Lemsteraak
Adventurer
Bobby makes a good point, might be wise to steer clear of the hardtop tents sold on eBay unless you know the construction details.
Fiberglass is a tricky material, this is why hard shelled tents are more expensive. They use a composite base, like a deck on a modern sailboat. The idea is to have a very light core bonded between two fiberglass layers, sometimes referred to as a sandwich construction. Like an I beam, the fiberglass doesn't compress or expand much so you get a light rigid structure and as a side benefit, insulated. The tent I had said 28" minimum bar spread and I didn't believe it so I called the manufacturer in Europe and they said that they go as close as 66 CM or roughly 26 inches which I feel is a little crazy. I think the spread was 32 inches on my Taurus and it didn't give me a moments concern. Two bars is fine, the manufacturers warrant their bars for 165 Lbs, but if you go to Thule's website in Europe you will see that they allow 220 pounds for the same bars, they are quite strong and bolted to the tent feel stronger. My buddy used three bars on his old Cherokee, not for the tent but for the truck. There was a slight curve to the roof so the tent acted like a big fiberglass spring and the bars wouldn't squeak when he was on trails. Polyester fiberglass flexes well, Corvettes used to have fiberglass springs and it replaced wood for flexible battens in sails. It does have a "tell", and that is stress cracks, if you see them talk to the manufacturer. Most times when you see fiberglass, you are seeing the "gel coat" a protective coating like paint. It isn't as flexible as fiberglass so it will develop spiders or stress cracks, they are usually cosmetic but could indicate a problem.
In my opinion, roof tents are better on sedans than on big SUVs. For years SUVs didn't have as strong roll cage structures as cars. A well designed rack fits right in or on the roll cage structure of the vehicle. If you go the track route, you want to place them as wide as you can, drilling right into the cage. I believe that SUVs have the same standards now but they still have a much higher center of gravity. So, I used to take my roof tent off my SUV and put it on my old wagon for cross country trips. Here is what it looked like, this is going back 25 years ago.
Great tent called an "On-Line", not made anymore, everything was boxier back then, the new stuff is better, stronger, more aerodynamic and lighter.
Just so you don't think I'm biased toward hard shelled tents (I am), same wagon, again crossing the country but with a folder this time.
Fiberglass is a tricky material, this is why hard shelled tents are more expensive. They use a composite base, like a deck on a modern sailboat. The idea is to have a very light core bonded between two fiberglass layers, sometimes referred to as a sandwich construction. Like an I beam, the fiberglass doesn't compress or expand much so you get a light rigid structure and as a side benefit, insulated. The tent I had said 28" minimum bar spread and I didn't believe it so I called the manufacturer in Europe and they said that they go as close as 66 CM or roughly 26 inches which I feel is a little crazy. I think the spread was 32 inches on my Taurus and it didn't give me a moments concern. Two bars is fine, the manufacturers warrant their bars for 165 Lbs, but if you go to Thule's website in Europe you will see that they allow 220 pounds for the same bars, they are quite strong and bolted to the tent feel stronger. My buddy used three bars on his old Cherokee, not for the tent but for the truck. There was a slight curve to the roof so the tent acted like a big fiberglass spring and the bars wouldn't squeak when he was on trails. Polyester fiberglass flexes well, Corvettes used to have fiberglass springs and it replaced wood for flexible battens in sails. It does have a "tell", and that is stress cracks, if you see them talk to the manufacturer. Most times when you see fiberglass, you are seeing the "gel coat" a protective coating like paint. It isn't as flexible as fiberglass so it will develop spiders or stress cracks, they are usually cosmetic but could indicate a problem.
In my opinion, roof tents are better on sedans than on big SUVs. For years SUVs didn't have as strong roll cage structures as cars. A well designed rack fits right in or on the roll cage structure of the vehicle. If you go the track route, you want to place them as wide as you can, drilling right into the cage. I believe that SUVs have the same standards now but they still have a much higher center of gravity. So, I used to take my roof tent off my SUV and put it on my old wagon for cross country trips. Here is what it looked like, this is going back 25 years ago.
Great tent called an "On-Line", not made anymore, everything was boxier back then, the new stuff is better, stronger, more aerodynamic and lighter.
Just so you don't think I'm biased toward hard shelled tents (I am), same wagon, again crossing the country but with a folder this time.
