Thread: Rooftop Tent Roof Rack

I have a 1.6 m wide rooftop tent and its edges sit just inside my wheel flares. At 1.8 m width the tent would sit outside your vehicles widest points. Is it legal in NSW to carry a root top load which is wider than the car?

I have a full Hannibal roof rack and love it. It has wide slats that run the length of the vehicle so its not too noisy and comes with a rear ladder. The wide slats are great for walking on which I find with a high vehicle is the easiest way to do access the roof rack. The rack is low profile (without expedition bars) so will fit in most garages. The slats have grooves in them that fit a bolt head so its easy to fit/add extras. Another feature I liked is that the Hannibal have a metal support the full then of the rack to really spread that load along the roof gutter.

I also liked the Front Runner which has some similar features but not quite as low profile with the recommended supports. Patriot are another good rack but a little more expensive.

I recently (at Easter) bought a "Gordigear" roof top tent and really like it as well, though we have only used it for a few days camping so far. Google Gordigear roof top tents and watch the youtube video. They are a cheaper tent but I think the quality is still excellent. We have the Explorer Plus which is 1.4 wide but they also sell a 1.65 wide, which I think will still suit your purpose.

However, attaching to the roof rack was not quite as easy as I would have liked. Helmut from Gordigear did supply some longer rails so that I could attach it at the edge railings of the roof rack but I didn't like them protruding passed the edge (sides) of the Defender. Because of the low profile of the roof rack, it would be hard to tighten up bolts that extend under the rack so I ended up using a second set of tent rails attached on top of the roof rack using bolts in the grooves, then the set on the tent across them using the standard fittings that come with the tent.

The full roof rack added about 0.5 to 1 litre extra fuel per 100ks and the tent has added another 1 to 1.5 though I intend to make a wind fairing/deflector as I have read they can reduce that significantly.

Rob

I used a pair of Rola roof bars, as I thought the 53 kg rtt enough weight without a full roof rack. I have a second set if I need to carry more in front of the tent but not needed them together yet.


Jeff

Originally Posted by Jeff

I used a pair of Rola roof bars, as I thought the 53 kg rtt enough weight without a full roof rack. I have a second set if I need to carry more in front of the tent but not needed them together yet.


Jeff

Jeff did your A pucker when your rear dropped into the rut? Nothing like an extra 50 kg on the roof to help gravity, hehe MLD

It got worse before it got better.



Jeff

I've got the Hannibal rack and I love it. Access is great and it's really, really solidly built. I've hung freestanding awnings off it and attached all sorts from jerrycans and tables to Maxtrax and drainpipes full of fishing rods. Versatility is one of the things it does well.

I had the Hannibal RTT on top of it for ages before the Pop-Top conversion but if I was going to buy a RTT now I would go for something that's faster to set up than the Hannibal. While the quality of the materials is amazing and the room and comfort are top drawer, there are several tents out there which are faster to setup. My friend Michael has a TJM one which seems to be very cleverly designed for fast setup. Good in the rain!

Id also recommend considering another option...

2 Roof top tents - kids need a little privacy as does the adults...

Originally Posted by Tombie

Id also recommend considering another option...

2 Roof top tents - kids need a little privacy as does the adults...

That's a really good suggestion from Tombie - provides flexibility if the kids aren't coming away.....you can take theirs off and have some of your rack real estate back.

Get yourself an awesome, shiny, new one and get them a scuzzy, tatty second hand one so they know their place too ;-)