Roof Top Tents - A fad?

My next invention will be a tube that runs into the tent that you can piss in and collect in a hole you dig in the ground.

 

Yeah, was a coal town in the 1800s or something. Like most early coal/gold towns in the US, once the ore dried up, the people left.

 

I think you and I could get along (See my signature)

 

You gotta be kidding right!? Do I need to paint a picture for you? Find some gotdam rocks or something or bring some blocks with you.

 

hmm okay. I guess.

You could do the same with a cot. So the "level ground" argument is moot.

 

I've also used a hi-lift to level my truck

 

Exactly...just fukin improvise.

 

That sounds like the logic that most of the "ground tent" camp is using... so I'm still not seeing how needing to park your junk on a level surface or "improvisation" in order to do so makes this any less of a hassle than a ground tent and a cot. The other arguments have a place; this one doesn't.. because both have similar solutions for the same problem.

 

My mighty redneck RTT.

 

If I'm honest, I dont really have a horse in this race. I like my RTT alot, enough that I'll defend it from people that just seem to be hating because it's a new thing, but I also enjoy ground camping, and they both can kick bricks if I'm somewhere I can hang a hammock, because nothing is more comfortable than that.

 

All due respect sir, old school way of camping doesn’t bother me at all. I thought i had mention before that I am very capable of sleeping on the ground in a sleeping bag, without a tent even. The RTT is just a way for wife to meet me halfway doing outdoorsy things and also let my child think she has a treehouse. There’s no argument here. I’m just saying this is what works for me and my family.

 

These tents have been around since the 1950’s from what I understand.

 

I'm clear on that, I just mean it's really gotten crazy popular here lately

 

Ever set up a tent on snow or mud then have to pack it in the morning without dirt or other hassles? Ever set up camp in the dark on bedrock, rough cobble or lava and still have a soft place to sleep without ruining your tent floor? Can you set up your tent, mattress pad, sleeping bags for 3 and be in bed in less than 10 minutes? I used to be able to do all that with my Westfalia VW van that had a popup tent, now with an RTT I can do it with my Taco.

Also, RTT’s are great if you are touring and move each day to a new site, but not so good if base camping and want to drive short trips anywhere each day to return to the same base. Instead of the RTT, if we are camping in a good place for a ground tent like the beach or over a few days in the same place where we can have more choices for sites, I’d rather use my Springbar for sure over the RTT.

 

I can definitely say that I have except for the snow part. I’ve experienced most of it while I was in service from east to west coast and overseas sleeping in a fighting hole in a landfill. I know what it’s like to dig and setup tents with tarps and guylines and here I am trying to open up peoples minds to something different.

 

I have set up a tent in mud, I use a floor saver. The rocks problem is sorted out by use of a cot. It takes me about 20 minutes to fully set up a ground tent. I can do it in the dark since I have LED bed lights that I can point in any direction, plus a $12 headlamp. The biggest PITA is getting the cot into my tent, because my tent is a little small, but packs up into a 4"x12" bag. All of this crap fits into my toolbox, including all the other crap one would put in a toolbox (like tools, recovery gear, etc). Sleeping bag and stuff that has a larger mass goes in the cab.

I'm not trying to be on one side or the other. There are obviously pros and cons to each. However the price, necessary equipment, time needed to equip a vehicle to be RTT ready is prohibitive for many to justify the advantages. Depends on how minimalist your camping style is, how often you do it, etc.

Many folks seem to run RTTs simply because the up front headache and cost is outweighed by consistent use over time and a terrain that gives the ability to wheel with it simultaneously. I understand that completely.

However many seem to equip theirs as a fashion statement.. which begs the original question. Are they a fad. Are people buying them and not using them enough to justify that cost and time to equip. This reminds me of the guys/gals that roll around town with "built" Jeeps that have never seen even a quarter mile of plain dirt roads. Is this part of that pavement princess overlander package deal?

 

Only way I'm getting a RTT is if it's trailer mounted. I don't like the idea of packing it up if I want to move my truck

 

Sounds like fun! No, sincerely, thanks for your service!

I didnt serve, but could honestly say that I probably wouldn’t be up to doing the hassles of setting up a tent in a bad place after going through it in the service, especially with family on a long trip. I would and did though, with my son and daughters, to introduce them to “roughing it”, now they are out doing it with their significant others too

 

Yeah, thats why I only use mine for touring, not base camping for sure.

 

I like ground tents, and I also set up a sleeping platform in the truck that we use occasionally when its raining or too windy for either the RTT or the ground tent, or if there’s a lightning threat nearby and we are in the open on a ridge or peak (happened twice already). We bought our Smittybilt RTT on sale a while ago, so it was about the same cost as our Springbar ground tent, and its looking like we will be using it mostly on our long driving trips where we are driving to a new camp each day. If we are base camping, we use the Springbar instead. It is funny to seeing all the shiny never used and never sunbleached shovels and gear all over super clean trucks. I made a cart to wheel my RTT in the garage when not in use- its a terribly big deadweight and a wind dragger to be driving with on a daily basis, so it comes down as soon as possible after we use it.