Roof Top Tent or Ground Tent?

[Michael]

Michael submitted an Article on the main site!

Roof Top Tent or Ground Tent?

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]We’ve all seen epic pictures of Rooftop Tents out in the wild and thought, “Man, that looks awesome.” But how do you know if a RTT is right for...

Continue reading the Original Blog Post.

 

[nismoz33]

Which ground tents have you used? Is that a FiveJoy pop up tent? If so what are your thoughts on it?

 

[Michael]

Which ground tents have you used? Is that a FiveJoy pop up tent? If so what are your thoughts on it?

Hey there - we have used a number of tents. Most recently the REI Habitat 4, and the Front Runner Flip Pop tent (FAST)! We keep our eyes on the OZ tents and one of those may be in our future. The Habitat is great, the Front Runner Flip Pop is fast, but you need to be careful with it, it is NOT heavy duty and we ended up breaking one of the rods. Habitat - fairly fast, good for 4. Why can't any tent manufacturers solve the crappy zipper problem?!

 

[druse76]

Because both have benefits, I think it's handy to have both. You can get a decent ground tent for a decent price. RTT's are expensive but they can be pretty handy to have as well. My wife has been using ours for the past month on a trip she's been on and she loves it. It takes her longer to pack it away (approx 21 minutes) but I was able to show her a few shortcuts to help her get better. I'm able to break it down in 12 minutes. Ultimately, I'd like to either build or buy a trailer like a Turtlback Trailer to be able to bring the RTT somewhere and have amenities below and also leave camp with my vehicle. That would be ideal. Anyway, this is a great question that I don't think can be answered one way or the other.

 

[Mike W]

If you are looking at OZ tents, also compare with the Kodiak Canvas Flexbow tents. I think they setup faster. Its also two 'bags' rather than one long one that limits storage options. It has a tent pole bag that fits across a vehicle, and the tent itself which is rolled up in whatever shape you prefer. Has a slick canvas bag that works with some variance on how you fold it up.

 

[Judge]

"Overland AF" = comedy gold!

 

[APtrail2005]

After spending an extended period of time exploring and hiking I have to say I really enjoy using our RTT. I know it's easy to use a ground tent, they are light and easy to pack. But I have to say if you get a chance to try one (RTT) you'll see why people like them. If your not into climbing the ladder you can always attach the RRT to a small trailer, disconnect at base camp and enjoy the best of both worlds.

 

[APtrail2005]

 

[Arizona Overland]

View attachment 31577

Thats a nice setup.

 

[Arizona Overland]

Like I said in the videos comments, I love my RTT. Yes it can be a pain if I want to put the annex on and break it down every day, but I don't have to have the annex, so it takes about 10 minutes without. I don't like scorpions and rattle snakes, so its a RTT for me.
I do want to put together a trailer though, so if Im going on a trip and want to leave the tent in 1 place while I explore, I can.

 

[MagnoliaOverland]

It's a Foxwing Awning and FoxWing Tagalong Tent for me. It's basically an OzTent that zips into my foxwing awning. I have a family of four and a four person RTT was going to take up my entire roof rack. I couldn't afford to lose that roof storage space.

 

[killallninjas]

Ground Tent here. I need the rack for storage.

 

[Squaretyre]

With a RTT, I don't feel they are quite so much as a candy wrapper in bear country.

 

[driske]

I found the same limitation with my roof tent. So I built a trailer this year and let me tell you, the combination of an RTT with trailer so that you can go exploring during the day without having to pack up your campsite is quite the luxury!

Sent from my SM-G935W8 using OB Talk mobile app

 

[driske]

Before this, I slept in a ground tent for many years. Then moved to a tent setup on the roof of my Jeep. While I felt safer from bears and critters in general, I always found it a pain to have to pack up camp to move the vehicle. I feel like the tent/trailer combo is the best of both worlds, though it can be tricky in an off road situation to turn around or back up on a tight trail

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[Squaretyre]

I agree, if your staying at the same spot for more then a couple nights, like even at a rally, I use a trailer mount. Pain hauling one around otherwise

 

[PNWExplore]

I spent a long time researching various ground tents and roof top tents before I settled on my Free Spirit Recreation Series Medium RTT. It really depends on the type of person you are and where you live as well

My reasoning for splurging on an RTT here in Central Oregon

-Highly volcanic region, so there is rocks EVERYWHERE, clearing ground for a tent is both a pain and ultimately does not leave the area as you found it
-Extremely dusty. Packing away a RTT is much more convenient when it comes to not getting completely covered in the moon dust we have here
-Better with critters. We have snakes, cougars, fire ants, etc here and it is nice to be up off the ground and away from those things. It is also piece of mind for me and the GF as we had a cougar encounter after backpacking 5 miles into a local mountain
-Comfort. The RTT is easily more comfortable than a sleeping bag and an air mattress
-Weather. The RTT enables us to camp in more seasons than a ground tent, we get snow and rain, so not having to worry about those things on the ground is great as well

Anyone looking for a more affordable RTT that still has great construction, I would recommend looking at http://www.gofsr.com/
They are busy though as they are growing, so they might not have a certain style in stock

 

[Brazuca]

After 15 months nonstop overlanding I believe it's either a hard shell or ground tent. the soft covers are just a pain. Since we got our James Baroud the whole rooftop tent experience changed from water to winr

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[Arizona Overland]

I spent a long time researching various ground tents and roof top tents before I settled on my Free Spirit Recreation Series Medium RTT. It really depends on the type of person you are and where you live as well

My reasoning for splurging on an RTT here in Central Oregon

-Highly volcanic region, so there is rocks EVERYWHERE, clearing ground for a tent is both a pain and ultimately does not leave the area as you found it
-Extremely dusty. Packing away a RTT is much more convenient when it comes to not getting completely covered in the moon dust we have here
-Better with critters. We have snakes, cougars, fire ants, etc here and it is nice to be up off the ground and away from those things. It is also piece of mind for me and the GF as we had a cougar encounter after backpacking 5 miles into a local mountain
-Comfort. The RTT is easily more comfortable than a sleeping bag and an air mattress
-Weather. The RTT enables us to camp in more seasons than a ground tent, we get snow and rain, so not having to worry about those things on the ground is great as well

Anyone looking for a more affordable RTT that still has great construction, I would recommend looking at http://www.gofsr.com/
They are busy though as they are growing, so they might not have a certain style in stock

View attachment 31635

I agree 100% and that is a great pic. (the second)

 

[stage7]

I have never used a RTT and I have been curious about getting one. I like the idea of being up off the ground but I don't like the idea of 140-200 lbs. of weight on my roof. The lightest one I've found is 90+ lbs. In off camber situations I don't know if I'd be comfortable with so much up top. I like the hard shell variety of the RTT but they seem to be the heaviest of them. I've only ever used ground tent and I have not been overlanding long or been in scorpion, grizzly or fire ant country. I guess it really depends on what you need. The OZ tents look pretty quick to set up and tear down but I haven't checked specs on weight and 6'6" of product is a bit cumbersome to pack. I've also been considering an off road trailer with RTT on the trailer as well, which seems like it has it's pro's and con's as well.
Good article though, has me stroking my chin and saying Hmmm a lot.