ebay roof top tents

No personal experience, have an acquaintance that has one and he has used it pretty much continuously for the last 6 months, as you say at the price it is good value.
The downside with this type as against the Shipshape style is that you are out in the weather when getting in and out.

Hi,
haven't purchase from ebay, but 3 years ago spent 7 weeks in the Kimberleys in an Open Sky roof top tent. It was excellent.....lots of open windows to catch the breeze, Ok on cold nights (and there were some) and the matress was comfortable. Only complaint was the step treads...not too good on the feet in the mornings, but I believe that they treads are now flat. We sold ours for $1850 and it was in excellent condition. Hope that helps.

Go pay your $1,600 + and get one you know that the wind won't shred it or lift it from the roof as you travel the highways , It amuses me why people are obsessed with cheaper stuff from Ebay then a few weeks or months are re-buying again because the first one failed, GPS units is another "have to have from USA" and end up with a unit that does not have Australian Maps ,Data base , so then they have to buy the mapping software at around $269.00 [mapsource] on top of the purchase, then there's the warranty issue for back up service, .
And before the Ebay-ites jump into action I know there are some Aussie products too but once again Warranty and after sales service is missing,

I'm looking at rooftop tents and after spending some considerable time looking at numerous have decided on Ezei Awn Series 1600mm.

The ebay ones looked attractive from a price perspective, but quality is compromised.

I recently went through the same exercise with inflatable boats, ended up buying a quicksilver brand as the quality was much better. The ebay boats were half price, but the quality was no where near the same.

More expensive doesn't always translate into better quality, but in the two instances I mention I have no doubt that is the case.

Slightly of topic but in regards to ebay and quality i recently purchased a stainless steel bbq plate the cost was about one third the cost of one from bbq GALORE and the quality was as good if not better and it was also Aussi made. so there are good quality products on ebay at a reasonable price but you have to know what you are looking for i guess and compare apple to apples, mind you i am sure there are a lot of shonks too.

pmacks

Bought one off ebay myself and have had no issues, it is just a generic of the branded versions, they use the same parts as they all come out of the same factory in ROC. I needed to get an extention for the ladder and had to buy the branded version Open Sky as they use the sma parts. just fine for occasional use. If you need one for long term hard use then look to the top end of the market for quality.

I have no issue with Ebay, I've saved thousands of $$$ from buying stuff on there, even if you count the odd peice of crap I have got. I just did a whole heap of work to the surf that I had quotes up to $1000 for a workshop to do it, I bought the parts new off ebay from online 4wd shops and fitted it myself, I think I spent (inclding buying some new tools) about $305.

But as far as the roof top tent goes, I'm not sure which seller it was, will have to find out, but my Sister in Law bought a roof top tent off ebay. It was advertised as new and of a certain colour.

They received an opened box with a different coloured tent with zippers that did not work. They are still waiting for their money to be returned, they think they have almost got it now but it has been many months of fighting to get that far.

If you are going to spend big $$$ don't just look at the percentages of good and bad, actually read the buyers comments.

Also . . . (just to piggy back on your topic Ted!) . . .

Can you leave your doona & pillows etc in them when you fold the tent, or do you have to removed them?

Cheers,
JR

Gidda Ted,

I also own 3 Camper trailers that we hire plus my own personal one. We boaught the roof topper for the High Country, so we didn't have to leave our bed behind and come back to camping grounds each day.

As timing would have it, the thing didn't turn up until we were already on our way to the hilly bits.

We have used it 2 or 3 times since just to see what its like, one night it blew the preverbales off and it was fine. I would recommend them to anyone, also putting it down with quilt and pillows is no problem, if you are interested because I don't believe we will us it again, we could be tempted to sell it :-)

email: blazesport@tsn.cc

This is a different eBay vendor than my son purchased his from, so can't say if it is the same. He has just got back from a trip along the Gibb River Road and was certainly happy with his roof top tent. When it arrived, he thought the quality seemed the same as some of the recognised name brands sold here for heaps more $$s.

Thank you to everyone who replied, there is some valuable information that I will use. Probably worth concluding that while purchasing via ebay is riskier than from the local shop (dependant on actual product), it is still a very interesting alternative. At the very least it creates some competition and keeps prices fair.

Also, (Doug) re price vs quality: I buy the best scrubbing sponges I can get, as I wash dishes every day. I only need the tent for the occasional camping weekend in crocodile country, mainly for the safety of being off the ground. If I would plan for a one year overland trip to Europe I'd go straight for the top of the market.