RTT vs Ground

[5280Ranger]

I am really struggling with deciding the route of my truck. I like to overthink everything and then overthink it some more. Eventually causing decision anxiety.

There are 2 options for my truck. Bed rack with a RTT or Bed rack with an awning and ground tent. Let me explain why I can't have the bed rack, RTT, and awning. My stipulation for the bed rack/RTT option is that the RTT is at or below the roof line of my truck. I can do that (or at least really, really close), but then the awning would be at around 4' instead of 6-7'. I'm not a tall man, but I can't walk under a 4' awning.

I go back and forth between wanting a RTT or not. So here is my question for discussion:
If you RTT; what is the biggest pro? What is the biggest con?
If you ground tent; What is your biggest pro? What is your biggest con?
If you've done both; why did you move to what you chose?

For the sake of argument, let's take price out of it. Obviously, price is important, but I've gotten approval from the wife to invest in the next year in a 'final' camp solution. We try to camp twice per month, for the weekend, and there will be some longer trips involved too. 9 days or under. For the longer trips, camp would be in a different spot each night, so 'saving' a camp site isn't a priority. For the weekend trips, it would be split between same spot for the weekend and moving around.

I appreciate any and all feedback you can provide. Responses don't need to be limited to the above questions either, any points you can make would be helpful.

 

[Patman]

I am really struggling with deciding the route of my truck. I like to overthink everything and then overthink it some more. Eventually causing decision anxiety.

There are 2 options for my truck. Bed rack with a RTT or Bed rack with an awning and ground tent. Let me explain why I can't have the bed rack, RTT, and awning. My stipulation for the bed rack/RTT option is that the RTT is at or below the roof line of my truck. I can do that (or at least really, really close), but then the awning would be at around 4' instead of 6-7'. I'm not a tall man, but I can't walk under a 4' awning.

I go back and forth between wanting a RTT or not. So here is my question for discussion:
If you RTT; what is the biggest pro? What is the biggest con?
If you ground tent; What is your biggest pro? What is your biggest con?
If you've done both; why did you move to what you chose?

For the sake of argument, let's take price out of it. Obviously, price is important, but I've gotten approval from the wife to invest in the next year in a 'final' camp solution. We try to camp twice per month, for the weekend, and there will be some longer trips involved too. 9 days or under. For the longer trips, camp would be in a different spot each night, so 'saving' a camp site isn't a priority. For the weekend trips, it would be split between same spot for the weekend and moving around.

I appreciate any and all feedback you can provide. Responses don't need to be limited to the above questions either, any points you can make would be helpful.

If the only reason you can't do awning and RTT, put the awning on a pop up mount. There are tons of threads on pros and cons. Biggest con for me is having to pack it up to go anywhere. If it's a folding RTT, it's at least as much time as a good ground tent. Biggest pro, I'm a kid and it's a tree house on my Jeep. If it was just me and not the family. I would just run a swag on a cot. Off the ground, dry and easy to set up.

 

[5280Ranger]

This camping option has some family planning involved too. Now there are 2, eventually 3.

I’ve read threads until I’m blue in the face. I’m hoping to get some engagement with my specific use case so I can ask questions as they come up, banter back and forth during the discussion.

Thank you for your response. Packing seems to be a big one, but that doesn’t bother me as I don’t usually leave my camp setup because people suck and things get stolen. (People as a whole, persons are usually good).

 

[K12]

I have done both, I like the RTT because its elevated off the ground and depending on the route you go you can fit sleeping bags blankets and pillows inside (less space taken from inside the vehicle/truck bed).

With the RTT I thought I would be ok having to pack up to go anywhere, but it quickly became an annoyance, esspecially being a fold out (you will probably be ok with it, if its a pop-up)

 

[Overlanding Lawyer]

I’m a ground guy, at my age, the ladder thing esp. in the middle of the night.. negative ghost rider..

 

[307dulaney]

This might be a stupid question but why does the RTT limit the awning to 4’?

 

[307dulaney]

Sorry I hit send to fast… it seems like most I’ve seen have the tent adjacent to the awning so was just wondering what exactly is limiting the height of the awning

 

[Cypress]

I'll second being a ground guy. The thought of navigating a ladder at 3 am to find a handy tree is not on my list of things to do. It would probably be safer to fight the bear.

 

[Road]

I'm not understanding your difference between a rack and RTT, or rack, RTT and awning...are you planning the same rack for either option?

If you want the awning to be up at 6'7" - your rack is going to be a good bit taller, or will have to be able to be raised for camping.

That's what I have on my trailer; a rack I can raise or lower depending on need. Always lowered for travel.

I can pop the RTT and sleep in it while lowered OR raised, though the awning is far more useful and comfortable when the rack is raised.


RTT and awning at or below my roofline. Would be the same if on a suitable rack on a pickup.
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Rack in lower position for the night, RTT up, awning not deployed.
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Rack raised, RTT up, awning ready to be deployed over head height.
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Rack raised, RTT up. awning out.

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If planning a different height rack for each option, you haven't said so. You may be overthinking this to the point of anxiety and more.

Before you choose an RTT or not, it'll pay to research more about the different types and determine what fits your style more; soft shell, hard shell, hybrid fold out, etc.

A good hardshell RTT does next to nothing as far as increasing MPG, in my experience, even if slightly above the roofline of your vehicle.

I would not give up my RTT in my present config for anything. It's made my adventures much more pleasurable, longer-lasting, and memorable, by far. I can say this after literally sixty years of every other type of ground tent experience one can imagine, all over North America and Europe.

As for the pros and cons of different types of RTTs, there are a ton of threads here on how folks perceive the advantages and disadvantages. Lots of threads on heat and cooling, too.

Here's a post I made in such a thread, with what I consider to be the benefits of my hardshell RTT, based on experience of over 600 nights out in all kinds of weather and situations and all over North America:

Rooftop tent

What are the benefits of having a roof top tent versus just bringing a ground tent or having a set up in the back of your rig?

www.overlandbound.com

Here are several more you may find helpful; all of which talk about rooftop tents and various types:

Soft shell, hard shell or ground tent?

Rooftop tent

I’m considering a RTT. I like the low profile of a hard shell. But they tend to take up the entire rack. I have an Apex Overland Frontrunner rack. Soft shell, hard shell or ground tent like a gazelle? Opinions?

www.overlandbound.com

Rooftop Tent Camping - has several opinions on RTT, ground tents, why, etc:

Roof Top Tent Camping

In this video I brought up three major reasons why we chose to install a Roof Top Tent on our 2006 Jeep Wrangler. The tent is a Tepui Ayer. Small but perfect for this size of vehicle. For most of my entire life I have camped on the ground and still would to this day. The biggest reason we wanted...

www.overlandbound.com

Eight pages of Roof Top Tent or Ground Tent:

Roof Top Tent or Ground Tent?

Michael submitted an Article on the main site! Roof Top Tent or Ground Tent? [vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text][FONT=georgia]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...

www.overlandbound.com

Nine pages of Rooftop Tent, Yay or Nay. OP asks who switched from RTT to ground tent, or vice versa, why, and if RTT are just gimmicks:

Let’s be honest; Roof Top Tent- Yay or Nay?

Have you switched from a RTT to a ground tent? Started out with a ground tent, went to a RTT, found out you didn’t like it and went back to the ground? Or, the other way around? Do you regret buying one? Are they mostly just a gimmicky thing? It’s okay, you can tell us the truth. Sometimes...

www.overlandbound.com

Ten pages of "What is your preferred shelter? Rooftop Tent vs Ground Tent vs etc...

What is your preferred shelter? (Rooftop Tent vs Ground Tent vs Etc...)

I'm new to the overlanding scene, and I'm trying to make some decisions about my rig/gear. I'll normally be by myself. My girlfriend may potentially tag along, but she'd prefer to take the camper (Coachmen Clipper 17FQ) if she's coming with me. So with all of the experience/knowledge in the OB...

www.overlandbound.com

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In your case, Brandon, the type of RTT may be the deciding factor, especially if set on one style of rack.

If staying with the same style and height of rack whether you get an RTT on it or not, the simple fact of the awning supports and awning itself sticking up far enough for head clearance is going to be as much or more wind drag and loss of MPG than it would be if also having an RTT on that rack.

Also, though I'm much closer to 70yo than 60, I haven't found that getting in and out of my RTT at any time of day or night has been cumbersome. Again, I've used it well over 600 nights in all kinds of weather and environments.

Fact is, having an RTT and climbing around on my rig regularly; loading gear, deploying RTT and awning, etc is far more beneficial to my activity level and overall health, whether I have to piss in the middle of the night or not. Those that are so bothered by it should discover pee jugs.

Good luck with whatever you choose.

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[zgfiredude]

I'm going to throw out a couple of things, RTT = heavy and expensive (for the most part), does it live on the truck ALL the time? Do you have a place to store it if removed?

Or, what if you did the awning with attachable walls? You can create a tent off the side of the truck......just a thought.

I get a bit stuck with having to tear down the "house" any time you want to move. You have no option with the RTT, and really with the awning either. So, ask yourself if the style of camping you do lends itself to being stationary or mobile and how much set-up/tear down are you comfortable with? Tough call.

I went with a teardrop trailer.

 

[5280Ranger]

This might be a stupid question but why does the RTT limit the awning to 4’?

If I put a RTT on, then the rack I will use is an 8" tall rack. This would put the awning at a very low height. There are extender brackets, but I haven't researched that yet. If I go with the awning and a ground tent, I will get the 18" rack, which would be in line with my roof. The trick is 8" rack with 14" tall tent is at/slightly above the roofline, so the awning mounting points would be really low.

I'm not understanding your difference between a rack and RTT, or rack, RTT and awning...are you planning the same rack for either option?

If you want the awning to be up at 6'7" - your rack is going to be a good bit taller, or will have to be able to be raised for camping.

That's what I have on my trailer; a rack I can raise or lower depending on need. Always lowered for travel.

Thank you for the thorough reply! Check above, I hope that clears up the difference between RTT/rack and awning/rack. I would get a different bed rack if I did not install the tent on the truck. If I go with the RTT, I will get the Billie Bars in 8" and the 23Zero in the 62" version. That would sit over my bed and fit 2 adults and a child. We were able to test this out (without a child, since I don't have one yet) at Spirit of 1876 in Castle Rock.

I'm going to throw out a couple of things, RTT = heavy and expensive (for the most part), does it live on the truck ALL the time? Do you have a place to store it if removed?

This is one of my concerns. I would devise a pulley/lift system to take the tent off the truck when not in use. I would only have it installed when I was taking trips. I have enough clearance over my truck in the garage to store it up there. This is one of my sticking points though, that's a lot of work any time we want to camp.

Or, what if you did the awning with attachable walls? You can create a tent off the side of the truck......just a thought.

I hadn't really thought of this. With the openings at the bottom of the awning, critters could access me while I sleep. I don't want to wake up next to wildlife like that. Creative solution, definitely, but I am not sure it would work. That would be a whole lot of research in another direction. Definitely food for thought.

I get a bit stuck with having to tear down the "house" any time you want to move. You have no option with the RTT, and really with the awning either. So, ask yourself if the style of camping you do lends itself to being stationary or mobile and how much set-up/tear down are you comfortable with? Tough call.

I went with a teardrop trailer.

At this point, I don't think 'tear down the house' bothers me, but that is why I am asking the internet for opinions. A trailer is out of the question because I don't have anywhere to store it. I have a 2.5 car garage, but I would never be able to angle the trailer in to a position that it could be store and I will not leave something like that outside my house. Back in April, some jackwad tried to steal my car. Lesson learned.

I checked out the Swag from 23Zero which is basically a RTT but on the ground. I like the pad in it and I was able to try them out at Expo West in Loveland. The only problem is, they are fairly small. Nothing bigger than a double, as far as I can tell.

One of my biggest reasons for the RTT is the comfort. I'm a side sleeper and the sleeping pads aren't great for more than a night. I hope I've conveyed how much thought I have really put in to this, and my wife is sick of hearing me talk about it... I don't mind ground camping, and maybe the search should be around comfort on the ground, but then we start getting in to having to carry a metric buttload of gear. The RTT is, at least, relatively self contained.

I talk myself in to one option and then in to another. @Road , I am going to check out your thread you posted about above.

Thank you all for the input. Please, keep it coming!

 

[5280Ranger]

I’m a ground guy, at my age, the ladder thing esp. in the middle of the night.. negative ghost rider..

Definitely something to consider. I'm still kinda young, but I still don't want to fall out of a RTT in the middle of the night. And my wife has to pee a LOT, so that's a consideration. Thanks!

If the only reason you can't do awning and RTT, put the awning on a pop up mount. There are tons of threads on pros and cons. Biggest con for me is having to pack it up to go anywhere. If it's a folding RTT, it's at least as much time as a good ground tent. Biggest pro, I'm a kid and it's a tree house on my Jeep. If it was just me and not the family. I would just run a swag on a cot. Off the ground, dry and easy to set up.

I will have to research pop up mounts. I have only seen custom mounts to this point. But I wasn't really considering that as an option. Thank you!

I'll second being a ground guy. The thought of navigating a ladder at 3 am to find a handy tree is not on my list of things to do. It would probably be safer to fight the bear.

I mean, that doesn't sound fun... Though I don't want to fight a bear either. I don't know how much a RTT would prevent a bear issue though, as I think I've seen them climb a tree before... :D Thank you for chiming in though, always good to hear the reasons. I appreciate it.

 

[307dulaney]

I understand now. I agree with @Patman look into a solution that raises your awning for use if you go that direction. I feel like @Michael showed a setup like that in a video not too long ago. Good luck!!

 

[KonzaLander]

I have gone from ground dweller in a tent, to hammock, to RTT. I prefer sleeping in the hammock but it is not real practical when out with my wife since she likes to be close.

My biggest issue with a ground tent was water. For some reason, every time I camp it rains...doesn't matter where. It has rained so much the tent flooded. In addition to water issues, I don't really like bending forward to enter a ground tent. Tents that are tall enough to not requiring bending forward to enter are massive, and I just don't have that much space to pack something so big. My ARB RTT is a soft sided fold out that is probably close to 10 years old. I really don't like packing it up in the morning since it is hard to reach on top of my Land Cruiser and takes about the same amount of time to pack as it does to pack up a ground tent, however it is MUCH quicker to deploy. No staking necessary. If the ground at camp isn't level, a couple of rocks under the rigs tires can create the perfect level spot. The RTT won't flood during rain, but it will probably get packed up wet in the morning. Get a wider RTT ladder and the 3am pee break is easy to handle.

That said, if I wasn't able to have a RTT and awning, I would pick a 270 awning. Shade a rain protection when none exists outside of the truck is amazing. Have both awning and RTT is the 'bees-knees'.

 

[Patman]

I understand now. I agree with @Patman look into a solution that raises your awning for use if you go that direction. I feel like @Michael showed a setup like that in a video not too long ago. Good luck!!

Pretty sure it was the @socialpants walk around of his raptor. There are also several type available from trailer manufacturers, as well as great diy ones using adjustable load bars and other methods.

 

[leeloo]

Had both.
speed - fastest to pack is a pure hardshell like an autohome maggiolina or Columbus. They are heavy . If you plan a family, more than 2 persons, until the kid is about 10-12 years old and assuming he will be normal size, you can get by with hard-shell 160 cm wide . I don't think that a lot wider harshell exists, they would be too heavy.
I had one , Autohome Columbus XL, the kid grew up, we did not fit anymore, had to sell it. I don't think you find pure hardshells bigger than 160 cm , but you can find a hybrid like the Skycamper from iKamper, that in theory should hold 3 adults no issues.
It was very heavy, mine was on the roof of the car. Took 3 adults with great effort to put it up on the roof bars. Since your bedrack is not so high, you can get away with 2 strong adults, but is not an easy job. The Off road performance suffered, the balance of the vehicle in general suffered, fuel economy not so much . But I had a wagon, Landcruiser Prado, so a different situation.
Biggest advantage that I saw for the RTT is speed and comfort. But this is only valid for pure Hardshell. You can deploy them and pack them even in very bad weather. Camping spots are easier to find, you can camp on uneven ground, you don't care if down there are rocks, or mud, weird roots or whatever.. On windy conditions a lot less flapping noise. If you go for a V shape hardshell , even during very strong wind like 50 mph one , you point the car against the wind, open it and you have a relatively quiet night with little flapping..

Soft shells are a different animal. About same time to pack, unpack as a ground tent, the difference is the fact that on the ground tent you have to deal with what ever mattress and bedding you have. Windy conditions makes hard to impossible to deploy and on rain is just a miserable experience... They are lighter. Might be easier to deal with mounting it on the bed rack . Depends on what you get, many of them can be very close to the weight of a Hardshell.

For the awning. You can get a couple of cross bars that are removable, something from Thule for example takes like 10 min to mount , and there are some awning brackets with T bolts made by rhino rack that will work with almost any type of cross bar that has a T channel to put an awning.
Yes the awning will not be aligned with your tent, it still provides shelter, you can set your chairs/table under it. No big fuel economy hit, some wind noise may occur. ( Put it on the passenger side so others will suffer :) )
Probably it will take 10 min to mount -dismount, even faster if you have help, and it will be at the level of the roof of your vehicle.

I hope this helps.

 

[Moebius01]

At the end of the day, I'm really hoping to have both options. I'll be starting with ground for now (mostly for financial reasons) with a Gazelle, so at least it's quick to set up. Plus, for trips where you have something of a "base camp" a ground tent is nice since you can just leave it up. If all goes well, I'll add an RTT later down the road that I can drop from a hoist in the garage. So if it's a trip where the RTT makes more sense (rocky area, muti-day journey with a different stopping place each day, etc...), I could just drop it on to the roof rack and go.

 

[Outdoordog]

I will always be a ground tent guy.

Tents are relatively cheap, weigh less than 10 lbs, don't take up all my roofrack space (I load my camp stuff on my roofrack), have a 6 person tent for just me and 2 dogs, takes about 2 minutes to setup, don't have to navigate slippery ladder (I often camp when it rains or snows), don't want to haul 2 dogs up, don't want to add weight to the top of my jeep (bad for center of gravity when offroading).

I wouldn't take a RTT if it was free, well, maybe if I won one, I'd immediately sell it.

 

[KAIONE]

I have 2 little ones and the RTT is a no-go for many reasons. Also the 8 person N Face tent we use is “bomb proof” in the elements and gives a lot more room for all kinds of things i.e. changing clothes and such. I also have a great “ground” system with Tyvek, foam rolls and 6” sleeping pads (REI link below) that really make the ground comfortable. Having a really good ground foundation to sleep on is the key for me and my family. I can really notice the difference with the multiple layers not only for comfort but for heat/insulation as well. And you can get really comfy on the ground for about half the price of a RTT. Best of luck!

Exped MegaMat Max 15 Sleeping Pad | REI Co-op

Long and wide to provide plenty of room for sleep, the thick and self-inflating Exped MegaMat sleeping pad offers luxurious, unapologetic, body-cradling support with a level surface edge to edge.

www.rei.com

 

[Ragman]

You mentioned that you were two going on 3 some day-what are your thoughts on carrying the little on up and down a ladder into the tent. I too have always been a ground tent person but the more varied locations you travel the more you think of other solutions. We have just slept in the Jeep many times on our current trip out of convenience or rocky ground and that actually works quite well. My thoughts though don't go from ground tent to RTT, but ground tent to a slide in truck camper which is a real game changer, not incremental improvement (from my point of view).

If I were ever to go to RTT for any reason it would be a hard shell as it seems to me they are faster to set up and seem to be built better (at least the top brands).