but I'm happier with my green Tepui.

[@BerlinerStier]

Thanks for your very nice and good review! ❤ I was looking for a video for a whole tour + the annex. You made my day and now I am sure to buy it 😊. Greetz from Germany / Berlin

[@MaranaVisuals]

Hope you're enjoying the tent!

[@corbinflaming3951]

Thule literally makes instructional videos on their KZbin channel on how to assemble everything. I didn’t have a problem setting mine up. Good review though, the annex looks great

[@MaranaVisuals]

The annex is AWESOME. I only found the videos after I gave up for a bit and came back inside and hopped on the computer. I didn't find it super helpful.

[@jamesc6137]

Looks excellent. Thanks for a great review

[@tmsact]

Thank you for posting.

[@cyalexwang1421]

great video man!

[@D.Trider]

Thx! Just picked one up!

[@MaranaVisuals]

Awesome man! Hope you enjoy it.

[@ryancarpenter1678]

I love mine, I have the Tepui Ruggedized Series Autana 4 it’s awesome tons of room, mines orange. Great review, yes the directions were terrible.

[@MaranaVisuals]

Awesome. Glad you like yours. These things are pretty darn cool.

[@sourishmurmu7571]

adding a 270 awning with annex inteconnected would complete the deal

[@lavamazda05]

This tent is sweet!

[@CyclingBosniaHiking]

Nice video 👍👍👍

[@georgei231]

Hi! Thanks for the video. It's really helpful. Is it possible to leave the sleeping bags/pillows inside the tent when tent is closed?

[@MaranaVisuals]

We have the luxury mattress in there and we don’t leave anything else inside. I think you could leave some pillows and blankets with a thinner mattress though.

[@ChickenBeans8002]

is there a locking mechanism for the vehicle, to prevent theft?

[@roberthallam6824]

The mounting hardware is very secure. It’s the roof rack I worry about, pulling off the car roof in high winds.

[@MaranaVisuals]

Never had an issue in several years.

[@jackdulin5485]

On a windy day i put a racket strap to the D rings and fasten the racket to the jeep somewhere it takes the movement of the tent out.

[@MaranaVisuals]

Great idea!

[@simoncollinson1577]

Hi. Great video, thanks. I am going to buy one but I have a Toyota Amazon, which is quite high - is there spare material in the walls of the awning to allow for higher vehicles? Thanks

[@MaranaVisuals]

Yes there is and you can even buy an extension for the annex to provide more vertical room.

[@r3missus]

Nice video! How long does it take pop up and down? Once the one time assembly is done is it fast(e.g compared to regular tent), and is it a one person job? Asking because we recently became parents and it has to as convenient/easy as possible :)

[@MaranaVisuals]

That’s a hard one to answer. So my wife and I had a very hard time with initial set up and then installation. Of course, we also live in the middle of nowhere and had nobody to help us get it on the roof. Once you’re done with the initial set up it’s still a bit of a learning curve to get it set up and taken down. You can do it alone for sure but it’s helpful to have a second hand. It’s also super helpful to be able to get high up on your car, either standing on tires/doors. Thule makes a thing called a “step up” that is like a mini ladder that sits on your wheel. That is very handy and on my list. I think that once you get it all down and figured out the set up and take down shouldn’t be an issue. It’s for sure more of a pain in the neck than a ground tent but it’s so much more comfortable. I sleep like a baby in mine.

[@r3missus]

@@MaranaVisuals all right thanks for the thorough reply 👍

[@phonetikdok8218]

Great video. We think about buying one. Can you tell me how good it is blocking the sunlight? Because we are going to norway where the sun is shining 24/7 in the summer.

[@MaranaVisuals]

I have found it does a pretty god job. it's always far cooler and darker inside the tent. I believe they used to, and maybe still do, sell an accessory kit for sunlight. I think it's kind of a reflective cover.

[@HughMadBro]

Should’ve put a photo of it all packed up at the end 😂🤷🏼‍♀️

[@jeffzaccaro]

9:45 Whoa, I wasn't expecting Lil Dicky to be doing the review!

[@dunk88]

Are you saying all jews look the same?

[@DieterStapelberg]

Hey John, the first guy not to come off as a douchebag on the intro. Thanks man. Keep it real.

[@patticochran7606]

So you talked a lot about how they did not have instructions and yet you have not put together an instruction video to help the rest of us out lol I’d love to see you do an instruction video on how to mount it to the roof and how to zip things together. Thanks a lot look forward to your instruction video.

[@MaranaVisuals]

Well, as someone who paid 3k for this thing I didn't exactly want to take the time to do that.

[@mckeem1080]

Can you Timelapse the setup showing how it opens and how it closes up? My wife just literally bought this for Xmas.

[@MaranaVisuals]

Hey! Sorry, I actually don't own this anymore so I can't help you out.

[@mckeem1080]

Sold that hog as soon as you found out what a pain in the ass vs versatility eh?

[@MaranaVisuals]

@@mckeem1080 bingo. Rooftop tents are cool but…well, you’ll find out the shortcomings soon enough.

[@sabrinanagel]

what cross bars do you have it on? Are they Thule too?

[@MaranaVisuals]

They are the Yakima Core Bars

[@stevez_605]

​@Pagosa Creative How well do those bars held up? I got a Ayer today but no crossbars yet to install on vehicle. So been searching and hoping to find people who has a Jeep Patriot with a roof top tent. I can never find someone who can give me real answer lol. But if these works then imma get me these ones cause of the price 😅

[@realsugeknight]

Is there enough room in the annex for someone to sleep?

[@MaranaVisuals]

Absolutely. You could probably fit a 2 person backpacking tent inside of it.

[@stonefarber3743]

How much does it cost, I found it on Amazon but it said $400 and I don’t think that’s accurate

[@MaranaVisuals]

I believe it is $2200

[@3BigGMoney]

Where is that table from?

[@MaranaVisuals]

It's an REI folding camp table.

[@anewperspective247]

Is it bear proof?

[@MaranaVisuals]

Doubtful

[@snowking171]

Hey everyone, I'm selling this same tent with annex brand new still in box, located in Southern California. Let me know if you're interested!

[@BryanPopeProductions]

Still available?

[@snowking171]

@@BryanPopeProductions yes it is. Not sure why my other replies haven't been posting. Maybe KZbin doesn't like me putting my email on here?

[@smelsfishy]

I’d be interested if still available.

[@snowking171]

@@smelsfishy I still have it but KZbin keeps removing my comment with my email for spam reasons. Have any idea how else we can get into contact?

[@Calafi777]

🥱

[@MaranaVisuals]

Sorry!

[@SpecF77]

incredibly difficult huh..I really hope that was sarcasm.

[@MaranaVisuals]

It was not. I found most things about this tent incredibly difficult so I sold it. Much rather sleep on the ground and have less headaches when dealing with set up and break down.

[@sapperROSS]

​@@MaranaVisuals I feel bad for you if a rtt is difficult

[@albertolupo827]

Ma come tenda è buona oppure meglio guardare un'altra marca

[@leighsutherland6222]

This seems like a huge pain in the arse, for very little space. A popup would be a better choice for me.

[@SticksAandstonesBozo]

Who let Chris Watts out of jail ?

[@martingiroux6448]

dont cook inside the annexe , the smell is gonna stick to it and you will get visitors ...

[@bearlycamping]

Lol good call

[@MaranaVisuals]

You're right. I never did wind up doing that. Was just a thought.

[@matejg.5667]

Damn .. You Americans really need instruction for EVERYTHING ... with pictures, text, extra help .. Come on .. use some common sence. Othervise, nice review.

[@MaranaVisuals]

Lol we sure do.