Roof Top Tents, what is all the hype about?

[lostworldexpedition]

If I am driving I will never go back to ground tenting it, but this is a very personal opinion. If I ever trade in my RTT it will be for a camper or offroad RV type setup. The Campinglab.com and Mombassa tents are a lot less expensive and an option to consider... it is a pity there are no showrooms for RTT's. Maybe you should hold off until Overland Expo or the next Hollister type rally?

1. Do the side walls of the tent stay dry during heavy, sideways rain?
I have seen tons of rain and spent 4 straight days of heavy Central American rain with no issues (by the end of the fourth day the side walls were a little damp, but a few hours of sun the following day took care of it)

2. Does the elevated position of the tent create an excessive amount of drag when making camp in an exposed area with high wind?
I think the answer depends on your tent/set up... the Maggiolina hard case types will have less drag. In my case (a My Way Serengetti) there is a large Pelican case on the roof in front of the RTT doing all the dragging

3. Have you ever not been able to deploy the tent due to height?
I drive a Landcruiser FJ60 with a 2" lift and 33" tires and I do not have a problem opening the tent (I am by no means tall).

4. When packed is the tent completely sealed... does sand or water ever find its way inside the tent?
Keep in mind that the tent is sealed with a regular YKK zipper, so "sealed" is a loose term. But I never had any leaks or sand while the tent was closed... until recently. On a border crossing our truck was sprayed (doused) with some unnamed pesticide that dissolved some of the glue holding together our RTT cover bag!!!! Now we are having water intrusion issues

5. Maggiolina (fiberglass Box) Vs. Traditional fabric tent?
Hmmm, I really like the hard top design of Maggiolina et al; however, the "real estate" I get in my RTT is unbeatable.

 

[gasman]

how many peeps will be camping with you ? i can sleep 2 up top on the queensize matress and 3 adults comfortably in the ground room,
i bought a trailer tent and mounted it on a m101,
it is basically the same as a rtt just bigger, and i have a ground room,
i have been in pretty heavy rains and never ever, had a drop in the tent and unless the rain is completely sideways the rain cant even touch the tent cuz the fly is huge, it is very tall , but i havnt had a prolem with that yet,
and although it is not as quick as the magnollia to set up, my girlfriend and i can set it in about 10 mins,, faster if she stays outta the beer cooler,

 

[bigwapitijohnny]

Mombasa 3 man atop Outlander Sherpa II...

I am trying to justify spending upwards of $2k on a piece of gear like a RTT. They seem to be EXTREMELY over priced when looking at the quality of the actual tent.

Got my 3 man Mombasa for $850...

I have a few specific questions for those of you who rock a RTT and are satisfied...

We are extremely satisfied with our tent... or for those of you (if there are any willing to come forth) who hate your RTT, I would love to hear your plight.

Questions:

1. Do the side walls of the tent stay dry during heavy, sideways rain?

In September, I participated in the ORCC event in Springfield, MO...It started raining at 2:30 am and didn't stop until 6:45 am. The wind gusts were strong enough to blow several E-Z up canopies into the woods (I am told that the gusts were 20-25 mph). I stayed completely dry the entire night...

2. Does the elevated position of the tent create an excessive amount of drag when making camp in an exposed area with high wind?

I have heard that this model has stood up to gusts up to 60 mph (First hand account from another Mombasa owner).

3. Have you ever not been able to deploy the tent due to height?

I have gotten good at picking places to camp due to the size of the tent / trailer combination...

4. When packed is the tent completely sealed... does sand or water ever find its way inside the tent?

Bringing my trailer back home from Arkansas, I had to drive it through a good thunderstorm. The tent was dry when I deployed it...

5. Maggiolina (fiberglass Box) Vs. Traditional fabric tent?

I don't know about the Maggiolina, however, I am sure that this tent will last quite many seasons ahead...for $850, I don't think that there is a better option out there

Hope this helps you in your quest!

Regards,

BWJ

 

[R_Lefebvre]

Most of it's been touched on already, but I had pretty strong supporting evidence as to the waterproofness of my Maggiolina this summer. Mine is on a trailer which has a kitchen built in. We had an EZ-up type shelter set up beside the trailer to shelter the kitchen area. The edge of the shelter roof was a few inches from the side of the tent. Any rain running off the shelter blasts directly into the tent fabric.

We made breakfast, and it was a nice sunny day, so we loaded up the canoe on the truck and drove to Baron Canyon to paddle it, leaving the trailer behind. While we were on the truck, a wickid storm whipped up. We had to take shelter because of the thunder, lightning, and the downpour.

When we got back to basecamp, I realized that with the downpour, and the way the shelter was set up, I was sure the tent would be soaked because of the deluge of water blasting the tent wall.

Nope. Just slightly damp fabric on the one side. Amazing.

I've also left the windows open during rain storms on a few occaisions, and since the walls are vertical, no rain comes in.

 

[Corey]

You also mentioned "hate."
No hate for the tent, I dig it.
Only thing I hate is not being able to get out as often as I use to years ago.
Use to get out about ten times or more each year.

Work has me swamped, and I am often burned out by the time the weekend rolls around.

 

[articulate]

I almost cringe at the thought of how many possible opinions there are for roof top tents

One of the key benefits of roof tents in general - that is, not brand or style specific - is nailed right here:

...Bedding including comforter and pillows can remain in the bed so you don't have more unpacking/packing to deal with.

A roof top tent is a bed.

And for that, they win points with the ladies . . .

I would like to be able to climb in and out protected from the elements. I have seen some like this....
I can set up my RTT much fast than my ground tent (even with climbing all over the truck). Also the GF likes the fact that we are not on the ground, no bugs, no moisture from the ground. Bedding just folds up with the tent.

Good point about the protection from elements. Here's our current set up:

There is some good and some bad. It's really nice to have a place to stand up to change clothes, to climb up and down "indoors," to have private area for showering, and to get in from the wind. This Hannibal version of that lower private room, by the way, has a nice heavy floor and 4 sides. Not all brands have that -- without the 4th side and the floor, wind will kick in dust and bugs will still come in for a visit. That's an important difference between the brands.

On the downside of this set up, it takes more time, naturally. There's also a lot of nylon which makes is noisy in the wind unless you're positioned in a particular way.

 

[bcrez]

Thanks for the feedback guys. I am really impressed with the stories coming out of here. I was expecting horror stories of wet tent syndrome and mildew etc. I like the idea of the Maggiolina pop up tent, aerodynamic, sleek, small etc. I may have to go out and get one of these... maybe I can convince some lady friends to come with me if had a 'Room/bed' Very good point I might ad.

Thanks again for the feedback it helped immensely.

 

[Corey]

You might check this thread too.
http://expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=38972&highlight=airtop

That is the newest Maggiolina model called the AirTop, and there are some good pictures from a member here who bought one buried a few pages into the thread.
More room inside than the regular Maggiolinas since there is no scissors mechanism.

I know an FJ Cruiser couple over on fjcruiserforums.com who bought one recently, and they really like it.

And to the rain testimony, another couple over there recently got an AirLander like mine and are out storm chasing in it, and they have been through some high winds and massive rain, and the tent is doing great for them.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

I've spent a decent amount of nights in a handful of different tent models. While I don't claim to be an expert I think I've hammered out many of the pro's and con's of RTT use in general. As this subject comes up quite a bit particularly with customers I wrote this article up a while back, hopefully you find it useful:

Is a Roof Top Tent for me? The RTT Conundrum

I'm on my 5th tent, still have two of them, personally they work great for my needs, my travel style and my small family but I can fully recognize and in fact often comment that they do not work for all.

 

[Christophe Noel]

I'm a self confessed tent addict, although Jonathan Hanson's collection far exceeds my own. Poor guy needs help.

I've never been blown away with the current offerings of RTTs. This isn't to say some aren't pretty amazing for what they are. However, as tent technology goes, most are pretty basic if not crude. The technology exists to make a roof top tent far better than what is currently available. I'm holding out for a couple years. The way I see it, if the tent industry can make a tent that's 13 ounces, they can make a RTT that isn't 100 pounds. If they can make a 10 pound tent capable of surviving 75 mph winds, they can make one a RTT that isn't as large as a baby grand piano. I think when someone decides to step outside the normal format for a RTT, the weight and bulk will come down.

I'm going to still be playing in the woods in 5 years. I'll wait to see what's available then.

 

[1leglance]

Ok just imagine if we could get the Nemo folks into Roof Top Tents

I am not a big ground tent person but I would be interested in hearing what would transfer over?

Lightweight fabric?
Poles?
You would still need a strong base (ground tent gets to use the ground, not fair)
Ladder?

 

[Corey]

Flounder, what more do you want in a roof top tent?
I am only experienced with the Autohome Maggiolina AirLander, but this style has been in service since 1958, and since then it has gone through many upgrades to make it better and simpler.

The tent itself is very simple, stick your crank in the hole and crank away, and in a few seconds the tent is erect.

You have a windproof waterproof shelter with a 3" thick mattress for a good nights sleep that has been tested world wide..
I do not think it could get much better than that.
Sure, they make a lighter carbon fiber one too, but it is not all that much lighter.

In my opinion, I think they are perfection as they are now.
There is nothing I would really want to change on mine at all.

As far as light weight fabrics go, check out Martyn's writeup.
The lighter weight ones do not breathe as well as the heavier cotton canvas type ones, and the synthetic ones require waterproofing where as the canvas ones do not.

I will stick with the extra weight of the material like Autohome uses on these.

 

[grahamfitter]

I like my RTT (an Autohome Overcamp that occupies just half the roof rack) and my better half and I just slept in it for three weeks straight. We did have some problems with condensation on the cold nights but that's never happened before and I'm not sure why it happened just now. Debbie found she needs a Thermarest over the mattress to prevent back pain but I don't. Also the Overcamp isn't big enough to store bedding in while its closed. In spite of all that, we both like it for road trip camping.

Faffing around looking for a spot to park and leveling the vehicle, even with quick and easy Lynx leveling blocks, usually takes longer than setting up the tent!

But... If I had to chose between that and a fridge and a ground tent, I'd take the latter every time. Fortunately this thread isn't about "Fridges, what is all the hype about?"

 

[Corey]

Graham, that is a nice tent.

I got my new Autohome catalogs in the mail last week, and reading up on your model you can fit two of these on a roof side by side, and either sleep four, or up to eight with two medium sized Overcamps , pretty impressive.
http://www.autohomeus.com/rooftop/overcamp.php
http://www.autohome.it/file_gb/overcamp.html

 

[R_Lefebvre]

I have to wonder what would happen to the rain water on the dual setup.