Rooftop Tent Alternative

[RockyMtnFamily]

I am in the process of building a ladder rack for the top of my camper shell and had an idea for a cheap rooftop tent.

If I were to sleeve one half of the ladder rack so it could slide out to a bigger size, say from 4x6 to 8x6, I could have a platform for a tent and a awning for the other side of the truck. If I was then to attach a lightweight 3 or 4 man tent to the top, I could then use that area up top for additional sleeping quarters. The tent could be set up on the ground then placed up top and the stake rings could be attached using nylon webbing to the ladder rack. I could also have some fold out legs on that same slide out side to stabilize that half of the rack to terra firma.

Has anyone had similar thoughts or any opinions on this concept?

Kevin

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Yes, and there are even some pictures of said process in some fashion here on the forum. There was a trailer build that was designed to have a ground tent platform. My question is this, why? The draws of a RTT for me are ease and convenience of opening and one less cargo in the truck as I keep my sleeping bag & pillows in the tent when folded. Both of these are mitigated with a standard tent on a roof and I can only imagine it would be hard to set yup the tent on a cold windy tent when your trying to strap it to your camper shell?

If the ease and storage were gone for me, I'd have no issue sleeping in a ground tent on the ground. My 2 cents.

 

[RMP&O]

If the ease and storage were gone for me, I'd have no issue sleeping in a ground tent on the ground. My 2 cents.

I don't know....having never used one I am turned off by several things. And what makes a normal 3-4 season tent any harder to set up? Plus most 2-3 person quality tents pack up rather small.

I really like the RTTs for one main reason. You are off the ground. This keeps you away from critters and should provide better air flow.

Here is some things that turn me off to them...

-the ladder; I can see myself or others at the least stubbing a toe on it. Worst case scenario, I have had one to many to drink and fall out of the thing trying to pee at 3am. :Wow1:

-Seems a little funky to share it with another guy but perhaps no different then sharing a normal tent?

-taking a pee at night. So you have to climb out or hang it out the door, see above.

-it is rather larger and conflicts with carrying things like a kayak or surf boards. Also say you are traveling with 4 people and every body has some gear. You have a fridge in the truck, and a set of drawers to hold the camping basics plus tools and repair items. With an RTT not much room on the roof for a bunch gear.

-What to do if you are traveling with 4 people doing an overland trip. Not a lot of trucks will fit 2 RTTs on the roof. So draw straws to see who gets the ground tent and who gets the RTT?

-Your boots. What do most people do with your boots when they are muddy and nasty? Put them in the truck and climb up with some flip flops?

I am interested in RTTs vs ground tents and am also interested in what you (or others) might say about these things. I am also not thinking about an RTT on a full size rig like a Suburban. I thinking more along the lines of a Cruiser, 4Runner, Jeep, Rover, random SUV.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

I don't know....having never used one I am turned off by several things. And what makes a normal 3-4 season tent any harder to set up? Plus most 2-3 person quality tents pack up rather small.

Its not harder to setup, just more time consuming imo. My ARB SIIIB tent is set in 2 minutes, that is sleeping bag, pillow and of course the mattress built in. I've got some great ground tents and still use them often (like during Baja a few weeks back) but at least for me they take longer than 2 minute to set up and load. As for the space, a tent a few sleeping bags and a few pillows are still spacer takers, if they are stowed dry and clean in the tent, its less I have to deal with in the bed or the cab. I've said before that if I didn't spend 30+ nights a year in a RTT I don't know that I would find them nearly as valuable for my personal needs as I do. I wrote a pretty in depth article trying to help people make the decision as I have seen so many in the 'conundrum', you might enjoy the read:


Is a Roof Top Tent for me? The RTT Conundrum

I really like the RTTs for one main reason. You are off the ground. This keeps you away from critters and should provide better air flow.

Very true, I just don't think being off the ground would be enough reason for me to build a platform to put a ground tent on, make sense?

-Seems a little funky to share it with another guy but perhaps no different then sharing a normal tent?

No different to me.

-taking a pee at night. So you have to climb out or hang it out the door, see above.

I don't climb out, use your imagination

...-Your boots. What do most people do with your boots when they are muddy and nasty? Put them in the truck and climb up with some flip flops? ...

Hang them from the cover, off the ground, and under the cover of the tent thus keeping them dry. There are even bags available for hanging the boots from the tent but the shoestrings have always worked just fine for me.

 

[RockyMtnFamily]

Regarding the question: Why?

I have a tent trailer, Teepee, large outfitters tent and 3 dome tents. I need a rack to carry my lodge poles for the Teepee and Outfitter's tent so will be making the rack anyways. With adding a couple of sheets of plywood and some bracing underneath I can have a decent platform for my ground tent. When I am on back country drives i have had times where there is not enough space to set up my large dome tent and the bedrock at other times will not allow me to drive stakes into the ground. Having a platform for the ground tent will allow me to sleep 3 up top and the others on a sleeping platform in the camper. The storage issue should be mitigated once I get my sleeping platform built for the camper shell and this will allow me to sleep off the ground Lastly, the roof top ground tent will allow me to have this set up at a fraction of the cost of a new or used Rooftop Tent. I can then reassess whether I want to spend more money on something better and if the use I get out of it will justify the expense

I did some more researching and found this example that someone came up with:

http://www.expeditionportal.com/for...f-Top-Tent-conversion?highlight=roof+top+tent

Thanks for the thoughts that have gone into the replies thus far!

Kevin

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Sounds like its a viable solution for your needs. There are some other threads you may stumble across, the one I'm thinking was actually using a dome tent on a trailer but the concept was similar to your idea.

I tried it once

 

[wjeeper]

Seems like you have a good idea of what you want. Its doable

I thought of taking a tent like this:

Mounting it to a hinged base a-la-roof top tent. After all essentially that is all a RTT is......but then I fount a used RTT that was in good shape and I am glad I didn't. After having had one for over a year I am convinced that just going out and buying one at full bore retail price would be the way to go. Its a lot to stomach at first, but the sting only hurts once. I am sure it could be done but by the time I put the cost of the tent/ modifications the savings just wasn't there. Plus there was a good chance that my creation would be a failure.

Like Cruiseroutfit (Kurt) said in his linked article there are pro's and definite con's to a RTT. Having spent 40- 45+ nights in mine this year I will say that Kurt has some really valid points. If I weren't spending so many nights out and about I would seriously consider a ground tent. Sure they have their trade-offs but so do RTT's.

I have spent a few nights in a cot-tent....If I hadn't bought a used RTT I would probably be running a double cot for my adventures.

There have been a few times when I have had had the RTT/ mattress/ lights/ chairs/ campfire all set up with a beer in hand while my friends are were left cursing in the dark setting their ground tent up......................:sombrero:

 

[chet]

would you not have the same ladder and peeing at night problems with a tent mounted on a rack as a RTT? You have to get down somehow

 

[luk4mud]

The 2 main reasons that i have never pursued a RTT:
1. Cost. I just cannot cost justify a 1k++ investment on it.
2. Wind. Much of our camping is in windy desert conditions, where I am using my rig/ coolers/ tubs/ whatever as wind breaks. I cant imagine forgoing all that to assume a higher position to take in more wind.

As far as the stated advantages, ease of setup is certainly appealing, but my small 2 man tent is pretty easy to set up. The "off the ground" advantage ... I can certainly see that as a big plus in say Africa ... but is it that big of a deal in the US? Bears?

 

[RMP&O]

Its not harder to setup, just more time consuming imo. My ARB SIIIB tent is set in 2 minutes, that is sleeping bag, pillow and of course the mattress built in. I've got some great ground tents and still use them often (like during Baja a few weeks back) but at least for me they take longer than 2 minute to set up and load. As for the space, a tent a few sleeping bags and a few pillows are still spacer takers, if they are stowed dry and clean in the tent, its less I have to deal with in the bed or the cab. I've said before that if I didn't spend 30+ nights a year in a RTT I don't know that I would find them nearly as valuable for my personal needs as I do. I wrote a pretty in depth article trying to help people make the decision as I have seen so many in the 'conundrum', you might enjoy the read:


Is a Roof Top Tent for me? The RTT Conundrum

Very true, I just don't think being off the ground would be enough reason for me to build a platform to put a ground tent on, make sense?

No different to me.

I don't climb out, use your imagination


Hang them from the cover, off the ground, and under the cover of the tent thus keeping them dry. There are even bags available for hanging the boots from the tent but the shoestrings have always worked just fine for me.

Ok sorry to derail the thread...I am just researching RTTs right now, in paticular for use in Latin America.

I see myself peeing on the side of my truck, haha not a good thing I think.

So easy of setup and how fast they set up are pluses. Off the ground is a very good thing when you have poisonous snakes & spiders. Up high is also good for air fow and staying cooler but in high wind could be an issue depending on the RTT. They are comfortable too.

I think I am going to have to just try an RTT out and see for myself. As mentioned they are expensive and so that is why I am spending a lot of time thinking/researching about it before the plunge.

Thanks for the link, I will read it....