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Good point, it is subjective, each material has it's strength and a lot has to do with it's construction. Fiberglass composites can be surprisingly strong, in Vietnam Swift boats were fiberglass and depending on the laminate can be bulletproof. Hummer uses a lamination system for their hoods...

Brewster, your point about using the stock mounting system is well taken. Another reason why I'm not a fan of expedition baskets and alternative mounting systems is that they aren't tested. Frenchie's post reminded me that he was in a really bad accident about 15 years ago where he was badly...

Yes, you can mount your tent in the basket, it isn't difficult. You paid a lot of money to get a Maggiolina because it is light, strong and doesn't require a basket I don't know Trail Tailor racks, they look nice and well built in your pictures. The reason why I don't get enthusiastic about...

It doesn't sound like moving your tent to a trailer is a good idea. We used to put roof tents on trailers to test durability. The story I told about using a folding tent was on a month long off road trip down in Mexico. The little folder was a full blown expedition tent that was used in...

Yeah they are. I'm not at all impartial, I used to bring in AutoHome's tents way back because I wanted one myself. The main difference is that the Maggiolina was designed in Northern Italy for their conditions. For example, the roof could be made to easily go higher but it is designed for...

I don't know if this helps with Baroud and I've never encountered one but I'm familiar with hard shelled roof tents. I would imagine that they are using an acrylic fabric, similar to Sunbrella. This fabric doesn't take abrasion at all well. On the original Maggiolina the outside clasps were...

You may want to look at a way to insulate the bottom otherwise it will be very cold. Years ago I went on a winter trip in high elevation Mexico. I had a folding roof tent and was cold. My friend with his tent cot was freezing and my other buddy with a Maggiolina didn't notice anything. I...

Aerodynamics isn't intuitive. Round bars have a lot of noise and drag. I'ver found that a well designed tent is quieter than naked bars. You can put streamers on the tent, like they did on the GT40 in "Ford vs Ferrari" to help visualize what is happening with the air. If you notice stuff...

I kind of think you are putting the cart before the horse. Are you aware you are looking at tents weighing in at something like 250 Lbs? I advise against anything over 135 Lbs unless you have something prepared for high loads up high. I find it unusual that Thule's roof bars are only rated...

OK, I hope you don't mind me chiming in about advice on rooftop tents. You can get a lot of advice but it is meaningless because it is a personal thing. We don't know why you want one? What do you like to do outside and how will it help? What kind of conditions do you go out in and where do...

I don't know much about the aluminum hard shelled tents because they are so new. We did a lot of tests on the fiberglass ones, specifically AutoHome tents, everything from crash tests to aerodynamics. The aerodynamics of every vehicle is different so you may want tweak things a bit. Wind...

I concur, the Columbus style tents are designed for more temperate climates. You will want to look for tent that is more like a mountaineer tent. Crank ups are a good choice as the low roof and small interior volume holds the passive heat down low. Most of your heat loss is through the base...

Gelcoat looks OK, just faded, you should be able to bring it back. Dark colors fade and look like crap, that is why you see so much white fiberglass. Wetsand with really fine sandpaper 600 or higher until you get down to a solid finish. Wax with 3M Fiberglass restorer, don't bother with...

The Columbus was radically different from the other roof tents when it came out 35 years ago, it didn't need an expedition basket so saved 100 pounds or so and a lot of expense. All it needs is a couple sport bars rated dynamically for the weight of the tent. Simple and easy. If you want to...

Vehicle dynamics - a pet peeve of mine with roof top tent. I like carbon fiber for its weight and strength. You will get the same weight savings from going to a notch smaller tent too. Weight in general, and especially weight up high adversely affects how your vehicle handles. I justified...

Good point, actually a roof tent in many ways is more like a bivy than a tent. The best ones use fabrics similar to what you see in rain gear with PTFE linings or DWR treatments so they are highly water repellant yet breathe. The hardshell tents need really special fabrics as there is less of...

Wow, maybe they have Rolex watches too. Interesting, I wonder if that is the real cost of a knock off? It is interesting that they are copying an old North American version of the Maggiolina Airland. The European version is blue, AutoHome's color they use for expedition tents.

I'm with James, and don't see the advantage of an alloy roof. Yes, it may be more resistant to puncture but I'm much prefer repairing fiberglass to aluminum. White fiberglass is great, it reflects heat and doesn't absorb it. Weight is a critical factor, if you have anything over 150 pounds...

This may sound harsh but you may just need to pick up a phone and call them. May be relatively high tech roof tents but it is an old school company. I had lunch with Mike who runs the company a couple weeks ago and he said that they are running flat out. Had a big display at SEMA, I saw...

I apologize, I need to correct my previous post. I shot AutoHome an email and Mike got right back to me, over the weekend even. They have been making huge (to me) investments to meet demand and have over 150 tents in stock for this season. He said the crew came over from Italy and they had a...