Roof Top Tents

[Hltoppr]

I had the opportunity to check out the EA on EWs rig this weekend, and compare it to my Hannibal.

The places where the EA is better than the Hannibal IMO:

1. Straight zippers on the doors....not an issue until it gets chilly and the canvas shrinks, but much easier than going around corners on the Han. when cold,

2. Rain Fly Attachment....good quality buckles on the EA. Velcro on the H. I think this would withstand winds better. FWIW...during a strong wind, I don't even bother with my rain fly.

3. Rain Fly Construction....heavy canvas covered with PVC. The H is just treated nylon.

4. Ladder....EA is attached to the bottom and slides up as one unit. H has only one piece attached, while the other two pieces slide into place when you put the ladder together.

5. Top vents...EA has vents on the side of the tent, separate from the windows.

6. Wear pads on the inside of the cover...keeps your ladder from rubbing holes in the cover during a long, bumpy ride...H doesn't do a very good job of these, although I've just put some closed cell foam under the cover...

Where the H has some "better" designs than the EA (IMO...):

1. Full zipper around the bottom of the cover on the H, where the EA has a ratchet system to tighten the cover. Zipper will most likely seal out more dust from the tent.

2. Better sealing on the doors. (See #1 on the EA benefits) EA probably a bit more drafty....Not a problem for me, per se, but my wife hates cold drafts, and many times we're camping at 9,000 feet plus....thus....her discomfort would become my problem...


Generally, it seems that the EA people took an older H tent and improved on many of the minor issues, changing the design slightly. Both the H and EA are made of quality materials, and mine has held up to quite a bit of hard use, with only some small wear spots.

Now....DesertDude & DesertGirl's Magnolina (DaktariEd has one too...) tents are another story all together...

Here's a pic of the Hannibal in use, for those of you who might want to compare.

Probably my best two mods have been the roof tent and refrigerator!


-H-

 

[cshontz]

How does the Eezi-Awn mount to a vehicle? ... or more specifically, how would it mount on my Cherokee? Does anyone have pictures of what the mounting system looks like?

I'm somewhat intrigued. I wasn't going to put anything on the roof of my Cherokee, but a roof-top tent might inspire me to travel and spend the night at places that I wouldn't have considered previously. I'm just kind of curious at this point.

 

[flyingwil]

What Tent is this? Howling Moon, right?

 

[Hltoppr]

The EA has really nice aluminum rails with sliding/moveable hardware to mount to the roof rack (drill a hole, put mounting bolt through, attach nut....) the Hannibal requires drilling holes through the base wood of the tent to mount it on the rack...

Add that to my EA is better than the H list....

-H-

 

[pangaea]

What Tent is this? Howling Moon, right?

Not sure what kind of tent that is. Definitely not a recent Howling Moon. Here's a shot of a '03 model Howling Moon. All of the Howling Moons that I've seen and/or used have the red pinstriping along the edges of the canvas.

 

[pangaea]

Generally, it seems that the EA people took an older H tent and improved on many of the minor issues, changing the design slightly. Both the H and EA are made of quality materials, and mine has held up to quite a bit of hard use, with only some small wear spots.

Oddly enough, it appears to have been the other way around: Eezi-Awn have been making these tents for years (almost 20 IIRC), while the Hannibal tent seems to have been based very heavily on the Eezi-Awn design. I got to use one of the prototype Hannibal tents a few years ago, and it looked like they had simply bolted an EA ladder on to it.

However, there's quite a bit of copying in that industry, althought I believe its referred to more delicately as "cross polination". There's only so many ways to design that style of tent.

 

[DaktariEd]

I'm pretty happy with my Maggiolina Airland.

It is very well constructed, waterproof, and seals up nicely. On a larger vehicle it is almost unnoticeable when traveling, but on my FJ40, I notice it!

After this last weekend's Expedition Portal Trophy Event, though, I am looking at options to move the tent off the roof and onto a trailer. The 150 pounds up on the roof definitely changes the handling characteristics of the vehicle. I could feel a lot more sway on curves/turns and the effect of crosswinds a bit more.

I'd like to mount it on a trailer so it actually will ride below the roofline of the FJ40 when in tow.

Ed

 

[cshontz]

The EA has really nice aluminum rails with sliding/moveable hardware to mount to the roof rack (drill a hole, put mounting bolt through, attach nut....) the Hannibal requires drilling holes through the base wood of the tent to mount it on the rack...

Add that to my EA is better than the H list....

-H-

Sorry, I'm not quite sure I follow.

If I understand correctly, to install the EA tent platform, I'd need to drill holes in the factory roof rails? ... not drill into the roof itself, correct? So the tent platform bridges the factory roof rack rails, rests on top of them, and is bolted down to them?

In any case, I greatly appreciate your info. Thanks!

 

[Hltoppr]

Yes, you generally have the idea, but the factory roof racks are probably not rated for the weight of a rooftop tent. Most factory rack ratings are around 65-120lbs. evenly distributed...my Han. alone weighs 115lbs.

Most roof tents are made to be mounted on flat crossbars, such as the Hannibal roof racks. You can modify this by using U bolts around Yakima/Thule bars, which are usually rated for 165lbs. dynamic (moving) load. For my first rack (and my lightweight rack) I use 4 Yakima 72" load bars with 8 "A" Towers. The tent is mounted to two crossbars using U bolts, and a third crossbar is underneath the center of the tent to provide extra support. This setup works really well.

-H-

 

[Bartek]

I am looking into roof top tents, as opposed to a expedition trailer. However, I am having a hard time finding information on tents obtainable in US. Most sites I have found are not located in the US and do not export. There are numberous manufactures, but limited resellers in the US. I thought I might start this thread to help us explore options of roof top tents.

I have found a few (Hopefully you have more), but would like pro's and con's on each one.

• Lofty Shelters
• Eezi-Awn
• Hannibal
• Oasis

From what I could find these are the only options here in the US.

I will be putting this tent on my Double Cab Tacoma, but I think it would benifitial to all members to keep this thread non vehicle specific.

What are your inputs / comments / experiences?

Thanks,
Wil

Hi,
I am new here. Sorry if I make some technical mistakes.Those forums are still mysterious to me..
I do sell EEZI and FRONT RUNNER equipment and if you want some exact info please ask.
The subjects of forum talks seem ok
all the best for all of forum members
Bartek

 

[60seriesguy]

I'm pretty happy with my Maggiolina Airland.

It is very well constructed, waterproof, and seals up nicely. On a larger vehicle it is almost unnoticeable when traveling, but on my FJ40, I notice it!

After this last weekend's Expedition Portal Trophy Event, though, I am looking at options to move the tent off the roof and onto a trailer. The 150 pounds up on the roof definitely changes the handling characteristics of the vehicle. I could feel a lot more sway on curves/turns and the effect of crosswinds a bit more.

I'd like to mount it on a trailer so it actually will ride below the roofline of the FJ40 when in tow.

Ed

Ed, my experience, with an FJ60, was similar. Attached are two pictures, one with the tent on the Cruiser, the second one with it's current location, on the trailer.

 

[BajaXplorer]

I have been looking at roof top tents with the interest of maybe mounting one on my trailer. There is one question that keeps coming to mind that all of you who have them could answer for me. How is the foldout half of a rooftop tent supported. I can't believe it is just the hinge and tent canvas. Pictures of them unfolded to twice their width has the half that flips out extended out into the air with no visible means of support. It appears that the greater part of your weight rests on the supported half once your in lying down, but what about the unsupported part when you crawl across from the ladder. Between my wife and I we probably weigh in at about 400 lbs so you see where I am coming from.
BX

 

[Scott Brady]

On the Eezi-Awn (and most clamshell designs), the folded out section is supported by the ladder. My ladder has a hole, which takes a tent stake to prevent kick-out.

 

[60seriesguy]

On my MARES tent, the opening clamshell of the tent is supported by the ladder, but the way I mounted it to the flat steel lid on my trailer, it's the lid itself that supports it. Works really well and doesn't put a lot of strain on the ladder itself.

 

[BMAN]

Nathan-

On the Eezi-Awn, I read on a few AU boards that they have an opening near the bottom of the door that could allow bugs in, and the common fix is Velcro. Is this true? I am excited to be able to check some out at the gathering next week. Hopefully Scott and Pasquale will have theirs along and hopefully they'll let me scope them out as long as remember to wipe up the drool when I am done.

Thanks,
Wil

P.S. How much is shipping on one of these (for example the 1200)? I live in 85212 if that helps.

HIJACK ON! I also live in 85212 and own a Mombasa from www.Car-top-tent.com

You're more than welcome to swing buy and we'll set her up for you to take a look at. I have not done any overnights in her yet but am planning a few trips a bit later in the year to put it through the paces. My first impression is that the material seems very lightweight Good or bad I do not know yet but I picked this tent up as a demo model and noticed a small worn through spot from what seemed like a bad mounting job at one point (Nothing a small patch won't fix up.