ARB Skydome Swag Series

[Weekender41]

Hello Portal Members,
`
Just wanted to let any of you whom may be interested, the swag style ground tents from ARB will not be sold in the US for the foreseeable future. They were released in late October by ARB USA but then quickly pulled out of the market due to fire safety regulations. The series of ground tents needs to be completely redesigned and remanufactured to comply with US fire codes. I just got off the phone with ARB USA directly and they don't have a clue when they will get them again. There is no issues with the vehicle mounted tents as they have completely different regulation than the ground tents.
`

`
This was a bummer for me who was very excited to get a ground tent with a mattress cushion built into it, sadly, that will have to put on hold unless I can find a tent that has similar build style as the Skydome.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Fwiw they were released far earlier than last October in fact by October they were sold out in the US. Along with that, RTT's are now fire rated with their recent models starting last year

 

[ARB_USA]

Roof top tents have the same regulations as ground tents. All current ARB Simpson 3 models have all been updated to meet the current fire retardant regulations to be sold legally in both the USA and Canada (I believe we are currently the only manufacturer that meets these regulations).

As for the swags, the material is a thicker canvas than our rooftop tents. The swags have been delayed because we are having a hard time sourcing high quality, thick canvas that meets both the waterproofness as well as the current fire retardant regulations for both Canada and the USA.

ARB Awnings also meet the fire retardant regulations as well.

 

[Weekender41]

The pros have spoken! Kurt, thanks for updating my info about what october was. I should have been listening more carefully. ARB, thanks for the information. Once I start building a trailer I will look into a RTT. Just really didnt want to bite that bullet quite yet so a ground swag was more practical. Cheers though.

 

[surferdude78]

Being a non-smoker & smart enough to pitch my tent away from fire pits, I'd be concerned about any flame retardants used in any tent I sleep in.

Flame retardants in tents may rub off on hands
http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/ehs/newscience/2014/Feb/flame-retardants-in-tents

Flame Retardant Applications in Camping Tents and Potential Exposure
http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/ez400185y

 

[michel77]

I am still very much interested in the swag concept as a replacement to my roof tent, are there any update son potential availability?

 

[ARB_USA]

I am still very much interested in the swag concept as a replacement to my roof tent, are there any update son potential availability?

Unfortunately no updates at this time. We are still finalizing the materials to meet the fire retardant regulations all while still maintaining the waterproofness of the canvas.

 

[stevesimpson6]

I was very disappointed with ARB USA's customer service. I was the 2nd US order through Toyota of Dallas could never get an answer from them on a shipping date. They finally canceled my order and said keep checking the web page for updates. Now I've lost confidence in the material of the RTT. The RTT being safer because it's 7+ feet off the ground is not a safe assumption.


Sent from my iPad
Steve Simpson
Stafford, Virginia

 

[cruiseroutfit]

To be fair ARB was always very up front with ETA's and availability... we sold a handful of the first batch and no promises were made or broken about the second batch.

 

[stevesimpson6]

ARB was not up front with me about their swag tent, they strung me a long for months. I have e folder full of emails with missed ETA's.


Sent from my iPad
Steve Simpson
Stafford, Virginia

 

[Weekender41]

That's no good Steve, ARB was very informative and open about their Swag type ground tents. I called them after trying 5 different sites that advertised them... They answered all my questions and were very friendly (thats why Im rocking their decal and buy many things from them). But what I have never understood is why would you need flame resistant material for a tent? You would hope those that camp have enough common sense to douse fires and not become complacent while using fire. Anyways...

 

[cruiseroutfit]

ARB was not up front with me about their swag tent, they strung me a long for months. I have e folder full of emails with missed ETA's.

Interesting, after batch #1 sold out, they never offered us an ETA rather simply a 'No ETA' which tells us not to sell it

Sorry to hear you heard otherwise.

..But what I have never understood is why would you need flame resistant material for a tent? You would hope those that camp have enough common sense to douse fires and not become complacent while using fire. Anyways...

Same reason your mattress does, laws. California (and I believe NY) as well as other states using their fire code, Canada and others, etc* all require fire resistant material be used even in 'camping tents' as defined by “any portable temporary shelter or structure designed to protect people from the elements” and includes such products as camping tents, play tents, and ice fishing tents."

http://tentexperts.org/safety/safetyarticles/flammabilityrequirements

*I've not done any research about which states/countries have camping gear req's and which don't, that list was detailed to be by a camping equipment manufacture.

 

[choochie]

You could always get the swag from eBay or an online store - just pay a bit for shipping? Probably work out the same cost without the US retail added on. I was shopping for a swag but ended up getting a stretcher tent / tent cot. Comfy and off the ground!

 

[Utah KJ]

Sounds like you've been consulting the wrong outfitters.

 

[Weekender41]

Sounds like you've been consulting the wrong outfitters.

Who?