Now What Do We Do?

Because this car is so boxy, it appears to have a lot of interior room.  Our first thought was that we might be able to set it up to sleep inside.  If it was just Carol and I, it might have been doable but still difficult.  But then there is Striker with his litter box, cat condo, and other stuff.  With the three of us, that space fills up fast.  Then I got the idea for a rear tent that would extend the space by about six feet.  I found a tent made by Grand Trunk that they call the Dunny Tent.  It looked like it would fit the back of the Scion almost perfectly, so I bought one.  I couldn't have been more right. With just a couple of minor exceptions, it fit like it was made to go on the back of this car.  But as we were making plans to go with the Dunny Tent, I ran across a picture of an xB with a Magiolina Roof Top Tent (RTT) on it.

These things are really cool and really expensive.  With import fees and shipping from Italy, one of these tents will easily run you over $3,000.  After much debate, we decided to bite the bullet and buy one sight unseen based only on pictures we had seen on the internet and stellar reviews by owners.  Then I found out that it could take eight months or more to get the model we wanted.  I told the salesperson that we couldn't wait that long.  He then told me that he thought there was a company in Oregon that was making similar RTTs, but he knew nothing about them.  I doubted it was true because I had searched for hours for a U.S. company that made RTTs like these and had found only one company in Colorado that didn't offer a very good warranty and was charging as much as Magiolina.  But I went and searched again just to make sure.  Well, as luck would have it, I found the company and they were about one mile from where we were staying.  That company is Cascadia Vehicle Tents.  It was purchased by Bobby Culpepper about two years ago.  Bobby is driven to keep improving his tents and eventually eclipse Magiolina's market both here and abroad.  His tents are outstanding both in quality and design.  They are also much less expensive than the Magiolinas and they have design features that make them more desirable.  You guessed it, we bought a tent from him and that set this whole process into motion.