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I'm an early advocate. Roof tents don't hit the mark. Most all of them, OK al roof tents today are derived from expedition tents and unless you are going of some sort of long voyage, are too expensive, too heavy, too complex, ..... and not convenient by my standards. Oh, and the ladders at...

Heads up! Just had my roof tent stolen. We have a home in Portland Oregon, and left our tent on our car because we use it in the season. Turns out there have been several stolen from our neighbors so thieves know the value and must have a market for them This tent was stolen in the middle...

Rather than just thinking about how to bolt your system down, maybe look at the whole package. We did a couple sled tests (simulated crash tests) as well as a crash analysis many years ago. We were fortunate to have one of the US vehicle manufacturers put our tents on some vehicles they were...

That was an old photo, dating back at least 20 years so what you may get from Zifer - Autohome-official.com - may be quite different. They have changed to a reflective finish to act as a heat shield. I forgot to mention that most all "winter hoods" are sold for the Maggiolina. These tents...

I would go direct to Zifer in Italy to get the right hood. Write to them with your serial number and details because the hood and the way it attaches has changed a lot through the years. The main use for the "winter" hood is for use in the Sahara Desert. You get huge temperature variations...

We tried using the 1A's on Hummers H1's and had similar problems with breakage. The 1A's are strong but you can't overload them. The best gutter mounted racks I have ever found were Quick-n-Easy towers. Used to be $35 each, dirt cheap and really well made out of a die cast alloy. You can...

+2 Ground tent - you should always have a nice ground tent. Oregon has a rather mild climate and not too many hungry critters. Roof tents are a specialty. Years ago, back in the last century the only folks who bought them were outdoor professionals, like field biologists, photographers and...

In the freight business we used to view claims as a sales issue. If it affected sales then the claim was looked into otherwise it is declined. I've always viewed the carrier as an extension of the manufacturer. It is wise to see how the carrier is handling your freight. So much of the freight...

Got to love it. I was just reading this article Mini hops on the rooftop tent craze Mini had a fun ad campaign where they posted April Fool's jokes, they posted this in 2102 Notice the license plate? Guess the joke was on them .....

Hard to tell, there is a lot that goes on behind the scene. Small companies can wing it, buy from China, slap on their brand label and good to go. Yes, you probably can adapt it to make it safer. Problems in design will sometime show much later as customers use the product is ways the...

The Tepui website is quite explicit. They name the tents and mfg dates and want them back. You are right that they don't describe the defect but reading between the lines it sounds like it may be a mounting issue. They say not to use the affected tents, so it isn't something easily remedied...

Not trying to be critical, just interested in where the design is going. One of the heaviest parts of roof tent is the mattress. I'm a designer too, was awarded Chrysler's Dex award for Jeep in 2001 if I remember right, getting old.

Think of the mat as a boxspring, it add a little cushion and allows air to flow keeping things fresh. I haven't looked at your construction materials but good to hear you are using a foam composite. I've found that with composites you still will get some moisture in the mattress but that...

I like your design. My only concern is insulation. Aluminum is a great heat sink so you might want to look at putting something under your mattress. Many of the RTT companies sell an mat to put under your mattress to limit condensation but they tend to be hard and prickly, like a repurposed...

I'm looking at putting one of these $150 water makers in my kit and interested in your thoughts Water is heavy and I like to travel light. Much of my travel is by boat so it would go in my ditch bag. Clean water is difficult to get in many places in the world. These guys are addressing...

You are wise to be thinking about roof tents this way. Bigger is not necessarily better. Years ago some of the "experts" didn't like the Maggiolina and called is a "coffin" but I feel they missed the point of the design. It is small and has a low roof on purpose, it really shines as a cold...

Did a project about 20 years ago. Had a fellow with a big family wanted an expedition trailer to tow behind his Hummer. The trailer was designed to have the same track as the truck and so there was tons of room for tents. I advocated to have a tent on the trailer and one on the Hummer but...

I have a grey but I wish it was white. I could sleep in a little with my old white tent. Colored gelcoat, the tent's paint, needs a lot more maintenance. Darker colors also turn your tent into an oven when it is closed so it is hard on anything you keep in the tent, like a mattress. The...

It is pretty easy, think of it like a sleeping bag and buy what you need. Bigger isn't necessarily better. What you want is something that handles the conditions you go out in. And .... the well built ones last a very long time so get one to fit you and not necessarily your vehicle because it...

The alloy ladder that comes with the Columbus is tested to over 400 pounds so it should be fine. This ladder has to function under very tight guidelines. First it has to fit in the tent, with your stuff, so it has to be thin and light. The alloy ladder is derived from their steel expedition...