Advocate II
Anyone have any hands on experience with Tepui Roof Top Tents? Im thinking about jumping on one and was wondering how good the quality is. And is it worth it compared to some of the higher priced ones.
Opinions on Tepui roof top tents?
- Thread starter Overland Ewack
- Start date
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- Tags
- roof top tent tents tepui
Enthusiast III
Advocate II
Enthusiast III
Advocate II
That's the one I'm looking at. Does it fit two adults fairly well or is it a little cramped?
Enthusiast III
Tepui Baja Series Ayer 2 here, purchased last year from Moosejaw Outdoor during a sale.Can’t speak to longevity but it’s been a good first RTT for us and I feel like I’m getting good value.
We really enjoy using it. It’s light enough to not be an issue on my smaller rig and I can get it up on the crossbars by myself if I’ve eaten my Wheaties that day. The tent fabric itself feels really nice, especially on the lightweight canopy that I use. It’s light and flexible but still very strong and weather resistant. The zippers have all held up well for the year that I’ve had it. The PVC travel cover is particularly nice.The mattress is MUCH better than sleeping on the ground but is nothing to write home about. We hadn’t had issues with condensation (currently don’t have the anti-condensation mat) until our last trip when temps were in the 70’s during the day and low 50’s at night. We were warm with two humans and two small dogs but woke up with damp walls. We fit snugly but we like each other so it’s okay, I’m about 6’ and she’s 5’9” or so, and the two little dogs sleep between us with one usually near our stomachs and the other by our shins. It’s a very “generic” tent in that it uses the same t-track mounting system, frame style, etc. as a lot of tents out there, but I see that as a positive because parts should be plentiful, accessories can possibly be modified from other brands, and setup is intuitive.The “Zipper Gimp” interchangeable canopies are a neat idea but I haven’t bought any other ones to try out. There are similar tents that you can get for more money with slightly nicer fit and finish and little things like cute branded zipper pulls or included boot bags but this one definitely gets the job done and you get your money’s worth.
The only negative I’ve found is that mine doesn’t quite unfold all the way. Every time I open it I have to pull on it to get the groove of one half of the floor to seat in the other half. It doesn’t stay that way without a little bit of weight on the floor. I’ve figured out that the canopy is a little too tight over the frame and the tension preventing the hinge from opening completely. It hasn’t been a huge issue but whenever I climb up there I worry in the back of my mind that if the two halves of the floor aren’t lined up properly I’ll damage my tent. I plan to troubleshoot this over the weekend to figure out if it’s Tepui’s, Moosejaw’s, or my fault and take appropriate action. This seems like it could just be an individual QC issue. Hasn’t caused any real issues, just something that I’d rather not worry about but haven’t taken the initiative to rectify. I look at the lack of included anti-condensation mat, boot bags, etc. as an a la carte deal, pay for what you want, not for what you don’t. Those accessories are available if you need them. We have improvised our own boot bags, lighting, etc. from things we already had and will probably order the mat or upgraded mattress after our recent experience. I’d say skip the $75 Tepui security nuts as they’re pretty lame and upgrade your mounts to the Wheel Every Weekend Security Mounts. I bought the Tepui ones and then immediately bought the WEW for not much more $. Live and learn...
We’ve used our Tepui tent in Sam Houston State Park, Big Bend National Park, Lockhart National Park, and Guadalupe River State Park (all in TX) in temperatures from 39-98F and thoroughly enjoy it. Those were all 1-2 night trips, limited only by time off of work, not by comfort or convenience of the tent. I’ve driven up to 85mph on trips close to 10 hours in our little Subaru, though I will admit 85mph is not my preferred speed with a tent on the roof. This was my gateway drug, if you will, into overlanding and modifying my car so I’d recommend the tent if you’re looking at it. Definitely wait until you see it on sale and you’ll get a great value. We plan to use ours for a long time until we have the means/motivation/time to drop the $ on an iKamper Skycamp mini or something similar and are in no rush to do so.
We really enjoy using it. It’s light enough to not be an issue on my smaller rig and I can get it up on the crossbars by myself if I’ve eaten my Wheaties that day. The tent fabric itself feels really nice, especially on the lightweight canopy that I use. It’s light and flexible but still very strong and weather resistant. The zippers have all held up well for the year that I’ve had it. The PVC travel cover is particularly nice.The mattress is MUCH better than sleeping on the ground but is nothing to write home about. We hadn’t had issues with condensation (currently don’t have the anti-condensation mat) until our last trip when temps were in the 70’s during the day and low 50’s at night. We were warm with two humans and two small dogs but woke up with damp walls. We fit snugly but we like each other so it’s okay, I’m about 6’ and she’s 5’9” or so, and the two little dogs sleep between us with one usually near our stomachs and the other by our shins. It’s a very “generic” tent in that it uses the same t-track mounting system, frame style, etc. as a lot of tents out there, but I see that as a positive because parts should be plentiful, accessories can possibly be modified from other brands, and setup is intuitive.The “Zipper Gimp” interchangeable canopies are a neat idea but I haven’t bought any other ones to try out. There are similar tents that you can get for more money with slightly nicer fit and finish and little things like cute branded zipper pulls or included boot bags but this one definitely gets the job done and you get your money’s worth.
The only negative I’ve found is that mine doesn’t quite unfold all the way. Every time I open it I have to pull on it to get the groove of one half of the floor to seat in the other half. It doesn’t stay that way without a little bit of weight on the floor. I’ve figured out that the canopy is a little too tight over the frame and the tension preventing the hinge from opening completely. It hasn’t been a huge issue but whenever I climb up there I worry in the back of my mind that if the two halves of the floor aren’t lined up properly I’ll damage my tent. I plan to troubleshoot this over the weekend to figure out if it’s Tepui’s, Moosejaw’s, or my fault and take appropriate action. This seems like it could just be an individual QC issue. Hasn’t caused any real issues, just something that I’d rather not worry about but haven’t taken the initiative to rectify. I look at the lack of included anti-condensation mat, boot bags, etc. as an a la carte deal, pay for what you want, not for what you don’t. Those accessories are available if you need them. We have improvised our own boot bags, lighting, etc. from things we already had and will probably order the mat or upgraded mattress after our recent experience. I’d say skip the $75 Tepui security nuts as they’re pretty lame and upgrade your mounts to the Wheel Every Weekend Security Mounts. I bought the Tepui ones and then immediately bought the WEW for not much more $. Live and learn...
We’ve used our Tepui tent in Sam Houston State Park, Big Bend National Park, Lockhart National Park, and Guadalupe River State Park (all in TX) in temperatures from 39-98F and thoroughly enjoy it. Those were all 1-2 night trips, limited only by time off of work, not by comfort or convenience of the tent. I’ve driven up to 85mph on trips close to 10 hours in our little Subaru, though I will admit 85mph is not my preferred speed with a tent on the roof. This was my gateway drug, if you will, into overlanding and modifying my car so I’d recommend the tent if you’re looking at it. Definitely wait until you see it on sale and you’ll get a great value. We plan to use ours for a long time until we have the means/motivation/time to drop the $ on an iKamper Skycamp mini or something similar and are in no rush to do so.
Last edited:
Advocate II
Thank you for the information. Might just take a chance on it and see what happens.
Enthusiast III
Advocate II
That's good to know thanks. I'm probably going to pull the trigger on it soon
Enthusiast III
Rei Black Friday you can get it for 20% off ;)
Advocate II
That would be helpful. But i wish black Friday was in the spring so i could have it just in time for the summer haha
Enthusiast III
You can't go wrong with a Tepui Tent. I've had my Ayer sky since 2017-use it about 30-40 times a year. The Zipper Gimp is awesome, not just because you can change tent tops, but if there ever was an issue with the tent tearing, you simply unzip and replace the top canvas portion of the tent set up. This happened to me camping on the beach in Texas, unprotected out in the open when a front came through in the middle of the nite with 50+ mph winds. The winds did damage to the rain fly and tent (rain fly frame pockets on the tent)-their warranty and great customer service handled everything-great job Tepui!!
Few suggestions however:
Watch the Weather forecast. Don't learn the hard way no matter what brand of RTT you end up with.
If the wind is forecast to be above 25-30 take the Rain Fly off and close the window flaps as long as there is NO rain in the forecast.
If there will be wind and rain, I would suggest spending the extra dollars and purchasing a Weather hood and if it's forecasting cold I would definitely use this. This goes on over the tent after the Rain Fly is removed and window flaps are buttoned down. Makes your sleeping adventure toasty, less flapping sounds and dry !!!. I use Bungee/Balls to attach (3 per side) to the tent mounting frame.
Also not a bad idea if your camping when the wind is projected to kick up to add a restraint system to the folded out portion of the tent, to secure and hold it down so the wind doesn't try to pick it up. I have devised a system of chain and a large turnbuckle with clips on both ends. Clip to the bottom rings on the folding portion bottom of the tend and anchor it to the ground or frame (Mine attaches to the Overland trailer-see picture).
Hope this helps
Few suggestions however:
Watch the Weather forecast. Don't learn the hard way no matter what brand of RTT you end up with.
If the wind is forecast to be above 25-30 take the Rain Fly off and close the window flaps as long as there is NO rain in the forecast.
If there will be wind and rain, I would suggest spending the extra dollars and purchasing a Weather hood and if it's forecasting cold I would definitely use this. This goes on over the tent after the Rain Fly is removed and window flaps are buttoned down. Makes your sleeping adventure toasty, less flapping sounds and dry !!!. I use Bungee/Balls to attach (3 per side) to the tent mounting frame.
Also not a bad idea if your camping when the wind is projected to kick up to add a restraint system to the folded out portion of the tent, to secure and hold it down so the wind doesn't try to pick it up. I have devised a system of chain and a large turnbuckle with clips on both ends. Clip to the bottom rings on the folding portion bottom of the tend and anchor it to the ground or frame (Mine attaches to the Overland trailer-see picture).
Hope this helps
Advocate II
Thanks for the helpful info. I just bought the Ayer 2 and I should have it by next week or so.
Enthusiast I
Advocate II
I bought mine from REI for 920 plus tax which came out to around 970 or something.
Enthusiast I
Advocate II
Advocate II
I picked up my Ayer at REI, at a used gear sale for $700. It was used once and in like new condition. 3 years later, I could not be happier with the purchase. Convenient, light enough that i can easily load and unload it from the roof by myself, and makes for a great view. Much like others said, the mattress is good, but not great. (Especially when you get in sub freezing temps) I added an additional layer of foam, as the cold temps seem to make the foam stiffer. Also the pivot point for the hinges can be a little drafty, but all in all I would buy it again. For two adults, the Ayer if definitely cozy. Not terrible, but not spacious...lol
Trail Mechanic II
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