Tepui rtts

buckwilk

Observer
Twice I've tried to respond to the dent's in rtt thread. Despite being logged in and completely complying my posts don't show. I've PMd mods and been told this is a recurring problem. I wonder if it's a recurring problem if the product being discussed is an advertiser ?
 

gseim

New member
Forum bug I can believe. But dude I did not know they are an advertiser. If true that might explain the hostility and personal attacks I received when I started talking about problems with my Tepui that they refused to deal with. There seems to be a bunch of Tepui apologists on here. I was like, what world am I in and when did Tepui become it's overlords :wings:
 
Last edited:

aearles

Observer
Forum bug I can believe. But dude I did not know they are an advertiser. If true that might explain the hostility and personal attacks I received when I started talking about problems with my Tepui that they refused to deal with. There seems to be a bunch of Tepui apologists on here. I was like, what world am I in and when did Tepui become it's overlords :wings:

I did wonder if you had written your post exactly as is, but substituted the Smittybilt name in place of Tepui if the responses would have been any different. :)
 

Box Rocket

Well-known member
There is no reason for the average forum user to be an "apologist" or whatever you may think for ANY advertising vendor. It would serve no purpose at all since there would be no benefit to the forum member. People stand up for products and companies that they trust. Consumers are harsh and if there are problems with product quality or service, that company or product gets shredded. If the forum staff was "censoring" posts that were negative about an advertiser, that whole thread wouldn't even exist. You guys are being a bit ridiculous.
.
I too have had posts not post successfully because of the bug that has been described. There's no conspiracy.
 

gseim

New member
Not saying there's censoring bro, forums do have bugs. There's definitely apologists on here however and some of them are quite uptight. Not you so much, but clearly you're still biased as you seem to work with Tepui in some fashion.

Consumers can be harsh, but coming some someone who has thousands of consumers a year to make happy they can also be your best friend; you simply have to be willing to care. A few unhappy customers can change the course of an entire company just like a few happy ones can make it rise. Tepui is failing as the most fundamental level in backing their products and giving people confidence. Any decent 1st year marketing student would be able to observe the storm on the horizon that they are creating.
 

Box Rocket

Well-known member
I know there is no swaying you from your opinion, but the fact remains your issue is NOT a warranty issue. I wouldn't say I'm biased on this issue. All the other brands that compete with Tepui have the same construction and material and if it happened with one of those brands, the stance would be the same. NOT a warranty issue. What you call "apologists" because they have a different outlook on the product are in fact happy customers. There's no benefit to them for defending something they don't actually believe needs defending.
Once again, sorry you were disappointed and best of luck with whatever alternative solution you choose.
 

gseim

New member
I think any unbiased user would agree. A product that is damaged by the first normal use is badly engineered. It does not matter how many other companies also badly engineer a similar product. The fact that what is primary used against members who speak up against Tepui is personal and character attacks really says it all.

A warranty covers defects in materials and workmanship. A product whose materials cannot handle what it is advertised to do is defective my any legal standard. Quality is not graded on the curve, it's graded on the result.
 

Box Rocket

Well-known member
I think any unbiased user would agree. A product that is damaged by the first normal use is badly engineered. It does not matter how many other companies also badly engineer a similar product.

A warranty covers defects in materials and workmanship. A product whose materials cannot handle what it is advertised to do is defective my any legal standard. Quality is not graded on the curve, it's graded on the result.
That's where you're missing the mark. The tent handled as advertised just fine. People stand and walk on their tents all the time and it does not mean there's a defect in materials. If you got a chip in the paint on your van on your way home from buying it, would that mean the paint was defective since it shouldn't have damaged so soon and you deserved to have it repainted by the manufacturer? You may be unhappy, but there is nothing defective.
 

gseim

New member
Your comparisons are unrealistic. You walked on the floor of your new van and it starts caving in would be a correct comparison. Why? because it's designed to hold a human being. I guarantee that if the floors of a car model were dented from standing up or kneeling down, the manufacturer would be called on the carpet and rightly so. In fact didn't something like that happen last year with pickup truck? So much so that the competition actually used that weakness in a viral ad to showcase it's deficiency. I see a coming opportunity for other RTT makers to showcase their quality builds.

It really does not matter how much we debate it or how Tepui and it's employees see it. Consumer products run of consumer satisfaction and we all know how unbiased consumers consider buying an RTT will see a weakness like this. There's one way to fix it and that's by addressing the problem. No amount of excuses will make Tepui look good in the eyes of reviewers and people researching this design flaw and. I really don't need to prove my case further. I have a real problem and Tepui refused to help in the most basic way. History will validate the rest of this. Take care bro.
 

OmegaMan73

Observer
I don't own a roof top tent but I'd like to one day. I've wanted to stay away from this conversation in your other thread but now that it's in this area too I'm going to say my opinion so take it for what it's worth. You were kneeling down on the underside of your new tent. A place where nothing other than aesthetics is concerned. Is the tent still fully functional? Has it failed to open and perform tent duties like allowing you to sleep in it or keep the rain off your back? No. Use it and enjoy it.
Look man I get it, you paid a lot of money for something you wanted and now it's not perfect and brand new anymore because of something you did to it. I bought a damn nice rifle I'd wanted for a long time and scratched the damn receiver 3 days after getting it. I was pissed. Still am. But that damn scratch hasn't affected the performance of it one iota. But it's a reminder of what mistake I made. Live and learn. If you did the research you said you have then you surely have seen threads where people are saying the same thing about denting the inside of their tent floors from kneeling down on them. Are we gonna hear the same thing from you? This honestly seems like a normal part of the tent structure. If they were over engineered to be completely solid they would weigh too much l. As long as it still performs as a tent what are some dents to non critical areas of it?
I know you don't like comparisons in this situation but you've got to akin this to putting a new ground tent on the ground without a tarp under it and having rocks poke through the floor.
I'm really looking forward to getting a roof top tent and I'm sure you were too, so get out and enjoy it. Who cares if there are some dents on the underside. Hell I'd buy it off you if we could make a deal. Dents be damned.
 

cmoney

New member
"I wouldn't say I'm biased on this issue." Box Rocket - just out of curiosity, how could you say you're not biased on this issue? Don't you work for Tepui? Unless there is some kind of a state law or federal law that requires all salesmen to be completely objective about their products that I don't know of, I'm going to assume all your comments/opinions on Tepui products are biased. Nothing against you, I'm just going with common sense and the definition of what a salesman's job duties entail.
 

gseim

New member
If your new car gets dented because you leaned on it, would that would be OK to since it does not effect drivability? What if you leaned on it with an elbow, did the maker specifically say say you could touch with your elbow?

The idea that instant damage from normal use is OK because still works its crazy. Cars are expected to last many years with dents. My tent was not in a car accident, I did not drop it and there was no error made on my part. I used the product as it was advertised and based on my Q&A with the manufacturer. It's really not about weight, it's about money. That's why underrated materials are being used. If you're cool with a tent that may dent up after one use and who's floor may concave in time or that you have to handle with kid gloves, then buy one.

I only wish someone had made a thread like this before I bought mine. But I guess I'm not surprised they didn't since an attack campaign is what ensues. Had I been given the opportunity for that informed decision I would have bought something else. Had I know Tepui would make no effort to resolve customer issues I would not have looked very closely at their product. The threads on this are going to save people from buying a product they might regret. That's a good thing.
 

stevenmd

Expedition Leader
omg gseim ******** already. The Tepui tent did not dent because you were standing on it. It dented because you knelt on it. Laugh all you want about the kneeling vs standing comparison but it's pretty standard physics here. Pressure per square inch spread over two legs/two feet with shoes on is VASTLY different than pressure per square inch put on a knee. It's roughly a 1 to 4 conversion rate. So if you weigh 200 pounds, there would be roughly 100 pounds spread over each leg but there would be roughly 400 pounds of pressure per square inch put on the Tepui tent by your knee.
 

stevenmd

Expedition Leader
Oh, and for the record, yes, I agree with you that the product could be made better. I 100% support you in that endeavor. I just don't agree with your methods and manipulation of the facts.
 

Box Rocket

Well-known member
"I wouldn't say I'm biased on this issue." Box Rocket - just out of curiosity, how could you say you're not biased on this issue? Don't you work for Tepui? Unless there is some kind of a state law or federal law that requires all salesmen to be completely objective about their products that I don't know of, I'm going to assume all your comments/opinions on Tepui products are biased. Nothing against you, I'm just going with common sense and the definition of what a salesman's job duties entail.
My point in saying I don't think I'm biased is because on this specific issue we're talking about a feature of dozens of different brands of roof top tents. All of those brands would have this same thing happen under these circumstances. And all of those companies would say the same thing, it's not a warranty issue.

Beyond this specific issue I'm sure I do have some bias but it stems from experience with the product, not because of the relationship with Tepui which is not as a direct employee. I'll willingly acknowledge it as bias if that's what you want the call it. But having had experience with many different brands of tents, there's a reason I chose to work with Tepui beyond any compensation.
 

Forum statistics

Threads
185,544
Messages
2,875,706
Members
224,922
Latest member
Randy Towles
Top