Roof top tents yay or nay?

I will (with reservations) admit that I've at least been intrigued by some of the RTT setups. I have a very strong treehouse allele on my shelter gene.

Still, one of the main issues I've always come up against is the problem of not being able to use your truck once your camp is set up. I would like to hear the RTT proponents discuss how they get around that.

 

I’m like 70/30 on mine, 70 in favor. It’s definitely limiting in that you have to break down if you need to move your truck, but I disagree on setup time. Way faster than a ground tent. I store my pillows and blankets (even sheets lol) in my rtt. I can be fully set up in less than three min.

The biggest plus for me though is comfort. I’ve spent my share of backpacking in the Sierras - kings canyon etc, and I just don’t sleep well on the ground anymore. Off level, lumps, cold ground etc., That’s only worth it to me for the experience that can only be had by packing into remote areas. And now that I’m a dad, my fam and I just don’t have the time and ability to organize those kinds of trips as frequently as before. So, we make the trade off.

I’ve been working on a system that allows my rtt to be freestanding, independent of the truck, and can be setup in about 5 min. With this, I’ll be pretty darn happy with my rtt.

 

Like 1/3ish

 

Why not

 

you make good points and your standalone rtt sounds like a swell idea. let us know how it goes

 

I am in the same "kick the tires" mode as you with RTTs. From what I've read, most RTT users (not all, but most) will talk about using their RTTs in a situation where they don't camp at the same place every day. But they all talk about how easy it is to open and close them so it isn't much of an issue. But search youtube... and you'll find many many videos about how easy and quick they are to set up, but I only found a couple that talked about how easy they are to pack back up.

When I camp, it's about staying at the same place multiple days, then using my truck during the day to head out to different fishign spots. For me, the only benefit would be setting up the RTT easily if I get to the campsite after dark. I'm struggling trying to say that benefit overrides the angst of repeated setup and takedowns over several days.

 

What’s there to really know? Different base setup? Double zippers? Different material? It’s a tent. Even if I was dumb enough to get one I would be looking more into the best way to support the weight of the rack, tent, and whom ever is gonna be sleeping in the damn thing

 

it's definitely more of an overlanding tool than standard camping. overlanding you're usually on the go everyday. i actually wrote a quick article about it for all my non-overlandy friends who wanted to know how it's different than camping http://dirtnsmores.com/overlanding-vs-camping/

 

To solve that issue I’m building this into a trail capable camping trailer.
This will also allow me to carry my bikes on the rack and leave camp set up when I go for a trail run in the truck.

 

i really like this idea. you can even setup a camp kitchen table that extends out from it. you got the wheels in my head turning now

 

It took about ten minutes generally to pack my ARB RTT back up, working by myself at a leasurily pace. If you aren’t the type of camper that unloads a full kitchen, bathroom, shower and the rest of the house when you setup camp it’s not much time difference from putting away a ground tent.

 

Ok, ok... that makes some sense. Thanks.

My face is contorted and my index finger twitching trying not to say:. "You're an overlanding tool", but I won't.

I appreciate your perspective

 

Camp at the end of the day, then you don’t need to worry about using the truck until the next morning. If you’re not stopping to sleep the tent doesn’t need to go up.

 

hahaha you should've just done it. i'm also not in the RTT "camp" as i prefer ground tents. but i do like the idea of having a small trailer with a RTT attached

 

I get that it's easy up/easy down, but for example we camp out on the Oregon dunes and I like to get camp set up, air down my tires and toodle around the dunes. it seems a RTT would be a bad choice for that trip

 

Better than sleeping on the ground.....

 

I need the RT for many other things besides a T.

 

This is the goal ish...


https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/my-new-m416-trailer.98255/

 

That is definitely worth considering. Tear down is no fun, especially if you have one with a soft cover, which are significantly less expensive than the hard shell and self-deploying models.

 

I’ve done similar, I just unloaded the extra stuff from the bed and then drove off. When I came back I parked and opened the tent. My camping gear generally consists of a chair, a box with my coleman stove, dishes and food in it and a backpack. If you’re not trying to have an extravagant campsite then there’s not much work involved. More often than not I would just drive around, do whatever I was doing for the day and then find a place to camp afterwards. Still what I do even though I don’t have a RTT now.