Roof Top Tents

I thought I would get some opinions from the few of you who have roof top tents on here. I'm thinking of ordering one probably around March. This is a big investment and I don't want to order something that is crap. I have always wanted to do a lot more camping, but I'm not to big on sleeping on the ground with bugs and wild animals. One of the big reasons I've decided on getting one is the fact that I go to a lot of music festivals where you are required to camp for usually 5 days at a time. Theft has become a big issue at these festivals and having my stuff up in the air would help decrease the chance of something getting stolen. Also, camping is usually out in open fields. This thing needs to be able to weather a storm should one arise, which usually they do. If the wind should happen to get to strong I need to be able to take it down in a reasonable amount of time. Definitely don't want it to become a lightning magnet either. Is space adequate enough of inside of these? What is the comfort level like in terms of sleeping?

This is the one below I am looking at getting. It's one of the cheapest I've find so far. I can't spend more than a thousand...

http://www.racktents.com/Tents.html

I cant speak of that particular manufacturer, but StumpXJ has that RTT and i'm sure he'll chime in.

Being off the ground you wont have issues with mud or water under your sleeping surface. However in a heavy rainstorm you'll want to close the doors/awnings on the RTT which can make it warm inside in summer. A 12v fan is on my list of mods inside mine. Consider an awning of some type, even if it's a tarp so you can be out of the tent in rain and stretch your legs, you can sit up in an RTT but thats it.

If you get that model RTT i'd consider the changing room, you could dress, cook in it and be more comfortable in camp.

Anything of signifigant value i would lock inside the Jeep, the RTT's arent very secure beyond a zipper.

RTT comfort is great, you'll find yourself heading into the backcountry more often.

I agree with John on all of his points, and will add a few of my own. If you enjoy camping out of your vehicle, a RTT is AWESOME. Period. I have the model that you linked to, although it has a different name, they all come out of the same manufacturing plant. I bought the RTT, changing room, and awning all in one swoop, and got a heck of a deal on it (about 750 bucks for all of it, but I picked it up from the distributor here in Europe.)

If you will be staying in the same place for more than one day, like the concerts you mentioned, you should definitely spring for the changing room. It is worth every penny, especially if you will have your spouse or kids with you. Although, its a bit unneccesary for only an overnight stay.

I agree with John about the awning as well, they are worth their weight in gold when the weather gets nasty (either rain or sunlight), its nice to have a place to stay dry and do your cooking under, or just for lounging around.

On my last trip, I had heavy rain all night long, and was completely dry inside. The are very nice tents, and not made of your typical thin tent material. Like John said, you will want to keep the door/window awnings down during heavy rains as it will help keep everything dry inside. Last year, I was camping on a lake in Sweden, and we had at least 40 mph winds. The tent was just fine, and I had zero issues, even with the door/window awnings up. These things are tough.

There is plenty of room inside as well. I am 6'1" and 300 pounds, my wife is 5 nothing, 125 lbs, and we have no issues. It is the same exact width as a queen size mattress, but it is 15 inches longer. We usually put our clothes bags down at the foot of the tent, and still have plenty of room to strech out. As far as comfort, compared to a regular tent you will sleep like a baby. The included 3 inch mattress is quite comfy. I can comfortably sit up in the tent, and I spent a lot of time in the tent on the last trip watching movies on the laptop. My wife can sit up on her knees, which makes changing clothes easier.

There is definitely an added sense of security being up high on your roof, but as John mentioned, you should keep valuables locked away. Also, we are able to leave both our sleeping bags and pillows inside with the tent folded up, which will free up space inside your jeep for other stuff.

The only thing I had to "do" to the tent was add an indside light. I added a rougly 3 foot long LED strip on one of the inside ceiling supports, and it just plugs into my jeep cigarrette lighter outlets that I wired 12volts constant.

Bottom line, it is easily one of the best purchases I have made for my jeep/camping, and worth every penny. I make it a point to use mine atleast once a month though...

Here are a few pics,

Ladder side:



Opposite side and awning:







Changing room on my old truck:





Folded up for travel:



Let me know if you have any more questions or want more pics.
~James

Awesome

Stump, have you been leaving your RTT on the rig?

I took mine off a few weeks ago, i try not to leave it out in the elements too long. Apparently i have a small tear on top of the cover and a few weeks ago it rained heavily. I found my mattress was wet/frozen a bit. I never had any issues before. You?..

Also, notice the plastic crate.. i just picked up a small stepladder to help removing the cover. Our rigs are too tall.

stumpXJ said:

I make it a point to use mine atleast once a month though...


~James

Click to expand...

And that was below the belt...

OverlandXJ said:

And that was below the belt...

Click to expand...

LOL... that wasnt directed at you (although you sound a bit guilty?... ) I was simply justifying my spending of almost a 1000 bucks for just a "tent" to the OP.

I had not intended on leaving it on the Jeep indefinitely, but it has been on now for about 6 months. I was going to take it off after my last France trip, but now we have another trip in a couple weeks to an offroad park. I will most likely take it off after that though. I dont think they will let me ship the Jeep back to the states with it mounted on there, so I need to get it all ready for heading back home.

My cover also has a rip where the ladder is, but I have order the updated (thicker) cover from camping labs, so hopefully it will be better. I havent had any trouble with anything being wet though, I patched the hole on my current cover.

I cant wait till I am back in the states and have a shop that my jeep will actually fit in again. Then, the tent will stay on permanently, as this is not my daily driver. Its not my daily driver here either, but it still is out in the elements since it wont fit in the garage.

~James

Oh yeah, the crate is how Beer (notice the capitalization? Its THAT important. ) comes over here, unlike the cardboard cartons in the US. They are deposit bottles, but this extra crate was in the garage when we moved in. They are sturdy as heck, I am fairly sure it would support the weight of my jeep if I was so inclined.

Without it, or a stepladder like you mentioned, I would probably not be able to do anything on the roof of this thing, they ARE too tall...

~James

stumpXJ said:

LOL... that wasnt directed at you (although you sound a bit guilty?... )

Click to expand...

:bs:

I'm not getting out anywhere near as much as i'd like the last coupla years. Banking for UT baby... :cheers:


Beer... whats your brand over there? I remember drinking alot of Becks over there when i bought from the PX.

Back on topic.... R&R of that cover on the rig is getting old. Once it's on a trailer it should be much better.

I´ve had different RTT on my XJs in the last years, been in Scandinavia, France, the alps and other places here in Europe. They are great, I espescially like the tents with a hard top, like from Maggiolina, an italian company.

BUT... I´ve sold my RTT again and decided that I want a trailer. WHY? The RTT is great, as long as you travel on some sort of open country. But when the terrain gets rought or you wheel in tree covered areas the RTT isn´t the optimal solution for me. It makes your rig quite top heavy (my big Maggiolina had like 70kg) and is vulnearable to trees and bushes. We were in a wheeling area in southern France where you wheel the whole day through dense bushes - that was the point where I started thinking about a trailer.

Don´t get me wrong, the RTTs are a great and proven idea, but not for everyone and everywhere. If I´d travel in the deserts of northern africa: absolutetly fine, a RTT would be the way to go for me. But since we go to the alps 2 or 3 time a year and the trails are getting more difficult each time I don´t want to have like 100kg on my roof (rack and tent and stuff...)

Yep, an RTT can be an issue in certain terrain. I wont use my RTT in that type scenario. Mileage loss is another reason to get it off the roof and on a trailer.

Maggiolina is a nice setup, but i like the original type design. I have the Overland model made by the same company www.autohome/us.com