Before you Buy Rooftop Tent

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KAIONE

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Come and camp with me (and the lions and hyenas) then we'll talk again :wink:

In all seriousness though, I use an RTT practically full-time (have been for the last 20-odd years). Only time it might get a little tedious is if you're base-camping for a long time in one location. This means potentially setting it up multiple times a day if you're going for short / day drives (with naps in between :grinning:). The type of RTT makes a difference as well though. I prefer a hard-shell as it's quick (my iKamper sets up in around a minute), you can leave your bedding in some and shoe bags work well for boots and gear.

I think it depends greatly on your application but it's certainly not just for weekend warriors...

View attachment 222620

Im not a fan of RTTs. I think theyre a waste of money and not particularly practical. Theyre a gimmick for weekend warriors IMO. Way to many short comings. I wouldnt want to use one when i was drunk, sick or injured. I dont like the idea of having to empty my tent of all my gear and closing the tent every time i want to drive anywhere. If you camp anywhere with rain or snow putting your boots or gear on or taking it off to get in is a pain. Then where do you stow it to dry out up there once its off so you dont get everything else wet or dirty in the tent?

The only practical use i see is if you put it on top of a trailer that gets parked at a base camp in a region that has critters on the ground that want to bite or sting you. Sure makes sense. But anything North of 42 degrees I wouldnt run one. Id personally rather have a hot tent on the ground.
I’d love to come camp with you! I’ll sleep in a RTT no problem. Lol. Great pic! Sound advice, 100% spot on. Stay safe.
 

Apoclapedia

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Yeah, but you have to pull all your gear out to close it up. You cant stand up in it to change. You cant dry out gear in it or sit down and work on something, or cook a meal. You have to climb in to it with wet gear on. Your dog cant hangout with you when youre in it.

If youre the kind of person that just gets out on the weekends. Only sleeps in it for a night or two. And packs up in the morning and continues on. Sure, makes sense. But if you’re the kinda person that spends two or three weeks in the bush in all kinds of weather. A hot tent is definitely the way to go.
Like @MOAK, we got for long periods in our RTT (usually a month at a time).

My lens is that the real value of an RTT is for the exact opposite of "weekend warrior" -- if you are basecampjng (i.e. going out to your state park to camp, run some trails or see some sights during the day, then back to camp -- which describes 99% of the "Weekend outing" types of trips) then the RTT is going to have some negatives. But if you are touring -- and by that I mean, camping in a new location every day, often whatever looks nice and not in a manicured campground, the RTT is vastly superior to ground tents in my experience. The benefits are numerous - from storage of bedding to ease of setup to not having to worry about ground conditions to having a bit more time before being munched on by a hungry bear -- so much so that I would likely go with a van build and sacrifice off-road ability before going back to a ground tent.

@Apoclapedia, have you spent much time using RTTs, and if yes, what was your use case?

Nope, never owned one. Im sure theyre great in the southwest. But in the rain and snow of British Columbia. Not worth it at all. Theres no way in hell youre going to be able to dry out wet gear, give your dogs a place to sleep or cook a meal in one. Theyre too small and too low. For half the price of a roof top tent you could by 12’x27’ hot tent with a wood stove. Dont think id appreciate climbing up and down a snowy ladder doing multiple trips with a dog under my arm living in a freezing cold tent. I also like the idea of my tent not moving every time i roll over or change positions, or if its windy.
 
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Apoclapedia

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Come and camp with me (and the lions and hyenas) then we'll talk again :wink:

In all seriousness though, I use an RTT practically full-time (have been for the last 20-odd years). Only time it might get a little tedious is if you're base-camping for a long time in one location. This means potentially setting it up multiple times a day if you're going for short / day drives (with naps in between :grinning:). The type of RTT makes a difference as well though. I prefer a hard-shell as it's quick (my iKamper sets up in around a minute), you can leave your bedding in some and shoe bags work well for boots and gear.

I think it depends greatly on your application but it's certainly not just for weekend warriors...

View attachment 222620

Im not a fan of RTTs. I think theyre a waste of money and not particularly practical. Theyre a gimmick for weekend warriors IMO. Way to many short comings. I wouldnt want to use one when i was drunk, sick or injured. I dont like the idea of having to empty my tent of all my gear and closing the tent every time i want to drive anywhere. If you camp anywhere with rain or snow putting your boots or gear on or taking it off to get in is a pain. Then where do you stow it to dry out up there once its off so you dont get everything else wet or dirty in the tent?

The only practical use i see is if you put it on top of a trailer that gets parked at a base camp in a region that has critters on the ground that want to bite or sting you. Sure makes sense. But anything North of 42 degrees I wouldnt run one. Id personally rather have a hot tent on the ground.
Yeah, no lions in Canada. We do have wind rain, snow and -35c temperatures tho. ‍♂
 
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CR-Venturer

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Yeah, no lions in Canada. We do have wind rain, snow and -35c temperatures tho. ‍♂
It is sometimes summer in Canada though :P lol perpetuating them stereotypes!

I had never heard of Moha, BC. Just looked it up. I'm up in Telkwa, near Smithers. For the kind of extreme temps we have up here, I can see the appeal of a hot tent for winter camping. I like the idea of something like a converted Volvo TGB11 or Pinzgauer with insulation and a wood stove (the sort designed for boats would be awesome) for that kind of thing.
 
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Nope, never owned one. Im sure theyre great in the southwest. But in the rain and snow of British Columbia. Not worth it at all. Theres no way in hell youre going to be able to dry out wet gear, give your dogs a place to sleep or cook a meal in one. Theyre too small and too low. For half the price of a roof top tent you could by 12’x27’ hot tent with a wood stove. Dont think id appreciate climbing up and down a snowy ladder doing multiple trips with a dog under my arm living in a freezing cold tent. I also like the idea of my tent not moving every time i roll over or change positions, or if its windy.
I used to raise an eyebrow at RTTs too, but I decided to give one a try. That was nearly 10 years ago, and since then I've had hundreds of nights in my RTTs, and my opinion on them has changed and grown.

As a traveller hailing from Edmonton, Alberta who spends a lot of time in your stomping grounds, I can tell you that it's super easy to dry my gear in my tent (way easier than with a ground tent), and I have two 65lbs German shepherds that curl up nice and comfy with our 3-person family, and one of life's simple pleasures is cooking breakfast and a pot of coffee on the roof of my rig through the window of my tent while the sun comes up (or the thunder clouds roll over - and thanks to the awning over the window, I'm able to do both). The tent is very stable -- wind doesn't bother it, nor does moving around at night. And my tent is cheap relative to others on the market -- the more expensive tents perform even better. The snow doesn't collect on the ladder - there's an awning over the door. This isn't true with all designs but most of the clamshell designs will never have a problem with snow on the ladder.

They are expensive, but I can't imagine setting up and tearing down a 27' hot tent with wood stove every day. Plus with ground tents, you need to figure out ground conditions (rocks, roots, etc.) and when packed, your shelter and bedding take up valuable cubic inches in the cargo area of the vehicle. Plus, if you are relocating every day, there's really no opportunity to dry out a ground tent. I've put my roof tent away wet, and opened it dry after a day of driving (the covers seem to let some airflow through so the tent dries during the day -- not always, but often. Conversely I've never put away a dry RTT and opened a wet tent.)

Everyone has their use cases and of course your choices are yours to make, but a lot of the "cons" you have identified with RTTs are not at all cons in my experience, and your thinking on the comfort or value of an RTT might evolve if you got the chance to spend a bit of time in one. They are popular for a lot of good reasons (and some bad ones, like Instagram likes!)
 

Apoclapedia

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Nope, never owned one. Im sure theyre great in the southwest. But in the rain and snow of British Columbia. Not worth it at all. Theres no way in hell youre going to be able to dry out wet gear, give your dogs a place to sleep or cook a meal in one. Theyre too small and too low. For half the price of a roof top tent you could by 12’x27’ hot tent with a wood stove. Dont think id appreciate climbing up and down a snowy ladder doing multiple trips with a dog under my arm living in a freezing cold tent. I also like the idea of my tent not moving every time i roll over or change positions, or if its windy.
I used to raise an eyebrow at RTTs too, but I decided to give one a try. That was nearly 10 years ago, and since then I've had hundreds of nights in my RTTs, and my opinion on them has changed and grown.

As a traveller hailing from Edmonton, Alberta who spends a lot of time in your stomping grounds, I can tell you that it's super easy to dry my gear in my tent (way easier than with a ground tent), and I have two 65lbs German shepherds that curl up nice and comfy with our 3-person family, and one of life's simple pleasures is cooking breakfast and a pot of coffee on the roof of my rig through the window of my tent while the sun comes up (or the thunder clouds roll over - and thanks to the awning over the window, I'm able to do both). The tent is very stable -- wind doesn't bother it, nor does moving around at night. And my tent is cheap relative to others on the market -- the more expensive tents perform even better. The snow doesn't collect on the ladder - there's an awning over the door. This isn't true with all designs but most of the clamshell designs will never have a problem with snow on the ladder.

They are expensive, but I can't imagine setting up and tearing down a 27' hot tent with wood stove every day. Plus with ground tents, you need to figure out ground conditions (rocks, roots, etc.) and when packed, your shelter and bedding take up valuable cubic inches in the cargo area of the vehicle. Plus, if you are relocating every day, there's really no opportunity to dry out a ground tent. I've put my roof tent away wet, and opened it dry after a day of driving (the covers seem to let some airflow through so the tent dries during the day -- not always, but often. Conversely I've never put away a dry RTT and opened a wet tent.)

Everyone has their use cases and of course your choices are yours to make, but a lot of the "cons" you have identified with RTTs are not at all cons in my experience, and your thinking on the comfort or value of an RTT might evolve if you got the chance to spend a bit of time in one. They are popular for a lot of good reasons (and some bad ones, like Instagram likes!)
Yeah, but i dont move on everyday. I drive to a spot and set up camp for weeks. I travel with 5 big sled dogs. And do my day trips from camp on a dog sled usually. Storage isn’t really a problem. I drive a CCLB 1 ton.
 

KAIONE

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Come and camp with me (and the lions and hyenas) then we'll talk again :wink:

In all seriousness though, I use an RTT practically full-time (have been for the last 20-odd years). Only time it might get a little tedious is if you're base-camping for a long time in one location. This means potentially setting it up multiple times a day if you're going for short / day drives (with naps in between :grinning:). The type of RTT makes a difference as well though. I prefer a hard-shell as it's quick (my iKamper sets up in around a minute), you can leave your bedding in some and shoe bags work well for boots and gear.

I think it depends greatly on your application but it's certainly not just for weekend warriors...

View attachment 222620

Im not a fan of RTTs. I think theyre a waste of money and not particularly practical. Theyre a gimmick for weekend warriors IMO. Way to many short comings. I wouldnt want to use one when i was drunk, sick or injured. I dont like the idea of having to empty my tent of all my gear and closing the tent every time i want to drive anywhere. If you camp anywhere with rain or snow putting your boots or gear on or taking it off to get in is a pain. Then where do you stow it to dry out up there once its off so you dont get everything else wet or dirty in the tent?

The only practical use i see is if you put it on top of a trailer that gets parked at a base camp in a region that has critters on the ground that want to bite or sting you. Sure makes sense. But anything North of 42 degrees I wouldnt run one. Id personally rather have a hot tent on the ground.
Yeah, no lions in Canada. We do have wind rain, snow and -35c temperatures tho. ‍♂
Sasquatch????
 

MOAK

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Nope, never owned one. Im sure theyre great in the southwest. But in the rain and snow of British Columbia. Not worth it at all. Theres no way in hell youre going to be able to dry out wet gear, give your dogs a place to sleep or cook a meal in one. Theyre too small and too low. For half the price of a roof top tent you could by 12’x27’ hot tent with a wood stove. Dont think id appreciate climbing up and down a snowy ladder doing multiple trips with a dog under my arm living in a freezing cold tent. I also like the idea of my tent not moving every time i roll over or change positions, or if its windy.
To each his own, I’m sure, however, snowy ladder, drying out wet gear, etc? Tent moving in the wind or when one rolls over? None of those things are problems at all with a top shelf canvass RTT, mounted on a trailer , deploying an annex, using the very efficient Mr Buddy heater and using the ladder strap as a clothesline. If you don’t like RTTs that’s all fine and well, I get it. But to continually state one does not like something because of ill perceived shortcomings is disingenuous at best. All of the reasons you have come up with to diss RTTs do not hold water. Hey, just like you, it took me nearly a decade to concede that my reasons for not liking an RTT were unfounded. Now I have one, top shelf, full annex, etc etc. I should have purchased one a decade ago. The only thing I don’t like about it is that I cannot put a wood burning stove in it. 25mph winds with 40-50 mph gusts and 15f degrees at night! No problem. I will admit, with winds that high I always hook up to the LC for stabilization. No sand, no rocking, slept like an old dog.

CB3CCA65-DF16-469C-952D-77A8304ED09D.jpeg
 

Apoclapedia

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Nope, never owned one. Im sure theyre great in the southwest. But in the rain and snow of British Columbia. Not worth it at all. Theres no way in hell youre going to be able to dry out wet gear, give your dogs a place to sleep or cook a meal in one. Theyre too small and too low. For half the price of a roof top tent you could by 12’x27’ hot tent with a wood stove. Dont think id appreciate climbing up and down a snowy ladder doing multiple trips with a dog under my arm living in a freezing cold tent. I also like the idea of my tent not moving every time i roll over or change positions, or if its windy.
To each his own, I’m sure, however, snowy ladder, drying out wet gear, etc? Tent moving in the wind or when one rolls over? None of those things are problems at all with a top shelf canvass RTT, mounted on a trailer , deploying an annex, using the very efficient Mr Buddy heater and using the ladder strap as a clothesline. If you don’t like RTTs that’s all fine and well, I get it. But to continually state one does not like something because of ill perceived shortcomings is disingenuous at best. All of the reasons you have come up with to diss RTTs do not hold water. Hey, just like you, it took me nearly a decade to concede that my reasons for not liking an RTT were unfounded. Now I have one, top shelf, full annex, etc etc. I should have purchased one a decade ago. The only thing I don’t like about it is that I cannot put a wood burning stove in it. 25mph winds with 40-50 mph gusts and 15f degrees at night! No problem. I will admit, with winds that high I always hook up to the LC for stabilization. No sand, no rocking, slept like an old dog.

View attachment 222699
I think it was in my first post i said the only way i could see it working well, was if you put one on a trailer. Because who wants to break down camp every time they want to use their truck. But at the end of the day, i dont want to sleep in a bunk bed i want to stand up when i cook, i want room for 600lbs of dogs, and i want to look at a fire. RTTs do none of that.
 

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Get Out GO said:
Come and camp with me (and the lions and hyenas) then we'll talk again :wink:
Yeah, no lions in Canada. We do have wind rain, snow and -35c temperatures tho. ‍♂


Sasquatch????

I mean, technically we DO have lions:

mountain-lion-on-rock_4x3.jpg

But to your point, @KAIONE, I think you're more likely to have a Sasquatch encounter than have a bad run-in with a "Mountain Lion" (Cougar to us Canucks). They are shy as all heck and usually afraid of humans - same goes for most of our critters in the bush in North America. That's not to say attacks do not happen, but comparing wildlife incidents in Africa (where RTTs got super popular first, and for really good reason, to @Get Out GO's point) to incidents in North America is a bit like comparing a lotto win to a steady paycheque. Apparently there are about 3,000 deaths from hippos, 500 deaths from elephants, 300 from crocs, 200 from lions per year. In contrast, our fatalities due to animals in Canada is super low and primarily from humans hitting moose with their cars on highways, not from hungry critters taking a chance at an easy meal. We've only had 11 bear fatalities in North America (Canada and the US) in the last two years according to Wikipedia.

RTTs do give a few more seconds of warning from predator protection for North Americans too, but realistically the benefit is more about comfort in this regard for folks in Canada and the US (i.e. it FEELS safer for some folks to be in a tree house, even if practically speaking the risk is incredibly low, and realistically critters can still munch you if they want).
 

CR-Venturer

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I think it was in my first post i said the only way i could see it working well, was if you put one on a trailer. Because who wants to break down camp every time they want to use their truck. But at the end of the day, i dont want to sleep in a bunk bed i want to stand up when i cook, i want room for 600lbs of dogs, and i want to look at a fire. RTTs do none of that.
That's fair, but also recognize that your scenario is particularly specialized and by no means common. Your reasons for not wanting an RTT, while mostly valid for your use case (some were a little overblown, such as snow on the ladder etc.) Do not apply to the majority of users.

In principle, I would love an RTT, but I will not likely ever have one unless and until perhaps I got a different rig, and even then there may be more suitable options.

I actually built a scale model of the corrugated plastic rooftop "cabin" idea I had and did a preliminary cost/benefit analysis, and in the end I decided it wasn't worth it vs my cot tent.

If I ever found an uber cheap source of 4'x8' coroplast, I might revisit the idea, but for now it's shelved.

RTT's have some major good points, and some significant drawbacks, and I think it's safe to say they're better suited to some missions than others. As usual, OB delivers good discussion of both here!
 

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I love my RTT honestly, and so does my gf who didn't go camping before I had one. The comfort at night is unbeatable. Sure, does take time to set up and pack down, but ground tents are an even bigger pain to pack down, especially if you're hungover and it's wet. Having to bend down all the time to pick up stuff is not nice with a big headache. An RTT at least you do veryhting standing up, and once you get good at it takes way less time.
 

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Well, an RTT isn't in my budget nor, frankly, the roof-load capacity of my SUV, but I will say this: NICE VIDEO and presentation of issues to consider. Well done.
 

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I'm in the PNW and one of the reasons I ordered one (just waiting to pick up) is because of a trip where I could find places to park, but with limited flat spots for a T4 Gazelle tent. I can reasonably level out my vehicle, but I cannot level out a tent or cot so easily. I don't have a dog for camping (too old) and I also like not having to put all my sleeping gear inside my vehicle. The quick setup/take down is also ideal because in many areas, I would not want to leave my tent and equipment behind even if I was coming back just to avoid the risk of someone messing with it. In a couple of months, I'll be travelling across four states and planning to camp each night with some off pavement exploration along the way. I'm looking forward to the quick setup/take down for that trip. And on other occasions I'll be camping near hiking trails and go exploring on foot instead.

To each their own. I've backpacked and tent camped plenty and look forward to trying a new method.
 

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I think it was in my first post i said the only way i could see it working well, was if you put one on a trailer. Because who wants to break down camp every time they want to use their truck. But at the end of the day, i dont want to sleep in a bunk bed i want to stand up when i cook, i want room for 600lbs of dogs, and i want to look at a fire. RTTs do none of that.
I don't think your particular needs for camping should be dogging on RTTs. For the majority of people who own RTTs they love them. I think it's obvious if you're running 600lbs of sled dogs in super cold weather RTTs aren't the solution but like I said, for most people they work just fine. We don't have the problems you have here in Florida and they work great, even in the summer you can stay cool in a RTT up off the ground with a breeze flowing thru. The only time I use my ground tent is when it's not possible to use the RTT, the RTT is much easier to unfold and fold back up when done and keeps my bedding folded up inside it saving valuable storage space.
 
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shansonpac

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Hello
Like you, I had a lot of questions before buying a Rooftop tent. I created a video all about it and answered questions I had to learn for myself.


I hope this helps

I looked at this video prior to making my decision to go with an expedition trailer. I keep my trailer packed with all the basics, and when I'm ready to hit the road, I add water, turn on the fridge and go. There are items that I have to pack in the back of my JL. Having a "base camp", with the freedom to use the two vehicle did it for me. Also, being able to carry more equipment, have hot water and 110 power made this an easy decision for me. I realize that this thread is about the RTT itself, but where I deployed it was an important factor for me.
 

Johnmosessa

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Hello
Like you, I had a lot of questions before buying a Rooftop tent. I created a video all about it and answered questions I had to learn for myself.


I hope this helps

I looked at this video prior to making my decision to go with an expedition trailer. I keep my trailer packed with all the basics, and when I'm ready to hit the road, I add water, turn on the fridge and go. There are items that I have to pack in the back of my JL. Having a "base camp", with the freedom to use the two vehicle did it for me. Also, being able to carry more equipment, have hot water and 110 power made this an easy decision for me. I realize that this thread is about the RTT itself, but where I deployed it was an important factor for me.
This is great! I have seen those trailers and love that idea as well. Do you have any pictures or a video on this by any chance?
 
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OcoeeG

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I only have 2 nights in my new to me RTT on a trailer and I am smitten. Considerable improvement over a 6 person REI ground tent IMHO.

But I will agree with your on the drunk part. Night 2 absolutely BUSTED MY A$$ coming out of it to pee. Need to get a hand railing and a pee bottle.
 

Drunk_Dog

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I only have 2 nights in my new to me RTT on a trailer and I am smitten. Considerable improvement over a 6 person REI ground tent IMHO.

But I will agree with your on the drunk part. Night 2 absolutely BUSTED MY A$$ coming out of it to pee. Need to get a hand railing and a pee bottle.
Wait till you're in the middle of nowhere, turn off all your camp lights and you hear sticks snap like something/someone is walking around your site so you run around to the truck to grab the pew pew machine and you rack your dome on the corner of the tent and then you have a have new problem... true story... turns out I had a pack of wild boars come through.