Roof Top Tents

Back in the day when I had a CJ7 and then went through two FJ40s in my 4-wheeling days, camping was with a simple tent, on the ground. It fit in a bag along with its poles and stakes. I'm in my 60s now, and just bought a new '17 TRD DC 4x4. It replaced a '03 F150. I'ma chomping at the bit to go back to Utah/Colorado/New Mexico/Wyoming like I did back then. I see that the popular thing now is spending booku money on a grown man's tree house as the place to crash now. It's gotta weigh a ton, take two people to lift it up and bolt onto your vehicle. I think they're cool as shit looking and look like a lot of fun to climb up in to. But, really, what are the advantages that you see in them over a simple ground tent that man has been using for hundreds of years? Bash away!

 

i use this setup.. love being off the cold ground

 

I like that one. Simple! And weighs what....5 lbs?

 

so easy you can set one up in a muddy crossing and it gives you back bed space/elevates you off the ground

 

less than that maybe.. takes the girlfriend and I less than 5 minutes to mount and thats it!

 

I always preferred sleeping on a ground tent where I could hear the critters walking around my tent at night. It was part of the experience of camping with nature. Not trying to escape it.

 

MAN. that is BUFF. super sick.

 

dude you are seriously making me reconsider picking up one of those aluminum shells. It' looks rad on your truck, wonder if it would look as good on a MGM...

 

it would probably be less noticeable than mine. Mine weighs about 50# with the insulation

 

i'm gonna sell my RTT and aluminum bedrack. i've used it for two years and i'm done with it. at the same time i've found the ground tent works OK In some conditions, but not all. most disappointing was setting the swedish mountain tent up on the rocky desert floor where no stake could be driven, instead wrapping guylines around stacks of boulders that seemed bulletproof for one night and a day but the next night the wind was up to high levels, i got out of the two hour soak in the hot spring walked back to my camp the grit in the strong wind biting my skin and found the tent collapsed and flopping around still mostly guyed down but two main poles bent all i could do to stuff it in a bag, packed up and drove away. NO way a roof top tent would have handled that condition and absolutely no way i would have been able to pack it up and leave. last time there arrived to strong wind, no ground tent, no RTT, slept in the truck.

 

Im quite new to the Tacoma World scene including overlanding and overnight trail exploring in general, but my major tipping point for purchasing it was that i could setup accomodations alone in about 5 minutes - rain or shine, in the dark, or in bad weather conditions. Not to detract from the whole camping experience, i was looking for something i could have on the truck during the week and could escape the city relatively quickly without having to worry about tents, mattresses, pumps,bedding etc. My RTT is practically always ready to go and makes going camping that much easier. It matters if you're consumed with your work during the week/month/year. I'm an Avid camper, but after having enough nights on deflated air mattresses, collapsed tents due to snow, dampness due to relentless rains, or trying to setup with near no light... there had to be a better and easier way.

So i found a used autohome on CL and made it so.

But i wouldnt say that the RTT's are the end all and be all of tbis sort of vehicle camping, because sport trucks tents do a good job for 10% the cost. There are always trade offs, the question is how much are you willing to pay for them, i feel.

My 2ce.

 

Off the ground is the biggest thing. And right tool for the job. If I'm going camping at a state Park with a set lot, a rtt is great. If I'm going fishing at a remote pond with a 3 mile hike in, my normal tent gets the nod.


I think the biggest thing is that if your tent is within 20ft of your truck anyways, it doesn't really matter what kind of tent you have. It's just preference, $$, and what benefits you the most that trip.

 

I have the same "truck" tent as @TW0SICK who posted above, and i have no complaints. Been working fine for me. Plus its alot easier to remove from the truck for an afternoon and go wheeling. 4 buckles and the entire tent can be removed from the truck. It can also be used on the ground.

 

Fast setup. You can leave your bed clothes in after it's folded up.... so, drive all day, get to where you are camping, set up in less than 10 minutes and crash.

That's the advantage I see. It does have a soft mattress and keeps you high up off the ground, but speed is the deal.

 

We (the wife and I) are looking at a CVT with an annex. It may be pricy, but it would cover my wife and I up top, and our son in the lower part. Essentially 2 tents in one. Also, she is a die hard city girl, so getting off the ground and on a soft mattress is a deal maker. It gets her bought in, and means campground fees instead of lodge or hotel fees. With that as our alternative, the tent and topper aren't that expensive.

 

I can see your point about quick setup and takedown. Especially if you plan on camping in a different spot most nights. In my experience, setting up and taking down a tent was always a drag. So, right there, is a big advantage.

 

Another cool point is where you camp. On a cleared, flat campsite, any tent will do. But in the wild areas, there's something to be said about not having to find or clear a spot of rocks and thorns.

 

Timely article: https://expeditionportal.com/head-to-head-roof-top-or-ground-tent/

 

I don't think it's as simple as comparing scrambled eggs to fried eggs, and someone just has a preference for ground or for an airborne tent.

There's gonna be 100 different reasons people prefer each one, just depends where you personally fall into place.

 

I like my RTT, but it does have its shortcomings. Mainly high cost and higher center of gravity. I would recommend a pully or winch system to make putting on and taking off quick and easy. I just leave mine attached to the rack and pull both off at once so its just do the 6 bed rail bolts and off you go in 5 mins.