Rooftop Tents

Hi Mike,

We have a roof top tent and I love it. The only downfall of them is they make you top heavy when 4wheel driving so we try to avoid using it then. But on a touring situation it is fantastic. Just take off the cover, flip it and stick a few poles in and your done! It's the easiest and best thing we ever did!

Do a search as the question has been asked before.
We've got a Shippshape which we bought s/hand from this forum.
We felt the Shippshape was best suited due to dry access to and from tent section/undercover ladder, room to sit 'inside' if the end walls are fitted in inclement weather, good quality canvas and the 'optional' innerspring mattress (which we fitted coz the foam original was stuffed).
The tonneau cover is used as the awning/wall and remains 'wet' side out at all times enabling a dry packup even in pouring rain. Some others the tonneau is thrown upside down over the windscreen or the side so it gets wet on both sides, not good.

Miker.

We had a rooftop ten a few years back, & yes it was great for overnight stops, quick to set up & comfy as.

The main problems that we had with it was weight on the roof (they are only a glorified two person tent @ 57kg from memory) midnight trips for personal relief (cold aluminium ladder BRRRR) & a bit of a pain for longer stops (have to put everything away to go sight seeing).

We went back to a normal tent & now have a camper trailer, depends on your needs as to which way that you go!!

I have had rooftop tenst for a number of years now - have just had a new one installed o my new Nissan (previous vehicle was a Toyota which was stolen - but that is another story)
Whilst the rooftop tents does add to the top weight in reality all it does is substitute for the heap of stuff yu would put up ona roof rack any way so whilst agreeing with previous post - you do have to ac bleep for the weight, but no more than you would if you had a spare wheel, water etc etc up there.
The only real issue that I have found is that you DO have to be organised once you reach camp. No good putting up tent and then rememebring that you ahve to drive 'down the road' to pick up the grog :-)
But havng said that, in the many years I have had rooftops for it just isnt an issue. The positives FAR outway any negatives (imho)
You can camp closer, quicker (used to take me 9 minutes to set up tent, awning, table chairs and be drinking my first cool drink.
You can also set up camp sites on ground that you would'nt set a tent on
and the best one for me was I could leave work on a Friday night and drive until I felt tred - stop in a truckstop or secure bush site and have the tent up in 5 minutes and get some sleep.
that reminds me - sleeping bag and pillow are always kept inside tent all ready togo
Hope tis helps
p.s yu can get a rooftop tent off e-bay presently for about $800-$900 depending on the bidding

We too have a Defender and after using a tent for a few years we opted for a rooftop tent as we got fed up of putting the tent up, blowing up airbeds and having a damp sleep due to the dew? so purchased an Aussie Traveller.

Not only that uptop you are out of harms way from snakes, crocs etc and you don't get a damp bed from the dew.
As you know Defenders are pretty high so it can be a high climb up and a few climbs down in the night, especially after a few beers.

The Aussie Traveller is good because it has a sitting and storage area, there is no choice unlike the Howling moon which I think has an optional shower curtain?
The ladder is also inside, the sleeping area is completely on the roof and appears more sturdy compared to a rooftop tentthat is supported by the ladder.

When travelling and the tent is packed away there is also storage space in the tent bag for a table, chairs etc.

You get great views from your bed being so high as there are three windows

Okay the downside......

Once the tent is up you are stuck in your campspot as obviously you can't do anymore driving, nip to the shops or pub!

Originally I wanted a Howling moon as they seem to be easier to put up and pack away, but the missus liked the Aussie Traveller with its ground level room this is good if it rains.

Having said all that we are selling our Ausie traveller (purchased in July 2004) mainly for the fact that I find it hard to get down the ladder in the morning (my back seizes up) and having to climb on the roof to pack the tent away even though it is possible to pack it away from the ground.

We are buying a Adventure Camper trailer, okay it may be a pain to tow but we have swags if it is not ideal to take a trailer on a trip.

Hope this helps

Hi Mike

I have a howling moon touring model with the optional room, it is on top of a 80 series with 5" lift. I used it to go to Cape York with my two kids, little one slept across the end and we still had plenty of space. The extra room takes about 5 - 10 minutes to put up but is very easy ( I am short so I have a little fold up step that I use ), the good thing is we have ours opening over the back and the room has a big zipper door that gives me access to the back of the cruiser and that is where I cook from and have my fridge, water and everything .

The ladder can be swung out of the way if their is no one up there and then you have a huge room, also you can zip out the floor or what I did was unzip half off it and had showers then sent the kids up the ladder an in bed.

The mattress is a bit ordinary so I put a foam overlay ( like an egg crate ) and that made all the difference, but if you do this the quilt and pillows can not live up their.

We had a couple off hot and wet nights and found it was great with all the windows open we all stayed cool and dry.

Have fun

Craig

Have never experienced a rooftop tent myself, but gee, you would want to remember where you are. That first step in the middle of the night may be your last one. Ouch!

Each to his/her own I guess but as one gets a little older and things like arthritis, or even a temporary ailment of the leg joints, may give considerable grief when "getting up there".

I'm not sure what off-road compromise you mean by camper configurations Mike.
Without a camper, or at least an off-road trailer, I believe there is an even greater compromise in what you can and can't take with you.

Maybe a trek across the Simpson would have me thinking of leaving the camper behind, but then again, there are no "big Lizards" out there and a swag would do me just fine.

I guess we are all different in what we are comfortable with, whatever we have in the way of camping gear and the means of carting it around, but I believe a well built off-road camper trailer gives the best possible compromise for most excursions to the "Great Outdoors".

Thanks for everyone's feedback. Sorry I didn't respond to each but have been working some late shifts and simply haven't been on the gizmo. I did have a look at the archives and there was a lot of relevant & useful stuff there. I must check there first infuture - there isn't too many subjects that have'nt been covered in the frantic pace of this site. A great info resource. Have also been loking at the "Ultima" Swag/Tent range as they have a "Hilton" version that fits perfectly on my roofrack and can be secured on top to do a similar job for around 1k. Anyways, thanks again & see you in the back blocks.

Mike.