Hard Side or Soft Side Rooftop Tent?

[Javelinadave]

I'm at a crossroads and would love some real world opinions. I am building up a M416 adventure trailer and want to mount a RTT on it. I have convinced myself that a hard side tent is what I need but my adult daughter (camping buddy) says that a soft side tent would be better. I have it narrowed down to with an Autohome hard top or a Tepui soft top. Opinions?

 

[Dusty Grin]

Well I guess I can give you my opinion yet again because I have both a hard and soft shell tent. The Maggiolina is perfect for my needs with lots of solo, one night, just before dark setup. When I'm with my son, who's bigger than me, I prefer the soft shell. The setup and takedown is longer but on a trailer wouldn't be too bad at all. The biggest plus is the space inside. It's way bigger and you can actually move around with two people inside. It's a much more pleasant place to hangout or get dressed etc.
The soft shell (eeziawn) makes a bit more noise in the wind and is less insulated in very cold conditions. Not bad at all though really.
The maggiolina barely moves in high wind. It's very quiet and insulated top and bottom. That and the smaller volume inside makes it better for very cold camping conditions that I'm often in.
People seem to love there Tepui's on here too.
Hope that helps.

 

[Javelinadave]

I'm 99% sure I'm gong with the soft shell based on your response and the responses I received on a different forum. I will say I am surprised that nobody else chimed in on this thread. Does anybody other than Dusty Grin actually use their equipment?

 

[Dusty Grin]

There's an eeziawn 1600 in the for sale section for a steal. Lots of room in there. Might want to consider a road trip? Arguably the best soft tent available and not $3000 (shipped) like a new one.

 

[KMG]

Sorry Dave. I don't have any knowledge about RTT. Try Overland guild.com They're helpful. I posted a thread earlier asking for assistance and after a week I received one reply and it wasn't much help.
And to think this group begged for its own forum. Sad

 

[Sleam]

There's an eeziawn 1600 in the for sale section for a steal. Lots of room in there. Might want to consider a road trip? Arguably the best soft tent available and not $3000 (shipped) like a new one.

Hey there, I'm interested too, and appreciate the description of both kinds. I like the look of the soft tents but worried about wind and also set up for a solo traveler. The small compact but more expensive hard top would probably be better for my kind of mountain colder weather camping.
Could you put the link for the sale thread? I didn't see it but admittedly didn't look too hard!
thanks, sleam

 

[Yarjammer]

If it was even money between the two types I would go with a soft RTT with annex for the additional space and enclosed changing room. I've solo camped in my Tepui Autana RTT in the winter snow and didn't find it to be too cold, of course I ran a Lil' Buddy heather in the annex below and left the door to the sleeping area up top open all night. I'm not in the shape I used to be and my wife and I really enjoy being able to stand up to get dressed in the morning. I imagine your daughter would enjoy a bit of privacy for changing or even using a portable toilet as well.

If you are mounting it low on your trailer, have no desire to mess with an annex, and the significant premium isn't an issue then go with a hard top RTT.

 

[Maxcustody]

I have a Tepui Keukenam with annex on my trailer and love it. Easy setup, and plenty of room. My wife and I both fit comfortably, they say it is a 3 person, but 2 adults is really the size. sorry can't help on hard shell.

 

[James Baroud USA]

Don't want to sound pushy, but have you checked out James Baroud USA.

Thanks
Craig

 

[Dusty Grin]

Here's that link to the eeziawn.
I didn't find the wind to be a big issue in my soft tent if I left the rain fly buttoned down on the windward side. I don't know about the other soft tents, but you can do that with the eezawn with two clips. My main issue with the soft tent was putting it away up on a tall vehicle with frozen hands trying to tuck in material and clip the clips and straps and such. It wasn't fun in bad weather.
The James Baroud and Maggiolina's are super easy.


http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/140094-Eezi-Awn-1600-RTT-for-sale-1400-00

 

[Javelinadave]

Don't want to sound pushy, but have you checked out James Baroud USA.

Thanks
Craig

Craig,
I looked at your website when I started this thread but I became disinterested with the lack of any pricing. Your products do look fabulous.

 

[surferdude78]

Looks like there's another great review on Tepui's Ruggedized:

http://expeditionportal.com/the-kukenam-xl-ruggedized/

We sure do like ours that we got last year & it sure was a hellava lot less expensive than some other brands we considered.

 

[PIC4GOD]

I have the Maggiolina Airland and it is awesome. Been using it for over two years now and it has been great in all types of conditions. If you happen to be in the Redondo Beach CA area, OAUSA is having a meet and greet in a couple of weeks. I'll most likely be there if you want to check it out. There will more than likely be others with RTTs as well. http://www.oausa.net/content/oausa-spring-meet-greet-rubys-diner-redondo-beach-ca-march-282015

 

[overlander]

I just read that and was surprised that the Tepui didn't have internal shock chording like the top brands to help facilitate storage. That's the shock chording you connect between the side walls that pull all the fabric in when you fold the tent up. saves a lot of tucking before putting the cover on. A negative for the Tepui for what appears to be a rising star brand in the N. American market. I'm not sure if it was just that new tent or alll their tents but they need to add that feature. RTT's have been around along time and we need progress, not regress in design innovation.

 

[Yarjammer]

My Tepui Autana has the internal shock cords. To be honest, I think it is a feature of dubious benefit. The difference with or without them isn't all that great and you still need to spend a few minutes shoving the extra material back into "the sandwich" when you use them.