Rooftop tents... what do you think??

[cruiseroutfit]

Can't remember if I added this somewhere in the article and I'm far too tired to search

Is a Roof Top Tent for me? The RTT Conundrum

I wrote the article to help adequately answer the many inquiries I was getting about RTT's from customers and naysayers alike... its not a one stop answer but it may help you decide if the RTT setup will fit your needs without a costly expiriemnt.

 

[Corey]

I mentioned the other day I had not seen this thread, but I actually posted to it back in May of 2008.
Kind of disappointing too that a lot of the older pictures are no longer showing.
As I reread through this thread, there are a lot of missing pictures.

Glad I bought this tent back in the spring of 2008.
Very high quality (best of the best IMO), never been let down by it, it is a true four season tent that can handle most of what mother nature can surprise you with on a camping trip.
Thanks again Mike for setting me up.

Anyways, here was how the AirLand was mounted for two years, it was on the stock rack.
To high IMO.

Spring of last year I got the BajaRack model MG (MG for Maggiolina) through Mike at AutoHome.
We had asked BajaRack over on fjcruiserforums.com to come up with a low profile rack for the FJ Cruiser to lower a Maggiolina type tent much closer to the roof.
The tent now sits much closer to the roof improving highway driving when there is a wind coming from the opposite direction.
I was getting blown around to much with the stock rack.

No need for extra crossbars with the BajaRack, the tent mounts right to the rack with the AutoHome hardware or with BajaRacks hardware which I am using in the photos below.
You can see how the tents sits much lower now.

 

[Enigma]

Stumbled across this...

Roof Top Tent, China Roof Top Tent, Roof Top Tent Manufacturers, China Roof Top Tent Suppliers

 

[MtnAddict]

We have a Cascadia RTT. Great product and awesome customer service. Love the tent, just wish it was easier to take off and store for the winter...

 

[Rubiconcruiser]

Mike, the Autohome is the best one can buy, I am lucky enough to have 2, a magolina and an Overland large. The maggie (Maggolina) is great in the cooler days of camping, 20 degrees and less and the Overland is great all around. and yes they are pricey but i will not sacrifice quality for price.

 

[Corey]

Stumbled across this...

Roof Top Tent, China Roof Top Tent, Roof Top Tent Manufacturers, China Roof Top Tent Suppliers

Lot of picture rip offs there.
Scroll down to picture 8 of the Sun Fusion colored FJ Cruiser.
That is ARB's ad for their tent.

 

[Corey]

Mike, the Autohome is the best one can buy, I am lucky enough to have 2, a magolina and an Overland large. The maggie (Maggolina) is great in the cooler days of camping, 20 degrees and less and the Overland is great all around. and yes they are pricey but i will not sacrifice quality for price.

I agree with this statement 100%

 

[Enigma]

Lot of picture rip offs there.
Scroll down to picture 8 of the Sun Fusion colored FJ Cruiser.
That is ARB's ad for their tent.

Or maybe they make it for ARB

 

[Corey]

Or maybe they make it for ARB

Could be, most of the tents made in China are made in the same factory then relabeled.
But they still stole the picture that ARB had used a few years ago on both their website and in the catalogs.

 

[concretejungle]

Mike, the Autohome is the best one can buy, I am lucky enough to have 2, a magolina and an Overland large. The maggie (Maggolina) is great in the cooler days of camping, 20 degrees and less and the Overland is great all around. and yes they are pricey but i will not sacrifice quality for price.

so are you saying that if you are summer camping and its well over 20 degrees, the magiolina will be really uncomfortably hot? I'm not sure if they have screen doors that can stay shut and let the outer doors stay open for air circulation?

 

[fj-rankenstein]

after reading the article that Kurt from cruiser outfitters wrote and then hearing all of the great feedback from him as an ARB vendor i thought that i would give both him and the ARB simpson 3 tent a try.. i got the absolutely latest version i believe.. my wife and i spent a good chunk of our honeymoon camping in the tent and i will never go back to using a ground tent if i dont have to.. over all i am quite impressed with the tent and have had no problems with it yet.. it survived over 7000 kms of driving and about 7 nights in it this year.. i wish we could have got one earlier in the year but we will use the heck out of it next year I'm sure.. the tent itself sets up super quick and tears back down almost as fast.. setting up the annex is a little more time consuming but we can be completely set up in about 15 minutes or so..


here are a couple of pics from the honey moon.. both of one of the campgrounds on the way to the rubicon and then one at the rubicon..

 

[Rubiconcruiser]

Summer camping in the maggolina is very comfy. It is also a real benefit when the temp is below 20 degrees. Both sides open to screens and you can fold the outer shell up and out of the way. These tents are made in Italy not china

 

[Mike S]

I see that this thread keeps gathering comments... thanks!

 

[skersfan]

I had a ARB touring, A great tent, but the wife and myself just hated the rooftop idea. Not into climbing up and down in the dark of night, the bars accross the center of your back. We even added memory foam with no real relief. The tent worked fine and we added the annex, but really no privacy that the wife wanted.

I would do a ground tent I think but we built our tear drop to end the hassles and the sleepless nights the roof top tent caused. Not being kids it was a better answer for us.

 

[Corey]

And your teardrop rocks, as I have been following it over on Expo.

Recently had to replace my mattress pad on my bed at home, and that gave me an idea to try one underneath of my flannel sheets in my AirLander tent.
I am thinking that will make it even more comfortable for me.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

after reading the article that Kurt from cruiser outfitters wrote and then hearing all of the great feedback from him as an ARB vendor i thought that i would give both him and the ARB simpson 3 tent a try.. i got the absolutely latest version i believe.. my wife and i spent a good chunk of our honeymoon camping in the tent and i will never go back to using a ground tent if i dont have to.. over all i am quite impressed with the tent and have had no problems with it yet.. it survived over 7000 kms of driving and about 7 nights in it this year.. i wish we could have got one earlier in the year but we will use the heck out of it next year I'm sure.. the tent itself sets up super quick and tears back down almost as fast.. setting up the annex is a little more time consuming but we can be completely set up in about 15 minutes or so..

I'm glad the article was of value to you and thanks again for the order

Great meeting you and misses too, love that truck!

 

[80nick]

I have had a Columbus on top of my 80 for 3 years now. I have no complaints about the tent. It has been in all conditions and never let us down. I have friends with Airland and some of the other versions, but I still prefer the Columbus.

Like someone mentioned above though, late night bathroom needs can be a hassle. Earlier this year I got food poisoning from a place my group stopped at for our last fuel stop before heading into an area in Utah for 10 days. I now carry a small, lightweight Eureka 2 person backpacking tent just in case I, or the family can not deal with the RTT and need to sleep on the ground.

 

[concretejungle]

Thanks for your post with your experience! Very usefull.

Can you explain why you like your Columbus better than the Airland? ONly because i was leaning towards the airland.

 

[80nick]

I like the room over head, makes getting dressed a little easier.
Rear entrance, I have a ladder on my bumper.
20lbs lighter.
No crank to misplace.
1 latch and it goes up by it's self.
Goes down a little faster.

Minor things for sure. I also like being able to point the Columbus into the wind when it is up versus having the 4 sides of the Airland. But I would need to sleep in an Airland in a windstorm to really see if there is a difference.

 

[Corey]

From what I have read, the Dralon material of the crank up Maggiolina's breathes better and it more waterproof than the Columbus models.

Near the bottom of the page.
Autohome is the world's leading*roof top tents manufacturer.

The advantages of Dralon:
Breathable: Dralon does not retain heat or humidity that form condensation, making it particularly resistant to mildew.
Waterproof: Waterproofing treatment is unecessary because the fibres shed, not retain water, allowing you to fold the tents even when wet.
Stability: Dralon fibres are pre-dyed before the fabric is woven, making it fade resistant, even under burning desert sun.
Strength: Strong weft fibres help create a tear and crease resistant fabric, that will not shrink or expand even in extreme temperature fluctuations.
Temperature: The fabric is guaranteed for use in extremes of temperature, ranging from -30° C upto 70° C.
Maintenance: Construction of Dralons’ special/unique fabrics ensures a long maintenance free life.
The high quality of Dralon: Fabrics ensure the tents are more soundproof and less transparent agaist light than traditional materials, yet still feel soft to the touch.

Easy to maintain: No need of particular treatments.

The Columbus models use Airtex, but the only info I find is this at this URL.
Autohome is the world's leading*roof top tents manufacturer.

Airtex fabric. Waterproof, tear and mould resistant, it can be folded even when wet and doesn’t absorb or retain water.