Rooftop Tents

[PBDNavigate]

If there is so much creativity and innovation going on in the world of RTT, why do they all look the same?

 

[Kevin108]

You must be looking within a specific budget range. There is a tremendous difference between the softshell folding tents like my Smittybilt and the hardshell wedges like my buddy's AluCab.

 

[FishinCrzy]

My first RTT was just a basic soft cover tent that mounts on top. My newest version of the same tent in hard cover has adjustable LED lighting, more interior storage pockets, an interior zipper that can mount some insulated wall blankets, locking fasteners for the cover, better ladder and mattress, a cover for the ladder so it doesn't chaff when closed. So, there are improvements going on as field testing and feedback comes around. Since they are to do one job in particular there are only so many configurations but there are quite a few.

 

[smritte]

Is it because the soft ones are based on the same original design? The differences can be subtle. I got mine when they first started importing them years ago. I think there was only one or two manufactures at the time and it looked like one copied the other. Up until the last few years, all the soft shell tents looked exactly the same. The hard shell had a few variations.
A few weeks ago, I was at an Off-Road expo looking at some. I thought all the venders brought the same ones but they were mostly diffrent manufactures. Looking closely you could see the differences.

 

[MOAK]

Yes, they do all look alike, from a distance. Up close and personal, the differences are obvious between top shelf units and all the run of the mill offerings. If you’re in the market, spend the big bucks once, you’ll not regret it 5-10-15 years later.