Roof Top Tents, What would you do? Any experiences? (1 Viewer)

[CBdeJ]

Our kids are getting older and it appears, less interested in camping with their parents. This change, is causing us to rethink the utility of our current roof top tent and contemplate what to replace it with.

The current RTT is an Eze Awn 1.8. Its in great shape and it's huge inside, california king sized to be exact. It also weighs 100kg. Canvas, wood and steel aren't light. When we got it the boys were young and all of us could sleep comfortably up top. Now they're teens and they're happy with ground tents (the fact that we're not in Africa anymore made the RTT to ground tent transition easy for them). With only two of us camping a smaller RTT is in the cards.

The two I'm interested in are the new version of the IKamper mini and the Maggiolina AirLand +. Right now I'm leaning toward the iKamper mainly because it won't take up the whole roof rack so I can still put some load out cases, our gas bottle and a couple of jerry cans up top with it. I'd have to reconfigure the rack a bit, move our awning to the opposite side (the iKamper has a directional cover) but that's it. The caveat is I'm getting older so putting those things up top is becoming more of a hassle.

I like the Maggiolina as it appears to set up and take down faster and be a tried and true design. The fact that it takes up the entire rack has a knock on effect however. Where do I put the rest of the stuff I used to carry on the roof. I'm thinking the answer is bumper but that doubles the cost of the project (because I don't have one). Presumably, if I go this route I could stop using the Safari rack all together and just use a couple of cross bars, which further saves weight, but the down side of losing the rack is my camp table stores underneath so I'd have to find a new spot for that as well.

Urgh.

Other salient info.. I don't keep the rack or the tent on all the time. The rack usually goes on in the spring off in the fall. The tent goes on and off throughout spring - fall camping season. A ground tent for us is out. The wife has grown way to accustomed to being up off the ground and using real bedding.

I'd love to hear other folks thoughts on the matter. What would you do given the circumstance? Any better ideas?

Cheers,
Chris

Anyone in the Seattle area (or willing to travel to pick up) want to buy a used Eze Awn 1.8?

 

[cruiserpilot]

I’ve been using a Maggiolina Extreme for about 4-5 yrs now. I use an Australian Tradesman
rack. Both second hand. I really like that EeziAwn tent, that thing seems huge in comparison
to mine. They have upgraded to a 3” mattress now, and the iKamper is about the same I think.
what thickness is the mattress you have? I’ve just bought a natural latex Tallelay 3” mattress
and it’s definitely an improvement. I too am used to being up high out of bugs and dirt.
Still not used to the ladder. I use CROCS as night shoes as they are warm in bare feet
on cold nights, even in snow. And they don’t slip on the ladder.
I’ve taken a good look at the iKamper. It’s really nice, but uni-directional door. Just one side.
With my Maggiolina, depending on parking, wind, etc I can exit either side. I consider that a
bonus, worth thinking about.
But without the foldout portion, the ladder is close to the truck, and once that door is blocked
it can on occasion be a nuisance.
I hope this bit helps. Either way, I think both tents are equal quality. I have a 60 series, and for your same stated reasons have looked at replacing with the iKamper mini - it’s just a damned cute little tent.
And it frees up rack space.
BTW, were you ever on community4x4.co.za?