Rooftop Tents

jrose609

jrose609

Well-known member
Feb 10, 2009
2,162
0
Boise, ID
mjbrox said:
It seems like roof top tents would add a lot of weight onto the roof.
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True, but they are a lot easier to setup and take down. Plus, the chances of getting creepy-crawlies in your tent is a lot less. Or great big growling things.

.......and zombies;)
 
mjbrox

mjbrox

Well-known member
Jun 30, 2008
1,812
48
Golden CO
jrose609 said:
True, but they are a lot easier to setup and take down. Plus, the chances of getting creepy-crawlies in your tent is a lot less. Or great big growling things.

.......and zombies;)
Click to expand...

so bassically they just make for good pictures? :D
 
craig

craig

Well-known member
Oct 1, 2004
1,747
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Edmonds, WA
overlandnavigator.com
mjbrox said:
It seems like roof top tents would add a lot of weight onto the roof.

So I have to ask…..

Why not just use a normal tent on the ground?

I have this one and it is great http://www.kelty.com/p-118-green-river-6.aspx

It is easy to set up, plenty of space and easy to get into.
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I've owned and used the cream of the crop mountaineering tents, sleeping pads, etc for close to 30 years now. I have nothing against them, and have no interest in "pretty picture" RTT dillusions. I've owned 2 RTTs including the traditional African style and the Oasis style that doesn't ever win style points (but is functionally better for wheeling). Until the Oasis, I've used both the ground tent (Mountain Hardware single wall 4 season) and the RTT on/off again regularly. I don't like the bulk of the African style RTTs when offroading in PNW forests... so I would bring the ground tent then. W/ the Oasis, it is low enough and centered enough on the roof to be left on for all trips no matter what the trail is like. The Oasis is also light enough to put it on/off by yourself. The African styles require you to get help from your neighbor or rig a hoist in your garage. Enough of comparing the different RTTs... on to your specific question.

The advantages of a ground tent is that it is lighter, smaller, and can be shoved into a backpack. One tent for all purposes.

The advantage of the RTT is that it is:
- BY FAR a better night of sleep. They are way more comfortable. Debate this all you want, but *everyone* who has ever slept in a RTT will tell you that the thing they like the most is how well they sleep.
- Easier to setup/put away. All the bedding stays inside. Fold it, cover it, and go. Setting up camp is even easier.
- Dry place to sleep when the ground is slushy/muddy
- If you are a primitive camper, it is easier to find a place for your tent that doesn't have rocks/roots digging into your ribs.
- Lighter than an SD rack w/ 2 pelicans to hold your tent/sleeping bags/pillows. With a RTT all of that gear is inside so the rack/pelicans aren't needed (Just put the tent on Thule bars). An SD rack w/ two Pelican 1650s is 150lbs. An Oasis RTT on Thule bars is 50lbs and more aerodynamic. No rack is lighter, but if you have kids/pets then you will most likely have some gear on the roof either on a rack or in a RTT.
- Cleaner.
- More fun; especially if you have kids.
- Easier to get in/out of than my mountaineering tents... though one of the big family tents is definately easier than either a mountaineering tent or RTT.
- Better view. Even my dog agrees with this one. One of my best memories is waking up to find my dog silently staring out the window with a big smile on his face. Neither he, nor I get to do this in a ground tent unless it is right next to the bank. Yes, my dog sleeps in the RTT w/ me if it is just the two of us. :)

Edit: Oh, and comparing ease of setup... It takes me about 30 seconds from the time I turn the truck off until I'm ready to go to bed. A minute if I'm talking to someone while I do it. During the day I don't have to unload pillows/sleeping bags from the back of the truck to get to my food/recovery gear. Just makes life during the day a little easier.
 
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MUSKYMAN

MUSKYMAN

Well-known member
Apr 19, 2004
8,277
0
OverBarrington IL
Re: Rooftop Tents & trailer

cvestal said:
Update of my "Adventure Trailer" and rooftop tent.
Very balanced. Plan on shortening the neck a couple feet. Still have to add ramps for our motorcycles, spare tire mount and fenders. Plan on doors that flip down for counter top.
Taking it out this weekend for the first test.
Click to expand...


this set up looks like it will twist the hitch and end up on its side on anything but simple trails.
 
C

cvestal

Guest
Re: Rooftop Tents & trailer

MUSKYMAN said:
this set up looks like it will twist the hitch and end up on its side on anything but simple trails.
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Picture may be a bit misleading. It has a Bulldog-style hitch. Never claimed I was rock crawling with this setup. It is designed to get us to remote camping in CO. (easy to moderate rated jeep trails) It has a lower center of gravity than the tow vehicle. Over a full year of use now and not a problem. ;)
 
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AbnMike

Well-known member
Apr 6, 2016
1,218
117
Western Slope, CO
Old thread, but a few years on down the road and you (or me at least) am starting to see more RTTs for sale used at good to great prices.

I picked up an ARB Simpson III with the annex for less than a grand - used only a handful of times. The only thing that sucks kinda is that my truck is so high so I had to get a ladder extension for it and the annex doesn't sit on the ground, has to be staked down, but it still works for keeping the rain out if you want to go up and down the ladder and to have a place for the dogs to sleep inside without roaming.

I also have a featherlight sierra designs 2 person tent that weighs less than 3 lbs for backpacking, and we have a larger 4 person dome tent.

I went with the RTT for reasons above: super simple to set up once you have it mounted and the inner mattress is better than anything you can buy to put in a ground tent *unless you want to haul an air mattress everywhere, and they get cold as heck in winter. I went with a side mount. I originally put it at a rear mount but since I have a hitch rack to truck the dirt bike around it took up most of the room of the annex.

I spent a couple weeks ago at an enduro race and sleeping on the ground. I woke up to 20 degrees and had a miserable night's sleep, not really cold as I have a great sleeping bag, but the ground was lumpy. Even after arriving, and spending 20-30 minutes scouting out a flat enough area to put down the tent it was still lumpy.

So I scoured CL and found the ARB. I had read all the reviews and compared all the tents and this worked, esp with the annex, for a good price. Looks brand new.
 

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ezzzzzzz

Well-known member
Apr 22, 2010
604
7
SE Va
I use a Simpson III on my M101cdn and love it. A queen size air mattress fits perfect with about a foot at the entry to kick off shoes. A sleeping bag and some top sheets rounds it out. I use a Mr Heater down in the annex to create heat that rises up into the tent in cooler weather. Come high winds or heavy downpours this tent just sheds it off like nothing. I wouldn't want it mounted on my vehicle when off roading though I've done so in the past. The ground tents have their place and are very convenient. When I get too old to make the climb up and down then I'll look into other options. Until then.......
 
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AbnMike

Well-known member
Apr 6, 2016
1,218
117
Western Slope, CO
p m said:
There's a good reason for it.
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What would that be? The tiring of going up and down a ladder to pee? That seems to be the biggest and most read complaint I've seen.

I camp in Montana in sub 32 degree weather (nights at least - we can have a temp difference of 40 degrees between night and day) so I usually have a gatorade bottle in the ground tent for peeing anyway as I don't like getting out of the fart sack, putting on clothes, finding shoes, unzipping the tent, walking a few yards away to a tree, peeing, and then doing all the reverse and crawling back into a (now cold) sleeping bag. I'll have a pee bottle in the RTT as well. The wife will have to get a funnel or suffer.

Any other reasons? It's not as spacious and I can't stand up in it, but for extended trips I have the annex. And for daylight hanging out sitting in chairs drinking beer and cooking under shade I have the Iron Man awning on the other side.
 
Tugela

Tugela

Well-known member
May 21, 2007
4,762
563
Seattle
p m said:
There's a good reason for it.
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My hypothesis is that guys buy these things to feel like they are on some great overlanding adventure, then after a couple years pass the reality sinks in:


  • The damn thing is big, heavy, and expensive.
  • They don't actually camp often enough to justify owning a rooftop tent.
  • With the extra height they can't get into the Whole Foods parking garage.
 
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AbnMike

Well-known member
Apr 6, 2016
1,218
117
Western Slope, CO
Tugela said:
My hypothesis is that guys buy these things to feel like they are on some great overlanding adventure, then after a couple years pass the reality sinks in:


  • The damn thing is big, heavy, and expensive.
  • They don't actually camp often enough to justify owning a rooftop tent.
  • With the extra height they can't get into the Whole Foods parking garage.
Click to expand...

Ha.

In my case the guy was from Montana but had it on his truck when he lived in Oregon. He moved back here after his parents died and is living on their 500 acre ranch in the mountains in an 1860s stone cabin with no running water or electricity. He sold the truck it was on and it had been sitting in a wooden barn for a couple years thinking he'd get something else to put it on but never did.

Dude had to drive 20 minutes down a dirt road to get cell service to post a CL ad. Young guy too.

I envy him.
 
Tugela

Tugela

Well-known member
May 21, 2007
4,762
563
Seattle
AbnMike said:
Dude had to drive 20 minutes down a dirt road to get cell service to post a CL ad. Young guy too.

I envy him.
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That was me a few years back. I lived 2km outside a village in KwaZulu, South Africa. Had to drive up a mountain to find cell reception until our bush camp finally got a solar powered radio telephone installed. It was a good life.

Not to bag on rooftop tents and some of their wannabe overlander owners - I hope to borrow one from a friend this summer to experience it for myself. It's an Oasis, though, so even if I like it and want one they are no longer in production. A 38-pound, low profile rooftop tent sounds appealing compared to the 100+ pound models that are common these days.
 
JackW

JackW

Well-known member
Mar 17, 2005
675
69
I'm supposed to pick up my new roof tent within the next week. It's a brand new design that is 31" wide, 93" long, 5.5" tall (closed) and weighs right at 70 lbs.

Its the new Terrapod roof tent and I'm getting the second SOLO model that they are building. I loved my Maggiolina but it took up the entire roof rack on my Defender 90. I've known the designer/builder of the Terrapod tents for years and watched carefully as he built his first prototype models and tested them extensively on many long trips. His goal was a light weight, low profile, modern tent built of composite panels and custom made aluminum extrusions. Chad was an industrial designer for Boeing and understands modern production techniques and materials and as a retired Lockheed Manufacturing Engineer I had an instant appreciation for what he was trying to achieve. After seeing his prototype tents and its modular design I asked if he would build a narrower model for a single camper (since there is no way on earth that my wife would climb a ladder into a roof tent - her idea of camping involves a motel room).

I wasn't alone in my request so the first batch of 25 production tents include two of the Terrapod SOLO models - mine will be #2 and will be on top of my Defender 90 by early next week. Its superbly finished, built of the best available materials and very light. Here is a picture of Terrapod SOLO #1. This will leave an almost two foot wide strip of space down the side of my roof rack for other stuff. Since a Defender 90 doesn't have a lot of space inside this will be a great addition to my Land Rover. Plus its light enough to take it on and off my truck by myself (something I couldn't do with my 125 lb Maggiolina).

SOLO Terrapod.jpg
 
JackW

JackW

Well-known member
Mar 17, 2005
675
69
Picked up the new roof tent yesterday evening. It leaves about two feet of space the length of the rack for other stuff.D90 wSOLO-1.jpgD90 wSOLO-3.jpgD90 wSOLO-8.jpg
 
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