Actually its less if I use rear access
All bedding is in place when closed
100% ready to sleep once opened
All bedding is in place when closed
100% ready to sleep once opened
Roof Top Tent vs Camper Trailer
- Thread starter jhanley
- Start date
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murf
Lifer
At an ambitious clip of almost 250 miles a day for 30 days straight, go for whatever is simplest.
- Thread starter
- #23
Yup, agree. That's why I posed the question.
We've calculated a tick over 6k miles, but, factoring 7k for detours.
LAMBCRUSHER
SILVER Star
boy does he...
Phil, did you get a trailer stolen? And where? I see you spend a far amount down south. I ask because I am building my trailer for baja. Thanks
Absolutely not, personally I have no worries anywhere of my trailer being stolen when left. I was inquiring if people really had those worries and why.
Ok, thanks for the clarification.
LAMBCRUSHER
SILVER Star
because of places like California...
ntsqd
technerd
Oh sure, blame Kaliforikstan. This was a great state until the carpet baggers got here.
The only, single, stolen trailer that I can think of hearing about that isn't net legend was an acquaintance's trailer with his old school Class 1 car (beam car) on it. Unhitched (cut the lock) from the truck and disappeared. In Baja. During the run-up for the B1k about 8 years ago. Under the nose of the hired guard.
When MISF & I got the Cheep Utility Trailer made legal the gal at the DMV suggested that we stamp the assigned VIN in two places. One on the tongue per legal requirement. The other somewhere that only we knew of and wasn't going to easily be spotted. That way we might be able to reclaim it if stolen.
All of my vehicles are tested for room to comfortably sleep in before purchase.
In your situation I'd be looking at a tear-drop with an RTT on it for the kids. We have a pop-out off-road type tent trailer. It's not fast to set-up or tear-down, but it's not too bad either. This is more than we usually do, but this was at Joaquin Suave's Central Coast Meet-n-Greet, so over the top was expected:
The only, single, stolen trailer that I can think of hearing about that isn't net legend was an acquaintance's trailer with his old school Class 1 car (beam car) on it. Unhitched (cut the lock) from the truck and disappeared. In Baja. During the run-up for the B1k about 8 years ago. Under the nose of the hired guard.
When MISF & I got the Cheep Utility Trailer made legal the gal at the DMV suggested that we stamp the assigned VIN in two places. One on the tongue per legal requirement. The other somewhere that only we knew of and wasn't going to easily be spotted. That way we might be able to reclaim it if stolen.
All of my vehicles are tested for room to comfortably sleep in before purchase.
In your situation I'd be looking at a tear-drop with an RTT on it for the kids. We have a pop-out off-road type tent trailer. It's not fast to set-up or tear-down, but it's not too bad either. This is more than we usually do, but this was at Joaquin Suave's Central Coast Meet-n-Greet, so over the top was expected:
Box Rocket
SILVER Star
I've got a little experience with both setups since I use a RTT regularly as well as an offroad trailer with a RTT. A couple years ago we did a family trip (wife and 4 kids) to SoCal for 4 days. Camped 100% in the RTT mounted over the trailer. Left SoCal and drove straight to South Dakota with a brief stop back at our house long enough to do a load of laundry and restock the ARB fridge. Spent another 5 days camping. First and foremost it was a fantastic family experience. The youngest were my 5 yr old twins and they handled it great. There were long days in the car but the nice thing about having a RTT and/or trailer was that we could stop anywhere if we needed to and catch some Zzzz's.
From my experience fuel economy is similar with either setup but I get slightly better mileage with the RTT on the truck and NOT towing the trailer, but it's a small enough difference that it doesn't sway my decision much on which setup to take. I think it would be different with a large camper trailer and would expect better fuel ecomony with a RTT instead of hauling the big trailer.
The trailer is easier in many cases because after a long day on the road we could set up a campsite and relax for a bit and if we wanted to drive to get food or something we could do that without needing to pack up the RTT on the truck. However, I do the opposite quite often and it's not bad to take down the RTT. With a little practice it's pretty easy to have it all put away in 3-4 min.
Parking etc can be a little more tricky with a trailer since you need to find enough room to accomodate the rig/trailer. Be mindful of narrow drive-thru windows.
Same goes for low clearance drive-thru's if you have a RTT on the truck.
For an multi-day trip I generally prefer the trailer because of the extra room for gear that can be hauled in the trailer. It leaves the truck not so cramped for space making long days of driving more comfortable. There are pros to either approach and I just applaud people for not being afraid to give it a go. I will say that we have made some of our best family memories with our trailer and RTT and when we've skipped the hotels. Good luck
Headed to South Dakota
Camping in the Black Hills
Utah's West Desert
From my experience fuel economy is similar with either setup but I get slightly better mileage with the RTT on the truck and NOT towing the trailer, but it's a small enough difference that it doesn't sway my decision much on which setup to take. I think it would be different with a large camper trailer and would expect better fuel ecomony with a RTT instead of hauling the big trailer.
The trailer is easier in many cases because after a long day on the road we could set up a campsite and relax for a bit and if we wanted to drive to get food or something we could do that without needing to pack up the RTT on the truck. However, I do the opposite quite often and it's not bad to take down the RTT. With a little practice it's pretty easy to have it all put away in 3-4 min.
Parking etc can be a little more tricky with a trailer since you need to find enough room to accomodate the rig/trailer. Be mindful of narrow drive-thru windows.
Same goes for low clearance drive-thru's if you have a RTT on the truck.For an multi-day trip I generally prefer the trailer because of the extra room for gear that can be hauled in the trailer. It leaves the truck not so cramped for space making long days of driving more comfortable. There are pros to either approach and I just applaud people for not being afraid to give it a go. I will say that we have made some of our best family memories with our trailer and RTT and when we've skipped the hotels. Good luck
Headed to South Dakota
Camping in the Black Hills
Utah's West Desert
I was planning on buying a Moby1. Then the wife saw the T@B Outback this past Saturday. Decision made. T@B Outback. Gave up offroad capability for "off pavement" capability but gained an indoor shower, toilet, stove, and sink. Wife is ecstatic and I am happy. It is nice to be able to cook inside when the weather is bad or the no-see-ums (knats) are out biting - and not having to setup a canopy with screened sides, etc.
Today I ordered the T@B Outback in "S" configuration with the Max package; front window and outdoor shower (already comes with indoor shower/toilet) option. Also ordered the 120W Zamp Solar kit. Then salesman wanted to compete with my local T@B dealer and made me a killer deal both on the trailer and solar.
T@B Outback - http://www.tab-rv.com/specialized?id=Outback. Basically an "S" model with a little more clearance http://www.tab-rv.com/model?id=77&model=TaB-Max-S
Moby1 - http://moby1trailers.com/
Today I ordered the T@B Outback in "S" configuration with the Max package; front window and outdoor shower (already comes with indoor shower/toilet) option. Also ordered the 120W Zamp Solar kit. Then salesman wanted to compete with my local T@B dealer and made me a killer deal both on the trailer and solar.
T@B Outback - http://www.tab-rv.com/specialized?id=Outback. Basically an "S" model with a little more clearance http://www.tab-rv.com/model?id=77&model=TaB-Max-S
Moby1 - http://moby1trailers.com/
