Roof top tents yay or nay?

Bwahaha

Paypal?

 

No, not really. Just trying my best to help some people avoid the circle-jerk with a dissenting opinion.

 

On my 4th RTT. Have sold all previous for $2-300 loss from original price. But have used them for a year. Not a loss to me. Basically renting them.

I camp in any weather. Rain, snow, rocks, mud. All 4 seasons. 100 degree weather, 6 degrees. Doesn't matter to me. I go out every weekend and spend 1-2 nights, sometimes longer. Makes sense to me, to not spend on hotel ever.

Its my money, let me do what i want with it. Easy as that

 

I didn't get a patch or sticker. *glares at @Cascadia Tents *

 

Well fuck me running...here I thought I was the only one!

 

you only get those at events. they can't just give them to everyone otherwise there's no market for us to sell super rare patches!

 

Bucket of truth right here but you forgot Does it keep the gf/fiancee/wife happy? Not getting into the personal details but while my fiancee loves the outdoors, she's skittish about people and noises when she's vulnerable. It's mostly in her head if it makes her happy/comfortable, it's worth it to me.

Plus the time we rented one to give it a shot, I'm not going to deny that not dealing with cleaning sites in the dark or sleeping above the mud wasn't fantastic.

 

^^^^I couldn’t have made a more compelling argument. Thank you.

 

M'kay...

 

Seems to be a lot of hate for the RTT. It has its Pros and Cons. Almost feels political in here.

At first I trolled everyone with an RTT. My interest into truck camping came from the enjoyment I got from backpacking. It's quite different but it's similar.
I didn't understand why people spent so much money on a tent that sits on their roof. I do agree that it's an easy transition for those that have never camped before. It's probably appealing in terms of "homieness and comfort".
Two main reasons I got one:
1. One day I got sick of packing up my marmot tent. Every time there was slight dew or rain, I had to pack it dirty, take it home, lay it out, spray it, dry it.That's when the idea of an alternative sleeping method came into my head.
2. I like to do weekend trips. Usually I leave Fridays after work and set camp at midnight. It's much easier to pop open the tent, sleep and shut it close the next day to keep moving.

You're not backpacking... You're hauling your big ass truck around so why not look into other methods of sleeping that are more convenient?
I liked the camper shell method since I already had one. It allows you to boondock and has better resistance against rain and other elements versus the RTT . I was a little lazy to make the platform so one day I got impulsive and ordered a chinese tent straight through Alibaba. I wanted to try and import something like that. Had to go through customs and all that BS.

Looking back how do I feel about the RTT? Everyone's already mentioned all the pros and cons on here.
It's been totally worth it for what I paid. I think overall I'd go with a camper shell sleeper set up. I didn't want to compromise the space but for my application I think it'd be best. It's better for boondocking and the resistance to elements.
The RTT has been totally worth it to me but I wouldn't use it for more than 3 days out in the rain/snow. I love my RTT and it might be hard for some to realize that not everyone gets one because they've never camped before or because they like to post on insta.

This is coming from someone that wants to troll every overland post he sees.
My coleman grill was probably $40 10 years ago and I still use it. You have people that spend 300+ on a gas stove to go camping.

 

Hopefully it’s fuckin Tesla’s. God willing it’ll be Tesla’s.

 

Also I must note that I live in CA. This winter has been wet as shit but I've had no problems drying the tent out.
For someone with a more consistent rainy climate that might be an issue.

 

I have a tepui rtt and it is good and bad. I would definitely prefer a hard shell like the alu cab for ease of set up. They are great if you are changing campsites every night. If you like to set up a campsite and then explore from one place it is frustrating to set up and break down camp everytime you want to move your vehicle. Overall it's great to not sleep on the ground and always have a dry place to rest your head!

 

Well said.

You need instagram overland status X10 to achieve it all with an RTT. You need a trailer AND RTT. Then you have it all. Disconnect trailer haha. (this is sarcasm/joke)

 

I was hoping the next thing would be dune buggies.

 

Bro lol you can’t cook a 5 Star meal out the back of a dune buggy

 

Love my roof top tent. I had a 25% off coupon from REI (got it from a buddy who works there) and had my yearly dividend, tent would of ran $1,600 out the door, paid $900 out the door. Mine is a tepui. Love everything about it, easy and fast setup, keeps me off the ground, and keeps us super warm even when it’s cold. I went from normal tent camping to this and love it. 10/10 would recommend.

 

I’ve been on trips before where it downpoured for several hours, the ground was nothing but soggy muck. I would have been sleeping in the cab if I didn’t have a rtt.

 

So long as you're not a Tesla SUV driving, RTT having, OB badge wearing, OB "Base Camp" flag flying, selfie-taking Insta-douche who runs their battery out and asks to borrow a generator...

 

I guess I will throw in my opinion. Spoiler alert: I am in favor of ground tents over RTTs.

Most of the pro-RTT arguments seem to revolve around two things:

Convenience

Being 'off the ground'

Well, a high quality ground tent with a nice sleeping pad will still get you off the ground and keep you dry. I've heard stories of RTT guys boasting about how they remained dry during rain while their ground tent buddies were all wet. Well I am sorry, but the only thing that says is that your buddy's ground tent was terrible quality. A good quality ground tent will keep you completely dry. Heck, you could be sitting in an inch of water and a good ground tent should still keep you dry.

In terms of convenience, I actually think that RTTs are LESS convenient. Sure, in a RTT you just have to flip it open and you are good to go, but unless you keep it on your truck all the time, you have to deal with mounting a big ass 100+ pound metal square on the truck every time you go out. You also have to consider storage when it isn't mounted to your truck, and if it rains while you are out using it, you have to 'air it out' before you store it. There is also the chance of mold.

Setup speed really isn't much of an argument anyway. Modern tents are amazing in terms of set up time. Most ground tent can be set up within a matter of minutes. You can also get ground tents that are much bigger than RTTs, and they are super lightweight and pack down very small. A good sleeping pad can also be more comfortable than the built in RTT mattresses. I have the Exped Megamat Duo and it is probably more comfortable than any of the RTT pads.

Also you don't have to climb a ladder with a ground tent. I don't get why this isn't mentioned more, but it seems like RTT people just ignore the fact that you have to climb a ladder. I can't think of anything more irritating and inconvenient than having to climb up and down a stupid ladder just to get in/out of your tent.

I could honestly go on and on, but I really don't see even one benefit from going the RTT route over a ground tent, other than a scenario where the terrain absolutely prevents you from setting up a ground tent. And in that scenario, why the heck would you be setting up camp in a spot like that anyway? In an emergency maybe yeah, but definitely not by choice that's for sure.