I finally received my RTT and awning and thought I'd take it out on a shakedown trip. It was nice to be able to cruise at 110MPH and take that turn off the road. Some mods to my Cayenne. Behind the front seats is an Engle 17qt fridge and Yeti soft cooler, front runner water bladder. In the rear cargo area is a Dometic 25 fridge, Ark Pak , Lift Trax , 5lb C02 tank , two Alu boxes with recovery gear and kitchen gear.

 

Here are some off road pictures. I caught some air going down a wash.

 

I was skeptical about that roof tent (ok I still am), but my hats off to you. Looks right at home, but I expect you turned more than a few heads

 

That pretty cool! And back roading to boot, awesome. Looks like fun.

 

That's awesome Mike! Glad to see you really putting it to use.

OT: How are you liking the Soft Pack Yeti so far?

 

Thanks . I've been using a RTT for over 20 years. Once you sleep in the air you will never go back to ground sleeping. The tent I bought for the Cayenne is the perfect size. most others are much larger and would not give me the extra rack space. next time I will move the tent all the way to the passenger side and that will give me 19" of extra rack space to put bulky things.

I like the Yeti soft cooler but it is a bit large for a short trip. I'll be looking for an smaller alternative. Next on the list is a spacer lift.
I tried to remove the rear seats for extra space but the airbags scared me off.

 

The rear airbags are in the curtain, not the seats (at least i'm 98% sure).

The rear seats are easy to get out if you know how to do it, otherwise their a PITA.

The first step is to remove the bottom cushions and you do this by jerking them up from the front to pop the friction clips. Once the front clips are free the seat bottoms will lift free easily, though there is a wire you will need to disconnect (maybe two if you have heated rear seats?). This wire is the only reason i'm not 100% about the lack of airbags in the seat.

After the bottom is free you'll have easy access to the bolts (triple square heads. 12mm if i remember correctly). Fold the seat back down and pull it forward to do the rear, then raise it and push it back to get the front.

I didn't do anything and had no airbags go off (though I'll pull a steering wheel with no precautions either), but the common procedure is to disconnect the battery and press the brakes (to bleed any residual charge) before working on an airbag circuit.

 

Awesome! Hat tip to you, sir!

 

I think my Cayenne has airbags in the rear seats. maybe I can just remove the seat bottom?

 

Guess you're right. Its been 1.5 years since I pulled mine last and like I said I'm a bit blasé about how I work with them

Other than the location, everything else should still be accurate though.

 

Air bags: you can just disconnect the wiring and see if you get an annoying dash message but asking a friendly tech would be the first place I'd start. However, being in the back rest, why not just remove the seat bottom and leave back for the flat floor. You'll still gain space that could be sued for any number of ideas such as recovery gear (heavy so it would stay low, centered).

I cannot think of why you need what appears to be 3 types of cool storage.... ? I've been using either a 40L or 38L ARB fridge since 2007 and nothing else. What on earth are you doing?

You mention rack space but I don't see you using it for much else. Besides, the suspension isn't really designed to be so great with as much weight as you're trying to put up there even though I know it seems fine. I've done similar or worse things myself on a Touareg and on various Land Rover roofs actually designed to hold more junk.

Nice choice on the aluminum case and Engel brand, good stuff. I share your love of the RTT sleeping although next time I plan to try a much more aerodynamic clamshell style like Magiolina or James Baroud.

The only thing I am really wondering about is the street tires that appear to still be there. I am sure you must know if you plan to play much off road, especially with that weight, you should not be on oem tires with such low load rating and lack of overall toughness.

Personally I think you should seriously consider at least one of the durable E range all terrain or all season even. In fact, something that can give you both highway handling but also a lot more durability would be the Michelin M/S 2 in E load range. While I've worn out three sets of BFG AT ko, have tried Goodyear Duratracs, and others, these are actually quite a good balance. Of course an 18" will be ideal on the Cayenne.


Lastly, you listed the co2. I'll assume for airing up if needed. Being a finite capacity, you might want to look at the cool ARB dual piston compressor kit. It comes in a Pelican-like case with everything needed to provide air virtually forever running off battery lead clamps. On my Land Rover I have a built in system on demand under the hood but the kit is nice, portable, and that dual compressor is very fast with a 1 gallon reserve tank.

Thanks for sharing the photos !

 

Air bags: you can just disconnect the wiring and see if you get an annoying dash message but asking a friendly tech would be the first place I'd start. However, being in the back rest, why not just remove the seat bottom and leave back for the flat floor. You'll still gain space that could be sued for any number of ideas such as recovery gear (heavy so it would stay low, centered).
That is a good idea. I’ll try that.

I cannot think of why you need what appears to be 3 types of cool storage.... ? I've been using either a 40L or 38L ARB fridge since 2007 and nothing else. What on earth are you doing?
A fridge that size, would take up a lot to space. My 45qt ARB would take up most of the Cayenne’s cargo area. With two fridges I can have more usable space in the car and have instant access for cold drinks when driving. The Yeti was new and I was testing it out on my trip. It is a bite larger than I thought and will now use a 12 can Polar Bear soft cooler in the Cayenne. I’ll use the Yeti in my Land Cruiser. ( pic’s posted on this thread)

You mention rack space but I don't see you using it for much else. Besides, the suspension isn't really designed to be so great with as much weight as you're trying to put up there even though I know it seems fine. I've done similar or worse things myself on a Touareg and on various Land Rover roofs actually designed to hold more junk.
The max payload capacity of the Base Cayenne is 1698 lbs. The Thule cross bars is rated for 110lbs and the tent is 95lbs and I plane on using the extra 18 inches of rack for light items like bulky sleeping bags etc. In talking to many different Thule and Yakima dealers the rated weight capacity are under estimated.

Nice choice on the aluminum case and Engel brand, good stuff. I share your love of the RTT sleeping although next time I plan to try a much more aerodynamic clamshell style like Magiolina or James Baroud.
Thanks , both Magiolina ($2000.00) and James Baroud ($3000.00) are very expensive and both weight over 100lbs. My Tepui Ayer was under $800.00. I’ve been using RTT’s for over 17 years.

The only thing I am really wondering about is the street tires that appear to still be there. I am sure you must know if you plan to play much off road, especially with that weight, you should not be on oem tires with such low load rating and lack of overall toughness.
Those are the tires I have now. So far I have pleased with their performance. Once I get my lift in I will look at other tires. The question is how to recalibrate the speedometer for a taller tire.

Personally I think you should seriously consider at least one of the durable E range all terrain or all season even. In fact, something that can give you both highway handling but also a lot more durability would be the Michelin M/S 2 in E load range. While I've worn out three sets of BFG AT ko, have tried Goodyear Duratracs, and others, these are actually quite a good balance. Of course an 18" will be ideal on the Cayenne.
I’ve been Off roading and Overlanding for 17 years so I know a little about tires. A load range “E” tire is designed for ¾ ton or one ton trucks that carry a lot of weight. Each tire is rated to about 3,000lbs and with the ply rating and stiff sidewall will not offer any floatation when aired down. Since my Cayenne is a base model I already have 18 rims. The tires only have 17000 miles on them and I’ll start looking when the start wearing out and I figure out the Speedo calibration.


Lastly, you listed the co2. I'll assume for airing up if needed. Being a finite capacity, you might want to look at the cool ARB dual piston compressor kit. It comes in a Pelican-like case with everything needed to provide air virtually forever running off battery lead clamps. On my Land Rover I have a built in system on demand under the hood but the kit is nice, portable, and that dual compressor is very fast with a 1 gallon reserve tank.
I normally carry a 10lb C02 in my Land Cruisers however space is at a premium in the Cayenne. I thought building a 5lb tank would be perfect for the Cayenne. I carry plug kits in all my vehicles so I can make roadside repairs. The tank just makes everything faster. As in my other vehicles, I also carry a Viair compressor.

My ultimate goal is build a vehicle that I can cruise at 100mph and still be able to explore back roads and light duty 4x4 trails. I have no intention of building hard off roader. I already have two of them. I appreciate your comments and will post my sucess or failure on removing the back seat bottom.

 

You would gain some space under the backrest that could be recouped for storage, but unfortunately the 958 rear seats do not fold flat (even with the bottom out). So if you really want to maximize the usable floor space, the rear seats need to come out and a platform fabricated.

 

That was my original intent to remove the seats and but in a platform. I would put my water under the platform. I guess when I go for my 20,000 service I'll ask the Tech at Porsche.

 

Very cool! Those are some great photos.