There has been a lot written on this topic on this board and elsewhere, but you'll find that a lot of people are running RTTs. The market has exploded with innovation over recent years though which has further complicated the question of "What are the pros and cons of RTTs" because each type of RTT has it's own pros and cons.
Hard shell pop tops,, Hard-shell wedge, "Traditional" soft cover clamshell, and "other" (i.e. iKamper) are the main categories I can see. All of 'em have the same basic concept though -- a place to sleep up off the ground. For all tents, here are my general pros and cons:
Pros:
- You never need to worry about ground condition. If you can drive on it, you can sleep on it -- no worries about sticks, roots, or other things that may be missed at 6 PM but you sure notice them at 3 AM when they are digging into your kidney.
- Up away from creepy crawlers and predators. An RTT feels a lot safer than a ground tent.
- Quick to setup. Now, this very much depends on the tent style -- for instance, a wedge-style hard shell is WAY FASTER than any comparable tent for both setup and teardown. A traditional soft-cover clamshell takes almost as much time as a ground tent, but with practice we're talking about a sub-5 minute job in any case.
- Space. Your bedding and shelter is out of the car on the roof rack (most RTTs allow you to store bedding). This is space freed up in the cab.
- Flexibility - there are lots of places where a rig with an RTT is welcome but a ground tent may not be, for example, if you are on a long haul on the way somewhere interesting and just need sleep in whatever town you end up in, most RV parks will allow an RTT rig; same with most Wal-Mart-style boon docking locations. They are less keen on having ground tents.
Cons:
- Weight. Most RTTs are 150lbs, whereas a comparable ground tent can be 1/10th that weight. If you are in a rig that has a low GVM, an RTT may not be a practical choice. The weight is also carried quite high, but that's never been a major issue in my books because the RTT tends to take up so much real-estate that it prevents a person from really loading up the rack to an excessive degree.
- Cost. Even a cheap RTT is over a thousand bucks. A "Mid-range" RTT can easily run $2k to $3k. Some premium RTTs are north of $6k.
- Access. If you have mobility issues, or you camp with people/pets who do, accessing the RTT can be a bit trickier than accessing a ground tent.
- If you tend to go basecamp, it monopolizes the vehicle so you have to go through the process of stowing and pitching it every time you leave camp. This is not an issue if you are staying in different places every day, as many do.
I'm sure there are more but that's a quick top-of-my-head list. So, depending on your travel style and wants, an RTT may be right for you, at which time I would encourage you to spend some time looking at the different designs that are available to delve more into the pros and cons of those individual designs. Some designs have inherent limitations on space for people, for example. Once you've decided on a design, then you can start narrowing down to manufacturer.
I used the word "wants" there intentionally -- I've never met anyone who has made a compelling argument for "needing" an RTT. Plenty of people have travelled the world without one!
