Rooftop tent alternatives

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

revkev

revkev

10 Year
Joined
Nov 11, 2015
Threads
26
Messages
99
Location
San Francisco
Was a little surprised when I started searching for roof tents. The surprise came when I got dropped kicked with sticker shock with the avg tent going for $2000, the cheapest being $890. I plan on going with a standard issue 2 person pop up tent on top of plywood that currently lays on my roof rack. I already specked out sizing and tents that will fit on my platform. Surprised why i don't see more people doing this unless I am really missing something.
 
the allure to an RTT is it's ease of operations...if they were any more difficult to use, then less people would use them. what you propose sounds like it would make set-up and take-down a chore; at least, more of a chore than setting up an RTT, and as much of one as setting up a ground tent. I wanted to build an RTT, then it progressed to doing the flip-up top, ala VW bus, now gone full-psycho back to a good old fashioned bed roll...what is it that makes you want to sleep on the roof? The question isn't meant to be antagonist, but so you get to the real root of what you're looking for...
 
Yes, I see the cool factor, but since our rigs get lousy MPG, I try to drive as light as possible (i take out original jack and tool kit, headrests, etc). So a pop up tent (which take 5 minutes to set up) is significantly lighter than a rooftop set up. I like the vantage point, the views from above, and the slightly more secure location from Yogi Bear and other critters.
 
revkev has figured it out.

A self-supporting regular tent that will fit inside the area of a full length roof rack with a plywood floor is an ideal solution if you're not carrying stuff on the rack and want to sleep up there.

On short trips, where I didn't need to carry gear on the roof, I often slept in the past in a regular self-standing tent that fit inside the roof rack.... With the four corners tied down of course.
  • Plenty of room
  • Sets up very quickly (if you've got a good tent)
  • Only costs a few hundred bucks
  • Weighs almost nothing
  • Stores out of the way

After I'm done sleeping in the tent for the night, I would de-tension the two poles that hold the tent up and it would collapse flat on the roof with my sleeping bag inside. Then I'd throw a tarp over it to protect it all from the UV sun during the day. Also detensioning the tent flat keeps it out of the wind if the breeze comes up.

I've slept like that on my roof dozens of nights. Very cozy.

The main benefit of sleeping on the roof is to get a flat floor and get off the hot ground... or cold ground.
It also gets you away from ants that seem to be able to gnaw through tents, and away from scorpions that like to bury under it while you're sleeping at night.
In bear (or big critter) country, sleeping on the roof is good.

What I don't like about any roof top tent, fancy or primitive, is that it creates "visual beacon" that makes the vehicle a lot easier to spot from much farther away.

Where you might be camped next to some boulders or brush that kinda hide the car or at least make it a lot less noticeable, a big ole tent on the roof during the day can make your vehicle visible from miles away.
In a designated camp ground or safe national park that's fine.
In other places, it's just asking for trouble.
 
You have a point on the milage with the RTT on top but now you are hauling around a tent, ladder, sleeping pad and sleeping bed roll or bags that you have to haul out and put together on top. Assuming you are going to tie the tent down to the rack and hoping the wind doesn't blow too hard. I personally would want to video this process with the sound off as the language would be colorful if the wind was blowing or raining. I had my first RTT adventure in September out in Oregon and loved the experience and the convenience plus we had wind and rain with no issues. Seems like $900 is not too bad and will last a long time. Just my take......
 
Surely a wind-up?
As if removing head-rests is going to do anything - it ain't Formula 1 mate! You'll save more weight by offloading some B-s***e? You and Yogi have a nice weekend.

Anyway, some sound comments from the fellas..
 
I didn't pay rent for 4 years and if I did the math I'd have less than .25cent/night in my RTT. From my shoes I use my tent a lot and having something I can deploy quickly but more importantly pack in 20 seconds is key. It also looks great and photographs well, but that's bleeding into a deeper passion of my own.

I do think it's rad you're building your own, ground up is always a great approach to figure out what ya love instead of throwing top shelf money at something.

I haven't had much issues being a visual beacon. I've camped across all 50 our states and down through Mexico in my RTT, rarely paying for a site. From Walmart parking lots to truck stops to mountain tops. Ain't saying it's not gonna happen, but I figure I've slept in my FJ at least 700 nights without issue.
 
Last edited:
Theron, You are everyones hero on MUD and you have inspired a lot of us to cash in on bucket list stuff and love following your adventures.....Keep it up
BTW : I pick up my Mocha Latte CRUZR on the 12th of December from Tor with the Vortex conversion and a bunch of other goodies to include the last drawer system Tor had left then drive down to Bend to pick up a CVT from Bobby at Cascadia and home to Colorado.....HAPPY CRUZIN !!!
 
@ScottCo, I am having a swing out ladder installed. Sure, a RTT will be much easier, but can't imagine spending $3k for one if I am just an occasional camper.

@ Assmanic : ) Aahhh, love the pseudo trolling. Never said I wanted to gain F1 speed, but trying to shed weight for better MPG. And if you read carefully above it wasn't JUST headrests, but a cumulative effort.... 4 lbs of headrests here, 8 lbs of tools there, but the BS stays.

@theron, Bean is an epic thread. I would spring for $3k for a RTT for those types of expeditions. When my 3F starts to fail, will def look into a Chevy V8 swap. Modern drivetrain and better MPGs.

@Output, I hear/read stories about the dangers of MX...not sure if it is just the media hyping up the cartel activity. I was looking to buy a beach home in the San Antonio del mar area but was talked out of it by my gf. I hope nothing too bad happened to you...I heard horror stories.
 
We use a quick set up tent which literally takes less than one minute for one person to set up. Our version is too large to fit on the roof due to it having to house me, the wife, 2 kids, and the dog, but there are smaller versions of the "instant tent" that might work on a roof rack.

Frank
 
I had a rooftop tent but I never used it because I have a 100 lb dog that can't climb ladders. It made a good birthday gift to a friend
that has a couple small kids. He likes to put them in the rooftop with the wife while he stays in a tent on the ground. He said he gets more sleep that way. I still like the ground camping myself. I have three tents and choose the one depending on my plans. For a quick over night by myself
and the dog I use a Eureka two man backpack. I have a four man dome for those 2 night and beyond where I pick up and relocate every couple days and I have a huge 10 x 10 Springbar canvas for the week long trips where I set up a base camp and take multiple day trips to explore a large area.
I have to say the Springbar is the most comfortable, mainly because you can stand up in it and there's plenty of room for gear and dirty clothes
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Back
Top Bottom