Rooftop tents, is it a safety thing?

I’ve camped my whole life occasionally in rv’s or truck caps, but mostly in tents, tipis, bark wigwams, even spent a fair amount of time with nothing but a wool blanket or buffalo robe. Add poncho hooch and woobie during my military time.

I’ve never been able to understand the current fad of rooftop tents. But then it hit me. If overlanding in a group, no way anyone is going to get run over in the middle of the night if everyone is 6 feet off the ground. Is that the reason for their popularity?

 

Primarily I think it's a fad, I bought into myself when it was really hitting the mainstream several years ago. They are cool but have downsides to a standard tent - their added weight and having to pack it all up whenever you want to drive the truck from camp, unless it's affixed to a trailer.

Probably the only real advantage I can think of is that being up off the ground is a plus if it rains (mud) or snows hard. Under normal good weather conditions though, myself I would rather just pack a standard ground tent these days. Especially with the family, an XL multi-person roof top tent is major $$$$ compared to a family sized ground tent.

 

It’s a fad for sure. Where I live I would say it’s mostly posers and very few actual users. I had one for a short time, used it half a dozen times and sold it. I now roll with a Coleman Instant Tent, a cot and a sleeping bag.

$198 Coleman Instant Tent with 1-Minute Setup, 6-Person Tent with Pre-Attached Poles, Air Vent, & Carry Bag

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004E4ERHA

 

this is what I’m using these days. Luxe hot tent.


also have an inner tent for bug season.

I’m mostly a canoe or sled camper, plan on getting a cap, but it’s really only to add travel hours that would be spent setting up and tearing down on my way to a destination, or if the bear threat mandates hard sided sleeping.

 

You are off the ground, that's big in a place where it rains a lot. Other than that, seems like a novelty item used a couple times a year.

 

Being hit by a vehicle while in my ground tent or sleeping on the ground was not even remotely a consideration when I switched to a RTT. That didn't even really occur to me, alth

Mine is a relatively lightweight wedge that's short enough to not stick up above the cap but is big enough to fit two people, a 20lb dog, and the next day's clothes comfortably and is just tall enough to stand up in (with neck bent). I have a love/hate relationship with it, but the lady loves it. Like everything else, it has tradeoffs.

Advantage: Bedding's inside, and you can set it up and take down in a couple minutes. Considerably more comfortable than sleeping in a camper shell, with more or less the same footprint. Perfect for trips where you're arriving into camp late and/or leaving early.

Disadvantage: Tent plus rack plus tonneau weighs more than a shell, and more of that weight is up high. Sucks for trips where you're staying at one site for multiple days but need to drive daily to get to a hiking trailhead or whatever. Probably doesn't perform as well under snow or wind loads compared to many ground tent designs. Less secure storage space with a rack and tonneau than a camper.

I kind of want to go back to a camper shell and a ground tent with a high ceiling, reasonably small footprint, and a fast setup/takedown and cots (and just sleep outside on solo trips), but it's a hard sell to the better half because she likes being off the ground and the fast setup/takedown time. (It's also a hard sell even to myself, because most of the hate is more related to the tonneau than the tent.)

 

I have a mid height cap and an RV-5+, and we sleep on cots. Setup takes more time than a rooftop tent, but it’s so much nicer to be able standup, etc. It’s large and pretty heavy, but fits in a 6’ bed diagonally.

https://oztent.com/products/rv-5-plus

 

I want a Tusca Hitchhiker or to build my own similar slide in for my truck or 5' x 8' trailer. It is fully insulated and weatherproof and for sleeping in. There are pop up awnings with bug screens and such for eating under if raining or using for a sitting area and such.

I had enough of on the ground camping in the military.

That is just me, you guys are outdoors and loving it and that is all that matters.

Some mentioned the risk of being hit by a vehicle; there were times at Fort Hood Where I'd come in well after dark and very tired and sleepy in a 5-ton dump truck and due to tactical rules would be driving without headlights once I left the hard ball.

I remember driving in the dark trying to find my hooch and being barely awake.

A lot of my time was before they had to have sleep plans, so it was nothing for some soldiers to be out there for a long time with no sleep which led to many accidents.

I also remember a 113 APC coming in one night and it was going all around my hooch, but I was suffering through the flu, was muddy and wet and so exhausted I figured I was dreaming and just kept going in and out of sleep. It was real though and there were tracks in the grass and mud that came within 5' of my hooch.

Crazy times indeed.

 

Yes its a safety thing : until a tree falls

 

I think I could stay right there for years.

 

One thing I loved about being on the ground like that was not having to worry about a messy floor. Those are some nice set-ups.

 

Makes sense if the ground is rocky or covered in snow

That being said they're expensive af. You better be using the hell out of it to make it worth the money.

I wouldn't mind a GFC or SuperPacific. I need a shell that I can lock up and leave parked with gear in the back

 

Osceola National forest in Florida

very nice

big bugs

 

I've had people say to me you're safer from a bear or other large animal in a RTT than in a ground tent... I dunno about that, I guess maybe a little bit, but if a bear becomes curious enough because it smells you or a food or snack (or residue from such) up there, I would think it could still climb up on it's hind legs and rip out the side of it.

I have a sleep platform and a Softopper. Probably hardly better than a RTT for bear safety, but far more practical and much less weight (a good thing since I sometimes travel with a lot of gear on some trips).
Maybe it's just luck or coincidence, but I always set up some solar-powered yard or path lights around the camp perimeter, and in 15 years of doing so, I've had no issues with animals coming into the camp and getting into things (with the exception of the occasional mouse and somebody's loose dogs one time).

 

Why a RTT?

Rocks, roots, mud, sand, dust, snow.
Scorpions, spiders, ants, mice.
Pine needles, leaves, and other organic detritus.

Sure, a bear, mountain lion, or raccoon can all climb up to a RTT, but having a height advantage is not insignificant.

We inherited roof top tents from safaris in Africa and excursions in remote areas of Australia. When you’re setting up/ taking down every night because you’re on the move, they are far more practical than a ground tent.

It’s a portable treehouse. An RV on stilts. Any place you can park is a suitable camp site, and you don’t have to worry about staking your tent down in rocks, sand, or snow for bad weather.

When I’m ground tent camping, I’m always looking for a place to set up before dark. When I’m staying in my Vagabond Drifter, I can drive until midnight if I want, and I’m never worried about finding a campsite.

For that matter, I can set up in the back of a Walmart parking lot, a rest stop, or a truck stop in a pinch while I’m on the road. Try that with a ground tent.

 

When I had my AT Habitat it was great to have it locked up tight knowing my stuff was relatively safe. I left it 90% loaded all the time. All I needed was our clothes, sleeping bags/bedding, and food/drinks. Made for quick and easy packing for weekend trips.

Being able to not worry about finding a place for a tent was great too. I just level the truck with some rocks or my maxtrax and it's perfect. Takes up less space too, since having 5 trucks on a small landing might not have flat tent spots for 5 tents.

 

This is from last weekend. That’s my truck in the foreground, blocking the blown snow from the rest of the camp. It snowed more than two feet after we set up. Try that without an elevated tent. You can do it but it’s a huge hassle.

 

mainly to look down upon you ground dwellers.

jk.
makes my lady a lot more comfortable which translates to more and longer camping trips. Mine is an 80lb wedge style 5" thick closed so it doesn't weight too much or stick up above the cab. it was a love/hate with this model at first but I've grown to really like it.

plus I've stayed at a couple spots like Convict lake that had strong winds where EVERYBODIES ground tent was blown apart and in my RTT we were snug as a bug on a rug.

 

So the lions don't get you when you ship your daily driver to Africa with the RTT for a self guided safari. That said, it's a fad. Hobos have been doing it for years without a RTT.

 

I've been a ground tent guy my whole life. Backpacked the AT, the rockies all way to Bamf Canada. Hiked all over great Britain. But recently went camping with a buddy who had a rtt. It was in the high teens and the wind was heavy. Ive been in hurricanes and the wind was similar to that. Well he had his tent ready to sleep in and working on a fire while I was still hammering stakes into the frozen ground. Then in the morning pack up was the same. He was ready to roll out and I was getting packed still. Plus my sleeping pads, bag, tent etc took up more room in my truck than his tent which rides above all of his stuff. I was sold on the rtt after that and ordered one this week.