Roof top tent recommendations

[anthrax323]

Hey guys,

Just curious if anyone has experience with this manufacturer of rooftop tents:

http://rooftopcamper.com/

Prices are quite reasonable, especially for the 2- to 6-person tent (the latter with the included "private entry"):

http://rooftopcamper.com/index_files/Private_Entry_2_Person_Roof_Top_Tent.htm

I'm really keen on this for helping get more of my friends into camping - this would eliminate some of the tedium of setting up camp for one and two night visits, as well as provide a place for them to stay. When going solo or with the girlfriend, it'd be nice to have a "living room" of sorts (as typically, those trips are associated with Burner-type festivals and large group camp-outs).

In any case, I see the material is a cotton/poly blend.

Anyone have any thoughts on these?

 

[Alex E]

Hey, I haven't purchased any roof top tent yet but I've been trying to find as many as possible to compare. I know a lot of manufactures use different quality materials and workmanship. I think one thing it comes down to is what weather your going to use it in and how often you are going to use it. At least for me that's my determining factors and then find a nice price medium. One thing to consider is if you have a place to store it or is it going to stay on your rig year round? Anyways, here are some links I've found.

This is an article on tent fabrics that may help you make a decision on a brand.

http://www.expeditionportal.com/resources/rooftop-tent-fabrics-an-care.html

Tent Manufactures

http://columbiaoverland.com/roofs-tents

http://campinglab.com/

http://www.tepuitents.com/Tepui_Tents/Tepui_Models.html

http://autotoptent.com/

http://www.frontrunneroutfitters.com/Roof-Top-Tents-c36/

http://www.arbusa.com/Products/Touring-And-Camping-Gear/Rooftop-Tents/43.aspx

http://www.pangaea-expeditions.com/eeziawn/index.html

From everything I've read and the materials used I've pretty much decided on Eezi Awn but they are pretty pricey, the front runner feather lite looks cool too. I like the colors and the fact it only weighs 76 pounds but it looks pretty flimsy, hence the "lite" in its name. Hopefully some of this was helpful, if you know of any other brands I'd be interested to check them out.

 

[hiimmred]

I love mine:http://www.autohomeus.com/rooftop/

 

[anthrax323]

Thanks for the input guys - I've got a much better idea of what I'm looking at now (and thank you, Alex, for such a plethora of good info).

I'm thinking poly-cotton fabric will be ideal for my uses... It'll probably see use 2 to 4 days per month (not as often as I'd like), but that may be a generous estimate.

hiimmred - I do like the idea of the Overcamp, as it wouldn't take up the entire roof. Now I just need to see if someone makes one like that, but with the fully enclosed lower "cabin"/extension I'm keen on...

 

[Jeepman401]

I have been looking at these
http://www.gordigear.com/roof_tents/roof_tents.php?l=en
They make an interesting trailer tent as well that I would love to have

 

[Alex E]

I have been looking at these
http://www.gordigear.com/roof_tents/roof_tents.php?l=en
They make an interesting trailer tent as well that I would love to have

Nice, I've never heard of this brand but it uses Poly-Cotton blend and YKK zippers. Its so hard to judge the price VS quality of these things because who has ever really seen one in person? From a quick glance, this tent is a damn good price and moving quickly up my list of choices.

I think a decent tent for the price is the Front Runner Feather Lite. Its not my choice of materials BUT the price, weight and overall quality looks to be good and in all honesty...for how much camping most people do I bet its fine. But for 1100bucks the Gordigear Explorer Plus is pretty appealing...

 

[Explorer 1]

Another option.....

I haven't seen this listed and have been viewing it for a while. Not cheap, but the lightest, fastest set-up and able to withstand high winds well.

This is this is the model of my choice.

http://www.autohomeus.com/rooftop/carbon.php

Here are some other models:

http://www.autohomeus.com/gallery/index.php

Thanks,
Fred
Explorer 1

 

[Alex E]

Does anyone know where you can actually see a RTT in person? Its nice to actually see what your buying before you spend 1500 bucks, lol. Has anyone had success looking for a used one perhaps?

 

[Boatwrench]

I was able to see hiimmred's RTT at Sierrafest this year. It looked very comfortable. My concern with RTTs is being over 50....well not sleeping all night long anymore. I could see myself falling out at Zero Dark Thirty on my way to the closest tree. Ed let me climb up and down out of the RTT and it wasn't a bad transition from the ladder to tent.

If you search Roof Top Tent on the bay area craigslist there is a vendor in Half Moon Bay.

 

[hiimmred]

I was able to see hiimmred's RTT at Sierrafest this year. It looked very comfortable. My concern with RTTs is being over 50....well not sleeping all night long anymore. I could see myself falling out at Zero Dark Thirty on my way to the closest tree. Ed let me climb up and down out of the RTT and it wasn't a bad transition from the ladder to tent.

If you search Roof Top Tent on the bay area craigslist there is a vendor in Half Moon Bay.

That's where a big bottle comes in handy!

 

[anthrax323]

Thanks for all the input guys - gonna resurrect this bad boy just shy of a year later to follow up.

I have several big camping trips lined up this year (Big Bend in mid-Feb, Flipside in late May, and Burning Man in Aug/Sept) and am finally pulling the trigger on this, since I've now woken up in a lake of mud 3 times since first contemplating a rooftop tent...

I initially bought a set of Thule's 300 rain gutter feet and 50" load bars to start getting a feel for the aerodynamic implications of this endeavor. They stand about an inch over the factory load rails and caused a noticeable hit to fuel economy right off the bat, which would be hugely exaggerated by the presence of a 12"+ thick tent sitting on top of them (plus another inch for the tent's mounting rails). A fairing (the Thule one, 52" 873XT) helped tremendously and got me back to par (don't even notice it anymore), so moving forward I'd like to keep things going in that direction.

I've pretty much settled on the Feather-Lite T-Top tent, as it's the lightest and lowest-profile tent on the market aside from hard-shell pop-ups (which are too large and too expensive for my wants/needs):

http://www.frontrunneroutfitters.co...ERS-FEATHER-LITE-ROOFTOP-TENT-T-TOP-p183.html

This model has the private entry, which would accommodate a fully-enclosed annex (a quick, dirty, sturdy tent for guests who may not have their own gear), much like CarTopCamper/RoofTopCamper's offerings. It also folds up to a profile of under 8" somehow, much like its standard sibling, based on conversations with Front Runner Outfitters. The ladder protrudes a bit further, but the starting point is as good as it's gonna get.

This, coupled with DefenderRack.com's low feet (link) should allow me to minimize the drag profile I so passionately fear due to somewhere in the league of 10,000 miles of travel being planned with it. With any luck, these feet should bolt directly to the base rails of the tent itself and sit down as close to the roof as possible.

Anyone have any final thoughts on tent recommendations, or any reasons to avoid the Front Runner? I know some sacrifices must be made to make it so lightweight, but it is a poly-cotton fabric tent that will see maybe 6 uses annually (guessing 10 nights/year total use at this rate).

 

[billyjp2]

wow, the campinglab tents are pretty cheap compared to alot of the others.