Hard Sheel vs Soft Shell Roof Top Tent

What are you guys' opinions on hard shell vs soft shell roof top tents. Looking for longevity and durability. I am wanting a bed sized topper, so I am not mounting on or over the roof of the truck. I hear mixed reviews on soft shells that they don't last as long.

What have you guys run and what do you like? Also, what brands?

Thanks!

 

really consider your use case when it comes to deciding on an RTT. There are a ton of RTT's available on FB Marketplace, etc that only have a few nights in them because the idea of RTT camping doesnt match up with the reality of it.

especially nowadays with panel tents like the gazelle T4 with extremely quick setups. RTTs are a hard sell

 

I agree, i've been struggling with this for a while. There is something nice about being able to just pop up your tent and get to bed quickly, but is that worth the expense of several thousand dollars, as well as the reduced bed space. Our regular tent is a few hundred bucks, and goes up in all of 10 minutes. Is it truly worth thousands to avoid the setup/breakdown time? I've also been to plenty of campsites where you park near a road, and the actual site is a short walk away. A RTT fails in these situations. For the time being, im sticking with my regular tent.

 

I hoist my soft shell to my garage roof when not in use, so mine isn't seeing daily sun/weather. I presume that makes a huge difference on longevity.

 

Yes, thanks for sharing! My wife and I have been considering this for the last few years debating which will be the correct move. Obviously time will tell but the RTT seems to be the best "fit" for us. Being outdoorsy people, living in Colorado, we only typically get weekends off together and love to travel/site see and fish. We made our decision based on being able to head to an Alpine Lake and do some fishing, spend the night maybe fish some more then drive home. Plus we have a dog and end up spending a stupid amount of money of last minute hotel books and pet fees. This seemed like a better option, plus there seemed to be a "comfort" of being off the ground and having the "tree house" type view from hopefully some good camp sites with mountain views.

We shall see though! No hard feelings if it doesn't fit us, in our state someone will buy ours if we don't like it! On a real not @Morimer, this is the reason we are considering a hard shell, we don't have the space or really want to constantly be removing and adding the tent, especially when our Tacoma typically sits as my wife drives our car and I have a work truck. But the softshell seem to offer more space and are cheaper which is why I am naturally leaning that way!

 

We're also outdoorsy, in Colorado, and still find a tent to make the most sense. I also imagine with a dog, a RTT could be tricky. You'll have to hoist them up in there every time they want to get in and out or to go to the bathroom, vs a regular tent where they could walk in. I also like tents for claiming stake of campsites. With a RTT, if you drive off, you've lost your site unless you setup other gear to leave. With my tent, I can feel comfortable that i've claimed a campsite.

The main benefits I see to a RTT tent is setup and breakdown time, and being able to camp mostly anywhere you can park a car. I wouldn't set up a tent at a rest stop or off the side of a forest road, but id certainly be tempted to with certain wedge RTTs. Im still not convinced they are the best solution, but I understand everyones needs are different. Im hoping I can try one out for a year or two in the future, but for now, its regular ole tent life for me.

 

i bought a soft shell tepui like 5 years ago for about $1000 on sale when they were getting bought out by thule. i didn't know about hard shells at the time and my friend had a soft shell so i got it.

setup is super quick, a couple minutes. tear down takes a little longer, about 5ish minutes? i've never timed it. stuffing the fabric in can be a pain sometimes. it was a ton easier when i had a rack and could stand on the bed sides. with my topper on i need to stand on the wheel which isn't as high and can't get around all the sides. i'll be putting my awning on later this week too which will probably make it even harder to close.

weight is another concern of mine. my rtt is about 125 lbs. most of the rtt i see are 200 lbs. on paper not a huge deal, but when i'm putting it on and taking it off myself with some janky 2x6s i screwed together, i'm sure i would notice it.

wedge tents are a bit smaller inside. my wife and dog (30ish lbs) and me fit in mine easily. we tend to take a duffel bag up there too. i wouldn't want to downsize our bed space.

gofsr, ikamper, roofspace all make nice light tents, but to spend 3-4k on a tent is a hard pill to swallow. if i could swing it an ikamper mini would be my choice of tent.

i have a camping reservation at 11 mile canyon this weekend. i didn't realize it when i booked it, but its a hike in spot with designated parking. 2 cars fit in the spot so i'll just setup my tent there. ive done it before at the same campground in a different spot.

being able to leave your camp is another thing. i have an older awning with tables and chairs that stay if we leave. packing the tent is the main headache. we tend to stay at a spot once we're there though.

we went backpacking one weekend in the lost creek wilderness. we slept in the rtt late friday near the trailhead after work then slept in the backpacking tent the next night. the rtt was so much more comfortable i dont want to go back to a ground tent. i have a couple nice klymit sleeping pads, but the stock foam mattress in the rtt is still better.

 

Good to know. We are also in Colorado. We are going to Spirit of 1878 in Castle Rock this weekend to look at there options. FSR has a super nice hybrid all aluminum case fold open “soft shell” but $3,200 compared to the 23zero soft shell with a bigger space for $1,600 to me seems like a “better” choice. We are fishers and site seers not hard core off roaders. Naturally off-road trails take us to these beautiful areas but like I stated above we are looking for something quick to pull up to a fishing spot on a Saturday and set up till Sunday afternoon.

I don’t mind spending the money as long as I get quality. My concern is the soft shell will take a beating siting on the truck constantly or won’t last as long as day a hard shell. If I can get a good 5 years out of a tent I’ll consider that a win. Especially with the ever changing technology out there!

 

hard to make that case when a gazelle T4 can go up in a couple minutes, if that. Plus you can store it off your vehicle when not in use, plus its full standing height and more volume at a significantly lower cost than far worse quality RTTs

i've got their g6 gazebo and it is absolutely awesome when i need overflow/bug free space when camping with friends