I’d read about good interactions with Mike from AutoHome on Expedition Portal and mine was no exception. We talked through some comparisons between the Maggiolina and Columbus Variant tents. In the end, I went with the Columbus Variant because Mike said it vented a little better than the Maggiolina and because it had a rear door which would allow access from the ladder mounted on the hatch of the Xterra (the thinking is to leave the included ladder at home). Also, despite Mike’s assurances to the contrary, Ann and I both thought the 38” inches of head room in the Magg didn’t seem like enough to sit up and play cards or something. I think the high center of the Columbus Variant will be nice when changing too.
Mike arranged to save us some crating and shipping charges by scheduling us to pick the tent and some Thule crossbars up in Sonoma in a couple weeks. Can’t wait to get it on the X.