Three Things I Hate About My Roof Top Tent

[LostWoods]

I love my RTT. I love sleeping in it, I love chillin' in it... I love everything about it, except.... Trying to put it away when I just want to go....

I did a ground tent last weekend and I don't like it but it is far better than the RTT when I just want to leave and pack up.

so im in search of a clamp style RTT now, which I don't need a cover and have to climb up just to cover the RTT.

Any recommendation?

If you want to speed up the ground tent thing and have a little extra space, just go with a stuff sack. I'll throw the poles in their bag, stuff the tent loosely into a large sack, and then fold the footprint so it doesn't get mud on the wrong side. Takes less time than my Tepui did and there's not a lot of reason to do a full pack if you plan on having it out again 10-12 hours later.

 

[MOAK]

We are in the seemingly constant process of rearranging and modifying our set up in order to get all the weight possible off of the roof rack and into the trailer. I can’t even imagine carrying the weight of an RTT up there. Even with 2850/63 J springs.

 

[MOAK]

A TJ has to be one of the worst platforms for a RTT. They are sprung extremely light, most cages for them don’t tie into the frame, thus the body caries the weight and most racks are only rated to 300lbs. They have a high roll over so putting that much weight above the roof line no beuno as mentioned previous. I have a TJ and opted for the trailer route. As far as how much time it takes, I never noticed, I’m camping, I could care less. Isn’t that why we get away, so we don’t worry about frivolous things like saving minutes setting up camp ‍

Yes, I don’t get the speedy set up , ASPW places a very high priority on the speed of the set up and tear down angle. I think only because he spends more time setting up shots and filming than many of us do setting up camp, preparing our food, eating , drinking and relaxing.. We, however, are not ASPW. We are not professionals.

Nor do we in N America have any appointments at a border crossing that we cannot miss. So, what’s the hurry?

 

[Truckee]

It's certainly not a race... but in this case, speed and ease of use go hand in hand. The finished product of a soft shelled RTT and a hard shelled RTT is roughly the same. You'll get the same quality of rest in either. The main difference is the speed and ease of setting up and taking down. Many folks including myself buy a soft shelled RTT as their first because it's affordable. If they like the idea, they usually buy a hard shelled RTT as their 2nd tent. Not the other way around.

Now, when you mount the two style of RTT's on a trailer that is 4 feet tall, the difference doesn't really matter so much. You don't have to climb up and down 8 times, jumping on the roof to try and get that zipper closed.

Some people like to cook on a propane stove. Some people like to cook on an open fire. I get it. I do both.

 

[LostWoods]

Exactly. For me the speed is about getting out of camp when I'm planning on being in the same area for multiple days. The faster I can secure camp with the least amount of effort, the more likely I am to hit that trail or hike.

With a ground tent, it's simple. Gear goes back in the Pelican and it goes in the truck and the tent stays where it is. With the Tepui, the issue was more the annoyance of taking the tent down than the time. On a mid-height bed rack it was acceptable but on top of an SUV or shell 6' in the air, the clamshell that can be closed with the pull of a cord becomes appealing very quickly.

 

[Wallygator]

the clamshell that can be closed with the pull of a cord becomes appealing very quickly.

It's probably the only RTT I would own. I never owned the "traditional" RTT, this is my first and hopefully last RTT. If I ever get rid of this thing I will go back to a ground tent or sleep in the bed of the truck. I specifically bought a clam shell because the other designs look to be a complete PIA especially if they are up high.

 

[Embark With Mark]

Exactly. For me the speed is about getting out of camp when I'm planning on being in the same area for multiple days. The faster I can secure camp with the least amount of effort, the more likely I am to hit that trail or hike.

With a ground tent, it's simple. Gear goes back in the Pelican and it goes in the truck and the tent stays where it is. With the Tepui, the issue was more the annoyance of taking the tent down than the time. On a mid-height bed rack it was acceptable but on top of an SUV or shell 6' in the air, the clamshell that can be closed with the pull of a cord becomes appealing very quickly.

I fully agree!

 

[Embark With Mark]

It's probably the only RTT I would own. I never owned the "traditional" RTT, this is my first and hopefully last RTT. If I ever get rid of this thing I will go back to a ground tent or sleep in the bed of the truck. I specifically bought a clam shell because the other designs look to be a complete PIA especially if they are up high.

I think you made a good choice.

 

[rgallant]

I thought I would update now that I have spent 2 nights in the rain in my RTT and had to setup and take down in weather.

Still like it over a ground tent and it is better than sleeping inside, given my Discovery is not a dedicated off road truck a permanent inside setup was not an option.

But I did find an annoyance well 2 actually both ladder related.

1. Strapping the ladder down when storing the tent, it requires me to get very high, I need stand the on the rear tire to clip and tighten the strap. This is not a big deal and I am looking at adjusting the strap to eliminate this.
2. As noted you can get in a spot where the ladder just will not click the top rungs tight - the easy fix it to tie down the over hang so you not get bounce and the ladder stays tight. My tent has tie down rings so easy fix.

The green line to the rear of the tent sorted out the ladder lock/ bounce issue, and the old piece of plywood made a decent base. The step ladder was a test to see if it made much difference in storage, not much.

 

[ZanSTI]

Considering that I got into overlanding for my wife to enjoy the outdoors a RTT was a necessity for me to get her to participate given her many idiosyncrasies and so should could feel safe while sleeping (outside of a full on camper). I will say that I love the relative ease of setting up our soft shell RTT and the comfort it provides as well as the added privacy the annex provides. Standard tenting isn’t bad, but nothing beats having a nice mattress and knowing you don’t have to worry about anything crawling up to your tent, or some random downpour ruining your much needed rest.

On the other hand, I hate packing it back up and the fact that I’m more or less grounded until it is set up if I decide I want to go exploring. For this reason I will most definitely be getting a hard shell RTT within the next year or two just to make things easier on myself. The price is obviously more considerable, but considering the ease of setup and disassembly (15-30 seconds in some cases) I see it as an investment in my time enjoying the outdoors.

Photo for reference (and I daily drive the truck and have noticed no major impairment to driving as of yet).