UPTOP 4101 Roof Top Tent Mounting System User Manual

UPTOP 4101 Roof Top Tent Mounting System

Product Information

The Rapid Release Tent Mounting System is a kit designed for anchoring a roof top tent to a roof rack. The kit consists of rear cross bar anchor points, middle and front slide mounts, inserts, tamper-resistant fasteners, flat washers, and pillow pouch VC3 1mL thread lock. The kit also includes instructions for proper installation.

Product Usage Instructions

1. Mounting Hardware: First, remove the cosmetic end cap from one end of the cross bar. Install the two inserts and reinstall the cosmetic cap and place the cross bar rack into the roof rack so that the inserts face the rear of the vehicle. You should be able to see them when you are standing behind the vehicle.
2. Rear Hatch: Measure from the rear of the rear cross bar to the rear of the middle cross bar (Measurement A) and from the front of the middle cross bar to the rear of the front cross bar (Measurement B). Record these measurements. Your roof top tent needs to rest/anchor to your roof rack at three locations per side for a total of six contact areas regardless of your tent length to ensure that the tent is properly held in place for extreme off road environments.
3. Rail Hardware: Source ten M8 hex bolts (length is 20mm) that will slide into those tracks and will be compatible with the included nylon locking flange nuts provided with your kit.
4. Installation: Carefully flip the tent over onto the top so you can make accurate measurements and comfortably work from the bottom side of the tent. Measure and install the rear cross bar anchor points and middle and front slide mounts according to the provided instructions. Tighten the nylon locking flange nuts into place.
5. Warning: The typical roof top tent weighs in excess of 150 pounds. The size and shape make it unrealistic to think that you can lift the unit by yourself and place it on top of a vehicle. NEVER attempt to load or remove the tent by yourself. We recommend a lifting hoist or a gaggle of friends to help you lift your pop-top hotel room to the roof of the vehicle. It is the responsibility of the end user at all times to ensure that special care is taken during installation and removal of the roof top tent to avoid damage to the tent, vehicle, or yourself and/or other people.

Thank you for trusting upTOP™ as your choice for adventure gear. We proudly design, develop, test, and manufacture our products along the front range of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. A lot of thought has gone into this product design so that you can install and maintain the product yourself. Browse these instructions to familiarize yourself with the process and required tools prior to beginning your installation. If at any time you do not feel confident completing the installation yourself we recommend professional installation of this product through our network of authorized resellers all over the globe. You can find more information about authorized retailers and installation centers under our dealer locator tab located on our website.

TOOLS REQUIRED

• Security Bit (Provided. Size Not disclosed for security reasons)
• 13mm wrench
• Tape Measure
• Tool to remove cross bars from roof rack*

Rapid Release Tent Mounting System
Tool required for cross bar removal will vary. See original rack installation instructions for proper tool.

NOTES ABOUT INSTALLATION

• This system utilizes some hardware from your roof top tent provider.
• Specialized hardware may be required for some roof top tent brands for compatibility with mounting rails.
• This product is not compatible with the use of tent risers.
• For determining vehicle clearance you need to measure the height of your vehicle, roof rack, and your roof top tent. Add .500” (12mm) to those combined measurements to determine overall vehicle height.
• Roof top tents can be extremely heavy. Never attempt to remove a tent from the vehicle without the assistance of a lifting device or additional people present to help remove the unit from your vehicle.
• Use extreme caution when removing and installing the tent onto your vehicle. Always double check hardware to ensure it is tight and the tent is held in place securely.

Rapid Release Tent Mounting System Kit

*Apply provided VC3 to the six (6) rear cross bar fasteners and allow to air dry for 30 minutes prior to  installation.

STEP 1

Mounting Hardware

• You will need to remove the REAR load bar on your roof rack to install the two (2) threaded inserts into the channel as pictured above.
• For Bravo Roof Racks: Use a 5/32 Allen wrench to remove the factory hardware. Install the two (2) inserts and reinstall the cross bar so that the threaded inserts face the REAR of the vehicle. You should be able to see them when you are standing behind the vehicle.
• For Alpha Roof Racks: You will need to remove the armor from your Alpha roof rack to gain access to the rear cross bar.Once you have the armor removed use a 7/16” wrench to remove the cross bar. Install the two (2) inserts and reinstall the cross bar so that the threaded inserts face the REAR of the vehicle. You should be able to see them when you are standing behind the vehicle.
• For Zulu Roof Racks: Use a 5/32 Allen wrench to remove the rear cross bar. Use the same tool to remove the cosmetic end cap from one end of the cross bar. Install the two (2) inserts and reinstall the cosmetic cap and place the cross bar rack into the roof rack so that the inserts face the REAR of the vehicle. You should be able to see them when you are standing behind the vehicle.
• For Prinsu Roof Racks: Use the appropriate TORX or Allen bit to remove the rear cross bar. Install the two (2) inserts and reinstall the cross bar so that the threaded inserts face the REAR of the vehicle. You should be able to see them when you are standing behind the vehicle.

STEP 2

Bracket Measurements

Your roof top tent needs to rest/anchor to your roof rack at three (3) locations per side for a total of six (6) contact areas regardless of your tent length to ensure that the tent is properly held in place for extreme off road environments.
We’re going to show you how to attach the brackets to the tent on the next few pages but for now we need to discuss the final resting location of the roof top tent. The roof rack is shown here translucent so that you can see the cross bars and how you need to measure to make sure the tent sits exactly where you want it to when attached.

• In all installations the 4101 brackets will attach to the back of the REAR cross bar for easy access to the security screws so that you can remove the tent from the vehicle.
• The 4102 brackets will be placed so that they can grip around two (2) additional cross bars located towards the middle and front of the roof rack.
• You need to ensure that your chosen final position for the tent will provide adequate clearance for operation of the rear hatch of the vehicle (if equipped) as well as any lighting you might have installed at the front of the roof rack that extends above the overall height of the roof rack. Those two areas for you to check are shown in GREEN above.
• The PINK lines show where the 4101 and 4102 brackets will rest against the cross bars when the tent is pushed fully forward so that the security screws can be installed.
• The 4101 brackets should be as close to the rear of the mounting rails underneath your tent as possible.
• You need to make two (2) measurements to line up the 4102 brackets as shown above:

Measurement A (Shown in BLUE): Taken from the REAR of the REAR cross bar to the REAR of the MIDDLE cross bar. Record that measurement here:__
Measurement B (Shown in RED): Taken from the FRONT of the MIDDLE cross bar to the REAR of the FRONT cross bar. Record that measurement here:___

STEP 3

Rail Hardware

There are many different mounting hardware sets for roof top tents. In most cases this kit intends for you to re-purpose the rail mounting hardware (slide bases and studs). A few exceptions to this are as follows:

• iKamper 3.0 variants selected at checkout will include PN 4091 Qty 10 to use for this step.
• iKamper 2.0 variants selected at checkout will include PN 4076 Qty 10 to use for this step.
• 23 Zero Kabari have a special extrusion attached to the underside of the tent that is M8 hardware compatible from the factory. You can simply source ten (10) M8 Hex bolts (length is 20mm) that will slide into those tracks and will be compatible with the included nylon locking flange nuts provided with your kit.

The majority of roof top tents feature individual aluminum slides with drop in bolts that can be replaced as they are worn or damaged. More often than not those roof top tents will only ship with eight (8) mounting slides total. Our kit is optimized for a total of ten (10) anchor points however it is possible to use the kit with only eight (8) if that is what you have. In the instance that you have only 8 mounting slides we recommend that the middle location receive two (2) and the front location would get the remaining one (1). You can always obtain more slides by contacting your roof top tent manufacture or place of purchase for additional hardware if needed.

• Remove the cosmetic cap (if equipped) at the rear of your tent mounting rail and install your mounting slides as shown. As discussed five (5) per side is optimum but 4 is acceptable.
• Reinstall the cosmetic cap (if equipped) to prevent the slides from exiting the mounting rail.

STEP 4

4101 and 4102 Installation
It is much easier to complete this step if you carefully flip the tent over onto the top so you can make accurate measurements and comfortably work from the bottom side of the tent.

• Align the holes in the 4101 and 4102 brackets to the slide mounts placed into your channels during STEP 3 as shown above.
• As mentioned in STEP 3 the preferred amount of slide mounts would be 10 (5 per side) but if you only have eight (8) refer to the RED X above for the locations that you would skip/not use. If you’ve got ten (10) put them in all available locations.
• Start the supplied hardware but do not fully tighten.
• Place the 4101 near the rear of the tent as your base measurement for the rear cross bar location.
• Apply the measurements recorded in STEP 2 and place the 4102 brackets to coincide with those measurements.
• Once you are certain the brackets are placed in the correct spots use a 13mm wrench to fully tighten the nylon locking flange nuts into place.

STEP 5
WARNING The typical roof top tent weighs in excess of 150 pounds. The size and shape make it unrealistic to think that you can lift the unit by yourself and place it on top of a vehicle. NEVER attempt to load or remove the tent by yourself. We recommend a lifting hoist or a gaggle of friends to help you lift your pop-top hotel room to the roof of the vehicle. It is the responsibility of the end user at all times to ensure that special care is taken during installation and removal of the roof top tent to avoid damage to the tent, vehicle, or yourself and/or other people.

Place The Tent On the Vehicle
By way of lifting hoist or a substantial group of able-bodied friends lift the tent into the air, position yourselves to be able to lift the tent onto the vehicle and GENTLY sit in place as shown.

• NOTICE that the tent and mounts are sitting BEHIND the final resting place of the cross bars as indicated by the GREEN areas. If the bolts that came with your tent are obnoxiously long take special care that the bolts don’t get caught up on the cross bars of the roof rack. If desired you can trim the bolts down to a shorter length that nests inside the 4101 and 4102 with the hardware installed.
• DO NOT slam the tent down with excess force on the thinner tabs of the 4102 brackets, You can bend them and cause fitment issues around your cross bars. They are made of 304 stainless steel and are very strong. As such bent tabs are an indication of abuse and NOT covered under the lifetime product warranty. Those tab areas are indicated above with a small PINK line.

STEP 6

PUSH FORWARD

Seat The Mounts
From the rear of the tent/vehicle:

• PUSH the tent forward with some force so that it slides forward until the rear 4101 brackets contact the REAR cross bar.
• LISTEN for a fairly audible “Clack” when the bracket fully seats up against the load bar.
• VISUALLY verify that with both 4101 seated against the rear cross bar that all four (4) 4102 brackets are fully engaged/seated firmly against the rear of their respective cross bar.
• VISUALLY verify that the tent is sitting centered on the vehicle as intended. If you need to adjust the tent left/right on the vehicle you will need to slide it back and disengage the brackets in order to do so.
• IF YOUR alignment is off, you have rear hatch (if equipped) collision, or you have front lighting interference you will need to measure and adjust the brackets for better positioning around those obstacles.

STEP 7

Security Fasteners

At this point you are ready to attach the tent to the roof rack at the rear with the supplied security bolts. You will need a hand driver to install the provided bit into in order to tighten the fasteners.

• Each location will get a security bolt and a flat washer. As indicated on page 2 you must first apply the VC3 thread compound to the fasteners and allow the hardware to air dry for 30 minutes prior to installation.
• Align the threaded inserts to the 4104 brackets and install the hardware tightening the hardware to 3 Ft. Lb. to fully seat the fasteners.

TENT REMOVAL

To remove the tent:

• Remove the security bolts with the supplied tool.
• Slide the tent backwards.
• With a hoist or helpers lift the tent off the vehicle.
• Replace the security screws into the threaded inserts to prevent them from being lost.
• When removed store the roof top tent on a stand or propped against a wall using a side of the tent as load bearing. DO NOT REST THE TENT ON THE GROUND ON THE RAPID RELEASE SYSTEM.
• Keep your security bit in a safe place. The only way to obtain a replacement tool is with an original order number for an order originating with a Rapid Release system as a line item. Information about the tool will not be released via phone or email at any time to ensure security of your roof top tent.

Contact Information

upTOP Overland
2278 Manatt Court
Unit C11
Castle Rock, Colorado 80104
720.730.6381
[email protected]

Do your part. Our company is founded and staffed by outdoor enthusiasts that understand how fragile our planet really is. The most important message that we can impart to you about enjoying our open spaces is to leave them better than you found them. Don’t be a dick. Pick up after yourself. Pick up after others that don’t and when possible educate them as to why they should. Stay on designated trails, camp sites, and pathways. If you take it with you, bring it back with you. There are no excuses.
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upTOP Overland is a US based manufacturer of off road products operating out of Colorado. All information contained in this material is the intellectual property of Relic Automotive Design, dBA upTOP Overland. Duplication, alteration, or distribution of this material without express written permission from upTOP Overland is forbidden. Just. Don’t.

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