Roof Top Tents - What's the issues People Find using them?

[Robmacca]

Hi,
I'm wanting to install a RTT to a frame on my box trailer, but I'm a little bit unsure spending the money when I've heard various stories from friends who have had them on their 4WD's and have sold them on their return from their Touring trip, etc. The usual story is that u end up getting covered in dust/dirt when setting/packing up from the cover which is usually covered in dust. Then there's the hassle with re-fitting the Cover on. Windy nights can be a issue too..... Then theres the issue of not being able to move once u are setup - This won't apply to me as I'm planning on fitting it to my Box trailer.....
As I plan on putting mine on my Trailer and having greater access to the RTT to unpack and pack up, I'm thinking I shouldn't get to dirty.....

What are some of the "other" hassles that people find when using their RTT or "Why" did people sell their RTT ??

Any particular Brand to stay away from because of its design and the hassles in setting up, etc

thanks in advance......

rob

[The Cone of Silence]

G'day Rob,

I had a Hannibal RTT for a year or so and took it through a wide variety of conditions....wet and wild, hot and sticky, dry, dusty and downright freezing. I eventually sold it and got a Mulgo Pop-top on the Defender instead, but I liked it a lot.

As yours is going to be on the box trailer, you've already overcome the foremost disadvantage; that of being unable to drive once you're setup. So, what are the other disadvantages....

Dust and dirt? I didn't find that an issue because when I'm camping, I'm not worried about getting dirty. If the cover is dusty it's only an issue when you put it back on when packing up and are refitting the cover...so let's start there...

Packing up is a pain.
For some reason, the covers are sometimes an awkward fit or the zips seem to want to wreck themselves around the corners, which need dry lube from time to time. I suspect there's a better way...but yeah, this used to be a pain.

Setup. Too much to do.
The essence of the RTT is simplicity and speed of setup....but I found, with the Hannibal at least, that the add-ons such as the window flap stays and the poles for the extension fly to keep the ladder undercover were poorly designed and took too long to setup, all of this exacerbated of course by a 2" lift and me being a shortarse.

Getting up in the night to have a wee.
The ladder is not made for sleepy chaps who have a balance issue due to the beers they had that made them need to get up for a wee in the first place. This used to bug me enough that on cold nights I eventually started getting out onto the front of the roofrack and peeing over the side (passenger side of course, don't tell Mrs Bobby she has no idea...sleeps like roadkill that girl).

Levelling the vehicle.
Not exactly difficult if you have airbags/ maxtracks or similar, but it's another job to do. Worse with a normal ground tent I suppose.

Leaving bedding in the RTT.
Not as simple as you'd think because when you're packing it up, the doona and pillows fall into the middle and everything gets squished. Makes for an unhappy Mrs Bobby because she likes the bed to look nice. Needs bungee cords to keep it down or it all wants folding up before you fold the RTT up.

That's about it. I still rate the RTT as an idea. You're not dealing with a muddy floor or inflatable mattresses, guy ropes and pegs in rocky ground. If you pack up wet, it's super easy to get it out to dry when you get home....assuming you don't need your Landy for an hour or so.

What's the alternative? For me the cheap alternative would be a swag on a groundsheet under the awning or a simple tent + self-inflating mattress.

Fortunately I was in a position to invest in the PopTop so none of these things are an issue anymore. Still miss my swag though, sometimes!

[Saitch]

Austrack Campers (http://austrackcampers.com.au./?gclid=Cj0KEQiAsNyxBRDBuKrMhsbt3vwBEiQAdRgPss9QYCf o5KMs-w1QVSe5z8OCP8BzQjDWArPf60Mt1LIaAk2x8P8HAQ)


G'day Rob.
I'm not recommending these blokes by any means as I know diddley squat about RTTs but they have had some reasonable reviews (& not so reasonable, like everything else it seems today) on another forum.
They're also sort of local being at Caboolture.
Good Luck
Steve

[DiscoMick]

Rellies bought one for a Cape trip, took it off when they got home and have never used it since.
One problem was the ladder. It was steep and they and their kids kept falling down it.
Also, the RTT base was weak and bent and they had to pop rivet extra reinforcing bars on it, because the bloke is a BIG lad.
Another disadvantage is you lose the use of much of your roof for carrying extra spares, fuel etc.
We prefer our camper trailer or, for difficult travel, swags on stretchers under an awning.

[Chops]

Nice report Bobby,
We are selling ours soon due to moving into a camper van. We just wanted more, more space and more freedom basically. Used ours for approx. 5 years, and had many trips, Tassie, Vic High Country, Southern Flinders, Vic Coast.
The clincher for me though was during our trip during Easter in 2013, we had issues with the car and were in a very windy place, (SA coast) and I think emotion got the better of me. :angel:
Senses heightened, I think I heard every conceivable noise that a tent could possibly make, and thus made the decision to get a camper then and there on the spot.

The tent itself, although the cheapest on the market at the time was just awesome. Ultimately, we had people tell us they wished they had seen these instead of paying in excess of 2.5-3k for their "brand name" units.
We never got wet in ours, always left our dooner and pillows etc in it when travelling, well ok, Leeanne had one of hers in the car,,, so she could catch a few more zz's through the day ;), but packing it with everything in it was pretty easy with a bit of thought as in where to place stuff.
Levelling the car I don't remember as really being an issue, we watched Leeanne climb in and out whilst being what one could only describe as being "spastically drunk" :o (we were waiting for the fall ;)). We also had a ladder "extension" which solved the problems of "steep" ladder angles, which obviously you wont have on a trailer.
Set-up time wasn't too bad for me, but was made much much easier when I got myself a ladder to carry with us, which allowed me the ease of getting to everything as required with no effort and not having to climb up the side of the car. As Bobby said, getting dirty/wet/muddy is not really a problem, comes with the territory of camping anyway, and you'll soon learn what to do and not to do.
Pack down time for the tent itself was good too, its all about doing it right, however, being on top of the canopy, we had to do everything in an exact sequence, which took time, as the canopy has to be done first. So for us, it wasn't "just" the tent.
On this point, one of the hardest things for us was the fact that when travelling in a group, one tends to talk and be distracted easily :p This slows the process somewhat :angel: apparently ;)

Being on a trailer, you wont have the "not being able to move" syndrome. I was supposed to put legs under mine (the canopy, which held the RTT), but just never got around to it, and this would have let us leave it set up and still be able to use the car.

All in all, they are a great invention, we had extremely comfortable sleeps whilst we had ours, and waking up high and dry is a big bonus, and then looking out the windows at the views is sooooo cool :cool:

[weeds]

Thought I was going crazy...than realized I replied to this thread that you posted on myswag

[AndyG]

Robmacca
Been thinking along the same lines as you, but starting with a defender axle, and building a box trailer with all the goodies, either a RTT or some sort of hard shell pod, on top, so I can put a solar panel on top of it all.
Will watch your progress with interest

[vnx205]

As always, you need to consider whether your needs and priorities are the same as those of the member offering advice.

Age, athleticism and bladder capacity probably affect whether the issue of climbing up and down the ladder is important.

Some people might be inconvenienced by the problem of not being able to drive around once you are set up. Obviously some people don't find that an issue. I can't remember the last time I felt the need to drive somewhere after I had set up my slide-on camper, so for me, that is not a big worry.

[edddo]

I am thinking that it will get really really filthy on dusty or wet roads in the configuration you are planning.
That makes set up and pack up dirtier and fiddlier.

[Saitch]

Thought I was going crazy...than realized I replied to this thread that you posted on myswag
Hahahaha, I did the same thing. Got confused as to what forum I was on:confused:

[Chops]

I am thinking that it will get really really filthy on dusty or wet roads in the configuration you are planning.
That makes set up and pack up dirtier and fiddlier.

Too true, this could prove to be a real problem, although, a small separate tarp over the unit could solve this. Having seen some of the camper trailers on YouTube etc, they get rather filthy :o


As always, you need to consider whether your needs and priorities are the same as those of the member offering advice.

Age, athleticism and bladder capacity probably affect whether the issue of climbing up and down the ladder is important.

Some people might be inconvenienced by the problem of not being able to drive around once you are set up. Obviously some people don't find that an issue. I can't remember the last time I felt the need to drive somewhere after I had set up my slide-on camper, so for me, that is not a big worry.

Yep, true. The only time its really been a problem for us was at the Melrose event, where I really wanted to drive "my car" around the area (well, it was new at the time :angel:). So pack up every day, go for drive, and set up every afternoon/night. If your going somewhere and you don't want to drive around, or if others will offer a seat, then its not a problem at all.

[MBZ460]

I had a canvas RTT and have since upgraded to a fibreglass hard-shell RTT from James Baroud, which was much more expensive.
However I sometimes miss the canvas one because it was bigger and I liked that it enclosed the ladder, going up the ladder while not getting rained on.
The hard shell is much tougher, quicker to setup and put away (internal gas struts are big help) and is genuinely waterproof, especially after packing up in the rain. We had it out in some very strong winds in places like Hobart and the car was rocking around and ground tents were getting smashed while we were fine. I doubt the canvas RTT would have handled the very strong gusts which we experienced.
However the hard-shell is overall smaller inside and the opening is not covered when climbing the ladder.

Packing up a wet RTT or many of the canvas camper trailers is no fun in the wet and they are not all waterproof, i.e. the wet canvas can make bedding wet when stowed.

What I found on a recent 2 month trip to Tassie was that canvas was not ideal, either on a RTT or camper trailer. The conditions can go bad quickly and they are not good for escaping the conditions when needed. This is where a small enclosed camper like an A-van, a caravan or a camper-van would provide that shelter without getting soaked setting much up. We met a number of famlilies in camper trailers who were paying for hotels because of the hassle in setting up every night in bad conditions (with kids too)

It all depends on the type of travel and the weather conditions.
I reckon a RTT is ideal (for 2) when you are changing camp every night. The usual canvas type is fine for warm dry weather conditions and its nice to have the breeze blowing through on hot nights. Trips like Cape York are ideal for RTT's. Piece of mind away from crocs and other critters.

Both the old canvas and the current James Baroud fit great on my No.5 trailer too!

If you are set on a canvas RTT I recommend ones where the ladder is covered when you climb up.

[Robmacca]

Austrack Campers (http://austrackcampers.com.au./?gclid=Cj0KEQiAsNyxBRDBuKrMhsbt3vwBEiQAdRgPss9QYCf o5KMs-w1QVSe5z8OCP8BzQjDWArPf60Mt1LIaAk2x8P8HAQ)


G'day Rob.
I'm not recommending these blokes by any means as I know diddley squat about RTTs but they have had some reasonable reviews (& not so reasonable, like everything else it seems today) on another forum.
They're also sort of local being at Caboolture.
Good Luck
Steve


I'll have a look at these, but I think they might be a little out of my price range as I believe they start around the $3k mark ??

[Robmacca]

True.... but this proposed setup is a temporary thing until the kids are to the point where they no longer want to travel with us and its just the missus & I. I don't really want to spend big $$ on something that in a few years time will not suit our need, so I'm hoping this trailer idea will just give us that little extra room we require in the car and a easy setup for the missus & I in the RTT and the kids in tents.....

Just got to figure out whether to have the RTT come out to the side or the rear of the trailer & whether I want to be able to walk under it when its set up or just be able to sit under it for some extra shade....



As always, you need to consider whether your needs and priorities are the same as those of the member offering advice.

Age, athleticism and bladder capacity probably affect whether the issue of climbing up and down the ladder is important.

Some people might be inconvenienced by the problem of not being able to drive around once you are set up. Obviously some people don't find that an issue. I can't remember the last time I felt the need to drive somewhere after I had set up my slide-on camper, so for me, that is not a big worry.

[edddo]

I have an Ezi Awn sitting in the shed gathering dust.
Tried selling it a couple years back no luck.
Can be had for not much. PM if interested.

[Battler]

Given what you have said in your last post maybe one of those quick erect tents might suit. Something like the Wolf Turbo tent or Jet Tent. We have the Wolf Turbo 300 and it's very quick to put up and pack up.

And if it's just the wife and two of our kids for a few nights we don't take the trailer; all sleep in the tent with self inflating mattresses.

[lewy]

I am doing the same thing putting it on a box trailer.I will be putting it on top of a cage though so about as high as the spare on the disco,This should keep it up away from most of the dust and mud and make pee access easier.Have to make sure the ttrailer is loaded up though because it may make the trailer top heavy.

[AndyG]

Do folk aim to have same track & stud pattern as the tow vehicle ?

[weeds]

Do folk aim to have same track & stud pattern as the tow vehicle ?


That's a big discussion in itself.....

I had some track, turned, rims, hubs, disc and calipers.........

I believe it's a nice to have but not essential, all depends on budget and desire

I have never had a flat on my camper and currently do not carry a spare (current tug is a hi-lux, camper is all Land Rover)

The only time track could be an issue is in soft sand and how much sand towing the average punter do. Look at the amount of caravans and camper on the road, 90% wouldn't be running the same track.

My priorities would be the accommodation, water storage, tow weight, 12v and solar, fridge space way before track and matching rims. Each to there own.

[Tusker]

Had one of these for about 10 years now

Roof top tent (http://www.mrswagman.com.au/Roof-top-tent.shtml)

We've slept better in this than any tent or swag.

Always been dust free. Packing up wet makes me nervous, but we've never had wet bedding. Just normal maintenance with reproofing canvas every so often.

Seconds to put up (ignoring awning & add on room), say 5 mins to pack away.

It needs mesh under the mattress to prevent condensation in winter, but all RTTs would. I bought this stuff.

AERO-MESH: PRODUCTS (http://www.aero-mesh.com.au/products.php)

Only design fault, and it's a minor one, is that the cover flips down over the windscreen. Any rain collects in pockets which can be flipped onto your bed. Pretty easy to drain before you pull back over.

Regards
Max P

[weeds]

They are a nice tent Max.....

We have never had an issue with condensation, but i might look into the matting.

[rar110]

We had an expensive RTT on a trailer, which was big, about 2.2m wide from memory. IMO it worked really well as a concept but SWMBO didn't really like the setup. We returned it at the end of the trip as it leaked and allowed bugs in. The manufacturers were really inflexible about fixing the problems which is another story. It was take what you get or take a refund, OK refund please.

We bought a really cheap RTT mainly to do a desert trip in the 110. The quality wasn't as good but for the price was great. It even had rip stop canvas, and it didn't leak or let bugs in. It was a standard size which isn't big enough for us all so I slept under the floor on the ground in a swag. It also worked pretty well as a setup, we had the ladder extension. My only complaint is the height of the 110 made packing up the tent much harder. You won't have this problem on a trailer. I contemplated getting another and mounting two on the trailer. But it wouldn't have worked as well. The biggest Hannibal is 2m which was too small and a bit of money. We ended up in a camper trailer.

[WAWoody]

I had a roof top tent mounted on a six by four box trailer for many years and we used to get it set up and be drinking beer long before our mates with tents were done setting up.

Mine was mounted on a frame on top of the trailer just a little lower than the 4x4 roof top height and the tent had a section that dropped down the site of the trailer creating a room there.

The kids were in bunk beds in the room at the side and the wife and I on the top. It worked really well.

One thing that we did learn the hard way though was to make sure that the draw bar end of the trailer as pegged down firmly or the whole lot could tip up.

Legs on the back of the trailer would also stop this.

These day we do a lot less camping but have one of the quick erect tents instead.

[Cammo]

We started with an ARB rooftop folding out over the rear of the 130. Thoughts:
- Tent seemed the same as those on offer from TJM, Ironman etc... just different logo on the cover.
- Cover a tight fit, lots of climbing around the truck to tuck everything in.
- Rear fold allowed tailgate area to be covered, especially with "annexe" option.
- With Hannibal awning out the LH side, a pop up gazebo placed against the back side of the awning and left side of the tent gave ample living space even in inclimate weather.
- Used for 2.5 weeks on Moreton Island for honeymoon - still married. (Can't have been that bad)

When No1 son came along, sold ARB tent, bought Hannibal 2.0 metre tent for more room - folds out over drivers side. Thoughts:
- Holy mother of space.
- Bulk room, especially with "annexe"
- Setup longer than ARB, but pack up same, if not less as tent cover has been extended for extra room (very worthwhile modification)
- Heaps of room
- Requires two people to pack up easily.
- Hannibal tent very good quality. Has always kept us dry and warm. But it'd want to for the price premium.
- So roomy.
- Should get a foxwing or similar to cover tailgate area now

General comparisons/thoughts:
- Hannibal canvas much thicker than ARB. Tent fair bit heavier (all but twice the size)
- Both kept us dry, Hannibal warmer despite having more area to heat.
- Both offer excellent airflow and can keep cool on warm nights.
- I think Hannibal mattress is thicker. Both good though.
- Ladder extension worthwhile. I have a bigger issue with the cold aluminium on my bare feet than negotiating the ladder itself. Wife is the same.
- A cover design which zips off completely is better than one which stays attached/"flips over". Allows you to remove and sweep it clean, or stow away to keep it dry.

As our family grows, I can see towing in my future. This serves us well for now, but having the freedom to drive would be nice, as would the extra room. Having trouble finding something I like though... might have to build something.....
We have no trouble going away for a weekend or a week with this set up but unfortunately haven't been able to try it out in a "touring" arrangement as of yet (pack up/setup every day) have discussed it at length though, and don't see any issues. With the tent being bigger, it's good to have a routine where each person has a role/set of tasks. Makes it all quicker and smoother.

Hope that rambling helped.

[steveG]

Had one of these for about 10 years now

Roof top tent (http://www.mrswagman.com.au/Roof-top-tent.shtml)

We've slept better in this than any tent or swag.

Always been dust free. Packing up wet makes me nervous, but we've never had wet bedding. Just normal maintenance with reproofing canvas every so often.

Seconds to put up (ignoring awning & add on room), say 5 mins to pack away.

It needs mesh under the mattress to prevent condensation in winter, but all RTTs would. I bought this stuff.

AERO-MESH: PRODUCTS (http://www.aero-mesh.com.au/products.php)

Only design fault, and it's a minor one, is that the cover flips down over the windscreen. Any rain collects in pockets which can be flipped onto your bed. Pretty easy to drain before you pull back over.

Regards
Max P

We've got a very similar design one from Rooftopcampers in Tassie: Roof Top Campers (http://www.rooftopcampers.com/)
Love it!!!
The mattress sits in an aluminium "box", and the cover attaches to the front of the box using sail track, and bungee cord threaded through eyelets in the other 3 sides of the cover goes onto hooks on the box.
One piece ladder attaches to the side of the box.
Box is deep enough that we've got a 110mm foam mattress. We had one made with about 80mm of higher density foam on the bottom and 30mm of softer stuff on the top. Its at least as comfy as our normal bed at home.

We love that is literally less than a couple of minutes to remove the ladder, attach it to its mounting bolt with one wingnut, and pull the main part of the tent open ready to fall into bed. Because the mattress doesn't fold in half you can leave all your bedding up there, and just move pillows etc to the middle of the bed before closing up. We've got a small tarp that we put over the top of the bedding before packing up to keep any moisture in the canvas away from the mattress.
Having the box structure means you have something solid to hang onto when getting in and out of the tent. The access door is at the side of the tent so easy to reach to unzip and then just throw your leg out onto the ladder. I sleep on the far side so have to throw a leg over SWMBO to make it to the door, but we cope ;)
In general, a RTT also means you don't have to look for a flat place on the ground to put a mattress. Rocky river beds or a bit of surface water are no problem

Over winter we spent a couple of months in southern Africa in hired Defenders with rooftop tents. They were the standard style fold in half mattress type (Local Tentco brand).
Better than sleeping on the ground, but what a PITA compared to our own one. Mattresses were thin, covers were always dirty and you had to take them completely off so you always got filthy. On cold mornings the covers were very stiff and almost impossible to get on. With frozen fingers it was the most pain I had on the whole trip.
We could leave our bedding in the tent when we folded it up, but it had to be very specifically arranged, and it made it quite a bit harder to fit the cover.
On the plus side, we had 2 RTT's on our vehicle, so worked well for having 3 or 4 people. Packing up pre-dawn for game driving was a hassle but only because the tents weren't easy to pack away. It was still better than being at toenail height when a hippo is grazing next to the vehicle at 3am.

I guess what I'm saying is that RTT's definitely aren't all the same, and its likely that if my only experience had been with the ones in Africa I'd not be so keen. You need to work out what things are important for your personal situation.
In Oz, with the 110 set up for the just the 2 of us, ours is perfect and will definitely be going onto our next landy.

Steve

[Jazzman]

I bought an Adventure Kings RTT from 4WD Supacentre before going on a 6 week trip to Cape York and back. Mine has a cover over the ladder and an option for the bottom tent.

Roof Top Tent For Sale , 4WD & Outdoor Products - Australia (http://www.4wdsupacentre.com.au/products/rooftop-tents.html)

I'm also in the Gippsland Four Wheel Drive Club and use it everywhere we go, largely the Aberfeldy area, Wonangatta and the Vic High country.

I have had very little trouble with finding level ground, i reckon i had more trouble finding suitable ground to set up the Back Wolf Turbo tent, which is brilliant too if that is what you want.

The RRT cost me approx. $1000 (including the ground tent option which I've never used) and is worth every cent. My partner and I love it.

I agree with everyone who has made good points about them, the only improvement for me would be a pop top roof at much more expense.

The biggest draw back I've had was base camp set ups on 4WD trips, as you do have to pack up your tent before driving. But we tend to do more camp site to camp site trips.

I cannot leave bedding in the tent as it has a shallow hinge that only fits the mattress and a blanket when folded. I actually like this as I get less wind drag and the Disco is already tall as it is.

But the most stand out benefit I had from the RTT which actually surprised me was in Bloomfield QLD (Rain forest). It rained FAT rain all night, and I mean for about 6 hrs constantly. When we woke in the morning the ground was eroded from the amount of water. We were bone dry inside largely because of the tents design, it has a polyester fly attached to it.

We had a few windy nights at Captain Billy's Landing, I think the key here is to point the short side of the tent into the wind for minimum drag. I still think a normal tent would have been no better.

I love mine and don't plan on getting rid of it soon, it will likely wear out before i can sell it. If you do plan on having a pee in the middle of the night it is quite feasible to have a funnel and a hose from the tent to under the car. I'd imagine the better half would NOT opt in for this option though.

One other thing that does not really apply to you so much. The load carrying capacity of the roof is not really high on most cars. On the D2 I think it is 50-60kg. The RTT weight about 40-50kg on its own but i'm sure the roof weight is dynamically rated not static like when you are using a RTT.

This means the roof is approx. at its rated load when the RTT is packed up. There is often not much room left on the roof for other things so it prevents one from over loading their roof. I seen a bloke with a 100 series Toyota with 2 RTT's fitted, 1 for the kids and 1 for the parents. He had done it this way for that exact reason. All the heavy stuff he stored above the rear axle.

All in all I think you will like the RTT, i'd personally make it high enough to walk under in your trailer scenario so you can attach the zip on ground tent. It means you have somewhere to stand up to get dressed and shelter if it is flogging down sideways. All though I don't use the ground tent my kitchen is under the RTT.

The ARB RTT does appear to be the best built RTT i've seen. But the Kings one is great value for money. The Darche RTT appears to be marginally better than the Kings. Biggest difference is higher grade rip stop canvas. The fitting points in mine are alloy, others have plastic connecting pieces, that might be something to check for.

[Greatsouthernland]

...

I have never had a flat on my camper and currently do not carry a spare ...

See what you've done here :( ... You could've 'touched wood' ... not the type in your avatar though :angel: