Roof Top Tents and wind
- Thread starter Jo-el
- Start date
Adventure Ready
Observer
RTTs are still tents. I have a Baroud Space and it is pretty taught when open. Now that I think about it, I've never been awakened in the night from wind noise in it. I will say that if the wind is blowing hard enough to rustle a ground tent it will probably rock a car. You notice this when you are sleeping on the top of said car.
I certainly have been woken up when in cuben tents though. So, I'd say yes, RTTs in general are more stable than ground tents.
James Baroud is absolutley the most stable (and quiet) tent in the wind. All models are tested and certified up to 60mph winds!
Herrawesome
New member
We’ve spent 120+ nights in our habitat and only had one issue with wind. The Habitat is pretty robust. It helps to prevent some flapping if you can point the truck into the wind. A ground tent needs to be firmly staked down, but roof-top tents don’t have this issue.
We had one windy night in Baja that made me nervous. The wind was blowing hard enough that it was somewhat difficult to stand up and sand was blowing on top of the tent. We put the Habitat away and slept in the truck bed. The Habitat held up just fine, but I’m glad we closed it up
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vintageracer
To Infinity and Beyond!
I like my Shiftpod tent ground tent. Got rid of the RTT for the Shiftpod. Have not looked back!
The Shiftpod is well built, easy to set up, great in the wind/rain, cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter.
If it's really that bad out the 4WD van provides wonderful shelter and sleeping. I have never run into that issue yet!
The Shiftpod is well built, easy to set up, great in the wind/rain, cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter.
If it's really that bad out the 4WD van provides wonderful shelter and sleeping. I have never run into that issue yet!
canyonrider
New member
Heh, we had a similar experience in southern UT several years back with our family of four in a GoLite mid. The tent itself held up surprisingly well to the wind, but I spent a couple of nights trying to keep the sand from piling up on my four-year old's face while she slept.
We over-corrected after that experience and moved to a hardside fiberglass trailer (which, while certainly comfortable, has its own hassles and limitations). I think you have lots of room for improvement with just a more robust ground tent, though. I would be looking hard at something designed to hold up to high winds that can seal out the sand (e.g., Springbar, OzTent, or a four-season mountaineering tent like a MHW Trango or Hilleberg). I suspect any of those would be better than a RTT when the wind really gets cranking.
slowtwitch
Adventurer
Hardside all the way in the SW. Folks get lulled because they've been a few times and lucked out on weather. Can't count the number of times we were tucked away snug and sound in our shell while other folks had epic nights... and often days. Pack a tent and use it when the weather is benign.
digitalnomad
New member
On windy nights I climb into my rig and sleep there. When there is a high wind warning, I point my vehicle into the wind before going to bed. I sleep much better this way. The aerodynamics break the wind so it isn't so noisy and less heat gets sucked out compared to a tent.
Otherwise, I sleep in a Kodak Canvas 10 ' X 14' 8 man. It can handle winds 40-47 MPH against the 10' side, but only gusts. When the wind is sustained 30+ and gusts on top of that, it needs to be collapsed. I'm on my 3rd Kodiak tent in one year.
Just got through camping in the Mohave Desert in and near the Colorado River Valley for the winter. The Amazon reviews with people saying the tent was fine blowing 60 MPH are probably fake. And the video on the Springbar site of their tent that survived a supposed hurricane force winds was probably fake too, with a trailer just in front of the tent and out of the camera view blocking most of the wind.
Otherwise, I sleep in a Kodak Canvas 10 ' X 14' 8 man. It can handle winds 40-47 MPH against the 10' side, but only gusts. When the wind is sustained 30+ and gusts on top of that, it needs to be collapsed. I'm on my 3rd Kodiak tent in one year.
Just got through camping in the Mohave Desert in and near the Colorado River Valley for the winter. The Amazon reviews with people saying the tent was fine blowing 60 MPH are probably fake. And the video on the Springbar site of their tent that survived a supposed hurricane force winds was probably fake too, with a trailer just in front of the tent and out of the camera view blocking most of the wind.
mikeyb1976
Member
Tepui Autana 3 here. Last summer we stayed a night at Quail Creek State Park in Utah on a stormy, windy night. Tent was fine, just like every other tent in the wind. The rainfly would pull up a little at the top, but it's clipped on so it won't go anywhere. I strung out the guy wires for the rainfly overhang and had no issues.
The truck would rock a little in the wind, but since this was the first windy night test for our new setup, I did have concern. There was also a lot of thunderstorms around us. Nothing like being elevated surrounded by aluminum rods, in the open when a thunderstorm approaches.
The truck would rock a little in the wind, but since this was the first windy night test for our new setup, I did have concern. There was also a lot of thunderstorms around us. Nothing like being elevated surrounded by aluminum rods, in the open when a thunderstorm approaches.
jacobconroy
Hillbilly of Leisure
This thread got me to thinking about why I bought an RTT. There were two reason. The first was a "bear scare" while backpacking with a hammock, and the second was the very last time I slept in a ground tent. A buddy went backpacking with me in Sept. and we neglected to check the weather report. As a result we wound up sleeping in 40 MPG winds during a pretty bad storm all that night.
I was in a small cuben ZPacks tent. No sleep that night. Very loud and the wind was blowing all the dirt at the camp site up under the edges of the tent. Eyes were raw. The tent did not fail though. No leaks and the stakes/poles all held.
Turns out that I pitched my tent in a slight depression. The wind storm added rain about 3AM and by 5AM I was lying in a 2 inch deep puddle (big enough that I couldn't get out without getting wet). My air mattress was 3 inches thick and my sleeping bag was down. So, literally hours of holding my sleeping bag out of the water while praying that the rain would stop. Lol. No fun. The rain did stop before overcoming the mattress.
Morning resulted in horizontal sleet (neither of us brought proper clothes for the temp). We crammed wet gear haphazardly into our packs and hauled azz out of there. I haven't been in anything other than a camper or RTT since.
And the bonus. I had no idea of the dirt that was being blown into the tent that night. When we got to town I hit the grocery store and put fuel in my rig. All the time having NO IDEA how dirty I was. I'm pretty much one of the "whitest" people you might meet. Blond & light-skinned. My wife took this picture when I got home.
None of that color in my beard and eyebrows is Just for Men. All dirt!
None of these things have happened to me in an RTT.
IMO the best thing about an RTT is how much cleaner they are than a ground tent.
I was in a small cuben ZPacks tent. No sleep that night. Very loud and the wind was blowing all the dirt at the camp site up under the edges of the tent. Eyes were raw. The tent did not fail though. No leaks and the stakes/poles all held.
Turns out that I pitched my tent in a slight depression. The wind storm added rain about 3AM and by 5AM I was lying in a 2 inch deep puddle (big enough that I couldn't get out without getting wet). My air mattress was 3 inches thick and my sleeping bag was down. So, literally hours of holding my sleeping bag out of the water while praying that the rain would stop. Lol. No fun. The rain did stop before overcoming the mattress.
Morning resulted in horizontal sleet (neither of us brought proper clothes for the temp). We crammed wet gear haphazardly into our packs and hauled azz out of there. I haven't been in anything other than a camper or RTT since.
And the bonus. I had no idea of the dirt that was being blown into the tent that night. When we got to town I hit the grocery store and put fuel in my rig. All the time having NO IDEA how dirty I was. I'm pretty much one of the "whitest" people you might meet. Blond & light-skinned. My wife took this picture when I got home.
None of that color in my beard and eyebrows is Just for Men. All dirt!
None of these things have happened to me in an RTT.
IMO the best thing about an RTT is how much cleaner they are than a ground tent.slowtwitch
Adventurer
An RTT is only marginally better than any other tent in terms of bears. When Glacier NP etc is dealing with bears around camp sites they institute 'hard side' camping only policies. No RTT's, no FWC's etc.
mikeyb1976
Member
But a RTT is usually at a higher elevation than a ground tent. If on the top of a rig, and not a trailer, a bear is unlikely to investigate something that high.
It's always an interesting morning when you see multiple trucks drive out of the campground in the morning with assembled tents thrown in the back.
jacobconroy
Hillbilly of Leisure
Lol, yeah. The bear might get me anyway...but I like to think that I will hear him coming when I'm on the roof. The point is that I don't worry about it when sleeping on the roof. When sleeping in my trailer-height RTT I do worry about it.
It is a matter of debate in my area if we actually have Grizzlies around or not. Well, they caught one in a local golf course a couple of months ago, so that debate is now academic. I'd much rather have a hard sided trailer to sleep in, but not bad enough to pay for one.
Sorry All. Didn't mean to get the "grand old" bear debate going in this thread.
crazysccrmd
Observer
So wrong. If it smells interesting a bear will get right into it, a tent 6’ off the ground will not stop it. I just watched a brown bear crush a 55 gallon steel drum with one paw by leaning on it. A truck or tent won’t stop it at all i forgot it wants in.
slowtwitch
Adventurer
At 3 in the morning an adolescent black bear raiding your camp will make you want a hardside camper. A bear in the bushes is all it takes.. Can get a bit dodgy splitting hairs between age, species, and intent in the dark in the fog of sleep. I'd rather be on the ground if you have to haze off a bear multiple times (as if often the case), than clambering in/out of an RTT.
Herrawesome
New member
We had a California black bear come around our Habitat at night. We had weeks of food inside, but the bear left us alone.
We might’ve been lucky, but I felt safer off the ground.
In a separate occasion a bear broke into the back of our closed Habitat while we were out backpacking. It ripped off the metal lift gate.
Nothing is a guarantee when it comes to bears
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