Are rooftop tents as good as the concept appears??

Do you sleepwalk? ;-)

we have one. how is it, great!!! (ARB Simpson II)
if you are travelling for a weekend or an extended trip on the move all the time, you will love it.

3 mins to set up.

5 mins to pack away.

down side, its a brink on the roof. we stay at 100km/h on the highway becasue any faster than that and the fuel consumption goes up significantly.
stay 100km/h and under, you wont notice anything.

we go everywhere with ours.

we unfold it via the back, so then you get extra shelter in the boot.

the ARB one is build very well, strong in every aspect, we have had nothing wrong with it in the 1 1/2 years we have had it.

snow, ice, rain, heat (40+), winds (80km/h) not one thing gone wrong.

the case is very stong, hit a couple of branches with it one time and it takes it in its stride

i would be very carefull about the ones on Ebay, i have seen a couple of them all torn up. build quallity not as good as the better brands, ie: you get what you pay for.

Gday,
It all depends on how you are set up.
My old man had one and reckons it was a pain in the arse....his problem was that he would have liked to leave it set up with the swags and gear in it and go day tripping, but he couldnt because it was attached to the car. Everytime you want to use the car, you have to pack it all up.
Everyone to their own though?
Cheers

Michael,

I have no experience with a rooftop tent, but don't see any positives with them, unless sleeping among those "lizards".

The fact that you cannot store anything else in them seems to negate any advantage of using one.

I do have plenty of experience in sleeping in a swag, by themselves and under an awning. I also use one as a "mattress only" inside our Oztent.
We have slept in our swags, out in the open, during a tropical downpour and were as "snug as a bug in a rug".
Also, if you need to take a "wee hours tour" you do not need to climb down a ladder to answer a call of nature.
To my way of thinking, sleeping at ground level, during extreme windy conditions would be more comfortable than being perched on the roof of a vehicle.

Also, you do not necessarily need to pack up to use your vehicle, unlike a rooftop tent which is permanently attached to it.

Hell, the more I think of it, the less I like the idea of a rooftop tent. I cannot think of any other advantage apart from being elevated from things that crawl in the night and I have never experienced anything other than a "nosey" dingo, who was sniffing behind my head at "The Rock" camping ground. This did not cause any dilemma or panic in any way.


When you consider a pair of top quality swags can be purchased for around $800 and you can use them for a variety of sleeping configurations, I cannot see any advantage of a rooftop tent.


Bill.

I recently sold our 5 year old Howling Moon Deluxe due to the expanding family and went to a C/T BUT if that hadnt ave happened i would have definitely kept on running it. well off the ground away from critters and wet ground. ours had been all over the place and never ever had an issue with it nor do i have a complaint about it. easy to set up and pack up,we used to only set it up if we knew we were staying put,otherwise it could be a small pain.i once looked at the chinese copy of it but compared to the HMoon it was crepe paper with a twig frame.Perfect for the quick 2 person getaway.

Being quick to errect they are ideal for outback touring but do come with a few inherant problems.
Can cause an increase in fuel consumption by 2+ MPG.
Are awkward to put on & take off requiring some sort of winch under your carport.
The extra height can make it impossible to get into the garage, car parks or under low trees.
Wet canvas folds onto the mattress.
Awkward to get up & down esspecially for midnight toilet runs.
When base camping the tent needs to be packed up for day runs.
Several roof top tent owners I've travelled with found them too much trouble to install for intermitant use eventually selling them for touring tents or campers.
Cheers Craig........

I wanted to get one, great concept until a fella travelling around the tracks at a 4x4 park ripped the side out on the first day. He had to make other arrangements to sleep that night and ended up going home missing out on a great Easter long weekend.

Michael
I have one on top of my ute camper [see profile photos] which I made myself. We find it get as we can go places that towing a trailor would inhibit,it's set up in no time and the best part is that the bed is permanatly set up and don't have to mess around with making it.If nature calls during the night its not that much of a pain to get down.
Cons- you have to pack it up if you want to use the car, it's the only place to go in dad weather [have oz tent to solve this problem] and increases fuel economy from 11 lts per 100km to 13lts when touring but thats part of touring. Also getting dressed is like getting dressed in a three man tent, dut only in crowded areas. Other than that we love it.
regards Murray

Michael,

Yes they are very good.

If you would like to call me (tomorrow) 0411 874406 I can put you in touch with a reputable ebay dealer who sells a top quality product at a very reasonable price.

I've bought 15 of them from him over the last 6 months for a product I make and have not had any significant issues with them. My customers love them, comfortable bed, very dry, so easy to use etc.

Disclaimer: There's not a Zac in it for me. He's a good bloke and I like to poke a bit of business his way,

Cheers,

Jim.

Some rooftop tents are a pain in the ring for various reasons....
If you need to remove it each time you park the car at home, or if your tent fly blows in the wind all night,,,, "flap flap flap flap",,, painful.....
If you get a wet mattress when you fold it up wet or if you cant leave all your bedding in when it is folded up...
These reasons make it a hassle,,,, and i agree a good swag would be better....

But if none of the above things occur then they are great...

I have had dome swags, canvas tents, ARB rooftops etc etc,,, and they all have their down sides... The rooftop i have now is bliss,,,,, but it took me ages to figure out which one to buy... I wouldnt change now unless i get older and want a camper...

For me the "pee thing is simple,,, a bottle to bed and make sure to remember what one not to drink from.... hehehehe.

With my rooftop i can poke my shoes on the roof of the car so they are easy to retrieve.,,, a ladder climb is no big deal really...

When we stayed in Kakadu a few years back we got talking to the manager of the caravan park who told us that everycouple of weeks someone breaks an arm, wrist or ankle - falling out of/down one of the rooftops.

Hi Michael

The key thing to keep in mind with a roof-top tent is that it is a bed only. You can’t stand up in one unless of course you have side awnings and drop downs etc, in which case you might just as well have a tent.

We have taken our Ezi-Awn off ‘The Landy’ as we found it was used less in preference to our sturdy old Southern Cross canvas tent. The other half has always had a preference for the Southern Cross tent as it is more a ‘living space’ rather than just a bed.

The set up for either is basically the same; with a couple of willing hands there is nominal time difference putting either up or down.
If you are on the move each day you might be able to make a case for a roof-top tent, otherwise it can become cumbersome if you are staying in one place for a few days.

Cheers…

Hi Michael,

We purchased a second hand Aussie Traveler two years ago and we love it! I should take the time to mention that it is mounted on top of our trailer which avoids one of the vehicle mounted pitfalls ……….. having to pack it all up for a day run. We have two sets of “walls” with ours, the small walls being for overnight or long weekend trips and the big walls for when we are bush for an extended camping trip, we set it up as a base and go fossicking as we please.
YES, they do have a down side, as mentioned before ………… with the wee walk in the night, can be a challenge after a red or two .. lol.
With ours being full size, we were able to source a very good orthopedic inner spring mattress ……….. with backs not being so good …… we sleep very well on our trips. Most of the fold up/down tents will lay wet canvas on the bedding which is easily sorted ………. Just lay a tarp over the bedding …… never had a problem with the bedding getting damp and the rolled up tarp keeps the bedding off the walls of the camper when in use. Last time I had to pack up by myself it took less than twenty minutes from hook up to drive away, including tucking all the bedding away, tables and floor matting can be stored up in there as well. SWMBO likes the enclosed space for getting dressed in and there is space to sit if the weather turns nasty, had six people playing cards in it last time we were out at Victoria Rock.

You just need to decide if the plusses out weigh the negatives for your application and it may be worth hiring/borrowing one for a weekend to see if it will, much cheaper than buying one and finding it doesn’t suit and then selling it on e-bay as a “used once” item.

Cheers,
Wayne & Sally.

Hi Michael

I have a 3dog Roof Top set up on the GU Ute and we use it for week end trips and travelling.
Set up is about 3 minutes and packup in 5 minutes. King Size bed and the roof folds out over the side for extra cover.

Although you have to pack up to move the vehicle I don't thing it's much different from normal vehicle based camping with all the gear in the back of the wagon as you still have to pack up to relocate the vehicle.

We used ours on a 4 week trip to Tassie, travelled and explored every day and stopped and camped overnight. When travelling all day, why would you need to move at night.

We live close together and you can have a look at mine any time.

Regards
John

Thank you to everyone who replied and the detailed replies that came from you all. It has opened my eyes to the pros and cons of the Roof Top tent.
Firstly i have a heavy duty offroad trailer which i take everywhere, i always carry plenty of fuel and water and take all that we need to be comfortable.
We normally use a touring tent for the boys and lately we have a roomy dome tent for us, which is sufficient for our needs. I was really just thinking it would be good to have a roof top to use for some weekends, a saturday night really when my boys are not around. Just throw a few things in the back of the Patrol and our Esky instead of the heavy fridge. Problem is i have a low double garage so a winch is out of the question and i struggle to get my roof rack on by myself on its own.. I like the idea of attaching it to the top of my trailer which allows you to stay in places where you would not set a tent up at , like rest areas where you regulary see campervans and caravans, places where you would not and sometimes cannot drive tent pegs in the ground. Attaching the Roof Top tent to the trailer then locks me into taking the trailer but still gives me the option of using it on the patrol if i really want to for places like the Simpson Desert, with a little more effort. Also using the roof top tent on the trailer makes my camping footprint smaller, its a problem at some campsites and caravan Parks, finding a space for the trailer, Patrol and two 3x3metre tents. Thanks to all, i will put some thought into it.. regards Michael

I used a Maggiolina Airlander Roof Top tent and fitted it to an off road trailer.
Just completed 2 months 14,000 km through WA and the Kimberly/Top end and it performed brilliantly.
Easy to tow, easy to set up about 90 seconds, easy to put down about 2 mins and its pretty well dust proof.
All the beding stays inside all set up ready to go.

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I would highly recommend the roof-top tent option if you are moving every day or two. The biggest downside is when you want to set up a 'base camp' for a few days and make short trips in the car each day you have to pack it all up every day. I know many people will tell you it only takes 5min, but you may want to time them for the complete procedure - INCLUDING putting the cover on/off! Realistically, I could set it all up (or pack up) in 10min after some practice - this was total time from parking the car to having the bed made, or from crawling out in the morning to being ready to drive off. It doesn't sound like much, but if you're set-up in a town and just want to duck down the road for milk, bread, fish-n-chips etc., it can be annoying. It wasn't a problem for my travelling because I rarely stayed in towns, and then I was usually moving on within 2 days anyway.

On most of my longer trips, I never had the luxury of a nice grassy site to pitch a regular tent - the rooftop tent was always very comfortable regardless of what I was parked on (sand, sticks, rocks, etc.!). Importantly, Mrs liked it too!

I have an Open Sky for 3 years - love it !!! Takes about 5 mins to set up and about the same to pack up...

I only have one comment as to why I love it....

* NO TENT PEGS !!!!! *